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Posting in Dynarama
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Boston
Posts: 26,668
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Re: Where does the Reds farm system rank?
Here's a nominal list of the top 4 high minors/not yet established in the bigs kids in each system (note: I'm going beyond the normal rookie status that BA uses).
Mets - Lastings Milledge, Carlos Gomez, Mike Pelfrey, Kevin Mulvey - solid list, especially with Fernando Martinez and Phil Humber lurking
Phillies - Michael Bourn, J.A. Happ, J.D. Durbin, Greg Golson - is there a worse system at the moment?
Braves - Joey Devine, Jo-Jo Reyes, Brandon Jones, Matt Harrison - pretty meh, Yunel Escobar has pretty much become a regular so he didn't qualify
Nats - John Lannan, Joel Hanrahan, Josh Whitesell, Collin Balester - how ironic to have a team in D.C. that can't seem to get out of its own way
Marlins - Robert Andino, Rick VandenHurk, Daniel Barone, Gaby Hernandez - no one promotes more haphazardly than the Fish
Cubs - Felix Pie, Geovany Soto, Ronny Cedeno, Sean Gallagher - Jeff Samardzija, Donald Veal, Tyler Colvin and Scott Moore have some name value too, though I'm not particularly high on any of them
Brewers - Yovanni Gallardo, Manny Parra, Zach Jackson, Alcides Escobar - Gallardo was real borderline for me, but he's still shy of establishing himself, IMO
Cardinals - Colby Rasmus, Bryan Anderson, Jaime Garica, P.J. Walters - Chris Perez might belong on there, Rick Ankiel too, it's a stronger group than Reds fans would like, get ready for a decade of Bruce vs. Rasmus arguments
Reds - Jay Bruce, Homer Bailey, Johnny Cueto, Joey Votto - sweet group, but we knew that
Astros - Troy Patton, Juan Gutierrez, Josh Anderson, Brian Bogusevic - if you're not impressed by that list it's just a case of you having a sane and rational reaction
Pirates - Andrew McCutcheon, Brian Bixler, Neil Walker, Steven Pearce - that's a nice set of bats in the pipeline
Padres - Chase Headley, Matt Antonelli, Josh Geer, Cesar Ramos - loaded in AA, Will Inman's there too
D-Backs - Justin Upton, Max Scherzer, Carlos Gonzalez, Esmerling Vasquez - as strong a group as you'll find, Greg Smith and Alberto Collaspo aren't too bad either, most of the major league team is comprised of young guys finding their way as well
Dodgers - Andy LaRoche, Jonathan Meloan, Chin-Lung Hu, Clayton Kershaw - another highly ranked group, Justin Orenduff, Scott Elbert (if he can come back healthy) and Tony Abreu all have some prospect glitter too
Rockies - Ian Stewart, Ubaldo Jiminez, Chris Iannetta, Franklin Morales - Juan Morillo and Seth Smith aren't slouches either, Greg Reynolds would have made the list except he got injured, deep system
Giants - Nate Schierholtz, Pat Misch, John Bowker, Nick Pereira - Eugenio Velez was named the minor league offensive player of the year in 2006 too, I believe the Giants are fond of William Bergolla too
Red Sox - Clay Buchholz, Jacoby Ellsbury, Jed Lowrie, Jon Lester - as noted above, they're supergood, Michael Bowden slots in at #5
Yankees - Phillips Hughes, Joba Chamberlain, Ian Kennedy, Alan Horne - I saw Kennedy's first start at Yankee Stadium this weekend, he's got more zip than advertised
Blue Jays - Adam Lind, Jesse Litsch, Brandon League, Chad Mottola - incredibly weak system, Mottola makes the list for career achievement
Orioles - Garrett Olson, Nolan Reimold, Luis Antonio Jimenez, Radhames Liz - Adam Loewen (when he gets healthy) would be on this list, Jim Hoey's had an interesting season
D-Rays - Jeff Niemann, Wade Davis, Evan Longoria, Jacob McGee - Reid Brignac's getting exposed (IMO), J.P. Howell has always been a personal favorite of mine, Chris Mason took a big step forward this season
Indians - Asdrubal Cabrera, Adam Miller, Brian Barton, Jordan Brown - Chuck Lofgren is a solid 5th, ex-Red farmhand Jeff Stevens had a bit of a breakout season, Franklin Gutierrez looks like he's got himself a regular job so he didn't make the list
Tigers - Andrew Miller, Cameron Maybin, Jair Jurrjens, Jeff Larish - top flight group
Twins - Matt Garza, Kevin Slowey, Alexi Casilla, Glen Perkins - Scott Baker looks like he's finally seized a rotation slot, there's a pack of pitchers on the heels of this one too
Royals - Kyle Davies, Billy Buckner, Chris Lubanski, Luke Hochevar - they've got a sleeper reliever prospect named Jarrod Plummer too
White Sox - John Danks, Josh Fields, Gio Gonzalez, Jack Egbert - Danks and Fields have been given big league jobs, but have yet to prove they deserve them, Brian Anderson and Gavin Floyd are in similar situations
Angels - Brandon Wood, Erick Aybar, Joe Saunders, Nick Adenhart - this system has spent most of 2007 losing its luster
Mariners - Adam Jones, Ryan Feierabend, Wladimir Balentien, Jeff Clement - there's a good number of interesting AA players behind them (Michael Saunders, Matt Tuiasosopo, Joseph Woerman), there's even more in A ball, this system is having itself quite a flourish
A's - Daric Barton, Dan Meyer, Dallas Braden, Landon Powell - Michael Madsen made the Future's Game too, Kurt Suzuki seems to have seized the starting catcher reins in the majors so I didn't list him
Rangers - Brandon McCarthy, Jarrod Salatalamacchia, Edinson Volquez, German Duran - better group than I'd have expected here, it's easy to forget that McCarthy is so young, David Murphy and Kason Gabbard (the return for Eric Gagne) was a pretty solid haul as well
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Baseball isn't a magic trick ... it doesn't get spoiled if you figure out how it works. - gonelong
I'm witchcrafting everybody.
Last edited by M2; 09-04-2007 at 07:33 PM.
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