I'd put our top 5 prospects up against anyone's...

[Benihana]

Homer Bailey
Joey Votto
Jay Bruce
Travis Wood
Johnny Cueto

Can you honestly name three teams whose top five prospects can compare favorably? I know depth has been said to be our problem and this does nothing to address that, but at the top we are as good as anyone if not better.

[BRM]

Four of those guys were drafted/signed by the Dan O'Brien regime, correct? I think Votto was drafted by Bowden's crew.

[New Fever]

That is a valid arguement because Homer Bailey may just be the #1 prospect in baseball and Jay Bruce is in the top 10 to 15 range. Joey Votto is in the 20 to 30 range. Travis Wood, Drew Stubbs, Johnny Cueto, Chris Denofria all have a shot at the Top 100 list this year. I have even seen a list where Phil Dumatrait was rated 109. I know depth is an issue but I'm starting to think we might have the best top end prospects outside of the Devil Rays.

[dougdirt]

Our top 5 is VERY good. Heck, our 1-2 combo may be the best in all of baseball.

[nmculbreth]

Our top 5 is VERY good. Heck, our 1-2 combo may be the best in all of baseball.

Indeed. The problem is the mammoth dropoff from the top five to the next five.

[New Fever]

But almost everyone team has that drop off except for the DRays, Rockies, Angels. Even the Dodgers have a steep drop off now that some of their guys have been promoted to the big leagues.

[nmculbreth]

But almost everyone team has that drop off except for the DRays, Rockies, Angels. Even the Dodgers have a steep drop off now that some of their guys have been promoted to the big leagues.

That's a fair. I guess my point is that if we had any depth behind our top five we'd have a top five farm system instead of a middle of the pack system. It just seems like after the top five you're got a bunch of low ceiling guys and a lot of unfulfilled potential.

[Crash Davis]

Indeed. The problem is the mammoth dropoff from the top five to the next five.

Better to have 1 or 2 top flight, grade A, can't miss prospects than a dozen hope-so's and could-be's.

[Benihana]

Better to have 1 or 2 top flight, grade A, can't miss prospects than a dozen hope-so's and could-be's.


agreed. The Bowden era was characterized by that, with dozens of "C" prospects as opposed to a couple "A's."

Give me Bailey, Bruce and Votto over Rico Aramboles, Josh Hall, Brian Reith, Mike Frank, Dane Sardinha, Dustin Moseley, Jackson Melian, Ty Howington, Justin Gillman, et. al. any day.

[paulrichjr]

Four of those guys were drafted/signed by the Dan O'Brien regime, correct? I think Votto was drafted by Bowden's crew.

He did what he said he would do. I know he is hated on this board but you have to admit he did exactly what he said he would do. If he had had 5 years of drafting we just might have ended up as a top team for a long time. I really can't fault the guy for some of the stuff that happened under him because it seems looking back that Uncle Carl had a goal that was not consistant year to year. One year it was build with the farm and the next it was here is $30 million now go sign a pitcher. I believe you have to have a goal that is consistant for the long haul. If you want to win "this year" then you have to do like the Reds are doing this year. If you want to win over the long run you do what the Marlins did this past winter. It has been a long time since we had an owner that I truly believe in but I believe that Cast is one of the best owners in baseball.

[Aronchis]

Considering the poorness outside Bailey of the 2004 draft, the list isn't surprising. Still pretty green system. Another solid year by those 5, then we talk.

Given O'brien 5 drafts, could he have rebuilt the system to elite status? Probably not.

[fearofpopvol1]

I don't think many people would argue that O'Brien had a decent idea when it came to drafting (or his scouts/people did). That's probably the ONLY thing he did right. Then he goes and signs Milton. Go figure.

[Cooper]

Part of being a good leader is the ability to sell your plan to your employees and the buying public. DOB may have had the abilty to make good drafts, but he had absolutely no abilty to sell the idea of "let's wait for 5 years and see what we got". Part of the problem may have been ownership -they may have no surrounded him with a good PR man to help buffer his lack of skill in that area....but if your gonna go down the 5 Year Plan road you better be a good salesman or a good communist.

[New Fever]

Our farm was also ranked dead last, 30th place last season. He had the one strike rule for hitters and tandem pitching which wasn't working. Dan O may have had good people in place for drafting but the system was still in bad shape because of all his rules.