Predict the 2012 Reds Top Ten Prospects

[Benihana]

I'm assuming Alonso, Mesoraco, Sappelt, Francisco, Cozart, and Frazier will all have graduated beyond prospect status by this time next year. I have included the projected 2012 starting level for each player as well.

1. Yorman Rodriguez OF AA - will follow Adam Dunn and Jay Bruce to become the Reds next great OF prospect
2. Yasmani Grandal C AAA - should earn a quick promotion to Carolina, but may be the most likely candidate to get dealt before next season
3. Billy Hamilton SS A+ - may struggle early in Dayton because of strength questions, but talent is clearly there
4. Ryan LaMarre OF AAA - a runner-up for my breakout candidate of the year, he is also a runner-up for most likely trade candidate due to CF depth
5. Ismael Guillon LHP A+ - if Lotzkar is injured, he is the best pitching prospect in the system
6. 2011 Reds First Rounder ?? - I'm hoping for a big corner bat or a high upside arm
7. Junior Arias 3B A+ - he is a darkhorse that doesn't get as much mention as Hamilton or Torreyes, but could project the best of all of them
8. Ronald Torreyes 2B A/A+ - the Danny Ray Herrera of infielders keeps performing and impressing despite his small stature
9. Drew Cisco RHP A+/AA - the most polished HS pitcher the Reds have drafted in some time could move quickly this year
10. Donnie Joseph LHP MLB - while valuable, I don't consider relievers to be worthy of Top 5 ratings unless they're projected as a clearcut closer, which Joseph is not. Plus I think Joseph should be on the verge of the bigs if not in them by Opening Day 2012

WC: Kyle Lotzkar RHP - if healthy, he could easily vault to the top of the list.

I should mention, I think there is a very good chance at least one of these names has been traded out of the Reds organization by this time next year.

One thing to keep an eye on- if the Reds do draft a power-hitting 1B early in this year's draft, it could be very fun to watch an infield of that person, Torreyes, Hamilton, and Arias move through the system together. Dayton this year, High A next, and so on.

[StubbsFan#6]

Good idea.

1) Yorman Rodriguez
2) Devin Mesorcao
3) Billy Hamilton
4) Yasmani Grandel
5) Ismael Gullion
6) Henry Rodriguez
7) Drew Cisco
8) Daniel Coricino
9) Donnie Joseph
10) DiDi Gregorious

WC - Jacob Johnson, Ronald Torreyes, Junior Arias, and Kyle Lotzkar

[The DARK]

1. Devin Mesoraco- Dusty and Walt will prefer that he spends most of this season in AAA due to being a catcher; he'll succeed greatly and get a late-season callup, but he won't replace Hernandez in time to shed prospect status.
2. Billy Hamilton- Struggles early with Dayton pitching and doesn't get promoted til near the end of the season, but remains high on prospect lists due to speed and defense.
3. Zack Cozart- Has a breakout season in AAA and pounds the ball for at least a .290 average and 20+ home runs, but doesn't get a callup due to blockage by Renteria, Janish, and Cairo.
4. Ronald Torreyes- Rockets up the list after another stellar season, and while not reaching the top of prospect lists due to size, he remains one of the best in the system.
5. Yasmani Grandal- Has a decent season and gets promoted to AAA at season's end, but gets overshadowed by the above prospects.
6. Ismael Gullion- Moves on up the list quickly as talent becomes apparent.
7. Yorman Rodriguez- Stuggles despite his clear talent; remains unpolished.
8. Juan Duran- Excellent season where the tools start to come together; a favorite of scouts and big-name prospect lists.
9. Donnie Joseph- A good season should put him here, waiting in the AAA wings.
10. Todd Frazier- Has somewhat of a rebound season, but his inability to make the club by season's end has many questioning his value.

Sappelt, Alonso, and Francisco lose prospect status; LaMarre gets traded; Lotzkar injury ends his season as he falls off the prospect lists.

[medford]

For reference from a few weeks (month?) back...http://www.redszone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=87898

1) Mes (though its 50/50 he loses his prospect status)
2) Yorman Rodriquez, I think he has a huge 1st full season in Dayton
3) Grandal
4) Alonso, only question is where and whom does he play.
5) Hamilton, lack of pop takes a bit of the shine off of him, superb defense keeps him near the top.
6) Guillon, I think he makes it up to Dayton at some point and sticks. He may not make all the "experts" top 10 list, but I think he'll get up around here in the eyes of redzoners
7) Sappelt, though I think he's the strongest canidate to graduate
8) Cozart, another solid season in AAA leads many to wonder if they should trade soft J, or Cozart. Not quite Stillwell vs Larkin, but still an important debate for sure.
9) Joseph, seems like ST took some shine off of him, he polishes it back up this season, pushing for a spot in the bullpen next year.
10) Frazier, at the end of this season, he's ready to take over for Cairo as super sub

Next in line, as a few of these are likely to lose their prospect status or get moved in a deal

11) Drew Cisco, shows a ton of promise in his full season.
12) Corcino
13) Duran, I see him going one of two ways this season, either pushing his way into the top 10 by continuing on the promising improvements seen in ST, or flaming out and dropping into the 25-35 range.

[medford]

Don't know why this posted twice.

[Drugs Delaney]

1. Devin Mesoraco- Dusty and Walt will prefer that he spends most of this season in AAA due to being a catcher; he'll succeed greatly and get a late-season callup, but he won't replace Hernandez in time to shed prospect status.
2. Billy Hamilton- Struggles early with Dayton pitching and doesn't get promoted til near the end of the season, but remains high on prospect lists due to speed and defense.
3. Zack Cozart- Has a breakout season in AAA and pounds the ball for at least a .290 average and 20+ home runs, but doesn't get a callup due to blockage by Renteria, Janish, and Cairo.
4. Ronald Torreyes- Rockets up the list after another stellar season, and while not reaching the top of prospect lists due to size, he remains one of the best in the system.
5. Yasmani Grandal- Has a decent season and gets promoted to AAA at season's end, but gets overshadowed by the above prospects.
6. Ismael Gullion- Moves on up the list quickly as talent becomes apparent.
7. Yorman Rodriguez- Stuggles despite his clear talent; remains unpolished.
8. Juan Duran- Excellent season where the tools start to come together; a favorite of scouts and big-name prospect lists.
9. Donnie Joseph- A good season should put him here, waiting in the AAA wings.
10. Todd Frazier- Has somewhat of a rebound season, but his inability to make the club by season's end has many questioning his value.

Sappelt, Alonso, and Francisco lose prospect status; LaMarre gets traded; Lotzkar injury ends his season as he falls off the prospect lists.

I love this list. I agree Yorman is a bit overrated right now. And I like Torreyes as most likely to take a big leap up the rankings.

The one guy I'd add is Ryan Lamarre. I think he checks in somewhere in the top 7.

[PuffyPig]

I'm assuming Alonso, Mesoraco, Sappelt, Francisco, Cozart, and Frazier will all have graduated beyond prospect status by this time next year.

We'd have to have a boatload of injuires for all those players to lose their rookie status.

[mth123]

From the perspective of national lists next spring

1. Mesoraco
2. 2011 1st Round Pick
4. Alonso
5. Grandal
6. Y-Rod
7. Hamilton
8. Cozart
9. Sappelt
10. Duran

Others:

Francisco, Lecure, Maloney and Chapman lose eligibility
Joseph is undevalued since he's a reliever and will be left off of most lists
Frazier and Valaika drop to bench player prospect status and are other names in the footnotes on most lists.
Lotzkar doesn't hold up and drops off
Ramos, Arias, Corcino, Guillon, Correa, Sierra, Greene and Lohman are all noted as sleepers to keep an eye on and would be top 10 on many other teams.
Completely ignored are Negron, Rojas, Horst and Carroll who all could have some major league role in their futures though not as primary players.

[PuffyPig]

From the perspective of national lists next spring

1. Mesoraco
2. 2011 1st Round Pick
4. Alonso
5. Grandal
6. Y-Rod
7. Hamilton
8. Cozart
9. Sappelt
10. Duran

Others:

Francisco, Lecure, Maloney and Chapman lose eligibility
Joseph is undevalued since he's a reliever and will be left off of most lists
Frazier and Valaika drop to bench player prospect status and are other names in the footnotes on most lists.
Lotzkar doesn't hold up and drops off
Ramos, Arias, Corcino, Guillon, Correa, Sierra, Greene and Lohman are all noted as sleepers to keep an eye on and would be top 10 on many other teams.
Completely ignored are Negron, Rojas, Horst and Carroll who all could have some major league role in their futures though not as primary players.

This looks more realistic to me.

[The DARK]

From the perspective of national lists next spring

1. Mesoraco
2. 2011 1st Round Pick
4. Alonso
5. Grandal
6. Y-Rod
7. Hamilton
8. Cozart
9. Sappelt
10. Duran

Others:

Francisco, Lecure, Maloney and Chapman lose eligibility
Joseph is undevalued since he's a reliever and will be left off of most lists
Frazier and Valaika drop to bench player prospect status and are other names in the footnotes on most lists.
Lotzkar doesn't hold up and drops off
Ramos, Arias, Corcino, Guillon, Correa, Sierra, Greene and Lohman are all noted as sleepers to keep an eye on and would be top 10 on many other teams.
Completely ignored are Negron, Rojas, Horst and Carroll who all could have some major league role in their futures though not as primary players.

I see this as realistic, except that Hamilton most likely won't drop that far with his tools, Cozart should either drop off or jump up depending on his season, and Sappelt may force his way into the big leagues in time to shed prospect status.

[mth123]

I see this as realistic, except that Hamilton most likely won't drop that far with his tools, Cozart should either drop off or jump up depending on his season, and Sappelt may force his way into the big leagues in time to shed prospect status.

Don't see Sappelt getting much time unless a ton if injuries. Gomes, Lewis, Heisey and Hermida will all get a shot ahead of him IMO.

Cozart is the most under-rated prospect in the organization. Other than Mesoraco, he's the most likely guy to hold down a starting position while performing at positional league average of anyone in the system.

[Benihana]

We'd have to have a boatload of injuires for all those players to lose their rookie status.

I should have clarified: I don't really expect every one of those players to lose their rookie status this season, but for the purposes of this exercise, I wanted to take a look at the Reds medium to longterm pipeline of talent rather than get caught up in the same debates (ie Frazier vs. Francisco, Alonso vs. Mesoraco) we've been having for years on this board.

In other words, it's forecasting Reds top prospects that haven't yet made it to AAA/major league camp.

[Chey]

Joe Cassiere will be a top 10 Reds' prospect by 2013. 5 tool athlete, runs like a gazelle. He's also a homegrown athlete from our proud city.

[Benihana]

Joe Cassiere will be a top 10 Reds' prospect by 2013. 5 tool athlete, runs like a gazelle. He's also a homegrown athlete from our proud city.

Who?

[medford]

Who?

If you look at his posting history, brief though it may be, he's either some sort of spammer, or some idiot that needs to be put on ignore.