I think Thompson could be a solid middle-of-the-rotation starter if he can improve his slider/curve to go along with his 92-94 mph fastball and solid changeup. That said, I also think he could be a great setup man where his fastball would probably jump a tick or two and his arm would probably hold up better with the lesser workload. Zach Stewart will probably rank in the top ten. He's got the stuff to be a dominant setup man and he's got a chance to move quickly.
The Reds lack solid starting pitching depth in the upper minors but there are some intriguing arms in the lower levels. Kyle Lotzkar is the best in a group that includes Evan Hildenbrandt, Juan Carlos Sulbaran, Oscar Castro, Tyler Cline, Shea Snowden, and hopefully an arm like Carlos Tineo will emerge from the Dominican next season.
I don't know if it is that extreme. I look at prospects as "what they will do eventually" but they have to prove first that they can do something now. Im not saying that Alonso doesn't have all the physical tools to become a great hitter, it is that he has yet to show he can handle playing professional baseball with a wooden bat yet. Once he does that he will jump to the top of my list. There have been all kind of world class athletes that have had all the tools but have had the inability to put it all together. That is why I want to see Alonso hold his own in the minors before I jump on his bandwagon.
The only way I could see BA ranking Soto lower than #2 would be if they decided Duran and/or Y-Rod had higher ceilings. IMO, BA's rankings seem to be more ceiling oriented, while BP seems to weight a little more toward the performance side of the equation.
"This field, this game, is a part of our past. It reminds us of all that once was good, and what could be again." -- Terence Mann
Alonso -- he's polished with the bat and his position isn't an issue.
Man I am kinda shocked to see Alonso #1 I mean I know/heard the man has skills but I feel he is yet to prove it on the pro level. He has yet to play a one season of pro ball. To me it's kinda like calling Drew Stubbs a Busts before he played a game/full season. I really can't say that he isn't #1 because I haven't seen him play a full pro season or even a game but maybe he is that damn good! I just can't say it after a hand full of at-bats. I would have to say my order would be .
1.) Soto
2.) Frazier
3.) Alonso
4.) Valaika
5.) Stubbs
22 walks in 437 at bats should be an issue.
And while Soto has made good contact with few strikeouts, he hasn't really hit the long ball. 13 homers in 437 at bats.
At some point, he will start to hit more homers. He's supposedly a guy with excellent power. The question is whether he can keep his strikeout rate low when that happens. And whether he can improve his walk rate.
I hope Soto stays a high BA guy and simply improves his selectivity and walks more. He's very young and we'll see how he does at more advanced levels.
For me, It's Alonso, Frazier, Stubbs, Soto, Francisco as the top five in that order.
Last edited by Kc61; 10-16-2008 at 06:02 PM.
I say Alonso, but that may be biased from all the pub he got when he was drafted. It'd be nice if most of these guys reach their projections in the majors.
I agree that's also my list at this current time, although I may or may not flip Valaika & Stubbs that's a toss up right now. Stubbs has the higher ceiling but I think Valaika has the higher floor of the 2.
Soto is #1 IMO although I understand the reasoning behind moving Alonso ahead of him but I don't necc. agree with it. #1 I don't have a problem with Soto's defense, if he has a big problem defensively it's not one I am aware of. That said alonso IMO does have a potential defensive issue, he's not real adept at picking balls out of the dirt yet. I watched just a few of his games (in the tourny) and in those few games I saw 2 different miscues. It very well may have just been a fluke thing but on at least one of those he was way off the mark, so IMO I saw enough to not completely dismiss the possibility that he has a little work to do there at the very least. Of course i'm sure Soto has some work to do also considering he isn't gonna be a SS and must be moved. But what scouting report is floating out there that makes people wanna state as fact that he isn't a good defender? How can we call him a poor defender before he has even settled into any position with any kind of regularity? So at this point worst case scenario defense is a wash IMO. I don't think either is gonna set the world on fire baserunning so I at this point think that's pretty much a wash.
So offensively who's better ahh, I like Soto so far he has done quite well and there is no reason to really question his abilities at this point. Now if he starts swinging at stuff out of the zone at some point that would be a reason to question him. Alonso well there isn't much of anything to be concerned about so far either except Josh Fields and one other pitcher (I don't recall his name) made him look pretty darn silly on a few yackers which could speak to level of competition to this point. More than a few outstanding bats have went the way of the 8 track over the inability to hit the bender. It's all small sample sizes but something to keep an eye on.
Ultimately I think Soto has the highest ceiling offensively of anyone in the system I think he could be our future at 3B which is a tougher position to fill than 1B or LF and he is likely to be a major leaguer before his 22nd B-Day which is often an indication of better things.
I think Alonso could be slightly better than Frazier but I also think Frazier could be a solid 3B. But really this just comes down to preference because I feel they are so close ceiling wise that it's a 2A and 2B situation. So I choose Frazier because he may eventually represent more value.
"You can't let praise or criticism get to you. It's a weakness to get caught up in either one."
--Woody Hayes
From what I've read, Soto has adequate range at third base and a strong throwing arm. He's never gonna be a gold glover but I don't think he's gonna be a liability either.
Exactly. Adam Dunn only hit 11 homers in 313 atbats as a 19-year old. A good indicator of power potential is doubles. Soto hit 25 doubles in just 285 atbats this season, a very high total. As young hitters fill out those doubles tend to turn into home runs. Look at the minor league career of Miguel Cabrera - low homer totals, plenty of doubles. In 2002 at age 19 Cabrera hit just nine homers in 489 atbats but he hit 43 doubles. The next season his power just exploded as he filled out and turned those doubles into homers. Same thing happened with Jay Bruce. I expect the same thing to happen with Soto in the next year or two.
If you look at pictures of Soto, his body reminds me so much of A-Rod's when he came up. I'm not comparing him to A-Rod, just his body type.
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