Loading ...I’m not sure how I missed it — perhaps it got lost in the glee over my alma mater actually winning a few football games lately — but our buddy Doug over at Redsminorleagues.com has been counting down his list of the Top 40 Prospects in the Reds system. As always, Doug has given a lot of thought to these rankings, and despite a few disagreements, Doug’s work is excellent.
Here are 1-10, 11-20, 21-30, and 31-40. Great stuff.
Go over there to read them all, but I will reveal the top 3: Yonder Alonso, Neftali Soto, and Drew Stubbs. (And there is at least one player who didn’t make the list that I had hoped to see there; I’ll let you guess who).
I can’t believe how quickly every one has given up on Homer Bailey especially after the lone AAA playoff win he pitched.
Wow, a lot of impressive numbers thrown around in the rankings. Here’s hoping to successful seasons for all of them.
Homer wasn’t on the list anywhere because he doesn’t qualify as a prospect anymore, at least in Doug’s system.
Homer wasn’t on the list anywhere because he doesn’t qualify as a prospect anymore, at least in Doug’s system. Doug said in the comments Homer would easily be in the top 3-4 if he still qualified.
To hell with all that. The real story is Doug’s 3D nav panels. They freak me out. Takes me back to those Kellogg’s 3D cards I used to pull out of boxes of Corn Flakes in the early 70s.
I loved those! Used to buy a lot of Frosted Flakes to get those!
Doug’s rankings are cool, too.
Thanks for the link Chad. I bet the guy or guys that you are talking about were probably on the list at one time or another. I did 5 different drafts before finally coming to the final one and there were 51 guys who were actually in the top 40 at one point or another. Just a ridiculous amount of depth. As I noted on my site, I feel confident someone who missed my top 40 will be a major leaguer who gets much more than a cup of coffee. One or two of those guys might write on this site every now and again too (Parker and Klinker certainly have the skills to be in the majors some day).
As for Bailey, in the prospect world the general rule is, if a player isn’t eligible for the Rookie of the Year award the next season then they aren’t exactly a ‘prospect’ anymore. Bailey has more than 50ip in the majors now, so he can’t win that award next year so he missed out on the list.
Package Bailey in a trade for Saltamacchia. He’ll do just fine in Texas.
Why would the Rangers make that deal?
My problem with rankings like this are that he has Yonder #1 and the guy has what…half a dozen minor league ABs? I’d rate other #1’s over him until he shows me something. I hope Doug’s right and he’s “all that”, but until he shows me something, he’s not the #1 prospect.
Mike,
Where are you going to play Salty? The guy is a catcher only because managers allow him to wear catchers equiptment. He can’t throw runners out and can’t block the plate. The last thing we need is another first baseman with Votto/Alonso/Frazier already making you think ahead about how to go about that situation.
Package Bailey in a trade for Saltamacchia. He’ll do just fine in Texas.
Trade him to Texas for Hamilton.
I was actually pretty happy w/ Hanigan. He won’t slug many HR’s, but if he puts up a .367 OBP and is decent behind the plate, I’ll be thrilled.
I’d be happy to see him get 300-400 AB’s for the Reds next year.
(That said… if the Reds could come up with a catcher who is a strong offensive threat, they’d be well ahead of most teams.)
Where is Danny ray herrera. Has great numbers. Lead AAA Bats all year in era. Had a strech of 6 weeks, 20 appearances no runs. ???????????
Doug has a rule that you have to weigh at least 150 lbs to make the list.
Yeah, what about Herera and even Jukich should have been in the bottom 10. Maybe they didn’t give up on Bailey as they don’t see him being in the minors next year…either gone or pitching in majors. I am extremely excited about next year! About the young players that is…
mhopp…. Herrera and Jukich don’t project the best to the major leagues. they were both in the 41-50 range, but aren’t exactly guys I would look at as ones who will be making a big difference in the majors.
While fully admitting that I’m not a scout and, well, OK, I’ve never even laid eyes on Herrera… I am very excited about him.
I love his strikeout/ground-ball ways! That’s exactly what the Reds need, and it’s a tough combo to find.
I really like Herrera and it’s always nice to dream about finding gold in those players who are “throw ins” for trades. I think he can have some moderate success if he’s well insulated. I think that screw ball type pitch he throws can be very effective until you’ve seen it three or more times. After that I’m not sure he would be a ground ball pitcher any more….
I’ll ask the same thing I asked Doug b/c…where’s RN’s own Matt Klinker?
Klinker was my 41st guy. He was in the top 40 on several different drafts. He is one of the guys outside the top 40 that I feel has a legit chance to be in the majors one day along with Logan Parker and Craig Tatum.
i would like to see parker and herrera play together again in the future after all they were team mates in selsct ball and all through high school
Excellent point about Herrera from all angles. Thing is, he’s left-handed and those people have the shelf life of Christmas fruit cake.
Herrera is one of those odd players who doesn’t fit any physical or statistical measure of scouts, coaches or evaluators, but he somehow gets the job done. He also appears to be someone who keeps getting better.
We see it all the time in football and baseball–the unsung, physically- and talent-challenged guys who end up having very nice careers. If the Reds lose Affeldt they will need another lefty in the bullpen. Why not Herrera getting a shot?
Holy crap, Chris, that’s funny at No. 15. But is there a constitutional amendment that protects Herrera from Doug’s obvious malice?
Didn’t Jukich play in the Arizona Fall League last year? Obviously the Reds thought highly of him.
I’m going to play amateur GM for a second… give me your feedback on this idea…
Here’s the thinking behind this:
–I think Brandon Phillips, while a very good player, is currently overvalued (mainly b/c of his poor OBP that no one seems to talk about – career OBP .308).
–I think Rickie Weeks is undervalued (Brewers are sick of his defense – in fact they traded for Ray Durham this year… but he has a career OBP of .352.)
–Reds need a LHP in the starting rotation, preferably one with good K numbers.
So anyway, here’s the idea:
Brandon Phillips to Milwaukee for Rickie Weeks and Manny Parra.
And then – hang on – we try Weeks in the OF (a la B.J. Upton, who made way too many errors in the infield but now seems to be a very smooth CF for Tampa Bay). Weeks also becomes our best option for leadoff.
Let Keppinger, Gonzalez, and Freel share 2B and SS, with ultimately Cozart, Frazier, Valaika coming along.
It’s kind of nutty, I know, but let me know what you think. Decent idea? Would Milwaukee consider it?
By the way, it’s no fluke that Weeks is better at getting on base than Phillips. Here are their numbers in the minors:
Phillips (minors) – .274/.339/.418
Weeks (minors) – .289/.404/.493
but then we lose another big bat 27.
and great 2nd base defense
the others are good but not great
I think Weeks is already a slightly better offensive player than Phillips, and has the potential to be a lot better.
I do agree that the 2B defense would take a hit — Phillips is really good.
But we’d gain a good, young, lefty arm in the rotation. (The deal I’m proposing is Phillips for Weeks and Parra.)
I dunno… I’m not 100% sold on it but I find it pretty intriguing.
I think Phillips is over-valued and Weeks is under-valued, and that makes me want to take advantage of that. (Plus, the Reds need OBP and they need some lefty pitching.)
Lets not get confused and refer to Brandon Phillips as a big bat. Great defender, yes, big bat, no.