BA's 2004 League Top 20 Prospects

[trailboss]

O.K. how do you start a new thread here? Hasn't anybody seen Baseball America's Overall ALL-Star Team? We shouldn't add it to something else. How do you get a seperate thread for that link?

[A. Cavatica]

From the Sally League:

1. Delmon Young, of, Charleston, S.C.
2. Ian Stewart, 3b, Asheville
3. Lastings Milledge, of, Capital City
4. Adam Miller, rhp, Lake County
5. Yusmeiro Petit, rhp, Capital City
6. Chuck Tiffany, lhp, Columbus
7. Jarrod Saltalamacchia, c, Rome
8. Brandon McCarthy, rhp, Kannapolis
9. Andy LaRoche, 3b, Columbus
10. Clint Everts, rhp, Savannah
11. Michael Bourn, of, Lakewood
12. Jacob Stevens, lhp, Rome
13. Tom Gorzelanny, lhp, Hickory
14. Josh Anderson, of, Lexington
15. Chris Young, of, Kannapolis
16. Nate Schierholtz, 3b, Hagerstown
17. Scott Mathieson, rhp, Lakewood
18. Matt Albers, rhp, Lexington
19. Chin-Lung Hu, ss, Columbus
20. Brandon Moss, of, Augusta

"Managers and scouts agreed the talent in the Sally League was as good as it had been in a long time, possibly since the 1995 crop that included Andruw Jones and Vladimir Guerrero."

[shagar69]

Originally Posted by A. Cavatica

From the Sally League:

1. Delmon Young, of, Charleston, S.C.
2. Ian Stewart, 3b, Asheville
3. Lastings Milledge, of, Capital City
4. Adam Miller, rhp, Lake County
5. Yusmeiro Petit, rhp, Capital City
6. Chuck Tiffany, lhp, Columbus
7. Jarrod Saltalamacchia, c, Rome
8. Brandon McCarthy, rhp, Kannapolis
9. Andy LaRoche, 3b, Columbus
10. Clint Everts, rhp, Savannah
11. Michael Bourn, of, Lakewood
12. Jacob Stevens, lhp, Rome
13. Tom Gorzelanny, lhp, Hickory
14. Josh Anderson, of, Lexington
15. Chris Young, of, Kannapolis
16. Nate Schierholtz, 3b, Hagerstown
17. Scott Mathieson, rhp, Lakewood
18. Matt Albers, rhp, Lexington
19. Chin-Lung Hu, ss, Columbus
20. Brandon Moss, of, Augusta

"Managers and scouts agreed the talent in the Sally League was as good as it had been in a long time, possibly since the 1995 crop that included Andruw Jones and Vladimir Guerrero."

wow, i must say im kind of disappointed that bmac isnt higher! he should at least be the top ranked SP! but i do like that young made it in there! IMO, he will be a BETTER major leaguer than anderson and maybe even sweeny.

[Rex Hudler]

Originally Posted by shagar69

wow, i must say im kind of disappointed that bmac isnt higher! he should at least be the top ranked SP! but i do like that young made it in there! IMO, he will be a BETTER major leaguer than anderson and maybe even sweeny.

Keep in mind that McCarthy got better once he left the Sally League. He was 8-5 with a 3.64 ERA in Kannapolis. The Sally is a 16-team league, so it would be tough just to make a top-20 list.

Expect him to be higher when they name the list for the Carolina League.

[Randar68]

TOP 20 PROSPECTS 1. Jeff Francoeur, of, Myrtle Beach
2. Michael Aubrey, 1b, Kinston
3. Brian Anderson, of, Winston-Salem
4. Zach Duke, lhp, Lynchburg
5. Kyle Davies, rhp, Myrtle Beach
6. Brandon McCarthy, rhp, W-S
7. Ryan Sweeney, of, Winston-Salem
8. Brian McCann, c, Myrtle Beach
9. Richie Gardner, rhp, Potomac
10. Fernando Nieve, rhp, Salem
11. Tom Gorzelanny, lhp, Lynchburg
12. Josh Fields, 3b, Winston-Salem
13. Ryan Garko, 1b/c, Kinston
14. Brad Eldred, 1b, Lynchburg
15. Anthony Lerew, rhp, Myrtle Beach
16. Chris Ray, rhp, Frederick
17. Sean Tracey, rhp, Winston-Salem
18. Rajai Davis, of, Lynchburg
19. Hayden Penn, rhp, Frederick
20. Mitch Maier, 3b, Wilmington

Sox with 5 of the top 20 in a very deep league this year...

[maurice]

Originally Posted by Randar68

Sox with 5 of the top 20 in a very deep league this year...

Impossible! Everybody knows that KW failed to draft any decent prospects and traded all the good ones he inherited.

[Wealz]

I heard an interview with Twins GM Terry Ryan a couple of weeks ago talking about the Twins extraordinary success in player development. One thing he said was that every team has "prospects" in rookie and A ball and that in most cases you can't tell if these guys are legit until they reach Double-A.

[Randar68]

Originally Posted by Wealz

I heard an interview with Twins GM Terry Ryan a couple of weeks ago talking about the Twins extraordinary success in player development. One thing he said was that every team has "prospects" in rookie and A ball and that in most cases you can't tell if these guys are legit until they reach Double-A.

Nice. Discount what doesn't agree with your only topic/thought/rant...

[Randar68]

Originally Posted by maurice

Impossible! Everybody knows that KW failed to draft any decent prospects and traded all the good ones he inherited.

The list also didn't include Pedro Lopez, maybe the best defensive SS in the league at just 20 years old, or Rogowski, who is one of the most patient hitters in the organization. He's old for the league (turned 23 in May), but he's missed most of the past 2 years with injuries...

[Wealz]

Originally Posted by Randar68

Nice. Discount what doesn't agree with your only topic/thought/rant...

I think Terry Ryan's opinion on player development is more credible than mine or yours.

[shagar69]

Originally Posted by maurice

Impossible! Everybody knows that KW failed to draft any decent prospects and traded all the good ones he inherited.

its not that we dont have any prospects. its that all of the good ones are at the lower levels! that means that we dont got any help coming soon.

[maurice]

Originally Posted by shagar69

its not that we dont have any prospects. its that all of the good ones are at the lower levels! that means that we dont got any help coming soon.

I agree that most of our prospects are at the lower levels (which incidently confirms that KW has been repairing the damage done in the Schuler years). However, next year, Munoz and/or Bajenaru should be in the Sox pen, and Charlotte should have an excellent pen. Anderson, McCarthy, and Lopez were promoted to Birmingham this season. Sweeney, Fields, Tracey, Rogowski, etc. should get the call to Birmingham next year.

Though they're not really blue chip Sox prospects, Grilli, Valdez, and/or Hankins also should spend some time with the big club in 2005.

Patience, Grasshopper.

[Mohoney]

Originally Posted by Randar68

TOP 20 PROSPECTS 1. Jeff Francoeur, of, Myrtle Beach
2. Michael Aubrey, 1b, Kinston
3. Brian Anderson, of, Winston-Salem
4. Zach Duke, lhp, Lynchburg
5. Kyle Davies, rhp, Myrtle Beach
6. Brandon McCarthy, rhp, W-S
7. Ryan Sweeney, of, Winston-Salem
8. Brian McCann, c, Myrtle Beach
9. Richie Gardner, rhp, Potomac
10. Fernando Nieve, rhp, Salem
11. Tom Gorzelanny, lhp, Lynchburg
12. Josh Fields, 3b, Winston-Salem
13. Ryan Garko, 1b/c, Kinston
14. Brad Eldred, 1b, Lynchburg
15. Anthony Lerew, rhp, Myrtle Beach
16. Chris Ray, rhp, Frederick
17. Sean Tracey, rhp, Winston-Salem
18. Rajai Davis, of, Lynchburg
19. Hayden Penn, rhp, Frederick
20. Mitch Maier, 3b, Wilmington

Sox with 5 of the top 20 in a very deep league this year...

3 of which are in the top 7!

I can't wait until Spring Training next year. Who knows, maybe some of the Solar Sox can work their way into the picture in AFL, too.

We can debate the state of the farm system all we want, but anybody that doesn't see a significant improvement in the quality of our low minors from last year to this year has to be blind.

I guess these guys have to keep it going in AA to win some of us over, but I'm real impressed so far.

I think that we (along with the Braves, look at all those Pelicans on the list) have to take these rankings as an endorsement that our high A ball teams have taken a definitive step in the right direction.

[Randar68]

Originally Posted by Wealz

I think Terry Ryan's opinion on player development is more credible than mine or yours.

As long as it supports your point of view, you'd say Mother Theresa's opinion was more credible.

[MRKARNO]

Originally Posted by Wealz

I heard an interview with Twins GM Terry Ryan a couple of weeks ago talking about the Twins extraordinary success in player development. One thing he said was that every team has "prospects" in rookie and A ball and that in most cases you can't tell if these guys are legit until they reach Double-A.

Brandon McCarthy and Brian Anderson both made the High-A to AA switch without a problem.