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Milb.com just finished up their top 50 Prospect list show. Joey Votto somehow did not make the top 60...no idea how that happened. But Jay Bruce and Homer Bailey made a big impact on the list.
Jay Bruce came in at #8, behind Justin Upton and Cameron Maybin.
Homer Bailey came in at #3 behind Alex Gordon and Delmon Young.
Phil Hughes for those curious, came in at #4.
When is the last time the reds had 2 players in the top 10 prospects list? This is pretty awesome, it shows that the organization has made some nice moves in recent years. Hopefully we will see both bailey and bruce playing in the majors sometime in 07.
Take that Phil Hughes! :obrien:
That is a joke, especially when someone like Saltalamacchia, ranked #32, went .230, .353, .380 this year. They also put A's 1B Barton at #40 ahead of him:Quote:
Originally Posted by dougdirt
Barton - .259 AVG/ .384 OBP/ .395 SLG
Votto - .319 AVG/ ..408 OBP/ .547 SLG
Barton I get...he destroyed his elbow and had to have surgery. He has a ton of talent, and he hardly played this year.... Saltalamacchia however is another story. There were several guys I dont understand being ahead of Votto. He is 23 and in AA, but he destroyed the league.
It's not accurate to do a straight comp of numbers without considering age and level. Votto's 2006 was impressive, and I think he should have been Top 50. But Barton was playing in Triple-A, a level higher than Votto, and is nearly two full years younger. That's a huge difference in terms of assessing where prospects are and what their upsides are.
As for Saltalamacchia, he's a catcher. He doesn't have to hit as well to be as valuable, relatively speaking. But he had a rough year and is probably only there because of the reputation he established the year before, when he put up a .913 OPS in one of the more extreme pitcher's parks in baseball.
These lists are taking tools into account, not just performance. Joey Votto is a good prospect with a good chance to make it. But you won't find a tools-considering prospect list that rates him ahead of Saltalamacchia or Barton just yet. Those two were considered prime A-level talents after 2005, and just like you can't vault to #1 in a year, you can't nosedive off the list in a year, either.
Now if we could just get some depth to add to our stars!
Don't get me wrong, I'm not one to get all emotional about ratings like some others. But, I do think considering the year Votto had, how close he is to the majors, and how he was originally rated rather highly as 2nd round pick, he's deserves a top 50 spot more than some of those guys that are just potential right now.
Votto didn't even make #51-60. I guess Jonathan Mayo doesn't think very highly of him.
He is Canadian !:D (Yes I knew this) My point is this, we talk about scrappy and gritty players all the time. I am just expressing a trait that is quite common in Canadian athlete's is all ok ? But very seldom do they cheat themselves of there talent. They reach and give all they have to reach whatever that ceiling will be. It is just the way they are. :D
Here's what Mayo had to say about Votto...
The thoughts on Joey Votto were again mixed, though even the scouting executive who did rank Votto, did so at the bottom of his list.
"I like the guy," that scout said. "He's a pretty good looking hitter. Period. I think he's going to hit, he's going to be a nice looking hitter. He's got power. He needs to work a little more on his defense, but there's enough bat there to play."
"Joey Votto is a solid first base candidate who had a nice bounce back year in the Southern League," said the scout who didn't rank him in his Top 30. "He controlled the strike zone better and showed power. To his credit he has been quoted that the previous Reds regime was strict about taking pitches early in the count and it affected his production in the Florida State League. With that being said, he's a first-base-only type who has had success at Double-A at 23 years old. Generic profile. If you truly believe he's going to be an impact hitter at the big-league level, you put all your chips in. If you have some reservations, like me, you hedge your bet and see what happens."
I'm ok with that.
err...Votto was 22 last year, he didn't turn 23 to after the minor league season ended.