BA Arizona League Top 20

[toonsterwu]

AZL TOP 20 PROSPECTS

1. Guillermo Pimentel, of, Mariners

2. Yordano Ventura, rhp, Royals

3. Robinson Yambati, rhp, Royals

4. Tyler Roberts, c, Brewers

5. Junior Arias, ss, Reds

6. Donavan Tate, of, Padres

7. Cheslor Cuthbert, 3b, Royals

8. Luis Sardinas, ss, Rangers

9. Ismael Guillon, lhp, Reds

10. James Baldwin, of, Dodgers

11. Austin Reed, rhp, Cubs

12. Jonathan Correa, rhp, Reds

13. Chuckie Jones, of, Giants

14. Christian Villanueva, 3b, Rangers

15. Carlos Melo, rhp, Rangers

16. Heath Hembree, rhp, Giants

17. Chevez Clarke, of, Angels

18. Ji-Man Choi, 1b/c, Mariners

19. Teodoro Martinez, of, Rangers

20. Ralston Cash, rhp, Dodgers

 

BA's starting their league rankings. I'm a bit surprised Austin Reed came in at 11th overall, but he did have a very nice run in Arizona this summer. Will be curious to find out what the scouting report says.

[Guest]

BA's starting their league rankings. I'm a bit surprised Austin Reed came in at 11th overall, but he did have a very nice run in Arizona this summer. Will be curious to find out what the scouting report says.

 

http://www.baseballamerica.com/online/prospects/rankings/league-top-20-prospects/2010/2610707.html

 

11. Austin Reed, rhp, Cubs

B-T: R-R Ht.: 6-3 Wt.: 200 Age: 18 Drafted: Cubs '10 (12)

 

Reed dropped to the 12th round primarily because he was expected to attend San Diego State to either join or replace his brother Addison on the Aztecs staff. Neither will take the mound at Tony Gwynn Stadium next year, as Addison joined the White Sox as a third-rounder while Austin signed with the crosstown Cubs for $150,000.

 

The younger Reed effectively mixes a fastball, curveball and changeup from a high three-quarters delivery. He already throws his fastball at 90-91 mph and could get better as he gets stronger.

 

Citing his intelligence and ability to make adjustments on the fly, Cubs pitching coach Rick Tronerud compared Reed to Jon Garland, whom he coached in the AZL in 1997. "He's one of the most mature 18-year-old kids I've been around in this league," Tronerud said.

 

Navin (Pasadena, CA): I know he barely played after signing but do you have any early thoughts on Reggie Golden? Thank you.

 

Bill Mitchell: I saw Golden bat a few times and was impressed with the swing. He looks to be a good blend of raw athleticism with good baseball skills. He didn't play the field at all, but I've heard that he's got prototypical right field skills. Great makeup, too —- a real good kid. He likely would have qualified for this list if he hadn't had hamstring problems that led to him being shut down early. He's back for Instructional league, so I may know more after possibly seeing him play tomorrow.

 

Navin (Pasadena, CA): Were there any other Cub prospects close to making the list? Yao-Lin Wang and Pin-Chieh Chen at least seemed intriguing given their age and stats. Thanks!

 

Bill Mitchell: The Cubs like Chen, a second baseman from Taiwan. He's an athletic kid with soft hands, plus speed and a solid swing. Luis Liria, a right-handed pitcher, got some consideration from managers; he's got a fastball that gets up to 94 with a decent slider and a good feel for pitching. One more to watch is late-round sleeper Dallas Beeler, who was coming off TJ surgery after pitching one year at Oral Roberts —- a big guy who could add velocity (usually threw around 92-93) and has a really good slider.

 

http://www.baseballamerica.com/online/prospects/rankings/league-top-20-prospects/2010/2610708.html

[Guest]

They also listed their AZL Top 20 from five years ago. Mark Pawelek was #1 and Sammy Baez was #17 back in 2005.

[toonsterwu]

Thanks.

 

I did not know that Liria could get up to 94. I thought he was more Robert Hernandez, peaking out low 90's.

 

Beeler's 92/93? Interesting information there. Thought he was a touch lower as well.

[Outshined_One]

As mentioned in the chat, this year is pretty much a down year for the AZL. Reed was pretty much a given, despite my attempts at playing devil's advocate elsewhere for ranking Chen over him. Although, the fact that the top players with the AZL Cubs were Reed, Chen, Liria, and Beeler seems pretty underwhelming.

 

I'm reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeally curious to see how they rank the NWL for the Cubs.

[Guest]

Remaining BA top 20 lists:

 

9/29 - NWL

10/1 - MWL

10/6 - FSL

10/7 - SL

10/13 - PCL

[CubsWin]

I'm reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeally curious to see how they rank the NWL for the Cubs.

Some names that should receive consideration:

 

SS Arismendy Alcantara

2B Pierre LePage

C Micah Gibbs

P Austin Kirk

P Cam Greathouse

P Brett Ebinger

P Aaron Kurcz

 

Would Szczur qualify for this list given his limited playing time (18 games, 73 ABs)?

[toonsterwu]

As good as he was in Boise, I'll be mildly surprised if LePage makes the list. His potential isn't that high. It's possible that he gets on the back side of the list, but I'll be a touch surprised.

 

If I'm taking a guess on NWL for BA, positionally, Alcantara seems like the only guy with a solid shot at cracking the list. I don't think Szczur had enough AB's, and the rest of the bats at Boise this year were fairly pedestrian in regards to prospect status. I'll be curious to hear the reports on his defensive ability there. Offensively, he's got to cut down the K's, but he's young. I'd guess back end of the top 20 (15-20), but I admittedly haven't scanned through all NWL rosters.

 

I have to think Austin Kirk will crack the top 20 list. I really don't recall any negative reports/comments about his NWL time. I'd guess a possible top 10-ish. Aaron Kurcz might have a shot as a 11-20 guy if they really like his stuff to move fast. Will be curious where the two lefties land - Greathouse and Ebinger both had excellent seasons in the NWL. Greathouse gets a lot more pub, partly due to draft status, but I am intrigued with Ebinger. The mechanics look solid, seems to hide the ball fairly well, the changeup is, by most accounts, good, and unlike, say, James Russell, he seems to locate and attack with his fastball a bit better than James did coming up. Breaking ball has to get better, but lefties that throw strikes and have two solid pitches have a chance.

 

I think a lot of us have acknowledged all season long that the lower levels are pretty thin, though, and of these names, only Alcantara and Kirk really excite as of now. Unlike AZL, there aren't any "under-the-radar" guys here that I really have hope (in regards to value/ability) for as of now (out of guys who got a lot of PT in Boise this year). I mean, with AZL, you could point to perhaps Darvill turning it around (and he scuffled in Boise), Geiger perhaps being a sleeper, the young arms like Richardson/Hartmann.

 

Granted, some of those guys may struggle to get going, maybe as soon as Boise, but geesh, this was a lackluster Boise crop. Eliot Soto seems like ... a poor man's Darwin Barney? I liked Harrington for the round he was selected in, but geesh, that wasn't a good 124 AB sample in Boise (granted, small sample). Was never as enthused with Na, and I can only dream that Gibbs can hit enough to move up and be of value, instead of being the new Tony Richie. LePage seems like he could be useful, maybe a "sparkplug" or "grinder" type that surprises, but excitement? Eh.

 

On the pitching side, if there's a guy I'm mildly intrigued with, it'd be Matt Loosen. That said, Loosen's best case seems to be in that Craig Muschko/Mitch Atkins type of mold. Should I be all that enthused with Juan Yasser Serrano? Fitzgerald was a disappointment ... but he's never really been as good as some hoped he'd become 2 summers ago.

 

Here's hoping some of these guys take big steps forward this winter.

[toonsterwu]

As mentioned in the chat, this year is pretty much a down year for the AZL. Reed was pretty much a given, despite my attempts at playing devil's advocate elsewhere for ranking Chen over him. Although, the fact that the top players with the AZL Cubs were Reed, Chen, Liria, and Beeler seems pretty underwhelming.

 

I'm reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeally curious to see how they rank the NWL for the Cubs.

 

If Liria and Beeler can really peak in the mid-90's, I'll be fairly intrigued. I didn't think either guy were guys where people had any expectations of mid-90's peak. The way they made Beeler sound, it had me mildly thinking of when Sean Gallagher was coming up in the lower levels (still one of the bigger disappointments for me in recent years, really big on Gallagher and he seems to have just stalled with control issues).

 

I'm hopeful some of the young arms like Hartmann and Richardson take a step forward this offseason now that they have had a taste of pro life. There's enough pitching talent that was in AZL to give me some hope ... positionally, it's just ugly, although I still like Geiger a fair amount. What's the news on Burruel these days?

[davell]

I wonder how high BA will have Reed in their top 30 for us at this point? It wouldn't surprise me to see him show up somewhere in the 18-22 range......

 

As for the NWL, with it being a very large(14 team league) I'd be surprised if anyone shows up for us other than Kirk and Alcantara, unless Szczur had enough plate appearances to make it. Kurcz was dominant though, so he'll have a shot too I suppose.

[toonsterwu]

much as I was okay with the Hayden Simpson pick, seeing Justin O'Connor rank 2nd in the GCL list does make me a touch wistful for what might've been. Granted, O'Connor seems like he needs a lot of work, but he would've been a fascinating bat addition to a system that really could've used it.

[Guest]

Josh Sale was still available.