RHD's Latest Top 150 Roto Prospects (Special "Deaccat" Edition)

[rhd]

Whither Dan Vogelbach?

Thanx for the response, JC.

Vogelbach is farther down on the list. I'm not optimistic about his chances to contribute in MLB or to your roto team. Didnt make BA's Cubs Top 10 at all. And for a 1B-only guy, he hasnt shown much power yet. And he's not going to get a chance for the Cubs. He really would seem to need another org and if there's limited demand for a 1B/DH type like Chris Davis, there certainly isnt much demand for Vogey.

[Sour Masher]

RHD, were you as surprised as I was that Jamie Westbrook didn't make BAs top 10 for Zona? I realize that their ranking was before the Swanson/Blair trade and they had a deep system, but Westbrook had a great year, and Zona fans like him enough that they are telling themselves that having him a MIF mitigates losing Swanson. I thought he'd make the top 10. Do you think that now that Swanson and Blair are gone, Westbrook will get bumped up into their top 10? What are your thoughts about him? Top 200?

Also, Stone Garrett--he had a solid year last year and I love what I read about his work ethic and dedication to the game. Sickels just put him #1 in the Marlins system, ahead of Kolek and Naylor, but still just gave him a B- (the Marlins system is really bad). How close is he to your top 150?

[rhd]

RHD, were you as surprised as I was that Jamie Westbrook didn't make BAs top 10 for Zona? I realize that their ranking was before the Swanson/Blair trade and they had a deep system, but Westbrook had a great year, and Zona fans like him enough that they are telling themselves that having him a MIF mitigates losing Swanson. I thought he'd make the top 10. Do you think that now that Swanson and Blair are gone, Westbrook will get bumped up into their top 10? What are your thoughts about him? Top 200?

Also, Stone Garrett--he had a solid year last year and I love what I read about his work ethic and dedication to the game. Sickels just put him #1 in the Marlins system, ahead of Kolek and Naylor, but still just gave him a B- (the Marlins system is really bad). How close is he to your top 150?

Thanx for the response, SourMasher

No, not really surprised. He wasnt even in BA's top 30 last year. He was #27 the year before. BA's report from then says he has only average speed but it plays up because of his aggressiveness on the bases, and that he has good power for his small size, which probably means only average power. Excellent stats in 2015 but it was in a hitters' league. He looks like one of those guys that will have to hit at every level if he's to be taken seriously as a MLB prospect. Still pretty high on my list but not quite in the top 200.

Garrett is farther down. #4 on BA's Marlins list but that's an extremely weak system. Not close to the top 150 at all, but he's young and I do have my eye on him.

[Sour Masher]

Thanks RHD. I need to make some cut decisions for our upcoming minor league draft (to free up picks and to make room for some send down) and I tend to fall in love with guys I pick up the year before. Your responses help me temper my expectations on these guys down. We roster 280 minor leaguers total, so these two may still be rosterable, but there are better picks out there, so i'll probably cut them both.

If you wanted to cut 6 of the following, which would you cut, if your primary focus was upside?

Kyle Crick
Casey Meisner
Alex Meyer
Jamie Westbrook
Stone Garrett
Kodi Medeiros
Matt Chapman
Rudy Giron

You rank Chapman and Giron, but not the others, so I'm guessing I should hold on to those two, but I was wondering if you thought any of the others had upside worth considering (I'm kind of amazed at how Meyer went from darling to dud, but at the same time, i get it, and it is hard to keep a 26 year old middle reliever).

[rhd]

Thanks RHD. I need to make some cut decisions for our upcoming minor league draft (to free up picks and to make room for some send down) and I tend to fall in love with guys I pick up the year before. Your responses help me temper my expectations on these guys down. We roster 280 minor leaguers total, so these two may still be rosterable, but there are better picks out there, so i'll probably cut them both.

If you wanted to cut 6 of the following, which would you cut, if your primary focus was upside?
Kyle Crick
Casey Meisner
Alex Meyer
Jamie Westbrook
Stone Garrett
Kodi Medeiros
Matt Chapman
Rudy Giron

You rank Chapman and Giron, but not the others, so I'm guessing I should hold on to those two, but I was wondering if you thought any of the others had upside worth considering (I'm kind of amazed at how Meyer went from darling to dud, but at the same time, i get it, and it is hard to keep a 26 year old middle reliever).

In addition to Giron and Chapman, I'd keep Medeiros and Westbrook is so intriguing that I'd keep him, too. I'd probably drop Meyer and Crick because they both project to be relievers now, even tho they each probably still have more upside than Meisner, but unlikely to reach it now. Garrett is pretty far away but he has upside, too.

280 minor leaguers?!?! That's for the league in total, right? So about 20 per team?

[Sour Masher]

280 minor leaguers?!?! That's for the league in total, right? So about 20 per team?

Yeah, 20 per team, 14 teams.

As an aside, until two years ago, we could pick up anyone at any time we wanted, but the league got unbalanced because some owners, like me, took advantage of the relatively shallow league with really deep minor league rosters and rostered all upside guys who weren't even signed yet. I had Daz Cameron on my team when he was a freshman in high school , and it allowed me to snag guys like Harper and Trout before they were on anyone else's radar. I miss it, because I love scouting minor leaguers, and lists like yours that include international players and future draft picks gave me a real edge. But I get it. Most owners didn't take the time to go that deep, and it hurt competitive balance.

So, now, for the first time, our minor league draft matters a lot, because all of the 2015 draftees and international signees, as well as some other late risers are available. So, I'm struggling to clear my roster to make room. We get up to 5 picks, and I also have to make room for Matz, so I may cut 6 of these guys, but I'll probably cave and keep Westrbook, especially since you called him intriguing . I like Kodi too, but my roster is really SP heavy, and SPs with 3/4 upside are so fungible, I'd rather keep the bats.

[rhd]

Yeah, 20 per team, 14 teams.

As an aside, until two years ago, we could pick up anyone at any time we wanted, but the league got unbalanced because some owners, like me, took advantage of the relatively shallow league with really deep minor league rosters and rostered all upside guys who weren't even signed yet. I had Daz Cameron on my team when he was a freshman in high school , and it allowed me to snag guys like Harper and Trout before they were on anyone else's radar. I miss it, because I love scouting minor leaguers, and lists like yours that include international players and future draft picks gave me a real edge. But I get it. Most owners didn't take the time to go that deep, and it hurt competitive balance.

So, now, for the first time, our minor league draft matters a lot, because all of the 2015 draftees and international signees, as well as some other late risers are available. So, I'm struggling to clear my roster to make room. We get up to 5 picks, and I also have to make room for Matz, so I may cut 6 of these guys, but I'll probably cave and keep Westrbook, especially since you called him intriguing . I like Kodi too, but my roster is really SP heavy, and SPs with 3/4 upside are so fungible, I'd rather keep the bats.

If it were me, I'd probably drop Cave before any of the others listed.