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Post by Grant on Feb 9, 2010 13:40:17 GMT -5
Please post only scouting reports from reputable sources. We are not looking for the "I was at the game once and that dude was awesome" variety. Also, please indicate the players position and what level he is (A, AA, AAA).
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Post by bigjake62505 on Feb 10, 2010 16:08:33 GMT -5
From Minor League Ball Website
Top 20 Tampa Bay Rays Prospects for 2010
All grades are EXTREMELY PRELIMINARY and subject to change. Don't get too worried about exact rankings at this point, especially once you get beyond the Top 10. Grade C+/C guys are pretty interchangeable depending on what you want to emphasize. Complete reports on these and over 1,000 other players will be in the2010 Baseball Prospect Book, now available for pre-order, shipping on February 2nd!
1) Desmond Jennings, OF, Grade A: Borderline A-, but my gut is saying to be aggressive with this one. A perfect leadoff hitter with blazing speed, great strike zone judgment, low strikeout rate, and enough power to make the pitchers respect him. Only worry is that injuries may recur.
2) Jeremy Hellickson, RHP, Grade A-: For many years, I was the most famous baseball-oriented graduate of Hoover High School in Des Moines, Iowa. Jeremy Hellickson has changed that. Roy Oswalt type if he avoids injury. I love the guy.
3) Wade Davis, RHP, Grade A-: I love this guy too. If Hellickson could become Oswalt, Davis could become John Lackey.
4) Matt Moore, LHP, Grade B+: Strikeouts may be fascist, but apparently I have an inner authoritarian because I love strikeouts. Command problems preclude an A-, but the sky is the limit on Moore's potential.
5) Alexander Colome, RHP, Grade B: borderline B+. Excellent stuff, just needs to sharpen his command and transition to full-season ball.
6) Reid Brignac, SS, Grade B-: Glove has really developed, bat is good-enough for him to play given the defense. No room in Tampa barring injury; would be terrific trade bait.
7) Alexander Torres, LHP, Grade B-: More strikeouts, and gets lots of grounders, too. Command needs to sharpen up for a higher grade.
8) Tim Beckham, SS, Grade B-: Still has youth and tools, but not developing the way scouts anticipated. Plate discipline and defense have become issues. It will be very interesting to see how this one pans out. . .could be anything from a B+ to a C a year from now.
9) Nick Barnese, RHP, Grade B-: Durability may be an issue, but I've liked him since he was in high school. Might not have the ceiling of the other guys, but could be a good three/four if he stays healthy.
10) Wilking Rodriguez, RHP, Grade B-: Great stuff but need to see him at a higher level than the Appy League.
11) Luke Bailey, C, Grade C+: Difficult to rank since we don't know if the Tommy John is going to impact his defense yet. Was a first round talent before he got hurt.
12) Kyle Lobstein, LHP, Grade C+: Pitchability lefty breezed through the New York-Penn League. Projects as control-oriented three/four starter, assuming he passes the Double-A test.
13) Aneury Rodriguez, RHP, Grade C+: Got killed the first half of the season in Double-A, but pitched great starting in mid-July. Could break through in '10.
14) Kyeong Kang, OF, Grade C+: Underrated tools, took a big step forward with his plate discipline while hitting .307 with power in the Sally League.
15) Matthew Sweeney, 1B, Grade C+: He is a butcher at third base and needs to move to first, but I really like the bat. Nice pick up in the Kazmir deal.
16) Todd Glaesman, OF, Grade C+: Excellent tools, have to see if he can control the zone at higher levels. Could be Top Ten guy next year if he does.
17) Alex Cobb, RHP, Grade C+: Overlooked amidst all the other pitching in the system, but could develop into a nice inning-eater type.
18) Jake McGee, LHP, Grade C+: He was horrible coming back from Tommy John, and as a result it's hard to rank him. Could get back into the Top Ten easily, so monitor spring reports closely.
19) David Newmann, LHP, Grade C+: Throws strikes with good sinker and breaking stuff, knows how to pitch, career has been slowed by Tommy John and a blown knee but has always been good when healthy. Sleeper.
20) Matt Gorgen, RHP, Grade C+: Command is an issue but I like him as a sleeper relief arm.
OTHERS (Grade C): Nevin Ashley, C; Tyler Bortnick, SS; Joseph Cruz, RHP, Devin Fuller, RHP; Hector Guevera, SS; Kevin James, LHP: John Jaso, C; Jake Jefferies, C; Jeff Malm, 1B: Jason McEachern, RHP; Ty Morrison, OF; Rayner Oliveros, RHP; Jacob Partridge, LHP; Fernando Perez, OF; Zach Quate, RHP; Heath Rollins, RHP; Cody Rogers, OF; Scott Shuman, RHP. I ended up cutting Eduardo Morlan and Shawn O'Malley for space.
I love this system.
Not just the amazing aggregation of talent at the top, but the way they run the system really impresses me. The Rays can pick good college guys with developed skills. They can pick raw high school guys and turn them into players. They have an effective Latin American operation. They don't push guys too fast: they are particularly conservative with the high school arms, letting them percolate enough at each level. They are the Anti-Mets in that regard, and it really seems to work for them. They can even pick a guy like Rayner Oliveros (released by the Royals) off the scrap heap and get something out of him.
As good as the system is at the top, there is plenty more at the lower levels. Several of the Grade C guys could develop into excellent prospects, particularly '09 high school draftees like Malm, James, Rogers, and Partridge. Hector Guevera also draws strong reviews, but I want to see what he does in North America.
Can you imagine how good of a defensive outfield Crawford/Jennings/Upton is going to be?
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Post by bigjake62505 on Feb 10, 2010 16:19:15 GMT -5
Its hard to tell where these guys are going to be right now. When we get closer to spring training we can tell who is getting invites to spring and once opening day kicks off we will have a better grip on what is going on.
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Post by navisnavy on Feb 13, 2010 15:48:40 GMT -5
Wade Davis - SP - Tampa Bay Rays Resource(s) - Fangraphs Pitch F/x Data, brooksbaseball.net Pitch F/x Tool
Pitches 1) 4SFB 2) Curveball/Sweeping Curveball 3) Slider 4) Cutter 5) Circle Changeup
4SFB Notes - Uses it about 60% of the time to all parts of the strikezone. Velocity - Sat at 91.9 in the big leagues, scouting reports have him sitting higher in the minors. Had already pitched 160 innings before pitching 35 more in the majors, so some minor fatigue may have had the effect. Sits at 91-94 and can touch 96 (Jonathan Mayo, mlb.com). Control/Command - Average at best. Tends to leave it over the plate too much. Pitches to all locations, low and away to righties seems popular. Break - Straight My Recommendation - (94 MPH Vel, 45-50 Control, 30 Break)
Curveball Notes - Uses it about 13% of the time. 10-4 break, difficult to decipher if it is sweeping or just a normal curveball. All sources state as a plus plus pitch. Fangraphs pitch values (Small Sample Size) agrees that it is a very very good pitch. Uses it very heavily against lefties. Velocity - Sat at 78.3 in the big leagues. Control/Command - Best command of this pitch. Confident in it and can pinpoit locations with it (Raysprospects.com). Plus Plus command by all accounts. Break - 10 inches of horizontal break and 16 inches of veritcal break. Good late break. Some sources have it as an 11-5 curveball, but this is clearly 10-4 to me when I look at the data. He may have enough feel for the pitch that he can change the break as he pleases. Brooksbaseball being down wont allow me to confirm this, though. My Recommendation - 80 MPH Vel, 80-85 Control, Break depends on whether we decide on CU or Sweeping CU.
Slider(Slurve) Notes - Uses it about 9% of the time. Could be classified as a slurve. Useable pitch, but no scouts see it as more than average (fangraphs has it at slightly above average). Uses predominatly more against righties. Velocity - Sat at 84.5 in the big leagues Control/Command - Average at best. Pitches primarily away from righties with it. Break - 8 inches of horizontal break and 8-9 inches of vertical break. Slurvy though reports say it is pretty tight. My Recommendation - 86 MPH Vel, 40-45 Control. Don't know what inches of break translate to on a slurve.
Cutter Notes - Used it about 7% of the time in the majors. True cutter. Relatively new pitch he began throwing in 2008, but has a feel for it. Abandoned a 2 seamer he was working on for it (raysprospects.com). Velocity - Threw it pretty hard in the majors, only .2 MPH slower than the 4seamerat 91.8 MPH Control/Command - Doesn't locate it too well, but doesn't leave it out over the plate either. Can be erratic. Break - Three inches of break. My Recommendation - 92 MPH Vel, 40-45 Control. 3" of break.
Circle Changeup Notes - Some publications have it as a straight change (Mayo, raysprospects.com), but it is, in fact, a circle changeup. Most project it to be at least a major league average pitch. Velocity - 83.2 MPH in the majors giving him about 9 MPH of separation off the fastball. Control/Command - Average. Can't throw it to all spots, but uses it where he wants to. Improving. Break - 2.5 inches horizontally by 3 inches vertically. Not great, but the fade is enough to be more than serviceably. My Recommendation - 82 MPH Vel, 45-50 Control, 3" by 3" of break.
One of the most durable pitchers in the minors who hasn't had injury problems and (with his standard mechanics) shouldn't run into them. May be fatigued after starting 34 games this past year, but his 6'5" - 220 frame means he shouldn't have a problem enduring a heavy workload. Tapering velocity on all pitches as he continued pitching in the majors is a mild concern.
Always has had above average but not great K/9 ability, while he has recently kept his BB/9 in check. Projecting about 7.75 - 8.25 K/9 with 3.65 - 3.20 BB/9 is probably about where he will be most of his career. Home runs have been a small issue and expecting 0.75 - 1.10 HR/9 isn't ludicrous. His stuff is prone to generating flyballs.
While I know because there is major league data of him he is easier than other prospects to scout, but I thought I'd put this out there so we could maybe get people to start doing a little more of this before the game actually releases. I'll do one for Nick Barnese soon.
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