Baseball America has released their Rays Top 30+1 prospects. Here is the list (which was written prior to the Matt Garza trade):
1. Jeremy Hellickson
2. Matt Moore
3. Desmond Jennings
4. Jake McGee
5. Josh Sale
6. Alex Torres
7. Alex Colome
8. Justin O'Conner
9. Drew Vettleson
10. Jake Thompson
11. Enny Romero
12. Nick Barnese
13. Ty Morrison
14. Braulio Lara
15. Tim Beckham
16. Alex Cobb
17. Luke Bailey
18. Yoel Araujo
19. Joe Cruz
20. Zach Quate
21. Todd Glaesmann
22. Derek Dietrich
23. Ryan Brett
24. Scott Shuman
25. Wilking Rodriguez
26. Kevin Kiermaier
27. Hector Guevara
28. Leslie Anderson
29. Kyle Lobstein
30. Stephen Vogt
31. Isaias Velasquez
Following the Garza trade Jim Callis explained in an Ask BA piece where those players would have fit into the above rankings:
4. Chris Archer
8. Hak-Ju Lee
12. Brandon Guyer
Jim didn't mention where Robinson Chirinos would be, but I'm guessing somewhere in the 20's.
You can compare this list to John Sickels Top 20 and our personal lists here.
Anyone look out of place?
Braulio Lara in the top 15 (pre-Cubs trade) looks a little high. Also surprised to see Yoel Araujo as high as he is. Also disagree with having Zach Quate over Scott Shuman. Other than that no one really caught my eye as being too high or low.
ReplyDeleteLowest ranking yet for Cobb and Cruz, highest for Beckham (some of these are by just a slot or 2, but still lowest and highest).
ReplyDeleteDang they must really like Araujo. THey have him above both Guevara and Brett. And no Bortnick either.
ReplyDeleteWhere is A.Suarez? The Rays added him on 40-man roster last year. I think it meant that he is healthy now and get his stuff back . I really wonder why
ReplyDeleteShuman and Quate are both outstanding pitchers. I can see them both working together. Remember Quate was selected by the Rays as their top reliever (minor league) and was a two time all-star.
ReplyDeleteOF Emeel Salem, OF Reid Fronk, OF Kyeong Kang, 3B Greg Sexton, SS/2B Tyler Bortnick, 1B Michael Sheridan--have they just become "filler" players in the Rays organization?
ReplyDeleteLast anon,
ReplyDeleteProspect sites (such as BA) often don't like ranking players who profile more as back-ups than anything else. Technically, if they were going for future overall value, some of those guys would make the lists. But when the guys project as backups, they tend to not get ranked or to get ranked lowly.
Homein22, agree on Suarez. I think BA probably wants to see how he does this year with a bigger workload, since last season he was on a low pitch count as he returned from TJS. He's my lower-level breakout candidate, as I've said before.
ReplyDeleteMichael, agreed. Kang wasn't very good last year, so he drops. Only surprise was Bortnick for me. No worries defensively long-term, and his bat played well in full-season A ball. He deserved a mention, at least in the 20's. I did like the inclusion of Velasquez, he always flies under the radar.
ReplyDeleteDoug A. Milhoan, "He's my lower-level breakout candidate." Me too, And I think W. Rodriguez will be breakout, and get higher position, too.
ReplyDeletewould have liked to have seen Cody Rogers on the list. I believe he's worthy of this list..any one else agree?
ReplyDeleteWe have him as the #15 hitter (down from #12 last year), but with more talent among the pitchers, he doesn't quite make a top 30 overall list. He still has great tools but he really struggled in Bowling Green last season. This may be a pivotal season for him, and I wouldn't be surprised to see him put it together and have a great year. Question is does he repeat at Bowling Green, probably as their CF, or move up to Charlotte, probably as their LF?
ReplyDeleteNO WRIGLEY?
ReplyDeleteFan Graphs posted their Top 30 here: http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/top-30-prospects-the-tampa-bay-rays/
ReplyDelete