Who is Redszone's #27 prospect?

[OnBaseMachine]

Redszone's Top Prospects

Prospect #1 - Yonder Alonso
Prospect #2 - Todd Frazier
Prospect #3 - Neftali Soto
Prospect #4 - Drew Stubbs
Prospect #5 - Chris Valaika
Prospect #6 - Kyle Lotzkar
Prospect #7 - Daryl Thompson
Prospect #8 - Juan Francisco
Prospect #9 - Juan Duran
Prospect #10 - Chris Dickerson
Prospect #11 - Devin Mesoraco
Prospect #12 - Danny Dorn
Prospect #13 - Yorman Rodriguez
Prospect #14 - Zach Stewart
Prospect #15 - Josh Roenicke
Prospect #16 - Ramon Ramirez
Prospect #17 - Zach Cozart
Prospect #18 - Matt Maloney
Prospect #19 - Carlos Fisher
Prospect #20 - Chris Heisey
Prospect #21 - Ryan Hanigan
Prospect #22 - Dallas Buck
Prospect #23 - Adam Rosales
Prospect #24 - Alex Buchholz
Prospect #25 - Travis Wood
Prospect #26 - Jeremy Horst

[OnBaseMachine]

I'll go with Pedro Viola. Viola has quality stuff and is a lefty. He's got a fastball in the 93-95 mph range and he mixes in a plus slider and a changeup. The Reds plan on using him as a starter in 2009 but he may shift back to the bullpen if that's where he's needed. My hope is he can develop into a Rafael Perez type of arm out of the bullpen.

[mace]

I like Viola -- lyrical name and everything -- and he pitched well last year after they moved him into the rotation (much like Horst). But he'll be 26 this year and hasn't seen AAA yet. I gotta go with Hildenbrandt, who had a very impressive debut season at 19.

[camisadelgolf]

Originally Posted by camisadelgolf

 Year  Age Tm  Lg  Lvl Aff   G    AB    R    H   2B  3B  HR  RBI  BB   SO    BA   OBP   SLG   OPS   SB   CS  SB%  SH  SF IBB HBP GDP
+----+----+---+---+---+---+----+-----+----+----+---+---+---+----+----+----+-----+-----+-----+-----+----+---+----+---+---+---+---+---+
 2008   21 BIL PIO Rk  CIN   62   254   47   76  19   5   7   35   21   45  .299  .354  .496  .850    6   3  67%   2   1   0   1   5

Sappelt is a toolsy, stocky outfielder who turns 22 next month and will almost definitely be Dayton's starting center fielder. Baseball America rated Sappelt as the Reds' best defensive draft pick of 2008.

Let me sum that up for you:
Sappelt is said to play an above-average center field, which is a prime defensive positon, and on top of that, he is very toolsy and has production to go with it.

Before he was drafted, scouts questioned his strike zone knowledge, but Sappelt is quickly putting that question to rest, managing to put together a .354 OBP while striking out only 45 times in 62 games.

That leaves only one thing working against him: his size. He's only 5'9", but somehow, he manages to put up good power numbers. Keep in mind, though, that he's projected to be a center fielder, so he doesn't necessarily need to continue his .850 OPS to be a very valuable player. However, if he does continue to produce at this rate, we could be seeing a future Kirby Puckett, who was almost identical in size and skill set.

[klw]

I am somewhat shocked that Herrera, Manuel and Sulbaran are all up on the board still.

[OnBaseMachine]

Wow. There are already Juan Duran cards available on ebay. That's surprising, I figured it would be at least next summer before any Duran cards were released.

[OnBaseMachine]

Sulbaran too.

[bubbachunk]

OK I will bite

Sappelt it is

[camisadelgolf]

Originally Posted by OnBaseMachine

Wow. There are already Juan Duran cards available on ebay. That's surprising, I figured it would be at least next summer before any Duran cards were released.

"draft pick"

[AmarilloRed]

Robert Manuel had an amazing season at AA last year. The most impressive to me: 14 walks, 92 strikeouts. He gets my vote this time.

[Mario-Rijo]

Originally Posted by AmarilloRed

Robert Manuel had an amazing season at AA last year. The most impressive to me: 14 walks, 92 strikeouts. He gets my vote this time.

I was down to Manuel and Henry on this one, but I am still going Henry. How he can get ranked so high by an established prospect guru (top 20 Reds Prospect) and not get much support here surprises me.

[icehole3]

Originally Posted by Mario-Rijo

I was down to Manuel and Henry on this one, but I am still going Henry. How he can get ranked so high by an established prospect guru (top 20 Reds Prospect) and not get much support here surprises me.

It's OBM fault, I keep following his picks, he's all over the place.

[Mario-Rijo]

Originally Posted by icehole3

It's OBM fault, I keep following his picks, he's all over the place.

[camisadelgolf]

For what it's worth, even Terrell Young was selected in the rule five draft while Sean Henry was not. I understand liking his numbers, but I think he's already pretty much reached his ceiling, which was fairly low to begin with imo. I'm rooting for him, but I think almost all of the prospects listed above have more worth.

[JayBruceFan]

If he was good the Mets would not have traded him for Jeff Conine