Results tagged ‘ Houston Astros ’
OMG: The AL West
Sorry for the short delay, but it’s now time to take a look at the AL West prospects. As always, here are the links to the organizational previews and the Top 20 lists, followed by the OMG (One More Guy) from each team in the division:
And now, here’s the OMG, aka Prospect No. 21, for each system:
Astros — Jio Mier, SS — Still young and talented enough at a premium position to not give up on. There are other SS now in the system, so he’ll have to get it going.
Angels — Natanael Delgado, OF — 16-year-old signed this summer, chance to be RF type. May take a long time, but considerable upside.
A’s — David Freitas, C — Offensive-minded backstop came in the Kurt Suzuki trade, hit well following bump to Double-A post-trade.
Mariners — Patrick Kivlehan, 3B — Rutgers football standout decides to play baseball again as a senior; wins Big East Triple Crown, then Northwest League MVP. Raise your hand if you want to see more.
Rangers — Hanser Alberto, SS — That’s right, another shortstop prospect in this system (though he has played a little 3B). He’s gotten Elvis Andrus comparisons, surprise… and earned a promotion to the Carolina League before he turned 20
Beyond the Top 100
After any Top 100 prospects list comes out, there’s going to be outrage, disbelief, dismay (there’s also some triumph, jubilation, celebration, but that doesn’t fit into the subject of today’s post). The list gets pored over and complaints about snubs come pouring in. You thought people were upset that Ben Affleck didn’t get a Best Director nod for “Argo”? You should talk to Astros fans about Delino DeShields Jr. Sheesh.
So, I thought it a good idea to throw out a Nos. 101-110 list. Yes, this could open a pandora’s box if guys aren’t on that list who you think should’ve been on the Top 100 to begin with. But I can deal with that. I’m happy to keep the conversation going. And keep in mind, the team Top 20s start rolling out on Monday, so there’ll be more fuel for the fire soon enough. Keep in mind, this next 10 isn’t a guaranteed list of who’ll be the first to move in when guys graduate as 2013 gets started, but clearly some names will come from this list onto the top 100 during the season. No time for expanding on this list, so here it is:
101. Dan Straily, RHP, A’s
102. Delino DeShields Jr., 2B, Astros
103. Luis Heredia, RHP, Pirates
104. Daniel Corcino, RHP, Reds
105. Brett Jackson, OF, Cubs
106. Marcell Ozuna, OF, Marlins
107. Michael Choice, OF, A’s
108. Tyler Thornburg, RHP, Brewers
109. Corey Seager, 3B/SS, Dodgers
110. Arodys Vizcaino, RHP, Cubs
Who’s next: The outfielders
The final positional list went up on Monday, and it was a doozy. The Top 10 outfielders is jam-packed with talent and the second 10 is probably better than the top 10 at some other positions. As always, you can read the story or go right to the list.
Nos. 11-15 in the outfield department is a very strong list, perhaps with only the RHP 11-15 list coming close to competing. Here it is:
Jorge Soler, Cubs
Brian Goodwin, Nationals
Rymer Liriano, Padres
George Springer, Astros
David Dahl, Rockies
I think the names speak for themselves. The next set of names shows you just how talent-laded the position is. Without giving it all away (you have to check out the Top 100 list tomorrow and all the team lists, after all!), names like Gregory Polanco, Courtney Hawkins and Jake Marisnick are not too far behind.
Looking forward to seeing/hearing/reading everyone’s reaction to the Top 100 tomorrow. Be sure to tune in to MLB Network or MLB.com at 9 p.m. ET. And we’ll be live tweeting during the show, using #mlbpipeline. We’ve got some great prospects lined up to participate: Taijuan Walker, Archie Bradley, Tyler Skaggs, Mike Zunino, Billy Hamilton, Mike Olt and Zack Wheeler (listed in no particular order). So be sure to join us there and interact with some of the game’s top prospects. And if you’re not doing so already, follow @MLBPipeline for all of your prospect info!
At some point tomorrow, I’ll be back with a scorecard of sorts of how all 30 teams fared in regards to placement on the Top 10 by position lists. Does it lead to any conlcusions? Not necessarily, but I always like to add more fodder for debate.
Who’s Next: The first basemen
Hey all –
Have to be quick today as we’ve got the big Top 100 reveal tomorrow (MLB Network and MLB.com at 9 p.m. ET!!). Besides, coming up with 5 more first basemen isn’t exactly. But here’s a list of names. I’ll be back later today with the much easier to come up with outfielders.
Nate Freiman, Astros
Ricky Oropesa, Giants
Christian Walker, Orioles
Neftali Soto, Reds
Jesus Aguilar, Indians
If you have suggstions for other first basemen to consider, by all means, let me know.
Who’s Next: The third basemen
Much like I said when I discussed the Nos. 11-15 catching prospects the other day, coming up with the next set of prospects at the hot corner isn’t the easiest exercise in the world.
You can read the story about the Top 10 third basemen or go straight to the list itself.
Here are some thoughts on who could be 11-15, wiht the admission that it’s very difficult to come up with a set ranking with this group:
Miles Head, A’s — He hit for average and power while reaching Double-A in his first full season with the organization, coming from the Red Sox in the Andrew Bailey deal. Whether he stays at third remains to be seen.
Garin Cecchini, Red Sox — He stayed healthy in 2012 and showed he can really hit and play third. He even stole 51 bases. And I thought his younger brother Gavin was the one with the wheels!
Richie Shaffer, Rays — The first-rounder out of Clemson is an advanced bat with power. He’s playing third right now, but obviously with Evan Longoria entrenched, he’ll have to move to first or the outfield to get his bat into the lineup.
Rio Ruiz, Astros — Houston’s creativity in the Draft allowed them to aggressively pursue Ruiz and his outstanding left-handed bat. He gets comps to Eric Chavez.
Patrick Leonard, Rays — Sure, Wil Myers and Jake Odorizzi get all the attention, but Leonard could end up being a very good part of that package for James Shields and Wade Davis the Rays got from the Royals (This my wild card pick).
What to make of the Jonathan Singleton suspension
These days, I spend most of my time working on MLB.com’s 2013 Prospect Watch lists. Top 10 by position, Top 100 overall and, of course, Top 20 per team. The lists are more or less done and we’re in the content-writing stages now.
Any time there’s news regarding a prospect, I’m going to take notice. That’s true any time of year, as we try to keep things up to date. Now, though, I’m on hyper-alert for anything that could cause a change in rankings.
So when news came out about Astros first base prospect Jonathan Singleton’s 50-game suspension for testing positive for a “drug of abuse,” the alarms went off. I’m not exactly giving anything away by telling you that Singleton was set to be highly rated on the 2013 lists. He is, after all, currently No. 25 on the Top 100, No. 1 on the Astros’ Top 20 and the top-rated first baseman as well. He came in at No. 6 on my AFL Top 25. Here’s Singleton at the 2012 Futures Game:
I can, at this point, shift things around as needed for the 2013 lists. Nothing is set in stone as of now. So I sent out a quick survey to a number of scouts, the very ones I poll to generate the Top 100 rankings and asked a simple question:
Jonathan Singleton gets a 50-game suspension for a “drug of abuse.” What does that do to his prospect status?
Honestly, I wasn’t sure what to expect in terms of response. This was by no means a thorough and scientific poll. But I did hear back from six, all of whom gave me some variation of “Not much.”
A couple said that the only way it would really impact him is if it turned out he had a truly bad addiction to something (most feel the “drug of abuse” was marijuana), and that it had a negative impact on his performance. One pointed out that had it been a suspension for a PED, that would be different, since it could be argued that use of that substance led to his placement as a top prospect.
Two said it would lessen his value a bit to other clubs, that perhaps other teams would be less interested in acquiring him as a result.
But, for the most part, even if they gave Singleton demerits for being stupid, it wouldn’t really impact his status as a prospect. Why? He’s only 21 and even after serving his 50 games, he’ll still spend more than half of the season in Double or Triple-A as one of the younger regulars at that level. Prospects have missed more than that much time with an injury, one scout pointed out, and came back just as good. With no injury here, there’s no reason not to think Singleton will be fine on the field once he comes back.
So, maybe it slows Singleton’s path to the big leagues a bit, one that wasn’t necessarily blocked by anyone long-term (Carlos Pena, Brett Wallace and Rule 5 pick Nate Freiman are the in-house options at first as Spring Training approaches). But other than that, assuming Singleton can avoid such tresspasses in the future, most think he’ll be just fine.
AFL Reports: A’s and Reds
The Oakland A’s AFL report focuses on Grant Green. The video report looks at Green, James Simmons and Max Stassi.
I haven’t posted the Reds’ AFL video report on here. This might surprise you, but it talks about Billy Hamilton, along with Didi Gregorius and Donald Lutz.
And here are your Stars of the Day for Friday and Saturday:
Friday: Astros prospect George Springer had a perfect day, going 3-for-3 with a pair of homers and two walks. He went 20-30 during the regular season and after a homer on Monday, he has four homers and five steals this fall.
Saturday: I don’t often give a Star to a pitcher who gives up a run, but I’ll make an exception here. Robbie Erlin of the Padres gave up a run on five hits over four innings, but he didn’t walk anyone and he struck out eight. He’s now second in the AFL in strikeouts with 25.
AFL Report: Astros and a Yankee Star
The Houston Astros are up next, with intrepid reporter Brian McTaggart writing about new manager Bo Porter’s visit to his prospects in the AFL.
As always, here’s the video report, focusing on Jonathan Singleton, George Springer and Jarred Cosart.
Now, a look at Tuesday’s Star of the Day:
The Yankees’ Slade Heathcott hasn’t had the easiest path as a professional. No. 5 on the New York’s Top 20, the former first-rounder has had some issues on and off the field. Injuries have really hampered him (2 shoulder surgeries) and his career high in at-bats is just 351. So he’s really trying to make up for some lost time with Scottsdale this fall. He certainly did that on Tuesday, going 4-for-5 with a double, two triples and five RBIs. He’s hitting .275/.408/.400 over 11 AFL games (40 ABs). He’s really enjoyed hitting from the leadoff spot, with a .471 average in four games. And yes, he was in that slot on Tuesday.
AFL Star of the Day, Vol. 4 and 5
Hey all –
We’ll cover two days with one post, as long as there aren’t any objections.
First, for Friday’s action:
I’m declaring it a draw, an all-UConn day. There was shortstop Nick Ahmed of the Braves. The 2011 second round pick out of UConn went 3-for-3 with a double, two runs scored and four RBIs. He’s gone 5-for-9 in two AFL games to date after a solid first full season in the Carolina League that saw him steal 40 bases.
Then there’s the Astros’ George Springer. A 2011 first-round pick (No. 11 overall) also drove in four runs with a homer and a triple, going 2-for-3 with three runs scored. Springer was a California League All-Star, putting up some big numbers, albeit in Lancaster (22 HR, 28 SB, .557 SLG). He earned a promotion up to Double-A, where he struggled a bit.
Ahmed, in case you were curious, is No. 10 on the Braves’ Top 20 Prospects list. Springer is No. 3 on the Astros’ Top 20 and No. 48 overall.
Now on to Saturday’s action:
It’s tempting to go with Mike Zunino of the Mariners. After all, how often does a catcher hit two triples in one game. But the real Start of the Day has to be Brock Kjeldgaard of the Brewers. The outfielder hit two homers and drove in three runs. Kjeldgaard clearly has some pop — he hit 24 homers in 2011 — but took a step back in 2012. Could he be righting the ship in Arizona? He’s 4-for-7 with three homers and 4 RBIs in two games.
AFL Star of the Day, Vol. 2
It’s pretty clear that the Star of the Day comes from the Surprise Saguaros, who beat Peoria, 8-4.
Rangers first base prospect Chris McGuiness went 4-for-5 with three RBIs, falling just a triple short of the cycle (in over 1,500 professional plate appearances, McGuiness has just one triple, so this isn’t exactly shocking). McGuiness, a product of the Citadel, came to the Rangers from the Red Sox as part of the Jarrod Saltalamacchia deal. He’s coming off a solid 2012 campaign in Double-A where he finished fourth in the Texas League in homers and seventh in slugging percentage.
He’s playing in Surprise with some of his former organization-mates from Boston. Bryce Brentz, the Red Sox’s No. 4 prospect (and No. 70 overall), drove in a pair of runs in Wednesday’s game as well.
Elsewhere… Rays OF Kevin Keirmaier stole three bases as his Phoenix Desert Dogs lost in 11 innings to the Scottsdale Scorpions, 6-5. And Salt River homered three times. The Diamondbacks’ No. 4 prospect Matt Davidson hit one, and two of the Nationals’ Top 20 went deep as well: Matt Skole (No. 12) in the first inning, going back-to-back with Davidson, and Brian Goodwin (No. 3 and No. 67 overall) in the 9th.
Jonathan Singleton, ranked No. 1 on the Astros’ Top 20 (and No. 25 overall), also went deep in that game.
Jonathan Mayo
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