John Sickels' Rankings

[lollipopcurve]

This guy sounds like a scout. Not very complimentary about the Reds' AZL players.

http://thebaseballprospect.blogspot....prospects.html

http://thebaseballprospect.blogspot....instructs.html

He says he will talk in greater depth about the players he has seen out there if anyone is interested.

Great find. This is the best scouting I've seen on the AZL guys, by a lot. Thanks for posting.

Only thing I question is his saying Reynoso's speed is below average. Guy led the AZL in steals. I liked the report that Reynoso's swing is nice and compact. Good to see some positive on Pedro Diaz too.

Also interesting that he says Travieso reported to the AZL a bit out of shape. Whether that means he was overweight or his arm wasn't ready, I don't know. But BA has said he didn't show the overpowering heat that draft reports attributed to him.

All in all, I don't see how you can't have at least a smidgeon of concern about Travieso. He was something of an overdraft (not a huge concern, though, when a guy ranked in the 40s goes in the 20s), the explanation being that he had shown high 90s velocity. The concern creeps in when his calling card is not in evidence after the draft. That's where I am with the guy. Until he shows what was considered his best quality, my expectations are guarded (far more so than for Winker, for example).