Friday, September 19, 2008

Hudson Valley Prospects - BA NY-P Top 20

Only one Hudson Valley (A-) player was named to BA's New York-Penn League Top 20 Prospects.

Our 3rd round pick in the 2007 draft, Nick Barnese, was named the NY-P's #9 prospect:

Nick Barnese
"Barnese established a reputation as a strike-thrower in his pro debut last year in the Rookie-level Appalachian League, posting a dazzling 37-4 K-BB ratio in 36 innings. He continued to pound the zone but was even more dominating this summer as a 19-year-old in the NY-P, striking out 11.5 batters per nine innings.

Barnese's biggest strength is his excellent command of a low-90s fastball with outstanding life down in the zone. He has a loose arm action and a projectable 6-foot-2, 170-pound frame, suggesting he could add velocity as he matures. He has an aggressive, unflappable mound demeanor and isn't afraid to attack hitters on the inner half.

His breaking ball is also a quality offering, with good depth and late break. Barnese made progress with his changeup this summer, and it projects as a third average-or-better pitch."

If Barnese is only 8th, it's not surprising no one else from HV made it. I would have liked to see our 6th rounder in the June draft, RHSP Shane Dyer, make it, but it would be a tough argument because the NY-P was loaded this year. To see stats on all of Hudson Valley's pitchers see our Hudson Valley season in review: Pitching.

From the chat about this list:

"Q: JAYPERS from IL asks: Where would you rank Barnese amongst the bevy of other well-known top Rays young arms, such as Price, Davis, McGee, Hellickson, Cobb, etc? Also, what timetable are the Rays setting for him?

A: Aaron Fitt: I like Barnese a lot, but I would rank him behind that group of more advanced prospects, just because he's farther away. He also does not have the upside of the Price/Davis/McGee/Hellickson group. I see him more as a No. 3 or No. 4, whereas you could really project those other guys as having top half of the rotation upside."
Danny's not the only one interested in Jacob Jefferies:
"Q: JAYPERS from IL asks: Did Jacob Jeffries get consideration for this list? His plate discipline seems to stand out the most, but what about his other tools? Jacob Jefferies

A: Aaron Fitt: His plate discipline has always been his biggest asset -- he was one of the toughest hitters in the nation to strike out this spring at UC Davis. He's a really soft hitter, though, who hit a lot of balls between shortstop and the left-field line. It was hard to get a feel for his defense this summer, because he DHed a lot more than he caught, but he had a reputation as an average catch-and-throw guy in college, with a fringe-average arm. Scouts were not impressed with his arm this summer."

9 comments:

  1. I thought C Jake Jefferies would make the list. A 20 year old catcher with a good average, OBP and defense is rare. I think he's a shoe in for your guys top 20 hitters prospect list.

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  2. Also, Tyree Hayes had a good year in HV. Kinda surprised to see him not on the list.

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  3. Several of the relievers were dominating too, but they are relievers, and a bit older.

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  4. Hayes only struck out 5.8 per 9. BA likes to see gaudy SO numbers in the lower leagues. Jefferies .315/.379/.433 line was impressive, but he DH'd 44 games and only caught 20, so he didn't get the catcher bump some of the other guys on the list did.

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  5. Danny, question for you: would you prefer a different comments section or is this one good enough. It's the standard one that comes with blogger, but there are others available. Or we could add a phpbb like raysbb.com has. Your thoughts are appreciated (and anyone elses too).

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  6. Sorry it took so long to reply.

    I dont mind this comment section. I would play around with them tho to see which one is the best.

    Also thanks for posting the chat wrap. It's good to see Jefferies get any attention. I still think he's one of our top 20 position players in the minors.

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  7. I was surprised anyone asked about him, and funny that the answer was about the same as my earlier one. It's not going to be too hard to get on our Top 20 positional players list, so he probably will. I'll see what's out there for comments too.

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