Here are the top 25 second base prospects. The list is pretty thin this season! As always, feedback is appreciated so let us know which players you believe are ranked too high or too low.
1. Cory Spangenberg—Padres
2. Kolten Wong—Cardinals
3. Jonathan Schoop—Orioles
4. Eddie Rosario—Twins
5. Reese Havens—Mets
6. Jonathan Galvez—Padres
7. Taylor Lindsey—Angels
8. Rougned Odor—Rangers
9. Jordanny Valdespin—Mets
10. Ronald Torreyes—Reds
11. Sean Coyle—Red Sox
12. Ryan Brett—Rays
13. Delino Deshields—Astros
14. Tony Wolters—Indians
15. Scooter Gennett—Brewers
16. Angelo Gumbs—Yankees
17. Adrian Cardenas—Athletics
18. Noah Perio—Marlins
19. Jeff Kobernus—Nationals
20. Steve Lombardozzi—Nationals
21. Oscar Tejada—Red Sox
22. Alexi Amarista—Angels
23. Chris Bostick—Athletics
24. Jarek Cunningham—Pirates
25. Cesar Hernandez—Phillies
I have looked at closely.. At first glance I wanted the Twins to go with Giolito or Appel to help bolster their staff going forward. After all that is their weakest area in their team right now. Appel would be a great fit and has the potential to move quickly through the system. The Twins tend to lean towards college players when it comes to the early rounds anyways. Of all the players in the draft though the guys I like the most are Diekroeger, Nick Williams and Buxton. Its really too bad there is no trading of draft picks because if I were the twins I’d be moving down from #2 to load up on more picks. They have so many holes to fill and not a lot of talent in the minors. I see Houston going with Marrero or Appel depending on who has the better year this year at the college level. Who do you want them to take Brad??
Good call on Lipka. The reason I did not rank him is, with a few exceptions (Rosario and Valdespin by accident) I based it on where they played a majority of games last season.
Lipka’s first season could have gone better but he still offers enough upside to rank fairly high had he been listed. Also agree a switch to second base seems likely w/ Simmons and Pastronicky remaining at SS.
What about Matt Lipka, Braves? Everything I’ve ever read sees him ending up at 2B.
It sounds like everybody is pretty close together on that trade. I would lean towards rejecting the deal or perhaps countering asking for more value. Assuming you like Taillon and would not mind trading Zimmerman, who else does he have on his roster who could be a potential third player? I don’t think it would take too much more value for the deal to make sense.
Did y’all see the ’stros hired a new GM! What do y’all think? The search was a little tougher than expected, and even though not getting Friedman is moderately disappointing, I’m excited about Lunhow. As I started reading about him after he was announced as a candidate, it started becoming clear he would be a great fit. Based on his background and his initial comments, he seems to have the right concept of what needs to be accomplished to improve the team. I think this will be a quiet offseason for the ’stros. Ideally, it would be nice to find the right trades to unload some of our larger contracts. But I’m guessing the focus will be on locating a few cheap options w/ potential upside (Rule 5 draft, etc).
The biggest decision we have is who to take w/ the number one pick in June! We really cannot afford to blow this pick and it’s going to be tough b/c there does not seem to be a clear option at #1 (Appel, Zunino, Marrero, Gausman, Giolito, McCullers, Buxton, both Williamses, etc, etc). Which of the top guys do y’all think stand out? Jed, I bet you’ve looked at this closely b/c you can take amateurs in your league and the Twins are picking at #2!
Peacock could contribute as early as this year..but Zimmerman is a sure fire #2 or #3 type starter.. I wouldn’t do that trade. Even with Taillons potential.. who knows you hang onto Zimmerman and he gets 16-18 wins this season and ups his value.. you then could move him off for even more value in my opinion.
Jason, are you looking to compete or buildiing for the future. If you are trying to compete this year, I would hold on to Zimmerman. I agree with most everyone saying that in deep leagues, good middle of the rotation pitchers are a must have (or may be I am one of those weird fans that like low scoring pitching duels like the Cards-Mets had a couple years ago). If you are not looking to compete, the high upside IMO is worth the risk. Peacock might turn out to be along the same lines as Zimmerman and you would be plus a prospect.
Would agree that the Zimmermann deal depends on how long you can keep him, and at what cost, if there are salary implications (also how long you get to keep prospects for when they arrive). If you can only keep him for a year or two, then it’s a good deal, especially if you aren’t going to compete this year. I also really like Zimmermann though, so if you don’t, or you are ultra-high on Taillon, you might want to make the deal anyway.
Great question. Is there a limit on how long you can hold Zimmerman and/or are their contract prices? If you can only keep Zimmerman for 1-2 more seasons, I like the deal much more. But if it’s a league where you can hold players indefinitely, I am hesitant to make that trade.
Zimmerman posted really solid numbers last season for a young pitcher, and even though some signs point to a moderate regression, he has a bright future. Taillon offers a higher ceiling, but he’s still young and it’s hard to know whether he’ll reach that ceiling. Peacock adds value to the deal. He has strong potential to develop into a solid middle-of-the-rotation starter…which is helpful in a league with 30 teams.
But the deal is a huge gamble on Taillon, and as much as I like Taillon, my concern is he’ll be reasonably successful just by posting numbers comparable to Zimmerman’s last season. On the other hand, Taillon might develop into one of the game’s premier starters and post numbers surpassing what Zimmerman can do. But since your league has thirty teams, I would argue it makes less sense for various reasons to trade away current production for huge upside when there is a risk the prospect could bust.
A second opinion on this one is helpful. Does that opinion overvalue Zimmerman? There are some concerns based on the return from TJ surgery (k-rates, etc), but I was sufficiently impressed w/ last season’s performance that I would be reluctant to trade him for more upside.
Hey should I do this deal in a dynasty league? 30 teams
I give: Jordan Zimmerman
I get: Jameson Taillon and Brad Peacock
For sure! The presence of Texeira/Gonzalez in NY and BOS affected the market for Pujols. But I think another major factor is the length of Pujols’ contract: 10 years at $25 million/year for a player older than 30. If it was for anybody other than Pujols, I would call it crazy. But with Pujols, I would say it is bold. It’s sorta funny Pujols will be terrorizing the Astros in yet another division! Every time I look at the concrete wall above left field, I think about that HR Pujols hit off Lidge in Game 6 of the 2005 NLCS.
Goood advice on those players, Brad. I think some good trade candidates are Brown, Dominguez, and Eovaldi. But it depends on what I can get in return.
I will definitely do an ETA post this off-season. Last season, I created one after I finished the updated 250 list and I think I’ll do the same this year. I’ll try to get shortstop published sometime this weekend.
Shockingly, I thought Pujols would have gotten more, closer to 30mil. I guess when the Yanks and Sox are out as they have solid 1st basemen already, it helped keep the price “low”.
Looks like Fielder will get under or around 20mil…
Will you guys be doing an update with the “ETA”?
By the sound of it Dominguez is not going to be playing. Hanley will be at third or will be traded for someone that can play third. Brown doesn’t play unless he is traded which if Phils get Gio Brown might be a part of that package. Since Washington didn’t land one of the big name starters Peacock should have a chance to play. I don’t think he will be a star but should provide you some good quality innings. Sands deserves a spot, but probably won’t get one (surely he could out perform Loney). Gamel could be a surprise. If they insert him behind Braun he will have a real good chance foor big numbers. Just not sure where they are projecting him to hit.
Definitely. The league is ridiculously deep (about 95% of players are owned), so the trick is having a roster where almost everybody contributes. The way lots of teams struggle is they get zero production from multiple spots either through injury or spending too much cash locking up stars. Deep starting pitching is really important. Because the league is really deep (and counts IP), mediocre starters are more valuable b/c there is no comparable replacement on the free agent list.
My goal is to come into the draft w/ 15-17 players I think will contribute and enough cash to purchase my stars. If I come into the draft with $170 for seven players, I will have enough to fill those final spots w/ players like Pujols, Hanley, Halladay, etc (or I can take a more balanced approach and spend $25 each on seven players if the prices for stars are inflated). I feel pretty confident the team will compete, especially b/c I’ll have plenty of cheap contracts and quality farm players to trade to rebuilding teams.
Coming into the season, the trick will be deciding which of the low-priced players to keep (EY, Fowler, Sands, Duda, Barney, Gamel, Dominguez, Martinez, Brown, Eovaldi, Peacock…even perhaps LaRoche and Zambrano). The big questions are obviously: (1) will they get an opportunity to play; and (2) if yes, will they perform?
I’d like to make a few trades right now b/c if I can figure out which of those guys are unlikely to play (i.e., Eovaldi and Brown heading for AAA), it would be nice to package them for a good renewal before their role becomes more clear. Ideally, the trade partner will not read deep leagues’ comment board b/c they’d be less enthusiastic about the trade after the last sentence! Haha. The problem is it’s too early to really know where several of those players stand on their team’s depth chart.
I like Castro, Prado (if he goes to Col), Fowler, Bruce, Garza, Street (Especially in Petco), Strasburg.
I was going to get some feedback from y’all on my NL only team. I started looking at the roster today for next season and I figured y’all would have some advice. Basically, the league is a 12-team NL only league where teams have $260 to buy 23 players that you can renew for up to 3 years. The league also has farm picks, who you can keep at $4 for 3 years when they reach the major leagues.
My team won in 2010, but last season, I decided to rebuild and dumped my “big name” players for prospects early in the season. I spent the rest of the season taking low price flyers at the “summer drafts,” which is a monthly auction where teams can bid on free agents and guys called up from the minors who are not in a farm system…occasionally decent veterans w/ overpriced contracts will get released (i.e., picked up LaRoche, Vazquez, Fowler, etc). We finished 6th of 12 last season, which was pretty good considering everybody w/ a contract above $20 was gone by early-May.
Below is my entire roster coming into the off-season. The contract year is for 2012, meaning I only get the “yr 3” guys for one season before their contract expires. Ideally, my plan will be to keep 15 of these guys and have $20-25 per player to spend on the last eight players in the draft (so the team is in better shape than it looks b/c I’ll have lots of draft money). The roster is long on mediocre renewals, and I need to free up roster space to spend my cash. Ideally, my plan is to make two trades where I package several mediocre renewals for one great renewal.
Who on this roster would y’all keep and who would you trade? It always depends on the deal, but this roster is full of guys who might have a good season and a few others who are worth selling now b/c they have some hype which will not materialize. Any advice and/or comments about any of these players would be greatly appreciated!
HITTERS
C Jesus Flores $2-yr 2
C Jonathan Lucroy $1-yr 2
1B Lucas Duda $2-yr 2
2B Darwin Barney $3-yr 2
SS Starlin Castro $4-yr 3
3B Matt Dominguez $2-yr 2
MI Ian Desmond $8-yr 3
CO Martin Prado $12-yr 3
OF Jay Bruce $16-yr 3
OF Dexter Fowler $2-yr 2
OF Corey Hart $12-yr 2
OF JD Martinez $5-yr 2
OF Jerry Sands- $4-yr 2
UT Eric Young $2-yr 2
Reserves:
Domonic Brown $4-yr3
Mat Gamel $2-yr2
Adam Laroche $2-yr2
PITCHERS
Jhoulys Chacin $4-yr 3
Nathan Eovaldi $4-yr 2
Matt Garza $19-yr 2
Mat Latos $6-yr 3
Ryan Madson $10-yr 2
Brad Peacock $2-yr 2
Stephen Strasburg $4-yr 3
Huston Street- $8-yr 2
Javier Vazquez $2-yr2
Reserves:
Chris Young $6-yr3
Carlos Zambrano $2-yr2
FARM
Bryce Harper, Anthony Rendon, Gerrit Cole, Casey Kelly
I think that’s right about the Mets. I was under the impression the new CBA allows the Blue Jays still get compensation picks for Rauch and Francisco without the Mets losing their compensation pick. But that could be wrong b/c the new CBA is pretty confusing.
Jed, do the Mets lose picks because of the Rauch and Francisco signings? My impression was that the Blue Jays simply gain picks.
Agree the Molina/Santos looks good for both sides. Molina has been a favorite on this site since May, and for a pitcher not receiving much attention until recently, I like his combination of solid numbers without many discernable red flags. But I am a believer in AA & Co. in Toronto, so I wonder if they were trying to sell Molina at the right time. I guess all trades involve selling at the right time, and rather than thinking Molina was overvalued, Toronto acquires solid return value getting a reasonably established major league reliever w/ terrific numbers (and several years of club control). Plus, Toronto has so much pitching depth they could probably afford to trade on of their potential mid-rotation starters. I like the deal for the White Sox. They face a long rebuilding process, which can be expedited in the trade market assuming they are careful about who they pickup.
The Marlins have been interesting to watch this off-season. What do y’all think about all these signings? Too aggressive, IMO. I have no problem w/ the Marlins eventually playing more aggressively, but even disregarding any concerns about the contracts themselves, it feels like they are making aggressive decisions without ensuring the foundation is in place necessary for that extra payroll to pay dividends (ex: MLB-ready help in the farm system, those last spots in the rotations, etc). I could be wrong though…I’m rarely a supporter of signing ultra-expensive free agents b/c I can’t help think about the opportunity cost.
Can someone please explain why the Mets are willing to give up compensation picks to sign guys like Francisco and Rauch? They need future pieces way more than they do current pieces.. and Rauch and Francisco aren’t that good to begin with… Mets have a bottom 5 organization in terms of how they do business. They lost Reyes for a 3rd round pick..ouch!!
As for the Santos-Molina deal.. I like it for both teams! Toronto is about the now..and Chicago has to start thinking about the future.
What’s everyone think about Miami possibly inking Pujols and Darvish??
I think Molina probably doesn’t have much potential beyond the middle of the rotation (command and control is great, but stuff is not good enough to go beyond that), and Santos is a very good reliever who is affordable for five or six years. The Jays bullpen needs rebuilt (I know, I owned both Rauch and Francisco last year), and you can’t get everyone necessary to build a contending level bullpen off the scrapheap. I actually think that it’s a pretty reasonable deal for both sides.
I want to hear your take on the Santos/Molina trade as well, Bradley. Overall since I have no rooting interest in either team, I think both teams got a good piece. I do own Nestor Molina in my minors in my fantasy league so I obviously think he’s a good prospect. I was surprised the White Sox didn’t get a second prospect at first glance. If Molina turns out to be a backend #2/high end #3 starter than I think it’s good for their future. I always think a legitimate SP should be valued more than most closers. If Nestor Molina becomes a stable in their rotation starting in 2013 (in the mold of a Doug Fister/Henderson Alvarez), both Chicago and any fantasy owners should be pleased. I would think moving from Toronto to Chicago would be a slight upgrade, if just for the better division. The fact that Toronto is loaded at pitching in the minors and the White Sox may have the worst prospect list in baseball, I think this bodes will for Molina if he continues to develop. The Jays get a young closer who could be under a good contract for many years that can help them win this year. The White Sox get a SP who may be their best prospect immediately. I would think Addison Reed would be the only real contender for the top spot, and that’s only if he becomes the future closer. As an owner of Nestor Molina, he just become a better piece to have, in my opinion.
Not sure if this is the right place…but it is the newest link!
OOOOOOMMMMMMMMGGGGGG, the Jay traded Nestor Molina!?!?! one of the best minor league bb;kk ratio?!?! I have been raving about him all of last season?
Tell me Bradley what you think about Santos?!?! I dont know much about him except what i have read recently!!
AA is usually on the money with trades, but this Jays booster is not happy and questions this trade!!
I think it would be easy for Porcello to build on his improvements from last year. He posted a 4.00 ERA last year on the road. He has the spacious Comerica Park to pitch in. If he could just combine his away splits from 2011 with his home splits from 2010 he would be a solid option.
Like that list, Jed! What do y’all think of Rick Porcello? I don’t watch the Tigers frequently enough to offer too strong an opinion, but the benefit is he is still fairly young for a pitcher who is past the prospect hype. Part of me thinks he’ll build on last season’s moderate improvements and post an ERA in the mid-to-low 4’s. But the bigger question is whether there is enough room for the numbers to improve beyond that for a rebuilding team to justify the risk? Even if he continues improving his secondary pitches (especially the changeup) to compliment his fastball, does Porcello offer enough upside for the numbers (strikeout rates, etc) to improve beyond that of a middle-of-the-rotation starter? I think it’s unlikely, but nevertheless, I sorta like him as a cheap option for a rebuilding team b/c I don’t think it’s impossible.
Also, good news on the site! We finally hired a person to design a message board! The board will hopefully be up and running within a few weeks. We have been in huge need of a message board for awhile. I like talking about anything baseball so much that it does not bother me in the least Rick Porcello has absolutely nothing to do w/ second base prospects. But the problem is the comments to the previous posts contain great analysis about particular players (mostly from the readers!), but since nothing is categorized, the information is impossible to locate. So we decided to make our first investment in the site and hired a web designer to build a message board. Hopefully, it will allow our readers to find more information and improve the discussion on the site.
Thanks guys!!!
I can think of a few great examples which I could pursue at a pretty cheap price..
Mike Minor
Brian Matusz
Jordan Lyles
Kyle Drabek
James McDonald
Chris Archer
John Lamb
Mike Montgomery
Etc..
What do you guys think about that list?? Anyone stick out more than others??
If you’re looking for pitching, I would start by going through the prospects of teams that play in very strong pitchers’ parks. If you can find the next guy to get a rotation shot in San Diego or Seattle, or LA, you can fill out the back of a rotation quite effectively. The Dodgers especially have a lot of middle of the rotation prospects (Eovaldi, Webster and some others who are a bit further away). Middle of the rotation pitching in Dodger Stadium = decent numbers in a deeper league.
Prospects who have been injured (not shoulders, though) are probably another option. I think people like Vizcaino, Lamb, Gibson, maybe Inoa, are undervalued, because people lose patience, but these days, elbow injuries have less of a long-term impact.
Finally, look at the guys who had a rough month or two at the end of the season, especially when it’s likely just to be tiredness. Prospect watchers always seem to me to be keen on the new shiny toy, so people like Carlos Martinez and Julio Teheran are downgraded somewhat based on very little. Sure there are similar options further down the rankings, but I’m too lazy to try and think who they might be.
For sure! When evaluating your team, it’s worth mentioning your league uses a scoring system that places a huge emphasis on hitting. You have a solid core of young talent that will be helpful down the road, especially if Heyward and Stanton develop properly.
Nevertheless, the trick will eventually be acquiring a few pitchers that can form the core of a decent pitching staff. The question is whether you acquire the pitching yourself through your system or try to pickup a big time pitcher through a trade? As always, it mainly depends on what opportunities arise.
At this point, for your pitching at the major league level, I would focus on trying to acquire high-upside (but also high risk) pitchers at the major league level who are available at minimal cost. Since you are playing for the future, the benefit is you can afford to have several pitchers struggle assuming you can find one or two guys who will provide long-term value. I did one of my first-ever posts on this site about pitching bargains, and I sorta like the idea of targeting: (1) ex-prospects, (2) injured pitchers, and (3) ex-stars.
http://www.deepleagues.com/?p=570
If y’all were trying to locate major league pitchers with future potential without sacrificing too much (i.e., excluding the Matt Moore and Stephen Strasburgs of baseball), who would you target?
Here are my main ingredients..
C – Salvador Perez .. very young, solid defensively, good percentage of throwing out runners, and may hit .300 .. similar to a Carlos Ruiz perhaps with more pop in his bat!
1B – Eric Hosmer .. prized first baseman!! .300/30/100 guy all the way
SS – Jurickson Profar .. my Shortstop of the future.. as long as Texas doesnt convert him to a 2B to spite Elvis Andrus. Great all around player who reminds of Jimmy Rollins
3B – Evan Longoria .. Mr Clutch!! Longo is Tampa’s best player (no offense to Matt Moore or any other talente young guy they have) and I plan on seeing him put up some huge numbers in the AL East if he continues to stay healthy. If all fails I have Xander Bogaerts as a backup plan to replace him down the road.
OF – Jason Heyward/Mike Stanton/Ben Revere .. very young trio of outfielders with years of production yet to come. Revere brings the speed and energy. Heyward will eventually hit for average once he figures out big league pitching.. hes just too good not to! Stanton is a 50+ home run guy waiting to happen..
SP – Taijuan Walker/Tyrell Jenkins .. young duo of arms who havent proved anything yet, but have pretty high upsides. Counting on these guys to blossom this season.
Closer – Drew Storen .. young fireballer at the back end of a very improved Washington squad. Once this team puts it together he could be getting 40-45 saves a season!
All in all those arent too bad of building blocks to start with.. Now if I can find some depth in this years Rookie Draft I think Ill be set moving forward. I dont see myself winning this season with my weakened staff..
What’s up Jed! I wish I could say I liked that trade, but unfortunately, I agree w/ the other commenters. Basically, when I look through the trade piece-by-piece, it seems like the other owner should have been willing to make a more simple trade that did not include Garza and the draft picks.
McCutcheon/Stanton: two of the best players in baseball under the age of 25, but I think you can make an argument for putting McCutcheon over Stanton. Stanton’s strikeout totals make me a little nervous, but he does offer huge power and the chance to be a star. McCutcheon is one of the best all-around players in baseball, and even though it’s questionable how much the numbers will improve, he clearly offers tremendous value in dynasty leagues.
Jenkins/Rosario: both long-term prospects, but each carries enough risk to be valued in the second half of the top 100 despite their long-term potential. I would probably value Jenkins>Rosario right now, but once it becomes clear Rosario’s future is at 2B, I would value them pretty close together.
Garza/draft picks: Garza is an extremely solid fantasy starter who posted a respectable strikeout rate last season. You will get better value at 15 than 33, but the 2011 draft is awfully deep after those first elite players.
My thought is the trade would have been better w/o Garza and the draft picks. I don’t think the other team lost value swapping the first two players, but assuming you really wanted those players and the other team was unwilling to pull the trigger without more value, I probably would have capped the offer w/ a pitcher carrying less value than Garza (and the picks) or perhaps just the #33 pick by itself.
It’s just a lot to give up for Stanton, but the great thing about trades is you never know how they will work out! Ideally, Stanton will have a breakout season and you will have sold Garza and McCutcheon at the right time. You made some solid trades last off-season that worked out perfectly, so hopefully this one will work out too.
Thanks for the insight guys!
I watched the MLB Network’s top 25 players under the age of 25 the other night and they voted on Stanton being the best of the pack!! He beat out Kershaw, King Felix, McCutchen, Hosmer, Matt Moore, Strasburgh and many many more up and coming stars. I think thats saying something. I really like McCutchen I just dont ever see him leading the league in any particular categories like Stanton can (HR, RBI, and possibly Walks). McCutchen is one of the most exciting players to watch no doubt!
Losing Garza will definately set me back for this season.. but after all I didnt see it likely for me to win this year anyways with Garza being my only good starting pitcher.. and by adding Jenkins Im adding to my future pitching staff. I now have 4 first round picks in our Rookie Draft also!
Jed, I saw your team originally when you posted it a few weeks ago and thought your starting pitching was thin, this trade will really thin it out! IMO McCutchen could have fetched more, but not a terrible trade! That #15 pick in the draft can fetch some higher end prospect.
Good luck!
I have seen suggestions that Rendon will not be able to play second competently at the big league level, and that, if they need to move him (depends on whether they can/will lock up Zimmerman long term) he would have to go to first or the outfield.
I prefer the other side of that trade. I think Stanton gets too much love just based on the power – he’s not going to hit for great average, and he doesn’t steal much, so he’s going to be well above average for the power categories and not so much elsewhere. I also think you are underrating McCutchen – I’ve seen various suggestions that he still has more power to come. Personally, I see the prospects part of the trade as a wash, and the outfielders as being pretty much a wash (I prefer McCutchen, but I like guys who contribute across the board), so I think you lose the deal by however much you value Garza (which should be a reasonable amount in a 20-team league).
Brad,
Can I get your own personal opinion (grade) on this trade I just made in the 20 team league I just joined? It relates to this 2B board…
A few notes: The Rookie draft mentioned below is drafting from a pool players that A) were drafted in 2011’s first year player draft and signed with an MLB club or B) signed with an MLB as an internationalee (see Leonys Martin).
I Get: OF – Mike Stanton, SP – Tyrell Jenkins, Rookie Draft Pick #15
I Give: OF – Andrew McCutchen, SP – Matt Garza, 2B – Eddie Rosario, Rookie Draft Pick #33
I personally think Mike Stanton is going to be a top 10 player and so does MLB Network as they voted him the #1 player under the age of 25 (beating out King Felix, Kershaw, and yes McCutchen too). Jenkins will provide some future punch on my pitching staff and I wasnt sold on Garza anyways. Rosario is the only piece that I gave up that I’m afraid will come back to bite me. He has some pretty big hype surrounding him and Im a huge Minnesota fan so I hope he does do good.. just might make this trade somewhat painful. As for the rookie picks.. I moved up in the draft which I also feel was a good move seeing as though this years class looks to be one huge bed of talent!!
A 20 team league may make it more necessary to have depth.. but when I have guys like Longoria, Hosmer, Heyward, and now Stanton. I think Im sitting pretty good for the next 5 years when it comes to offense.
Thoughts??
Where would Christian Colon rank?
He has been pushed aggressively by KC … I would have him in the top 5.
I too would rank Wong #1. I would move Schoop to #2 and Rosario to #3. Spangenberg would be #4 for me.
Rosario could shoot up to #1 after next season if he stays at 2B and has a follow-up year similar to this past one.
I agree about moving Odor up to as high as 6, based on his potential. He is my top break out candidate for next season.
Valdespin played the majority of his games in 2011 at SS, and is a possible replacement if Reyes leaves via FA.
One guy that hasn’t been discussed yet is Torreyes. His contact ability is elite, and I would rate him as high as #5 at 2B. With Hamilton and Torreyes, the Reds have 2 exciting young middle infielders.
I like that suggestion, Drew. Belanome made the transition to AA smoothly, and his 1.035 OPS is impressive for a second baseman. Statistically, it’s a little hard to justify picking Cunningham or Hernandez over Belanome.
One hard part about going through the statistics on BR is it’s hard to sort players by position. For example, even though I did not look closely, my first instinct was Belanome did not play second. Had I considered him, he probably would have made the list. How high on this list would you rank him?
Thanks for the feedback! It’s helpful hearing possibly deserving names that are not listed b/c it allows me to look at guys I am not watching closely.
The fact that Vincent Belnome isn’t on this list is a crime. He has always been league average age for each stop, and his numbers, especially this year, say he will be a solid 3-4WAR, which is pretty good for a 2B.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=belnom001vin
Agree Rendon needs another position b/c Zimmerman should be at third base long term. If that happens, it’ll be interesting to see what happens w/ Espinosa. Washington has the potential to be really tough in a few years adding Harper and Rendon to their lineup.
Great. Thanks. I think Rendon to 2nd is going to happen. He should be arriving in D.C sooner rather than later and there’s no place for Zimmerman to go.
Don’t think it’s a complete certainty. Based on what I read, the Twins switched him to second base in the instructional league w/ the intention of playing him there next season.
I was 50/50 about listing Rosario at second. Generally speaking, my rule of thumb is to list players based on where they played a majority of games last season. But I made an exception on this list for both Rosario and Adrian Cardenas partially based on the 2B list being really thin and thinking there was enough info to list them at that position.
There are tons of prospects currently playing SS and 3B who could theoretically end up at 2B (Billy Hamilton, Nick Franklin, Jean Segura). I even read one report speculating the Nationals might try Rendon at second base based on the presence of Ryan Zimmerman. That move would be interesting b/c Rendon’s value as a MI would be huge, but I’m not sure it will happen.
I don’t see any games logged in the infield from Rosario. Is that position switch a certainty?
Just saw the ’stros are not getting Thad Levine…
http://espn.go.com/dallas/mlb/story/_/id/7300461/texas-rangers-thad-levine-opts-stay-club
Bummer b/c he seemed to be one of our top choices. Does anybody know much about Bill Geivett from the Rockies? I am not too familiar, but he is supposedly a candidate. Based on the rumors of the other candidates they are trying to get (Freidman, Levine, etc), it seems like they are on the right track so I’ll be happy even if I’m less familiar w/ the candidate they hire. We are in a tough position trying to overhaul the front office in the middle of the offseason. I can also see some candidates being reluctant to take on the job based on our current circumstances. But hopefully, the ’stros can get the right candidate by assuring them we are committed to a long term process we know cannot be fixed overnight.
Both my favorite sports teams (Ole Miss Football and Astros Baseball) are searching for new leadership, and it’s been fun keeping up w/ the searches! My teams were the probably among the most frustrating to watch last season in all of organized sports, and I am really hoping both teams can hire the right person to turn things around.
Good comments, y’all. Even though there are no consensus top players at second base, I agree there is some depth. In five years, the players listed might look better than today just b/c a number of the prospects are young guys w/ some breakout potential. The problem w/ the position is the talent level in AA and AAA is really thin.
I sorta like the idea of switching around the Top 4. I had trouble ranking them because, at this point, I would rank each of them near the end of the Top 100 within about 20 spot of each other. You can make a good case for ranking Gennett higher. Based on last season’s numbers, his value should be about the same as last year (meaning he should be higher on this list b/c the talent pool is thin).
I started looking over shortstops. Unlike second base, the problem at shortstop is finding enough room to rank the players who deserve to be listed. I might expand the SS list to 40 players b/c there are more potential pickups?
Scoot Gennett is very underestimated and needs to be moved up and given a chance as well
I think I would pretty much reverse the order of your top 4, but there isn’t an awful lot between them. Might move Odor up a bit more – he is only 17 and performed respectably at low-A, with good defense as well.
The shortstops should be easier, as long as you’re including people who may well have to move off the position later on.
Seems there is a little more depth in 2B then years past. I find 2B used to be a specialty filler position, like runs or SB, but now there seems to be a little bit of power there too with some players!!
Good luck finding 25 SS’s…hahaha
I hope you are right re: DeShields. The ’stros promoted him pretty aggressively starting him in Greenville, and the numbers could have been better. I was fairly patient lowering his ranking during the season, because at several points, I thought he showed early signs of breaking through. Unfortunately, the breakout never occurred and his numbers were pulled down by multiple stretches where he would record outs in 20-25 consecutive AB’s. I was encouraged by the 52 walks, but at the same time, the 118 strikeouts are a concern. I loved the post-draft reports discussing his plate discipline, and based on those, I was hoping for a K:BB rate of about 1.5 (maybe 60 BB’s and 90 K’s).
But you are right that, amidst the concerns, the potential for a breakout is still present. It’ll be interesting to see if the team sends him back to Greenville or promotes him to the California League? The Astros have plenty of time to be patient w/ our prospects, and part of me thinks DeShields could benefit from some additional time in Greenville, and ideally, he could spend the second half of the season in California once the numbers improve. But from an outsider’s perspective, it’s hard to know the best approach for a player b/c so much depends on stuff I don’t know. For example, I’ve seen teams hold back certain prospects who moderately struggled, and after the problems did not improve the next season, I partially wondered if the mental aspects of not getting promoted (getting discouraged, etc) can contribute to additional problems in certain players.
I was 50/50 about who to place in the top spot. Realistically, the #1 second base prospect this season sorta wins the award by default because there is nobody like Ackley, Kipnis, Lawrie, or Segura. I think the ‘big 4″ are Spangenberg, Wong, Schoop, and Rosario. All four players are good candidates for the second half of any top 100 list, but at this point, they are not clearly top prospects. I think this list will look stronger next season. There are a number of good young SSs who could get moved, and plus, this list contains a number of younger prospects (Lindsey, Odor, Coyle, Brett) who could really improve their status w/ a big performance in 2012.
Nice list Brad!! The one guy I see potentially raising his value the most on this list is Deshields..and I know you love hearing that being an Astros fan and all.. the only possible change I may make is Wong ahead of Spangenberg.. just because I think Wong is gonna be a legit. 300 hitter at the big league level..