Who is Redszone's #6 prospect?

[AmarilloRed]

Ramon Ramirez. I fully expect him to be our fifth starter next year; he may even be a good #4 starter. He was pretty impressive in September.

[OnBaseMachine]

I'm still not exactly sure where I'm gonna vote Ramon Ramirez and Chris Dickerson yet. I like both of those guys...I think Dickerson is gonna develop into into at least an average center fielder with great defense and I see Ramirez as a solid back-end starter, or an above average middle reliever. That's good enough for top ten, however, since they're both a little older than your normal prospect I'm leaning toward voting them in the 10-15 range.

[REDblooded]

I'll be voting Lotzkar until he wins... hopefully this is the last time I have to vote for him.

[OnBaseMachine]

If Lotzkar wins, that will mean three of the Reds top six prospects are from outside the United States. Yonder Alonso is of Cuban descent, Neftali Soto is from Puerto Rico, and Kyle Lotzkar is Canadian. It also looks like Juan Duran (Dominican Republic) may also crack the top 10, and possibly Juan Francisco (Dominican Republic) too. Plus, Yorman Rodriguez and Ramon Ramirez (Venezuela) will most likely crack the top 15. I love the diversity - it shows the Reds are drafting well outside the U.S. and making a commitment to signing big prospects in the International field. That's huge for a smaller market team like the Reds.

[Danny Serafini]

Some of these players have put up some impressive numbers in the minor leagues. Ramon Ramirez has put up numbers like this - 2.67 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, .556 OPS against - in the Major Leagues. It seems like those numbers deserve a bit more respect.

[Mario-Rijo]

Some of these players have put up some impressive numbers in the minor leagues. Ramon Ramirez has put up numbers like this - 2.67 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, .556 OPS against - in the Major Leagues. It seems like those numbers deserve a bit more respect.

Ya know I only seen Ramon briefly after his callup (and not previously) so does anyone have any info on him. What does he throw? How did his control & command of his pitches look? Does he have any glaring weaknesses?

I mean I haven't had this much trouble selecting a prospect for a spot in a long time. Every time I think of one that I might go with here I seem to come up with 1 fairly big issue of why not to select them at this spot. Ramirez is perhaps the only one I don't know much about.

[icehole3]

Im flip flopping like a John Kerry bobble head on Ramirez and Lotzkar, Im back to Ramirez this time, I really shouldnt be voting in these polls.

[camisadelgolf]

It's surprising to me how under the radar he is, but Thompson was dominant in AA and very good in AAA at age 22. He may only have a mid-rotation ceiling, but of the guys who have touched the upper minors, he's got to be at the top of the list.

If it weren't for his brief ML stint, he'd be a no-doubt top-ten prospect in the organization (amongst RedsZone).

 Year  Age Aff  W   L   W-L%   G   GS  CG SHO  GF  SV   IP     H    R   ER   HR  BB   SO HBP  WP  BFP  IBB  BK   ERA   WHIP
+----+----+---+---+---+-----+----+---+---+---+---+---+------+----+----+----+---+----+---+---+---+-----+---+---+------+-----+
2008   22  CIN  8   4  .667   21   20   0   0   0   0  126.2  105   47   38   8   30  99   2   6   499   0   0   2.70  1.07

Still, as much as I like Thompson, I'm going with the guy dancing on the sand.

[OnBaseMachine]

Ya know I only seen Ramon briefly after his callup (and not previously) so does anyone have any info on him. What does he throw? How did his control & command of his pitches look? Does he have any glaring weaknesses?

Ramirez throws his fastball in the 89-92 mph range and mixes in a plus changeup and an occasional slider. I remember Rick Sweet saying it's possibly the best changeup in the organization. What makes it so great is the incredible sink on it, I don't know how many times I saw a hitter chase it in the dirt. Right now I think he's got the stuff to be a solid big league starter, but if he can improve that slider he could raise his ceiling a bit. He's not on the level of a Cueto or Volquez, but he's a good pitching prospect IMO.

[kpresidente]

Ramirez has a career minor league 4.51 with 1.35 WHIP. HR rates are a little high. Combine that with the fact that he'll be 27 next year and I don't see the excitement. The good thing is he's pitched very well out of the bullpen, both in the minors and majors, and that's where I see him ending up. Has good K and BB rates.

[AmarilloRed]

Ya know I only seen Ramon briefly after his callup (and not previously) so does anyone have any info on him. What does he throw? How did his control & command of his pitches look? Does he have any glaring weaknesses?

I mean I haven't had this much trouble selecting a prospect for a spot in a long time. Every time I think of one that I might go with here I seem to come up with 1 fairly big issue of why not to select them at this spot. Ramirez is perhaps the only one I don't know much about.

As for weaknesses, he did struggle some against left handed batters in limited duty. Too small a sample size to determine if that will be a major weakness down the road.

[dougdirt]

Ramirez has a career minor league 4.51 with 1.35 WHIP. HR rates are a little high. Combine that with the fact that he'll be 27 next year and I don't see the excitement. The good thing is he's pitched very well out of the bullpen, both in the minors and majors, and that's where I see him ending up. Has good K and BB rates.

I will say this, Ramirez is better right now that those numbers dictate, at the minor league level at least. I do like him as a player, but his age really hurts him in the prospect rankings in my book. Way too early for him in my mind.

[OnBaseMachine]

Ramirez has a career minor league 4.51 with 1.35 WHIP. HR rates are a little high. Combine that with the fact that he'll be 27 next year and I don't see the excitement. The good thing is he's pitched very well out of the bullpen, both in the minors and majors, and that's where I see him ending up. Has good K and BB rates.

Some guys develop later than others. Ramirez didn't have that great changeup earlier in his career. Now that he's got a plus pitch in his arsenal he's got a chance at being a solid pitcher either as a reliever or a back-end starter.

[fearofpopvol1]

It's surprising to me how under the radar he is, but Thompson was dominant in AA and very good in AAA at age 22. He may only have a mid-rotation ceiling, but of the guys who have touched the upper minors, he's got to be at the top of the list.

I agree completely. Thompson gets my vote.

[kpresidente]

I will say this, Ramirez is better right now that those numbers dictate, at the minor league level at least. I do like him as a player, but his age really hurts him in the prospect rankings in my book. Way too early for him in my mind.

I wonder, is there anybody in our ML system who you think isn't better than their stats? Anybody worse?