Reader Participation: The Top 30 Prospects
I'm going to sticky this at the top for the next few days. Keep turning in those ballots.
As news slows down, I find myself starting to run low on things to write about. When this happens, I do what all great writers do, blatantly steal ideas from elsewhere. The source of my newest idea is the SBN Rockies blog Purple Row, and their reader poll of the top 30 prospects in the organization.
The idea is simple, the readers simply make their list of the top prospects, and then they receive points based on where they finished on the ballot, 30 points for first, 29 points for second, etc. After a couple weeks, I tally them all up, and we have an official True Blue L.A. top prospect list.
The one change that I'm going to make is that 30 prospects is asking a bit too much, it brings the list down to some players who have almost zero chance of making the big leagues, and it requires that you spend way too much time watching baseball. The compromise I came up with is that you can vote for anywhere between 10 and 30 prospects, any positions that aren't filled simply won't be counted.
To kick things off, here's my list. Keep in mind how much of a stat guy I am, so players have to actually do something to impress me. I do pay attention to the scouting reports, but players like Preston Mattingly and Josh Wall are going to take a hit. Of course, since I'm not a huge prospect guy in general, I probably left someone of the list. Because of this, my list will be changing over the next couple weeks as people point out my grevious errors.
| Rank | Player | Position | Highest Level |
| 1 | Scott Elbert | LHSP | AA |
| 2 | Andy LaRoche | 3B | AAA |
| 3 | Clayton Kershaw | LHSP | GCL |
| 4 | James Loney | 1B | MLB |
| 5 | Jonathan Meloan | RHRP | AA |
| 6 | Greg Miller | LHRP | AAA |
| 7 | Josh Bell | 3B | PIO |
| 8 | Bryan Morris | RHSP | PIO |
| 9 | Blake Dewitt | 2B | AA |
| 10 | Tony Abreu | 2B | AA |
| 11 | Justin Orenduff | RHSP | AA |
| 12 | Steven Johnson | RHSP | PIO |
| 13 | Mark Alexander | RHRP | AAA |
| 14 | Preston Mattingly | SS | GCL |
| 15 | Alberto Bastardo | LHSP | A+ |
| 16 | Josh Wall | RHSP | A |
| 17 | Travis Denker | 2B | A+ |
| 18 | Cory Dunlap | 1B | A+ |
| 19 | Wesley Wright | LHRP | AA |
| 20 | Bridger Hunt | CF | A |
| 21 | Chin Lung Hu | SS | AA |
| 22 | Zachary Hammes | RHRP | AAA |
| 23 | Ivan DeJesus | SS | A |
| 24 | Carlos Santana | 3B | A+ |
| 25 | Ryan Rogowski | OF | PIO |
| 26 | Delwyn Young | OF | MLB |
| 27 | Brian Akin | RHRP | AA |
| 28 | Eric Hull | RHSP | AAA |
| 29 | Eric Stults | LHSP | MLB |
| 30 | Casey Hoorelbeke | RHRP | AA |
When I put together this list, the big jump down after Mark Alexander and Preston Mattingly was noticeable, as well as the lack of catchers and outfielders in the organization. Still, I had trouble narrowing the list down to 30, and if the biggest problem with the farm system is that it peters off after the first 13 prospects, it's a good sign.
Cast your votes, and in a couple weeks, I'll tally up the results.
0 recs |
21 comments
Comments
My List
- Loney
- Kemp
- Kershaw
- Elbert
- Miller
- Mattingly
- Morris
- Abreu
- Young
- Orenduff
by Marty on Dec 18, 2006 2:30 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
I like your list
by Andrew Shimmin on Dec 18, 2006 3:34 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
Took me a while
- LaRoche
- Elbert
- Kershaw
- Loney
- Miller
- Meloan
- Dewitt
- Orenduff
- Morris
- Bastardo!
by Andrew Shimmin on Dec 18, 2006 4:35 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
LaRoche
by Marty on Dec 18, 2006 4:45 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
My Top 30
(01). Scott Elbert, LHP
(02). Andy LaRoche, 3B
(03). James Loney, 1B
(04). Clayton Kershaw, LHP
(05). Blake DeWitt, 2B/3B
(06). Jonathan Meloan, RHP
(07). Preston Mattingly, SS
(08). Josh Bell, 3B
(09). Greg Miller, LHP
(10). Tony Abreu, 2B
(11). Chin-Lung Hu, SS
(12). Ivan DeJesus, Jr., SS
(13). Steven Johnson, RHP
(14). Zach Hammes, RHP
(15). Eric Stults, LHP
(16). James McDonald, RHP
(17). Mike Megrew, LHP
(18). Delwyn Young, OF
(19). Xavier Paul, OF
(20). Wesley Wright, LHP
(21). Jesus Castillo, RHP
(22). Bryan Morris, RHP
(23). Mark Alexander, RHP
(24). Javy Guerra, RHP
(25). Cory Dunlap, 1B
(26). Josh Wall, RHP
(27). Justin Orenduff, RHP
(28). Carlos Santana, 3B/OF/C
(29). Marlon Arias, LHP
(30). Alberto Bastardo, LHP
Please feel free to make comments, or ask questions (for instance, you might want to know why I made certain choices, or you might want to know more about the players themselves).
by CanuckDodger on Dec 18, 2006 7:42 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
bridger hunt
at season age of 21 next year, hes my breakout propsect for next year in the cal league.
there, its been public, bridget hunt is my 2007 dodger prospect breakoutee.
let it be known around the world.
by npurcell on Dec 18, 2006 9:11 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Xavier Paul
by Andrew on Dec 18, 2006 9:40 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
X-Man
I will get into the scouting stuff, which is more important to me, in a second. You are more interested in the stats, so we'll take a look at that angle first, and you also bring up age. You say Paul is not "particularly young," but Paul was still "young," being 21 in a league where 22-shading-toward-23 is average. Chase Utley hit .257/.324/.422 in the FSL at age 22, so you can compare that to Paul's .285/.343/.430. Adjust for the age difference in one direction, and in the other direction adjust for the fact that Paul's home games were in a more hitter-friendly park, and the performances might come out in the same neighborhood. Also, take note of the differences in Paul's stats against lefty and righty pitchers. While managing only a .247/.307/.370 line against southpaws, Paul hit .293/.351/.442 against righties, which is not outstanding against righties, but is enough to think there may be a future in this game for the guy. If a lefty hitter can hit righties, MLB teams are pretty tolerant of futility against lefty pitchers. That's what platoons were made for.
Now for the scouting perspective. I'll come right out and say it: Paul is a poor man's Matt Kemp, scouting-wise. On the positive side, Paul has excellent bat speed: his swing is whip-like, short to the ball, and he finishes high, so the ball carries well when he makes contact. In the outfield, his arm is a cannon, and his throws are very accurate. Paul also has plus running speed. On the negative side, Paul has poor pitch recognition, which leaves him too often guessing at the plate. Fielding can be an adventure for Paul because he gets poor reads and jumps on flies, negating much of the value of his speed in the field. The value of his speed on the basepaths is also compromised by poor base-running technique. Now the positives and negatives I just listed mirror the positives and negatives of Kemp for the most part, if not entirely. In other words, the tools are there, they just need to be turned into baseball skills.
Kemp and Paul are the same age (well, Kemp is about five months older). They were drafted the same year, Paul in the 4th round and Kemp in the 6th. Has Kemp moved faster, and does he appear to have a brighter future? Absolutely, which is why I ranked Paul only #19 while if Kemp were still prospect-eligible I would have ranked him #1. But honestly, can we really say that Kemp has made faster "progress" than Paul turning his tools into skills? I am not so sure. Kemp still looks like he is learning the game of baseball in so many ways. I think that the fact that Kemp's tools come in a 6'4 body while Paul's come in a 5'10 body has made it possible for Kemp to buffalo his way through the minors in a way that a smaller and obviously weaker man can't, without refining his tools. (The 6'4 Jeff Francouer buffaloed his way to the majors quickly the same way, despite the fact that his baseball skills are still raw.) Also, Kemp's being a right-handed hitter has meant he has not had to worry about the handicap that so many young left-handed hitters face because they are just not used to batting against same-handed pitchers.
I hope I have answered your question about Paul to your satisfaction, if not persuaded you of his merits. I won't be surprised if Paul doesn't make it to the majors, as guys who rank #19 in a particular system usually don't. But I do see some potential for an MLB career there, possibly as the lefty side of a platoon, and very likely for a smaller market team than the Dodgers.
by CanuckDodger on Dec 19, 2006 2:07 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Bastardo
by Andrew Shimmin on Dec 18, 2006 9:51 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
The Bastard
by CanuckDodger on Dec 19, 2006 2:50 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
My name. . .
by Andrew Shimmin on Dec 19, 2006 9:43 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
I have no idea what I'm doing
- Scott Elbert
- James Loney
- Andy LaRoche
- Clayton Kershaw
- Greg Miller
- Blake DeWitt
- Jonathan Meloan
- Justin Orenduff
- Tony Abreu
- Preston Mattingly
by Rich on Dec 18, 2006 8:22 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
Reader Participation
- Andy LaRoche
- Clayton Kershaw
- Scott Eldred
- James Loney
- Greg Miller
- Jonathan Meloan
- Blake DeWitt
- Tony Abreu
- Josh Bell
- Bryan Morris
- Preston Mattingly
- Ivan DeJesus
- Mike Megrew
- Bridger Hunt
- Jesus Castillo
- Stephen Johnson
- Chin Lung Hu
- Zach Hammes
- Xavier Paul
- Wesley Wright
- Cory Dunlap
- Lucas May
- Javy Guerra
- Josh Wall
- Russell Mitchell
- Casey Hoorelbeke
- Justin Orenduff
- Ryan Rogowski
- Tony Harper
- Ramon Paredes
by grabarkewitz on Dec 18, 2006 9:07 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
Preston Mattingly?
by robohobo on Dec 19, 2006 4:41 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
He probably gets props
by robohobo on Dec 19, 2006 4:57 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
Maybe
by Andrew on Dec 19, 2006 5:10 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Kemp and Mattingly
At any rate, Mattingly definitely qualifies as a "high risk, high reward" prospect, and if in ranking prospects "potential" is an important criterion for you, then Mattingly certainly deserves a high ranking. But if in making rankings of Dodger prospects you regard "proven production" and "closeness to the majors" as more important than potential, then you are not going to be that big on Mattingly -- at least yet.
by CanuckDodger on Dec 19, 2006 6:23 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

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