Prospects/Farmhands '05

[AZZenny]

USAToday/Baseball Weekly lists the NL West prospects this week. They have the DBack's system 16th in MLB and 2nd in the NLWest after the Rockies.

Top hitter Carlos Quentin, top pitcher Matt Chico.

Cream of the Crop: Conor Jackson, Josh Kroeger (!) and Sergio Santos.

Then : Reggie Abercrombie, Phil Avlas, J'aime D'Antona, Jerry Gil, Enrique Gonzalez, Mike Gosling, Koyie Hill, Chris Snyder, Marland Williams. Up and coming: Jon Zeringue, Garrett Mock, A.J. Shappi.

Now, I'd take this listing with an order of fries, but that's about it. They suggest Conor will be the CF of the future - 1) never heard that before anywhere, and he's never played it, 2) he's a big guy who is not exceptionally fast nor does he have a super OF arm for CF. I'm not sure how Koyie Hill goes on the prospects list at this point. Much as I personally like Josh Kroeger, I've never seen him rated anywhere near this high in our system before. Abercrombie at 24 has never made it past 'toolsy' - 12 Ks for every BB last year - and most of us bet he never will. None of our very good relief guys like Justin Wechsler or Nippert are even mentioned, and they are definitely better prospects to get to the majors and stick than Gill, Abercrombie, or probably even Kroeger.

Next week Baseball America dissects our prospects. THAT should be interesting.

 

[coyoteshockeyfan]

No mention of Pena either. Interesting.

On a side note, doesnt Hill still count as a prospect under Baseball America's standards? I think so.

 

[AZZenny]

Actually, he was lumped in the 'worth-noting' section along with the up and comers (all from last year's draft).
'It was a controversial summer for right-hander Ramon Antonio Pena, who was known until late spring as Adriano Rosario, and was the Diamondback's top prospect. (...changed his ID to appear younger, not uncommon among DR prospects, yada yada, actually four years older than thought. Visa problems kept him home last year, etc. etc.) But he's been throwing in the mid-90's in winter ball.'

They had him as almost 19 last spring, so he's going to be 23 this May, I guess - where he ranks as a 'prospect' is uncertain, since 'upside/potential' is substantially linked to youth as much as it is experience. An 18-year-old with a mid-90's fastball and one or two workable other pitches has more room to develop power and refinement than a 23-year-old who's been kicking around a bit, at least in theory.

You're right about Hill, actually - I forgot how little he'd played. If Snyder counts, so does Hill.

 

[tarner1]

That article sounds wierd... conor in CF???

More confusing is how the rockies have a better farm system than us, and my feeling (as much as i dont like to say this) is that the dodgers system is by far the best in the NL west...

 

[AZZenny]

Yeah, it did seem weird.

According to BA, Dodgers have one of the two or three deepest farm systems in baseball. They just profiled them a couple days ago. That said, I saw a few of their top ten in AZFL and they didn't knock my sox off - a couple of the 11-20 group looked better, like Jason Repko. (Now THERE's a CF prospect.) Oh - duh - that's what they mean by deep.

MONDAY is not just Valentine's Day - not just Arizona Statehood Day! - it is the day Baseball America will profile our top ten prospects for 2005. Normally they have a live chat about the team they profile at 2 PM ET (12 Noon here, I think - my sense of time is notoriously askew) that day, so if you have questions about our boys - not just the top ten - that's probably a very good forum. I am hoping my afternoon frees up so I can pester the beejeezus out of them.

 

[Brandon_Webb]

If i think of a question Sir Zenny, can you send it in for me? I think i'll be in school

 

[schillingfan]

If i think of a question Sir Zenny, can you send it in for me? I think i'll be in school

It's Madam Zenny to you.

 

[AZZenny]

I am bummed that at the moment it looks like I'll be nowhere near an internet-connected computer at Noon. Unless something cancels, won't be able to do it. Hmmm...Schillingfan...? Anyone?

Why don't we try to come up with a handful of legitimate questions before then, here, and anyone who can get online can ask for us?

The obvious question is: Best prospect - Conor? Or Carlos? And where do they see Conor best fitting - OF or 1st?
What about Sergio Santos - is he losing his luster a bit as he matures, and if they DO get Drew, where does Santos go? Catchers - Avlas? Hill or Snyder? I really like Avlas, though he's a couple years off.
I guess Corey Myers barely fits 'prospect' anymore, but he looked awfully good in AZFL - any real future?
Hmm - have to think about pitchers and relievers especially.

 

[Brandon_Webb]

I hope he gives a lengthy answer about Corey Myers. Also Mike Gosling, and what he thinks happened to him. And where he thinks our system ranks with the rest of the league.

 

[nathan]

Kevin Goldstein seems to be their web guy. I wonder how much experience he has with this kind of thing. Hopefully he was able to talk to a lot of people within the organization.

If you can't submit questions to the chat or he doesn't answer your question you could always email him. BA writers actually read their email. I got a quick response from Will Kimmey last time.

 

[AZZenny]

Today BA profiles Rockies - there's quite a difference between the top 10 they list and the USA Today list, as there was with LA. There are a lot of names I recall from AZFL and listening to minor league games last summer - they do have some strong prospects at all positions. I think their pitchers sort of get discounted just a bit since who knows how they'll do at Coors.

btw, seems some of the BA live chats start at 1 or 2 PM our time, so we'll have to check early Monday AM. That would be good, I could make that probably.

 

[devilalum]

Prospects/Farmhands '05?

Maybe they'd have better luck looking on an actual farm.