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Baseball's top prospects.....

Discussion in 'Sports Forum' started by TomVols, Mar 25, 2008.

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  1. TomVols

    TomVols New Member

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    ....are in AAA this year.

    Evan Longoria was sent down by the Rays. Jay Bruce, Baseball America's MiLBer of the year, will start the season in AAA Louisville intead of Cincinnati.

    I know Bruce has virtually no AAA experience and Longoria is inexperienced, too, but should these guys be in AAA?
     
    #1 TomVols, Mar 25, 2008
  2. Andy T.

    Andy T. Active Member

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    CF Cameron Maybin, the top prospect the Tigers traded to the Marlins in that blockbuster deal, will start in AAA. He's only hit .190 in spring training and struck out almost half the time. Of course, D. Willis is stinking up the place too, so maybe both teams will get a raw deal. If Miggy C. can hit .310/40/120, then I'll be ok with it. :)
     
    #2 Andy T., Mar 26, 2008
  3. ccrobinson

    ccrobinson Active Member

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    In regards to Longoria, the Rays aren't going to contend this year. But, they have a lot of young talent and it's conceivable that they'll be in contention by the time Longoria is eligible to be a free agent. There's no guarantee that they could keep him at that time, so an extra year of Longoria, when they could be contenders, at the cost of a few months, when they won't be contending for anything, is totally worth it. So, I think that's a good move.

    I didn't know much about Jay Bruce's minor league numbers, so I did a spot of research. I don't think it's a bad move to send Bruce to AAA for a bit. His OBP in spring training was .200, which is over 150 points less than his career OBP in the minors, and while I know Dusty doesn't care about OBP, it does suggest that maybe he isn't quite ready for the majors. If his OBP in spring training had been what it has been in the minors, I think he'd be on the Opening Day roster.

    In regards to other young players being sent down, Jarrod Saltalamacchia is starting the season in AAA. From what I understand, it's due almost entirely to him not being ready to be a big league catcher. If the Rangers have no plans to move him to 1B and plan on him just being there C, then this is the right move.

    The most suspect of all the young talent being sent to the minors is that of the White Sox, sending Josh Fields back and starting Joe Crede at 3B. Either they think they'll get the '06 Crede who hit 30 HRs (which I think was an aberration and not the norm), or maybe they hope he'll start the season strong so they can some good value for him in a trade with the Dodgers. If it's the latter, and they do get good value, then this will turn out to be a good move. At the moment, it's suspect.
     
    #3 ccrobinson, Mar 26, 2008
  4. PastorSBC1303

    PastorSBC1303 Active Member

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    IMO it is always best for these "top prospects" to spend a little extra time in the minor leagues.
     
    #4 PastorSBC1303, Mar 26, 2008
  5. TomVols

    TomVols New Member

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    CCROB, where did you find Jay Bruce's numbers? Can't seem to recall where I saw them. I like OBP if you're high in the order, but if you're hitting sixth, seventh, and maybe 2nd, I don't think OBP matters all that much. Bruce was exhibiting a high baseball IQ. Marty quoted some stat about his being over a 500 hitter the second time he saw a pitcher during the Spring. I don't know what he has to prove in the minors. OTOH, with the glut of OF on the Reds' bench, there is just no room (especially after Dusty had Krivsky go out and sign two more). I suspect Bruce will be back in Cincinnati after Freel and/or Hopper are traded. It will be interesting to see what comes of Homer Bailey. Once considered the best P in the Reds farm system (and some said in all of MiLB), he is struggling to find his way. He'll either be the 5th man or he'll be in Louisville. No way he goes to the pen. (Watch Dusty put him in the pen as LRP). Rumors have him in a package with Ryan/Norris.

    I don't know that I agree with having Salt in the minors. The Braves seemed sold on him being ready for the Bigs. Longoria? Well, hard to say. I think your analysis is probably right, but why wait either way?
     
    #5 TomVols, Mar 26, 2008
  6. ccrobinson

    ccrobinson Active Member

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    Hey Tom, I found Jay's minor league numbers here. I had never heard of the site until I went looking for his numbers.

    I sort of follow you in that you want a high OBP for the batters that bat in front of your power hitters, but I want as high an OBP as I can get for every batter in the lineup. It only stands to reason that the more baserunners you have, the more runs you'll score.

    That's true, and I can only guess that Dusty remembers the Corey Patterson of 2003. I have no other guess about why Dusty wanted him so bad.

    I hadn't heard this. Where do the rumors have those guys going? I think it would be best for Homer's career to get him out of Cincy before Dusty abuses him like he did Prior and Wood.

    If you want to trade someone, and you want everybody to see how good he is, what do you do? You put him on the major league roster and show his tools. With the Braves C position settled with McCann, they didn't really need Salty, so I think they put him on the roster to showcase his bat and get the Rangers to bite on a trade for Teixeira.

    Look no further than Alex Gordon a year ago. He was a "can't-miss" prospect and was terrible early last year.

    Baseball is filled with "can't-miss" prospects who did, and I think a big part of the reason is because some of those prospects got called up too soon. I think some of them were overwhelmed by playing in the Bigs, and when they didn't meet the high expectations, their confidence was crushed and they couldn't overcome it.
     
    #6 ccrobinson, Mar 26, 2008
  7. Jimmy C

    Jimmy C New Member

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    From what I read, the Rangers would like to trade Gerald Laird their current catcher - he had a good spring (as did Salty). The rangers are probably not going anywhere (again) this year, want Salty to get a bit more seasoning (HA!) and want to maximize Lairds market value. Salty is still young, the Rangers are extremely high on him. Rangers will move Laird by the trade deadline for some good prospects, Salty will be up by then
     
    #7 Jimmy C, Mar 27, 2008
  8. 4His_glory

    4His_glory New Member

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    You have to look at the other guy we got in the Maybin trade. I will take Miguel Cabrera over Cameron Maybin any day.

    Also I would not worry about Willis just yet. Give him some time. Remember we made it to the WS with Mike Maroth, I think Willis is better than him.
     
    #8 4His_glory, Mar 28, 2008
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