BA FSL Top 20

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Donnie Veal comes in at 5, Sean Gallagher at 11.

 

The top 5:

 

RHP Homer Bailey

RHP Yovanni Gallardo

LHP Scott Elbert

3B Ryan Braun

LHP Donnie Veal

 

Nothing new here for Donnie:

 

Veal has evoked so many Dontrelle Willis comparisons that it's necessary to issue a disclaimer: Veal is not Dontrelle Willis. His delivery, while tough on hitters, doesn't have the same deception that Willis' pinwheeling motion has.

 

But the results have been similar. After a midseason callup, Veal was even better than he was in the low Class A Midwest League, limiting FSL batters to a .170 average.

 

He does have a high leg kick that helps him conceal the ball until late in his delivery. Combine that with his 92-93 mph fastball, and hitters were overmatched even though he pitched almost exclusively with his heater. He would bust batters inside with a four-seamer, then pick up strikeouts by painting the outside corner with a two-seamer.

 

Veal has good athleticism and a mature frame that seems perfectly suited to eat innings, but he'll have to improve his curveball and changeup. While his fastball command is solid, he struggles to locate his curve with any precision.

 

Sean:

 

An offseason in the weight room paid off for Gallagher, who showed up with extra velocity this season. His 90-92 mph heater, paired with above-average fastball command, has helped raise his stock as a prospect.

 

Though Gallagher didn't allow an earned run in his first six starts in 2005, when he led the low Class A Midwest League with 14 wins, there were worries that his stuff was too fringy. But with the boost to his fastball, he became a more complete pitcher. His curveball is still his best pitch--it's a sharp, late breaker with good depth--and he shows more confidence in his improved changeup.

 

If there's still a concern with Gallagher, it's that what you see is what you get. There's not much projection to his 6-foot-2, 225-pound frame, but that was the case a year ago as well. He has displayed a knack for getting inside the head of hitters and enough command to work all four corners of the plate.

Edited October 4, 2006 by CaliforniaRaisin

[Outshined_One]

Link

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Chat is at 2 pm ET.

[Mephistopheles]

Gotta love if a > b, then b > a transitivity.

[CoolHandLuke]

Q&A started. Anyone without a sub. have any questions?

[CaliforniaRaisin]

You need a subscription to ask questions?

 

EDIT: Wow, I guess it is. Didn't realize that. I asked about Fox and Harvey.

[Mephistopheles]

http://www.all-baseball.com/cubreporter/archives/024428.html

 

All of them are apparently out. No Scott Moore in the SL.

 

Q: Walt from Park Ridge, Il asks:

Did any of the Daytona Cubs just miss the top 20? I thought that Fox and Fuld might have had some consideration. Also did Ryan Harvey make any improvement over last year? Thanks

A:

 

J.J. Cooper: Fox was in the No. 20-25 range. He has a solid bat with a patient approach and he did a good job of generally staying back to drive the ball with power. The bad? Some managers felt he was too pull happy at times, and there are still questions about his defense at catcher. He's adequate receiver who struggles to throw guys out. If he ends up having to move off of catcher, his value would take a significant hit, obviously. And the fact that he's a 24-year-old repeating the league makes his year look a little less impressive. Fuld was a scapper, the kind of guy that every manager wanted to have on their team because of his hard-nosed approach. He can run, and plays a solid center field, but obsevers worried that he's already maxing out his talent, as he's a small guy who'll have to prove it in each step up the ladder. He was also 24 for the entire year, which hurt him when comparing him to some of the other guys battling for the last spots on the list.

Q: Navin from Los Angeles asks:

Ryan Harvey came on strong in the second half with impressive power numbers (especially for the FSL) and credited it to changing his swing. That said, I'm still not optimistic about Harvey, should I be?

A:

 

J.J. Cooper: Harvey did finish strong (.316 in July and August) after a brutal first half of the season, but are still plenty of concerns. Yeah, he's got great power, but he struggles way too much with strikeouts, and teams found that they could bust him in, then get him to chase out of the zone away. His hands seem quick enough to handle being busted with inside heat, but something about his swing path means that it's a long swing that causes him to struggle to pound pitches that he should hit out of the park. That said, he has a ton of tools, and its still too early to give up on him. But he has a long way to go.

 

Q: Greg Tabeek from Ft Lauderdale asks:

Nice to see "Sean Gallagher" finally getting some from BA how in the heck is he not above Mark Rogers. I don't understand BA facination with this guy. He has done nothing but because he was a high draft pick you guy's love him!! There were certainly more deserving pitchers who should've taken his slot.

A:

 

J.J. Cooper: Guys, I think I've answered a question like this every year. These lists are not entirely based on who had the best stats at a level. If they were, they'd be a lot easier to do, but at the same time, you'd have a legitimate reason to ask why it's worth reading, since anyone of you with Excel can order the stats as well as we can. Yes, stats matter, but they're also combined with stuff, which is why you'll see a guy like Rogers still rank high despite an awful season. I hope the writeup made it very clear that he's a high risk guy, but at the same time, his arm is one of the five best in the minors and he has a second pitch that also shows signs of being an out pitch. Comparing Gallagher to Rogers, Gallagher is MUCH more likely to reach his ceiling than Rogers, but if Rogers reaches his, he could be one of the best pitchers in the majors. I know one's a lefty and one's a righthander, but check out Randy Johnson's FSL line as a 23-year-old, he walked 94 guys in 120 innings. With pitchers with elite arms, you have to give them plenty of chances to figure it out. Some don't which leads to some of our more famous misses over the years, but those that do are the guys who are aces, which is why we want to highlight them for you.

 

Q: Brandon from Chicago asks:

Where does catcher Chris Robinson, now of the Cubs, fit into the Cubs cather equation, after a great year this year?

A:

 

J.J. Cooper: Robinson is the kind of guy who should keep climbing the ladder because he's got solid receiving skills. There are a lot of questions about whether he'll hit as he moves up, but he'll keep advancing because he is solid defensively.

 

Q: Matt from Houston, Tx asks:

How is Donald Veal behind Jamie Garcia and Colby Rasmus in the MWL, but ahead of them here? Don't you think you're factoring in the league performance a bit too much?

A:

 

J.J. Cooper: Ramsus was a tough rank, as few guys in the league saw him good, as he was a late callup, and he struggled in the FSL. To explain the discrepancy, we're not the politburo here, so while we compare notes, the rankings do depend a lot on guys who saw a guy in that league. Veal was dominant in the FSL, while Garcia and Rasmus were so-so. Not surprisingly, FSL managers and scouts saw Veal better than MWL guys. All three are solid prospects, and Veal's athleticism impressed.

 

Q: Steve from Iowa asks:

Who is closer to Chicago....Gallagher or Veal?

A:

 

J.J. Cooper: If they both stay as starters, Gallagher. Veal could move quickly as a reliever, but he still has some work to do on his secondary stuff as a starter.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

They didn't answer my Grant Johnson question. :(

 

Patterson over Moore/no Moore in the SL Top 20? Wow.

[Mephistopheles]

http://www.knoxnews.com/kns/smokies_baseball/article/0,1406,KNS_329_5033795,00.html

 

nothing to do with this thread, but interesting stuff nonetheless on Chris Colvin and others...

[CaliforniaRaisin]

I'm going to look forward to a hometown newspaper actually covering the Cubs' AA team.

[Laura]

http://www.all-baseball.com/cubreporter/archives/024428.html

 

All of them are apparently out. No Scott Moore in the SL.

 

KC linked to the Cub Reporter coverage of this. There's also a good discussion going on there on the Cubs prospects across the leagues.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

http://www.all-baseball.com/cubreporter/archives/024428.html

 

All of them are apparently out. No Scott Moore in the SL.

 

KC linked to the Cub Reporter coverage of this. There's also a good discussion going on there on the Cubs prospects across the leagues.

 

There is often a good discussion on prospects when Arizona Phil is there, always a good read.