ProjectProspect.com's Top 25 - 2 Reds

[dougdirt]

Its 430am, I give up on trying to format it better. I need sleep, here is the list.

http://projectprospect.com/article/2...-prospect-list

Rk  	   Player  	   	Pos  	   	Comments  	   	Age  	   	Org  	   	Lvl
1 	  Jason Heyward 	  RF 	  	Has the skills to turn into one of baseball's best hitters; back injury is a concern 	  	20.7 	  	ATL 	  	AAA
2 	  Desmond Jennings 	  CF 	  	Solid bet to surface as an above-average big leaguer, with his D and contact bat 	  	23.4 	  	TB 	  	AAA
3 	  Jesus Montero 	  C/DH 	  	Sick power bat and an elite contact hitter, though he's probably not a catcher 	  	20.4 	  	NYY 	  	AA
4 	  Stephen Strasburg 	  RHP 	  	May emerge as No. 1 as soon as '10; painful mechanics will likely lead to injury 	  	21.7 	  	WAS 	  	NCAA
5 	  Carlos Santana 	  C 	  	Power-hitting catcher with outstanding patience; could become a plus defender 	  	24.0 	  	CLE 	  	AA
6 	  Dustin Ackley 	  CF/LF 	  In convo for decade's best college hitter; patient LD bat and good defensive OF 	  	22.1 	  	SEA 	  	NCAA
7 	  Brian Matusz 	  	LHP 	  	Command pitcher with a power arsenal and MLB track record; potential No. 1-2 	  	23.2 	  	BAL 	  	MLB
8 	  Buster Posey 	  	C 	  	Polished all-around hitter and a solid defender; very high floor as well as ceiling 	23.0 	  	SF 	  	MLB
9 	  Justin Smoak 	  	1B 	  	Elite patience and power to go along with good contact skills; limited to 1B on D 	  	23.3 	  	TEX 	  	AAA
10 	  Fernando Martinez 	  LF/RF 	  Plus power and contact skills could allow him to ascend to stardom one day 	  	21.5 	  	NYM 	  	MLB
11 	  Alcides Escobar 	  SS 	  	One of baseball's best defensive SS; elite contact bat but not much power or BB 	  	23.3 	  	MIL 	  	MLB
12 	  Pedro Alvarez 	  3B 	  	Awesome power hitter; probably doesn't have the agility for 3B; will K often 	  	23.2 	  	PIT 	  	AA
13 	  Michael Taylor 	  LF/RF 	  Making unbelievable strides as a pro; scary part is he could continue to improve 	24.3 	  	OAK 	  	AAA
14 	  Neftali Feliz 	  RHP 	  	Stuff is filthy (FB sat 93-96 in MLB);will he be able to jump up to SP innings? 	  	21.9 	  	TEX 	  	MLB
15 	  Michael Stanton 	  RF 	  	No one doubts 80 power -- also patient; contact struggles do give him a low floor 	20.4 	  	FLA 	  	AA
16 	  Josh Bell 	  	3B 	  	Should be solid defender; patient, powerful & works the count well; could K a lot 	  	23.4 	  	BAL 	  	AA
17 	  Yonder Alonso 	  1B 	  	Very polished LD hitter; patient + makes lots of contact; how much power is here? 	23.0 	  	CIN 	  	AA
18 	  Jaff Decker 	  	LF 	  	Above-average power hitter and extremely patient; better athlete than most think 	  	20.1 	  	SD 	  	A
19 	  Logan Morrison 	  1B 	  	Safe bet for a lengthy career; swing + approach may not lead to very much power 	  	22.6 	  	FLA 	  	AA
20 	  Mike Leake 	  	RHP 	  	Combines plus plus command and outstanding movement; likely No. 3 - maybe 2 	  	22.4 	  	CIN 	  	NCAA
21 	  Jhoulys Chacin 	  RHP 	  	Great sinking FB & plus changeup; curve flashes plus break; chance to be a No. 2 	  	22.2 	  	COL 	  	MLB
22 	  James Darnell 	  3B 	  	Good bet to be solid MLBer; swing resembles J. Upton's - not as explosive, though 	23.2 	  	SD 	  	A+
23 	  Madison Bumgarner 	  LHP 	  	No. 1-2 upside; stellar command of deceptive FB; SL is erratic; change lack polish 	20.7 	  	SF 	  	MLB
24 	  Domonic Brown 	  RF 	  	Quick-twitch athlete has great bat speed; awkward swing mechanics limit ceiling 	22.6 	  	PHI 	  	AA
25 	  Chris Carter 	  	1B 	  	Monster power will come w/ perhaps 200 Ks a year -- patient too; no value on D 	  	23.3 	  	OAK 	  	AAA

[Kingspoint]

Leake may be #20, but he's the #4 Pitcher!

[HokieRed]

A lot better assessment of Alonso. LD guy who hits the ball. 1b in Cinti by July.

[lollipopcurve]

IMO, these lists are more fun to look at years down the road. I think this one might be especially interesting since there are some names here that haven't been as highly thought of elsewhere.

[Benihana]

Chapman?

[GOYA]

Sleep is good. :-) Here's a little improvement.

Originally Posted by dougdirt

Its 430am, I give up on trying to format it better. I need sleep, here is the list.

Rk  	   Player  	   	Pos  	   	Comments  	   	                                                                        Age  	   	Org  	   	Lvl
1 	  Jason Heyward 	  RF 	  	Has the skills to turn into one of baseball's best hitters; back injury is a concern 	  	20.7 	  	ATL 	  	AAA
2 	  Desmond Jennings 	  CF 	  	Solid bet to surface as an above-average big leaguer, with his D and contact bat 	  	23.4 	  	TB 	  	AAA
3 	  Jesus Montero 	  C/DH 	  	Sick power bat and an elite contact hitter, though he's probably not a catcher 	  	        20.4 	  	NYY 	  	AA
4 	  Stephen Strasburg 	  RHP 	  	May emerge as No. 1 as soon as '10; painful mechanics will likely lead to injury 	  	21.7 	  	WAS 	  	NCAA
5 	  Carlos Santana 	  C 	  	Power-hitting catcher with outstanding patience; could become a plus defender 	  	        24.0 	  	CLE 	  	AA
6 	  Dustin Ackley 	  CF/LF 	  In convo for decade's best college hitter; patient LD bat and good defensive OF 	  	22.1 	  	SEA 	  	NCAA
7 	  Brian Matusz 	  	LHP 	  	Command pitcher with a power arsenal and MLB track record; potential No. 1-2 	  	       23.2 	  	BAL 	  	MLB
8 	  Buster Posey 	  	C 	  	Polished all-around hitter and a solid defender; very high floor as well as ceiling    	        23.0 	  	SF 	  	MLB
9 	  Justin Smoak 	  	1B 	  	Elite patience and power to go along with good contact skills; limited to 1B on D 	  	23.3 	  	TEX 	  	AAA
10 	  Fernando Martinez 	  LF/RF 	  Plus power and contact skills could allow him to ascend to stardom one day 	  	        21.5 	  	NYM 	  	MLB
11 	  Alcides Escobar 	  SS 	  	One of baseball's best defensive SS; elite contact bat but not much power or BB 	  	23.3 	  	MIL 	  	MLB
12 	  Pedro Alvarez 	  3B 	  	Awesome power hitter; probably doesn't have the agility for 3B; will K often 	  	        23.2 	  	PIT 	  	AA
13 	  Michael Taylor 	  LF/RF 	  Making unbelievable strides as a pro; scary part is he could continue to improve 	        24.3 	  	OAK 	  	AAA
14 	  Neftali Feliz 	  RHP 	  	Stuff is filthy (FB sat 93-96 in MLB);will he be able to jump up to SP innings? 	  	21.9 	  	TEX 	  	MLB
15 	  Michael Stanton 	  RF 	  	No one doubts 80 power -- also patient; contact struggles do give him a low floor 	       20.4 	  	FLA 	  	AA
16 	  Josh Bell 	  	3B 	  	Should be solid defender; patient, powerful & works the count well; could K a lot 	  	23.4 	  	BAL 	  	AA
17 	  Yonder Alonso 	  1B 	  	Very polished LD hitter; patient + makes lots of contact; how much power is here? 	       23.0 	  	CIN 	  	AA
18 	  Jaff Decker 	  	LF 	  	Above-average power hitter and extremely patient; better athlete than most think 	  	20.1 	  	SD 	  	A
19 	  Logan Morrison 	  1B 	  	Safe bet for a lengthy career; swing + approach may not lead to very much power 	  	22.6 	  	FLA 	  	AA
20 	  Mike Leake 	  	RHP 	  	Combines plus plus command and outstanding movement; likely No. 3 - maybe 2 	  	       22.4 	  	CIN 	  	NCAA
21 	  Jhoulys Chacin 	  RHP 	  	Great sinking FB & plus changeup; curve flashes plus break; chance to be a No. 2 	  	22.2 	  	COL 	  	MLB
22 	  James Darnell 	  3B 	  	Good bet to be solid MLBer; swing resembles J. Upton's - not as explosive, though 	     23.2 	  	SD 	  	A+
23 	  Madison Bumgarner 	  LHP 	  	No. 1-2 upside; stellar command of deceptive FB; SL is erratic; change lack polish 	     20.7 	  	SF 	  	MLB
24 	  Domonic Brown 	  RF 	  	Quick-twitch athlete has great bat speed; awkward swing mechanics limit ceiling 	     22.6 	  	PHI 	  	AA
25 	  Chris Carter 	  	1B 	  	Monster power will come w/ perhaps 200 Ks a year -- patient too; no value on D 	  	     23.3 	  	OAK 	  	AAA

[dougdirt]

Originally Posted by Benihana

Chapman?

I think his control problems left him out. I didn't ask, but talking with Adam in the past he said he was around #30.

[Benihana]

Originally Posted by dougdirt

I think his control problems left him out. I didn't ask, but talking with Adam in the past he said he was around #30.

Have to believe he's a better prospect at this point than Leake, Chacin, etc.

He has a similar ETA and significantly higher upside than both. Just sayin

[Scrap Irony]

Strasburg with "painful mechanics" and likely to get injured?

Really? Does this guy have information no one else does or is this just hyperbole?

And ignoring Chapman's ceiling, while extolling the virtues of FMart, Chacin, Stanton, and Alvarez?

I can understand his need to be different just to stand out and increase traffic to his site, but, wow, that list is strange, to say the least. It's all over the place.

[dougdirt]

Originally Posted by Benihana

Have to believe he's a better prospect at this point than Leake, Chacin, etc.

He has a similar ETA and significantly higher upside than both. Just sayin

Also has a floor of a set up man with poor control, while Leake and Chacin have floors of #4 starters with 180 innings.

[dougdirt]

Originally Posted by Scrap Irony

Strasburg with "painful mechanics" and likely to get injured?

Really? Does this guy have information no one else does or is this just hyperbole?

And ignoring Chapman's ceiling, while extolling the virtues of FMart, Chacin, Stanton, and Alvarez?

I can understand his need to be different just to stand out and increase traffic to his site, but, wow, that list is strange, to say the least. It's all over the place.

I think you are going to see Chapman around the 20-40 range on most lists.

And just about everywhere on the internet you can read about Strasburg's mechanics not being clean.

[Scrap Irony]

Not being clean is fine. I object, however, to the hyperbole of almost certain injury.

And Chapman has been called the #2 prospect last season just behind Strasburg by more than one industry expert. How he drops to the 40 range is difficult to believe.

[dougdirt]

Originally Posted by Scrap Irony

Not being clean is fine. I object, however, to the hyperbole of almost certain injury.

And Chapman has been called the #2 prospect last season just behind Strasburg by more than one industry expert. How he drops to the 40 range is difficult to believe.

Because while some experts said #2, some also said bullpen guy. Personally, I wouldn't have him higher than #20 or so until I see his control improve at the pro level.

[AtomicDumpling]

Originally Posted by Scrap Irony

I can understand his need to be different just to stand out and increase traffic to his site, but, wow, that list is strange, to say the least. It's all over the place.

I think Adam Foster and the Project Prospect crew do a very thorough job. They go to a lot of minor league games, spring training games and videotape hundreds of prospects. They are very serious about evaluating prospects. I don't think they go to all that trouble just so they can be different to get attention. Their list is based on their educated opinion, not a desire to stir up controversy.

I value their opinions and enjoy their work. The fact they don't agree with some of the other lists makes their work more interesting. It wouldn't be very compelling reading if everyone agreed on all the prospects. That is why they are called "prospects" instead of sure-thing future stars. Opinions vary even among the experts.

[dougdirt]

The most important thing about prospects lists isn't the little number next to a guys name, its the information next to the guys name. We all see things differently, but when we can put all of the opinions together, we can see a lot of different angles on players that we may not have otherwise seen.