John Sickels Midseason Top 120 (no draft picks included)

[Benihana]

Sickels re: Henry Rodriguez:

Henry Rodriguez, Reds
When he is back healthy what do you think his big league ceiling is? And do you see him as more or a 2B, 3B, or UT?

He was off to a great start again this yea before getting hurt and has done nothing but hit as a pro and has good gap power it seems

by mattp31 on Jul 2, 2012 11:22 AM EDT via mobile reply

hrod
Henry is a very interesting player….he always hits well, but scouts don’t seem to like his glove much and are always coming up with excuses to downgrade him. If rehab goes well and he keeps hitting, he would be a candidate in August.

by John Sickels on Jul 2, 2012 7:53 PM EDT up reply

and re: Stephenson

Robert Stephenson
Does he deserve to be mentioned with the top 2011 arms, or is his ceiling a notch or two lower?

by daveh33 on Jul 2, 2012 10:59 AM EDT reply

Stephenson
I am very impressed with Stephenson and consider him one of the top pitchers from the 2011 draft, in terms of longterm potential anyway. Let’s see how he does in shortseason ball but he could easily move up the August list

by John Sickels on Jul 2, 2012 7:30 PM EDT up reply

[Benihana]

Sickels re: Henry Rodriguez:

Henry Rodriguez, Reds
When he is back healthy what do you think his big league ceiling is? And do you see him as more or a 2B, 3B, or UT?

He was off to a great start again this yea before getting hurt and has done nothing but hit as a pro and has good gap power it seems

by mattp31 on Jul 2, 2012 11:22 AM EDT via mobile reply

hrod
Henry is a very interesting player….he always hits well, but scouts don’t seem to like his glove much and are always coming up with excuses to downgrade him. If rehab goes well and he keeps hitting, he would be a candidate in August.

by John Sickels on Jul 2, 2012 7:53 PM EDT up reply

and re: Stephenson

Robert Stephenson
Does he deserve to be mentioned with the top 2011 arms, or is his ceiling a notch or two lower?

by daveh33 on Jul 2, 2012 10:59 AM EDT reply

Stephenson
I am very impressed with Stephenson and consider him one of the top pitchers from the 2011 draft, in terms of longterm potential anyway. Let’s see how he does in shortseason ball but he could easily move up the August list

by John Sickels on Jul 2, 2012 7:30 PM EDT up reply

[M2]

Hamilton gets some helium because he plays SS. If he were an OF I have no doubt his ranking would be lower.

These lists tend to be fluid. I'd like to it be broken up by level of play (a list for AAA-AA, another for A ball, another for short-season and rookie ball). For instance, if Gerrit Cole fails to dominate in AA then he's going to drop. It doesn't really mean he's less of a prospect, just that he's taking time to adjust. Yet these big lists tend to gravitate toward the flavor of the day.

Nice thing about the Reds is how quickly the system is restocking after the Latos deal. To me, that's a mark of a strong system.

[The DARK]

Cingrani jumps up a bunch of notches if Tom Brown can keep polishing his offspeed pitches. Power lefties with good command don't generally have much trouble in the lower minors, but can get found out in a starting role the higher they go without good secondary pitches. Judging by his last couple starts, he hasn't had much trouble adjusting.

[REDblooded]

Originally Posted by OesterPoster

Ruh-roh. Wonder if he has some pain somewhere. I saw him against Dayton when he was in Low A, and the guy was practically unhittable.

Homer Bailey unhittable?

[dougdirt]

Originally Posted by The DARK

Cingrani jumps up a bunch of notches if Tom Brown can keep polishing his offspeed pitches. Power lefties with good command don't generally have much trouble in the lower minors, but can get found out in a starting role the higher they go without good secondary pitches. Judging by his last couple starts, he hasn't had much trouble adjusting.

I am looking forward to watching his start from tonight at some point this week. The numbers were good, but I don't care much about those if they were done mostly with the #1. I want to see the #2 and #3.

[Vottomatic]

Originally Posted by dougdirt

Rodriguez just doesn't have a lot of upside. He is probably close to being a finished product. He isn't going to find his power he has been missing like some of those guys have a chance to. He isn't going to be an outstanding defender (likely) like some of those guys might be.

Geez. I called Latos a finished product on the ORG and got lambasted for it and you're saying a minor leaguer is a finished product??? Hmmmm.

[dougdirt]

Originally Posted by Vottomatic

Geez. I called Latos a finished product on the ORG and got lambasted for it and you're saying a minor leaguer is a finished product??? Hmmmm.

Where is Rodriguez going to significantly improve his game? His power isn't likely going to get better. He is a small guy who has absolute pull only power. He already has very high contact rates, so cutting down the strikeouts probably won't happen much. He doesn't have outstanding defensive tools that are in need of refinement, so he probably isn't going to all of a sudden turn into an outstanding defender (like say a Billy Hamilton who could because of his toolset but raw skillset at this point).

With Latos, he is probably a close to finished product as well. He really isn't much different today than he was a year or even 2 years ago from a skillset standpoint. His ERA is different, but his skillset isn't.

[dougdirt]

More from Sickels:

Lutz has real power but he also has real contact issues….big question if his batting average and OBP will holdup at higher levels.

Sulbaran was never reeally off the radar. Not a top 150 guy, but he’s got talent and someo command refinements would take him a long way.

When asked about where Hamilton may wind up defensively, he said this

I think he ends up at 2B or CF, although he’s had enough improvement at SS to stick there awhile longer.