Top 10's anyone

by Brakeman8 on Jul 29, 2009 8:13 PM EDT Comment 29 comments

Ok, so the Pirates pulled off two more trades today and brought in another group of young players into our system. Suddenly we have a lot of young talent. The question is, who are the best talents? I would love to see some folks post their top 10 Pirate prospects as of today. lots of talent to look at: Alderson, Alvarez, Clements, A.Diaz, Grossman, Hernandez, Lincoln, Locke, S.Marte, D.McCutchen, Milledge, Morris, Moskos, Owens, T.Sanchez, Tabata and dare I list N.Walker (remember him?).

I'm not quite sure how to rank 'em yet myself.

Have at it. I'm looking forward to seeing what other people think.

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List

1 – Milledge
2 – Alderson
3 – Tabata
4 – Alvarez
5 – Clement
6 – Dan McCutchen
7 – Hernandez
8 – Lincoln
9 – Tony Sanchez
10 – Owens
After that, 11-15 in no particular order, would probably be Dubee, Moskos, Grossman, Walker and Diaz

by Akshay R on Jul 29, 2009 8:27 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I don’t think Lastings Milledge really counts. He has almost 900 Major League at-bats.

by wickethewok on Jul 29, 2009 8:31 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

well...

in that case, then i’d take out milledge, put diaz at 10, and probably move marte into the 11-15 area.

by Akshay R on Jul 29, 2009 8:34 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Alvarez??

Why would Alvarez fall to #4? He started rough (after nearly a year long layoff) but he has caught fire recently. If he’s not still #1, he’d be #2 right behind Alderson.

by H2O on Jul 30, 2009 1:01 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

top 10

this is also considering that clement and milledge don’t count as prospects because they have 130 major league at bats

1. Alvarez
2. Alderson
3. Tabata
4. Lincoln
5. Hernandez
6. T. Sanchez
7. Owens
8. Brett Lorin
9. Locke
10. Morris

I’d say we might have the most minor league depth now of any team in the majors although we are lacking a little in superstar prospects

Pittsburgh Pirates Rebuilding Since 1992

by kstanz41 on Jul 29, 2009 8:32 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

You have the same 4 I would have picked in the same order. After that it gets a little less clear to me as to who slots where.

by Brakeman8 on Jul 29, 2009 8:49 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

No

But the Pirates are on the right track

by oc on Jul 30, 2009 5:34 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Good points

about Clement and Milledge

by Brakeman8 on Jul 29, 2009 8:35 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

1. P. Alvarez 3B/1B
2. T. Alderson RHP
3. J. Tabata OF
4. B. Lincoln RHP
5. T. Sanchez C
6. G. Hernandez OF
7. J. Locke LHP
8. R. Owens RHP
9. B. Lorin RHP
10. R. Grossman OF
11. B. Morris RHP
12. Q. Miller RHP
13. D. McCutchen RHP
14. D. Moskos LHP
15. N. Walker 3B/C
16. A. Diaz SS
17. M. Dubee RHP
18. A. Pribanic RHP
19. V. Black RHP
20. B. Pounders RHP
21. H. Strickland RHP
22. S. Ford 2B/SS
23. J. Cunningham 3B/SS
24. C. D’Arnaud SS
25. B. Friday SS
26. N. Adcock RHP
27. R. Uviedo RHP
28. C. Anderson 1B
29. S. Marte OF
30. J. Sues RHP

by BigB23 on Jul 29, 2009 9:29 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

this could change too if B. Cain and Von Rosenberg signs and MIGUEL ANGEL SANO

by BigB23 on Jul 29, 2009 9:30 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

what about Quincy Latimore

batting .350 in July with an OPS over 1.000 and only 20 yrs old

by reverse apache master on Jul 29, 2009 10:09 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Thanks

BigB23 – great list.

by Brakeman8 on Jul 29, 2009 10:00 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

My Top 10

1. Tabata
2. Alvarez
3. Alderson
4. Lincoln
5. Hernandez
6. Sanchez
7. Diaz
8. Locke
9. Ownes
10. Morris

Other names to watch – Grossman, Latimore, Dubee, Moskos, Miller, Walker, and Marte

Sleeper – Jorge Bishop

by McCutchenIsTheTruth on Jul 29, 2009 10:12 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

top 20 counting cain and ZVR (fingers crossed, of course)

1. P. Alvarez, 3B
2. T. Alderson, RHP
3. J. Tabata, OF
4. B. Lincoln, RHP
5. T. Sanchez, C
6. G. Hernandez, OF
7. R. Owens, RHP
8. Q. Miller, RHP
9. R. Grossman, OF
10. C. D’Arnaud, SS/2B
11. Z. Von Rosenberg, RHP
12. S. Marte, OF
13. B. Lorin, RHP
14. B. Cain, RHP
15. B. Pounders, RHP
16. J. Cunningham, SS/3B
17. B. Morris, RHP
18. A. Pribanic, RHP
19. M. Dubee, RHP
20. J. Mercer, SS

I think it’s probably obvious that I consider potential to be more important than certainty- I barely consider the Dans (McCutchen and Moskos) to be prospects.

A few notes:
- Alvarez has had only 1 error in his past 22 games, indicating he may be able to stay at 3B. If he can, his values rises tremendously.
- Since coming back from injury, Jose Tabata has been a doubles machine. At only 20 years old, those doubles have plenty of time to turn into homers. Again he’s 20, very young for AA, with amazing bat speed and decent secondary tools. If those doubles do, in fact, turn into home runs, he profiles to turn in about a .310 average and 18 HRs in his best years.
- Speaking of doubles, you’ll notice I included Jordy Mercer on this list despite his disappointing BA (hovering around .240) and HR total (6 on the year) at Hi-A. However, he has 29 doubles so far. That is an absolutely huge number, indicating the potential for real power down the road.
- I love Chase D’Arnaud; it’s a shame he got hurt. He’s showing far more speed than expected to go along with good contact rates, solid defense (though he may be better suited to 2b than SS), and flashes of power.
- If Starling Marte develops the raw power he supposedly possesses, I’m putting my money on him to be in the top 3 on this list in two years. Shows true “5 tool” potential.
- I feel queasy putting Quinton Miller so high- he can throw the fastball 96, but it’s straight.
- Von Rosenberg and Cain have the best chances, respectively, to develop into frontline (possibly “ace”) pitchers. Von Rosenberg possesses an advanced arsenal for his age and can touch the mid-90s, while Cain’s fastball can be electric, if inconsistent. I believe it is essential that we sign these guys, especially ZVR.
- Though I did not include him on this list, I agree with McCutchenIsTheTruth that Quincy Latimore could be a guy to watch. His body is not at all filled out yet he’s put up 11 homers this year. His lack of steals belie his pretty decent speed.

by colfanmat14 on Jul 29, 2009 10:25 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

wasnt the guy’s name colton cain? why does everyone have him with a B. ?

i could be wrong… i ll go check!

by BurgherKing on Jul 29, 2009 10:35 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

He sometimes goes by Colton...

…and sometimes by Billy. As such, it shows up both ways in different places.

by Vlad on Jul 30, 2009 11:37 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Jeff Locke?

Was he not included by mistake? Otherwise pretty solid list.

I, too, like D’Arnaud. Good frame, decent range from what I saw.

Also, I think Moskos could crack top-20. He’s certainly on the fringe. Sucks we got him instead of…MW…but I think he’s got a good slider and a decent fastball (with some movement) and if he learns to control his pitches, I could see him as a LOOGY-type to eventually join the long line of guys like Sauerbeck, Marte, Grabow…

by Yotum on Jul 29, 2009 11:41 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

ZVR

From what I’ve heard, ZVR actually sounds a lot like Alderson: great command and pitchability, but not quite enough stuff without increased velo to have that “ace” ceiling.

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by BadMaafala on Jul 30, 2009 10:55 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

jorge bishop

whoops, accidentally delted him. He should be # 18.

by colfanmat14 on Jul 29, 2009 10:27 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Top 10...

1. Alvarez
2. Lincoln
3. Tabata
4. Alderson
5. Hernandez
6. Morris
7. Owens
8. Locke
9. Sanchez
10. Uviedo

Clement and Milledge don’t qualify for this list anymore. They are not prospects anymore.

by Slick1 on Jul 29, 2009 10:31 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Top 15

1 Alvarez
2 Alderson
3 Tabata
4 Lincoln
5 T Sanchez
6 Hernandez
7 Grossman
8 Locke
9 Morris
10 Q Miller
11 Owens
12 Cunningham
13 D’Arnaud
14 Marte
15 Latimore

by Yotum on Jul 29, 2009 11:46 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Top 15 as of NOW

1 Pedro
2 Lincoln
3 Tabata
4 Alderson
5 T Sanchez
6 Grossman
7 Gorkys
8 Morris
9 Miller
10 D’Arnaud
11 Owens
12 Marte
13 Locke
14 Lorin
15 Uviedo

If ZVR and Cain are signed they would be 8 and 13 respectively

by BadAndy on Jul 30, 2009 12:12 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

1. Alvarez
2. Alderson
3. Tabata
4. Hernandez
5. Lincoln
6. Sanchez
7. Owens
8. Morris
9. Grossman
10. Locke

That’s a pretty damn good top 10. And the 11-20 would contain a lot of interesting names as well.

by Gorkys n' Beans on Jul 30, 2009 12:27 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

i'll go a little different

top 3-5 around the diamond, then pitching (including everyone on an MiLB roster, AB’s/IP be damned)

C: Sanchez, Diaz, Watts, Lerud

1B: Clement, Huber, Anderson

2B: Ugh. Ford and Bixler.

SS: D’Arnaud, Diaz, Friday, Mercer

3B: Pedro, Marte, Hague, Walker, Farrell

OF: Milledge, Tabata, Grossman, Latimore, Hernandez

SP: Lincoln, Alderson, Owens, Locke, Morris, Lorin, Adcock, Uviedo (then some mishmash of Herron, Strickland, Pribanic, etc)

by geeves on Jul 30, 2009 1:50 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

It’s tough to rank Lincoln ahead of Alderson with age and upside taken into consideration.

by Gorkys n' Beans on Jul 30, 2009 2:59 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Lincoln has better stuff.

So if you’re skeptical about Alderson’s stuff going forward (as some people are), it’s a justifiable pick.

Also (and this is really getting into hair-splitting), Lincoln projects to be a fairly good-hitting pitcher, which is a nice bonus.

by Vlad on Jul 30, 2009 11:42 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah, I’m struggling a bit to compare the two. I feel like Alderson is a better prospect (maybe it’s just the age), but Lincoln is a little bit closer to the majors and appears to have a higher ceiling. Alderson has plenty of time to improve, but he doesn’t have many skills left to improve other than adding a changeup or magically improving his velocity.

Maybe Alderson has a slightly better chance of reaching his slightly lower ceiling than Lincoln?

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by BadMaafala on Jul 30, 2009 12:14 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

My top 25 (w/ Cain and ZVR)

1. Pedro Alvarez
2. Tim Alderson
3. Brad Lincoln
4. Jose Tabata
5. Rudy Owens
6. Chase d’Arnaud
7. Tony Sanchez
8. Gorkys Hernandez
9. Zachary Von Rosenberg
10. Bryan Morris
11. Jeff Locke
12. Quincy Latimore
13. Robbie Grossman
14. Starling Marte
15. Billy Cain
16. Brett Lorin
17. Ronald Uviedo
18. Brian Friday
19. Aaron Pribanic
20. Quinton Miller
21. Michael Dubee
22. Jarek Cunningham
23. Roberto Espinoza
24. Eric Avila
25. Ramon Cabrera

A couple notes:
- I’m amazed that we have 25 prospects worth mentioning, and that list still doesn’t include everyone who could help out in the majors near-term or have the upside to contribute in the future. Our average 11-20 prospect might be better than our average 2-10 prospect pre-2008. I’d guess that nearly all of the top 20 would grade out as C+ or better with a pretty long list of “B” guys.

- I’m pretty high on Chase D as a 2B/3B, and I think Brian Friday (who has slowly improved his K%, BB% and ISO peripherals in AA ball) still has a decent chance of being an average SS if his defense can be a bit above average.

- I think Lincoln and Alderson are just about even; Lincoln’s a level ahead, but Alderson’s several years younger and could add a little more velocity.

- My Latin-prospect-I-know-nothing-about of choice is Espinoza, who’s a young 17 and pwning the VSL, although the K’s aren’t quite up to par. Maybe a guy to look for in the GCL next year.

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by BadMaafala on Jul 30, 2009 12:01 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs