Baseball America Top 100 Prospects List

[Mik]

Released today. Dice-K number one and the top actual prospect is Alex Gordon of the Royals.

 

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prosp...res/263445.html

[HarleyQuinn]

Nice to see Ellsbury at #33 and Bucholz at #51. Bard (81) and Bowden (83) round out the Sox contributions.

 

Kevin Slowey slots in at #71. Been following this guy since his senior year in college.

[Vern Gagne]

Let's see the Devil Rays and Rockies do something with these prospects.

 

I don't think Samardzija did enough last year in limited playing time to make the Top 100 list.

[vivalaultra]

Hey, Pence and Patton aren't ranked 99 and 100. That's cool. I'm actually surprised that a few other Astros' prospects didn't crack the list, as I'm sure that some of their AA and AAA arms are worthy or at least a spot in the 90-100 range over some of the guys listed. But, oh well.

[Styles]

Rowell's ranking is right, Erbe's is a bit low I think. Surprised and happy that Beato made the list. Apparently Nolan Reimold just missed. Oh well.

[Guest]

I've noticed that a lot of the Dodger starting pitching prospects of recent years haven't lived up to their hype. For the sake of my sanity, I hope Elbert does.

[Cheech Tremendous]

I've noticed that a lot of the Dodger starting pitching prospects of recent years haven't lived up to their hype. For the sake of my sanity, I hope Elbert does.

 

I don't know about that. Billingsley and Broxton have done well for themselves so far.

[HarleyQuinn]

Poor Thomas Diamond and John Danks...

 

TD has struggled a bit in 2 seasons at AA (17-9, 4.80 ERA, 198.1 IP, 170 HA, 22 HR allowed, 213 K vs. 116 BB). He'll be 24 years old and can bounce back into the Top 100 if he can get his BB rate down.

 

Danks hit AAA last year at age 21 and b/w AA and AAA put up a season of 9-9, 4.24 ERA, 140 IP, 141 HA, 22 HR allowed, 154 K vs. 56 BB.

 

Frisco is a bit of a hitter's park (1.06 R, 1.03 H, and 0.95 HR) although Oklahoma is a pitcher's haven (0.82 R, 0.92 H, and 0.68 HR).

[Dobbs 3K]

I thought the Brewers might have a couple more on the list, but it's nice to see they have two in the top 25 or so. Gallardo and Braun will likely see MLB playing time this year. (Braun had a huge spring training game yesterday, so that's a positive sign for their 3B situation).

[Cheech Tremendous]

Nice to see Ellsbury at #33 and Bucholz at #51. Bard (81) and Bowden (83) round out the Sox contributions.

 

Kevin Slowey slots in at #71. Been following this guy since his senior year in college.

 

I don't understand those rankings at all. Daniel Bard may hit 100 on the gun, but he only has one pitch and has never thrown in a professional game on any level. He's nowhere near Buchholz or Bowden, who both have mulitple pitches and have no. 1 or 2 potential (IMO, Bard will never be more than a reliever).

 

Leaving Pedroia off the list is a travesty. He probably will never be an All-Star, but he'll probably be a top 5 2B in the AL this year. Most of those guys from 40-100 will never crack the bigs. Sometimes you have to take major league readiness into account regardless of potential upside.

[Failed Bridge]

I'd like to see Daniel Bard develop one good breaking pitch so he could be a closer in the future.

[Guest]

I've noticed that a lot of the Dodger starting pitching prospects of recent years haven't lived up to their hype. For the sake of my sanity, I hope Elbert does.

 

I don't know about that. Billingsley and Broxton have done well for themselves so far.

Billingsley has control issues that can be worked out, but he hasn't lived up to the billing (lol) yet. Broxton is a relief pitcher.

[Cheech Tremendous]

I've noticed that a lot of the Dodger starting pitching prospects of recent years haven't lived up to their hype. For the sake of my sanity, I hope Elbert does.

 

I don't know about that. Billingsley and Broxton have done well for themselves so far.

Billingsley has control issues that can be worked out, but he hasn't lived up to the billing (lol) yet. Broxton is a relief pitcher.

 

Billingsley has control issues because he's a young pitcher, and young pitchers are notoriously inconsistent. He still has amazing upside.

 

Broxton has the potential to be a lockdown closer in the very near future. That's as valuable as a middle of the rotation starter. Not everyone can be a no. 1 in the bigs.

[Cheech Tremendous]

I don't think Samardzija did enough last year in limited playing time to make the Top 100 list.

 

Jim Callis noted on SOSH that many teams thought Samardzija had enough talent to be the no. 1 overall pick in the draft. He's a project, but the upside is high enough that you could slot him into the top 100 fairly easily. Remember that after first 25-30 guys it's all a crapshoot anyways.

[Guest Queen Leelee]

Ianetta is better than that. He'll be a decent offensive player in COL this year.

[treble]

Adam Lind at 39 seems about right, I guess. He might get held back a bit, since it doesn't seem like he has a position to play. DH is taken with Thomas (assuming he stays healthy *crosses fingers*) and he's not supposed to be very good defensively in LF. Moving him to 1B doesn't make sense, either, because Overbay's locked up for a few more years.

[Mik]

Keep in mind w/ Bard that the BA rankings are a mixture of stats and scout evaluations or potential. Bard still ranks high w/ the scouts and his potential is considered high.

 

Or maybe I'm just defending him because he was a Tarheel... I'm not sure.