RHD's Top 150 Roto Prospects (Mid-Season Edition)

[rhd]

RHD,

Dominguez moves from 60 to 57. Since you base your lists for fantasy...I take it you see him as a potentially better hitter than most?

Thanx for the response, fuhrdog.

Well, I may have him higher than most. I know lots of analysts question his 'hit' tool. I've always thought his offense was OK. He's always been young for his leagues and has held his own. His glove is supposed to be outstanding, so he projects as a MLB regular, and rt now the Marlins have a hole at 3B. So he should be up w the big club soon and producing regular MLB stats.

[rhd]

After watching Ackley play the last couple of weeks, I'd definitely rank him in the Top 10 on this board. At the very least, there's no way I'd take a guy like Dee Gordon over him. Ackley's a hitting dynamo, and he's going to give fantasy owners a batting average stabilizer along with double digit speed and power. I'm in love with him, quite frankly.

I'll be very interested to see how Rendon plays out with the Nats after getting passed up by five teams in the draft. I still think he's going to be a stud hitter (as, it appears, you do, too, rhd), and he's going to make those teams look very silly if he does actually become the hitter that many of us think he can be.

I could see Starling ranking quite high for the next 6 to 9 months on lists like this until people see him play in Low-A ball. Then, I imagine, he's going to fall for a couple of years until he puts his stuff together. We all have short memories about talent levels (case in point: Mike Moustakas), and when they don't produce quickly, we tend to cast them aside. Starling will be an interesting case study in our patience for prospect ascendance.

p.s. Check your Private Messages, rhd

Thanx as always for your response, Bodhizefa.

Yes, so far so good for Ackley (I'm pleased since I have him in 1 league). Gordon is ranked above him because of his SBs (now that he's been sent down, I might move him down a couple notches). Ackley supposedly has plus speed, but he just isnt running too much so far. But certainly on most 'real' prospect lists, Ackley will be far above Gordon.

When the Nats took Rendon, my first thought was 'My God! They got the best player in the draft 3 years in a row!'. I'm curious as to what his medical reports say. Obviously, clubs were a little scared, but they cant be too bad if a team still took him at #6. His 'real' prospect status will suffer slightly if he moves to 1B, but his roto stock shouldnt be affected.

It will be interesting to see how good a player Starling becomes. Big-time upside but a lot of risk, too. I try not to be too affected by either SNTS or off-years for previously highly rated players. If you look at my old lists, you'll see that I still had Moustakas and Hosmer ranked pretty high when a lot of others seemed to be forgetting about them. My general philosophy is that if you thought enough of a player to rank them highly one year, you undermine your own credibility if you downgrade them severely on the basis of 1 off year. This does cause me to sometimes hold out hope for guys longer than I should (cases in point: Billy Rowell, and apparently Cody Johnson).

[rhd]

Pretty good list. Comments on a few guys that I keep tabs on due to them being on one of my dynasty teams. I'm surprised by the Hamilton and Puello rankings. Both guys have taken a step back this year in their development. They are both young and have time. Hamilton has ton's of speed, but his striking out a ton in A+ ball.

Skaggs has made a big jump in your rankings, but he still seems low at #80. He is only 19 years old and is dominating A+ ball. I would think a promotion to AA is in his near future and I feel like he is a top 50 prospect.

Thanx for your response, NIN.

Yes, hamilton is strugging this year. But one thing that hasnt changed is the SBs, which are still spectacular (54 SBs in 267 ABs last time I checked - that's 1 SB every 5 ABs!!!). And BA recently said that he's good enough defensively to still project as a MLB regular. That's why I still have him ranked very high. Puello is having a bit of an off year too, but not too bad. He also supposedly projects as a MLB regular and not only has very good SB potential but supposedly also has pretty good power potential, too. And they're both pretty young, so lots of time to iron out the problems. I still like where I have each of them ranked.

You may be right about Skaggs. He is having a very good year, is young for his league and is projectible. I'm interested to see if he makes BA's mid-season Top prospect list, at least as an HM. I'm also similarly interested about guys like Odorizzi, Wieland, T Walker, Z Wheeler, N. Ramirez, as well as others.

[rhd]

Hey, I wanted to first say I am happy to see Oscar Taveras ranked. This is the first list I have seen him in the top 100 and while it may seem aggressive to some I fully support it. I do think Profar is too low as he plays a premium position fantasy wise and he is doing quite well (taking walks, hitting for some power) for an 18 year old in A ball. I see Profar as a top 20 guy, but either way I appreciate your work and the list.

Thanx for the response, frae.

Well, Taveras got a lot of hype when he signed, and he's living up to it so far. I've heard a lot of buzz this year about Leonys Martin, who was similarly hyped, but not much about Taveras, and Taveras is doing even better than Martin so far in a SSS and his ARL is better also. I dont know which one is better, but they seem pretty similar in hype and performance so far so I ranked them next to each other.

Yes, I probably have Profar ranked lower than a lot of others. I dont upgrade any hitter for position, altho I do downgrade catchers. Otherwise, position doesnt matter much to me in my leagues, altho in a straight draft league it would matter some. Profar does seem to offer above-average speed and perhaps avg-to-above-avg power. But he probably is a long way away from MLB. There are a lot of other guys I'd prefer rt now. On a 'real' list, he might be top 20 as you say, altho I think that is uncertain. I'm interested to see where BA ranks him on their mid-season list.

[Big Tymer]

I know you have him just outside the Top 100, but as one of the leaders of the Matt Szczur hype train Jim Callis seems to be a believer as well (ranks him #44 in his personal top 50):

Navin (Pasadena, CA): With Brett Jackson scuffling at AA, would you rate Szczur or Baez (when he signs) as the Cubs top prospect? Thank you!
Jim Callis: Jackson was off to a very good start before he got hurt. I'd still give him the nod over Szczur, but it's close. I'd go Jackson, Szczur, Baez for now.

Norman (San Jose): at midseason, have any players moved up significantly in your top 100 prospects?
Jim Callis: I took a wait-and-see attitude on Cardinals righthander Carlos Martinez on my personal Top 100 coming into the season, but I'm not waiting any longer. He, Brad Peacock (Nationals) and Taijuan Walker (Mariners) are the pitchers who have jumped the most in my estimation. I also was trying to be conservative on Cubs outfielder Matt Szczur, and I've got him No. 44 on my personal Top 50 right now. Also buying into Padres third baseman Jedd Gyorko.

[umjewman]

Nice list, as always.

Curious what your thoughts are on Eric Surkamp. Pretty dominant in the Eastern League right now (7-3, 1.61, 1.14 with 102 Ks in 89 1/3 IP), but I think I've heard somewhere that he doesn't have the best stuff in the world. That being said, he seems to have pretty good K numbers at every level, so maybe I've heard wrong. Any insight?

[rhd]

I know you have him just outside the Top 100, but as one of the leaders of the Matt Szczur hype train Jim Callis seems to be a believer as well (ranks him #44 in his personal top 50):

Navin (Pasadena, CA): With Brett Jackson scuffling at AA, would you rate Szczur or Baez (when he signs) as the Cubs top prospect? Thank you!
Jim Callis: Jackson was off to a very good start before he got hurt. I'd still give him the nod over Szczur, but it's close. I'd go Jackson, Szczur, Baez for now.

Norman (San Jose): at midseason, have any players moved up significantly in your top 100 prospects?
Jim Callis: I took a wait-and-see attitude on Cardinals righthander Carlos Martinez on my personal Top 100 coming into the season, but I'm not waiting any longer. He, Brad Peacock (Nationals) and Taijuan Walker (Mariners) are the pitchers who have jumped the most in my estimation. I also was trying to be conservative on Cubs outfielder Matt Szczur, and I've got him No. 44 on my personal Top 50 right now. Also buying into Padres third baseman Jedd Gyorko.

Yes, Big Tymer, I just read that chat myself. I've moved Szczur, Peacock and Walker up now on my list (Martinez was already pretty high for me). I'm glad I already had all 5 of these players at least somewhere in my Top 150.

BTW, I saw Peacock pitch at Potomac last year (against Wilmington who had both Hosmer and Moustakas at the time). I had never heard of him before. He was pretty impressive: a CG w about 9 Ks and either 0 or 1 ER. His stats for the year were good but not eye-popping and he was a tad old for the league. Didnt get any hype last year at all that I heard about. He was ranked #9 on BA's Nats list this year, but I was curious to see what they thought of him now after his performance so far this year. I thought he might be a candidate for the Top 100, but he's apparently even more highly thought of than that. Serious helium!

[rhd]

Nice list, as always.

Curious what your thoughts are on Eric Surkamp. Pretty dominant in the Eastern League right now (7-3, 1.61, 1.14 with 102 Ks in 89 1/3 IP), but I think I've heard somewhere that he doesn't have the best stuff in the world. That being said, he seems to have pretty good K numbers at every level, so maybe I've heard wrong. Any insight?

Thanx for the response, umjewboy (Univ of Maryland?)

Callis also commented on Surkamp in today's BA chat. He basically said that he's a guy w/o huge upside who keeps succeeding and profiles as a 4/5 starter. I've been following him for several years now, and he's always had a good K-rate. But he's not close to my top 150 rt now. He was the Giants' #9 guy on BA's list, but it could be very difficult for him to crack the MLB rotation.

[umjewman]

Thanx for the response, umjewboy (Univ of Maryland?)

Callis also commented on Surkamp in today's BA chat. He basically said that he's a guy w/o huge upside who keeps succeeding and profiles as a 4/5 starter. I've been following him for several years now, and he's always had a good K-rate. But he's not close to my top 150 rt now. He was the Giants' #9 guy on BA's list, but it could be very difficult for him to crack the MLB rotation.

No, not Maryland. That's my wife. My UM is Michigan.

And that's what I guessed with Surkamp. But the results right now are hard to ignore!

[OaklandA's]

It's been a very good year for Diamondbacks' prospects. I think that Tyler Skaggs might be the highest rated at this point (Top 25?), followed by Bauer, Parker (Top 50?), Goldschmidt (70?), Davidson (100), Borchering, Pollock, ABradley, and Eaton.

[frae]

I'm interested to see where BA ranks him (Profar) on their mid-season list.

The BA list is out, http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/...rospects-list/ Profar came in at #12, some interesting things on the list. Nice to see Walker moving up lists quickly too.

[rhd]

It's been a very good year for Diamondbacks' prospects. I think that Tyler Skaggs might be the highest rated at this point (Top 25?), followed by Bauer, Parker (Top 50?), Goldschmidt (70?), Davidson (100), Borchering, Pollock, ABradley, and Eaton.

Thanx for the response, OaklandA's.

Yes, it has been a good year for D-backs prospects. Dont forget about Owings and Holmberg, too. Surprised that you didnt mention Cowgill; he's getting a lot of hype now, altho I think he is getting to be overrated.

[OaklandA's]

Yes, it has been a good year for D-backs prospects. Dont forget about Owings and Holmberg, too. Surprised that you didnt mention Cowgill; he's getting a lot of hype now, altho I think he is getting to be overrated.

I still see Cowgill as a 4th/Platoon OF in the Majors, even with the fantastic AAA numbers he's putting up. I'm not too high on Chris Owings, since that K/BB rate is scary (79/11), plus he's made 20 errors at SS. I'm not sure if he can stick there defensively. But he is still very young.

Pitching wise, I do like Holmberg. He was great in South Bend, where his change-up was too much for that league. It will be interesting to see how he does in Visalia. Two other D'Backs' pitchers having nice years in AA Mobile are Patrick Corbin (89K/21BB in 101 IP) and reliever Ryan Cook (45K/12BB in 38 IP, lots of ground balls).

[Bodhizefa]

Kyle Seager says hello!

[cardboardbox]

The BA list is out, http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/...rospects-list/ Profar came in at #12, some interesting things on the list. Nice to see Walker moving up lists quickly too.

its neat to see Peacock on there. I've been pimping him for a while now even while BA has mostly said he's bullpen bound. They started changing their tune a week or two ago and now he's top 50.