BA mid-season top 100 prospect list

[Moonlight J]

http://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/2017-midseason-top-100-prospects-july-7/#gpSirW5BTo5jxMZ8.97

Pretty happy Rays have 3 guys in top 40 and 5 in the top 100 plus just landed the top international prospect

[chancellor]

Interesting list...though Martes dropping 32 places is a total mystery to me, among a few other drops. But his drop to me is the strangest.

[revo]

Interesting list...though Martes dropping 32 places is a total mystery to me, among a few other drops. But his drop to me is the strangest.

I guess a 2.10 WHIP at AAA will do that to you!

[TranaGreg]

Jays looking not too bad with three in the top 50, and Guerrero at 2!

FYI him and Bo Bichette just got moved from lo-A to hi-A yesterday. (don't expect them in the bigs for a couple of years yet, they're just 18 & 19)

[chancellor]

I guess a 2.10 WHIP at AAA will do that to you!

I guess. I doubt the wisdom of dropping a guy 32 places based on a bad 32 inning stretch in the PCL, but you could be right. Of course, I think I'll send it to his owner and try and buy low in a week or two.

[madducks]

The golden age for shortstops continues with 3 more in the top 7. It's almost becoming useless to offer a shortstop in a fantasy trade these days because everyone has one or two good ones now.

[Msaint]

We can keep a player for 2 years from the time we pick him up, and if he's a waiver/free agent add he's a 23rd rounder in the following year's draft.

So, of the top guys on this list, aside from Moncada/Rosario who are already owned in my league, which bat would you grab & stash for hopeful production in 2018, or even a September 2017 cup of coffee? The latter seems unlikely, most of these guys seem like they're mid-end of 2018/not until 2019 contributors...e.g. Rogers, Robles, Devers, Jiminez. And JP Crawford sure seems like an "all glove, no bat" kinda guy...which might be why he's ranked #4 on MLB and #92 here!

[mjl]

which bat would you grab & stash for hopeful production in 2018, or even a September 2017 cup of coffee? The latter seems unlikely, most of these guys seem like they're mid-end of 2018/not until 2019 contributors...e.g. Rogers, Robles, Devers, Jiminez.

Unless the Red Sox make a move soon, I think Devers is likely to come up this year. He's been great and the Red Sox need the help at third. Adames could come up. If the Pirates trade McCutchen, that probably opens a spot for Meadows. If it's a two-catcher league, Mejia is worth picking up.

[BuckyBuckner]

Willy Adames could be up this year.

Lewis Brinson has been called up this year.

[Hornsby]

It was a really strange list, it was like they tossed 50 names in a hat and just picked them out randomly. And then ranked the other 50 like they should have been ranked.

I know that Giolito is still trying to find his groove, but dropped down to 76? WAY too severe. Luis Urias at 37? Vladdy Jr. at #2???

[Sour Masher]

It was a really strange list, it was like they tossed 50 names in a hat and just picked them out randomly. And then ranked the other 50 like they should have been ranked.

I know that Giolito is still trying to find his groove, but dropped down to 76? WAY too severe. Luis Urias at 37? Vladdy Jr. at #2???

I agree that there are some head scratchers, but I get the Giolito drop. He has always been more promise than performance, and his ceiling looks lower than it once was. I don't know enough about Urias, but Vladdy sure looks good. #2 might be a bit high, but not only are his numbers great, scouts are gushing about him--to the point that they think he could be as good as his dad, and that is pretty freaking good.

[GwynnInTheHall]

Looks like they penalized players who have been called up and are on ML rosters as well.

[Hornsby]

I agree that there are some head scratchers, but I get the Giolito drop. He has always been more promise than performance, and his ceiling looks lower than it once was. I don't know enough about Urias, but Vladdy sure looks good. #2 might be a bit high, but not only are his numbers great, scouts are gushing about him--to the point that they think he could be as good as his dad, and that is pretty freaking good.

I tend to believe in Keith Law's evaluation of talent, and he said that Vladdy would have been top 10, not #1, in this years MLB draft. So a #2 overall ranking is pretty high, IMO. Not complaining, as I dealt Jr. off in 2 different leagues and got great returns for him. Giolito is a divisive player for fans...I probably held on to him too long, but he's got the body type, the arm, and the brain to be a #1 starter IMO. He's still trying to undo the mechanical damages that the Nats did to him when they decided to revamp his delivery.

And Hunter Greene at #30? The kid has yet to put a glove on in a game...

[Sour Masher]

I tend to believe in Keith Law's evaluation of talent...

Not a fan of the Klaw myself. He is a good data point taking on the Herculian task of getting eyeballs on guys himself and doing his own thing solo. However, he seems to want to make some hero calls, and, as I guess is natural given how he does it on his own, he tends to be biased for and against guys based on a fairly small number of viewings. He is gets a bit snarky sometimes, which I know some folks actually like. But he is a smart guy (just ask him), so I'd be surprised by that response about Vlad Jr.--was it a recent comment? Did he mean, if he were eligible for this draft, but hadn't played pro ball yet, based on his scouting before this year? If so, that makes total sense. However, I find it hard to believe any teams, let alone 10, would pass on Vlad given the impossible hypothetical situation that they knew what he was capable of in A ball as an 18 year old. If that is what Law met, that I think he is wrong.

All that is not to say I am defending an 18 year old in single A at #2. If he didn't have the bloodlines he did, I doubt he'd crack anyone's top 10 (although, again, he does look really great). In most sports, I wouldn't buy into the bloodlines, but in baseball, for whatever reason, it works out more often that kids can live up to or even exceed their prop pops. Bo Bichette is another bloodline guy who is all bat, and looks great at the plate.

Also, Baseball America seems to have shifted in recent years a little bit to favoring shiny new toys more than more established guys who maybe haven't taken a big enough step forward in the current year. But I get that too--you tend to see the warts on a guy who has been around awhile, where as the new up and comer is all potential and day dreams. They also seem to be weighing offensive potential a bit more than they used to in relation to defense, and upside above closeness to the majors. That is just speculation, but it is the only way I can see them ranking Vlad at #2 above Torres and Rosario.

[Roy Hobbs]

One several things I don't like about KLaw and BA rankings is they have a history of factoring in defense into their rankings, especially for middle infielders. As a fantasy player I couldn't care less about that.