2015 Redszone Annual Prospect Poll #17

[RedlegJake]

16 went to Crawford in blowout style. He seems to be the demarcating line between the top top prospects and guys who are close but don't have great ceilings/guys who have high ceilings but haven't performed or are still at very low levels/guys who have some kind of hiccup in their giddyup. Really expect the next several picks to be fairly bunched up and spread among many. Adding Barnhart for this poll.

[JMO]

Holmberg for me, but I like Tucker as well.

[RedlegJake]

13 votes so far and 7 different guys. What I like about the depth of the Reds system is that I wouldn't argue about any of them or about 3 or 4 others at this spot and all actually have a decent shot at making it to the bigs (even though some will fail).

[dougdirt]

Barnhart. He's got a future in the big leagues for quite a while, even if it is only for 200 PA a season as a back up. Plus defensive catchers tend to keep jobs for a long time.

[757690]

I would have voted for Barnhart earlier, but didn't notice him on the lists. Easy vote for me in this poll, then Holmberg.

[thorn]

Went with SMB here despite some struggles at AA, still maintained a good walk rate, hit well at home and against lefties. Everyone at this point has some warts and most did not do well last year. Should go with Arias next, hoping for a good comeback from those 2.

[REDREAD]

Well, since this looks like it's between Holmberg and Barnhart, I'm going with Holmberg.

Holmberg might be a decent BOR or useful bullpen piece. I think that's more valuable than a backup catcher who will struggle to hit ML pitching.
Like for example, I see Barnhart struggling to hit as well as Pena and other backup catchers freely available.

Sure, there's a chance Holmberg ends up being the next Ondrusek, but I think he'll be more useful than that.

[dougdirt]

Well, since this looks like it's between Holmberg and Barnhart, I'm going with Holmberg.

Holmberg might be a decent BOR or useful bullpen piece. I think that's more valuable than a backup catcher who will struggle to hit ML pitching.
Like for example, I see Barnhart struggling to hit as well as Pena and other backup catchers freely available.

Sure, there's a chance Holmberg ends up being the next Ondrusek, but I think he'll be more useful than that.

I don't think Holmberg has a good chance of even being the next Ondrusek. Holmberg didn't crack my Top 40.

[Steve4192]

Well, since this looks like it's between Holmberg and Barnhart, I'm going with Holmberg.

Holmberg might be a decent BOR or useful bullpen piece. I think that's more valuable than a backup catcher who will struggle to hit ML pitching.

Just like I think it is unfair to dismiss Holmberg as 6th inning bullpen dreck, I also think it is unfair to dismiss Barnhart as a no-hit backup catcher. I think he is very capable of carving out a Ryan Hanigan-type career. A lot of teams could do worse than having a defensive whiz with solid OBP skills behind the plate 80-100 games/season, even if he doesn't have any power whatsoever.

[JMO]

IMHO, Holmberg and Tucker should be the next 2 off the board. Holmberg gets kicked around a bit here, he'll pitch well for the Reds in 2015. I have faith.

[dougdirt]

IMHO, Holmberg and Tucker should be the next 2 off the board. Holmberg gets kicked around a bit here, he'll pitch well for the Reds in 2015. I have faith.

I'm with you that he will pitch for the Reds in 2015. I just don't think he's going to be successful if he sticks around long enough. He doesn't miss bats, is a fly ball pitcher and doesn't have a strong walk rate. That's a recipe for disaster.

[REDREAD]

Just like I think it is unfair to dismiss Holmberg as 6th inning bullpen dreck, I also think it is unfair to dismiss Barnhart as a no-hit backup catcher. I think he is very capable of carving out a Ryan Hanigan-type career. A lot of teams could do worse than having a defensive whiz with solid OBP skills behind the plate 80-100 games/season, even if he doesn't have any power whatsoever.

I will probably vote for Barnhart next. I guess I was bit too harsh in my comment.
Although I kind of doubt Barnhart will have solid OBP (really hope he does though).
IMO (I have no proof), you need to have a certain hitting level before you draw walks.
Drawing walks in the minors is not necessarily a good predictor of ML success if the guy is a week hitter.
We saw this back in the old days with Anderson Machado. Great minor league OBP, but since he couldn't hit ML pitching, he never drew walks.
Now I hope Barnhart does better, but I am concerned.

So I guess I see both Holmberg and Barnhart as possible marginal players, but I hope one of them suprises.
You're right on one thing thou, Barnhart's catching skills are outstanding. He doesn't have to hit much to stick.

[_Sir_Charles_]

I went with Sparks. The pop in that bat is just too much to overlook.

[Steve4192]

I went with Sparks. The pop in that bat is just too much to overlook.

I really hope I am wrong about Sparks, but he seems like Brandon Waring 2.0 to me. But maybe that's just my distrust of the Reds track record with collegiate hitters speaking. Seems like Todd Frazier is the only college hitter who has ever worked out for them.

[Red Soup]

Where's the love for Gavin LaValley? He's young and he's years away, but he's a top 20 prospect in this system. Who's with me?