Who is Redszone's #3 prospect?

[camisadelgolf]

Who is Redszone's #3 prospect?

#1 C Devin Mesoraco
#2 1B/OF Yonder Alonso

[redsfandan]

I think some might be weighing upside a little too much. Cozart doesn't have the highest upside. But, if all I cared about was upside then Yorman would be in my top 5 or maybe even top 3. Floor matters to me as well and Cozart has a medium to high floor with no glaring problems. There's too many questions about Hamilton for him to rank #3. And while Grandal is good he has to improve his defense. That's not a problem for Cozart. He'll be the first Reds shortstop in years that can provide both plus defense AND plus offense. That does it for me.

[cinreds21]

I don't want to vote for Yas here but I will.

[The DARK]

I think that Grandal should be rated higher than Cozart here. Grandal plays a more important position, has higher upside with an excellent probability of reaching it, is a switch hitter, and is coming off an even better season than Cozart. The only thing that Cozart has on him is higher-level experience and defensive abilities, and Grandal is in the process of closing that gap.

Our farm system is looking quite strong right now in terms of position players. We've got future starters at every position, and a few potential stars in the making as well; making a trade seems more opportune than ever. With the exception of necessary upper-level components (Mesoraco and Cozart), any of these guys could reasonably be traded.

[lollipopcurve]

Cozart -- legit SS with some power and speed. That's pretty rare.

[bubbachunk]

Grandal, running away

[crazybob60]

I voted Cozart at number 2 and I will vote him as my number 3 (if cozart would have been at number 2, then I would have put Alonso here)

[dougdirt]

Grandal, easily. All Star upside. Relatively high floor as well. Close to ready or ready for AAA.

[RedsManRick]

D'oh. Picked Yorman, meant Yasmani.... looks like it won't matter much. Had a tough time between Grandal and Cozart. Cozart is just old.

Corcino, Cozart, Sappelt probably next few.

[HokieRed]

Grandal. I think RZ undervalues him a little in general. I hope he doesn't go in a deal.

[BuckeyeRedleg]

Grandal. No other choice for me here.

[redsfandan]

I think that Grandal should be rated higher than Cozart here. Grandal plays a more important position, has higher upside with an excellent probability of reaching it, is a switch hitter, and is coming off an even better season than Cozart. The only thing that Cozart has on him is higher-level experience and defensive abilities, and Grandal is in the process of closing that gap.

- One plays short, one plays catcher. I'd say they're both pretty important positions. (more on that later)

- It's debatable who had the better season. Cozart had his season split between AAA and the majors. Grandal was in high A and AA with a whopping 12 abs in AAA. Now you could point to Cozart only having 37 abs in the majors. But, the fact that he did well in those 37 abs in the majors should count for something. The only thing we can say for sure is that both had good seasons.

As for his defense:

He (Grandal) did have 19 passed balls on the season and the reports on his defense were quite a bit worse than the ones on him coming out of the draft. He is expected to remain at the catcher position in the long run, but his ceiling defensively seems to be more that of an average backstop than an above average one that some had originally pegged him as coming out of Miami.
- per Doug on his site http://redsminorleagues.com/2011/10/...arm-catcher-2/

Defensive reports were actually quite lackluster this year.

Yes, but there are two differences.... first, you said he (Grandal) had good defense, which, at least according to reports this season, wasn't entirely accurate. Secondly, Mesoraco has better tools defensively and always has. So even when he wasn't all that good back there, the tools were.
- per Doug in the #1 prospect thread.

Both Cozart and Grandal play positions were defense is pretty important. Defense at catcher is especially important. Cozart has above average defense. BUT, according to Doug, the defensive ceiling for Grandal is an average catcher and that he doesn't have the tools, defensively, that Mes has. The Dark said that Grandal plays a more important position and is in the process of closing the gap in defensive ability. If Doug's right that's not gonna happen. And this isn't fantasy baseball where only offense counts. Now, I'm not going to get my hopes up that Cozart will produce like he did in those 37 abs (although it would be pretty impressive if he had 29 homers but only 44 rbi ). But, he is expected to be above average. So, it really depends on how much you value defense vs offense at catcher. I'm NOT saying that Grandal will be a defensive liability. I AM saying that an argument could be made that Cozart is the better all-around prospect. I think that's pretty important considering the positions they play.

[TRF]

Soto. He'll be at AAA in 2012, got a taste this year, likely has the most power (consistent power) of any player in the system including Francisco.

[mdccclxix]

One point about Grandal's defense that I think bears repeating is that the staff in Bakersfield was very wild. They led the league with 128 wild pitches in 140 games. Most MLB teams end up with half that number. Often much less. 14 of his passed balls were in Bakersfield in 44 games. In his other 46 games last year he had 5 passed balls. So, while this fact doesn't disprove the defensive reports, it introduces doubt that they were colored with a fully representative outlook. As far as Cozart vs Grandal in defensive terms, again, I think we need to be patient and see where things end up. I've heard a wide range about Cozart's defense - from average to great.

[marcshoe]

Grandal. Pretty impressive rise through the system. I'm not sure he'll ever be a Red, but hey, that's what prospects are for sometimes.