Wednesday, December 21, 2011

BaseballAmerica Unveils Rays Top 10

BaseballAmerica has put out their annual Rays top 10 prospect list today, and it is as follows:

1. Matt Moore, LHP
2. Hak-Ju Lee, ss
3. Chris Archer, rhp
4. Taylor Guerrieri, rhp
5. Alex Colome, rhp
6. Alex Torres, lhp
7. Tim Beckham, ss
8. Enny Romero, lhp
9. Drew Vettleson, of
10. Mikie Mahtook, of

You can compare that to the composite top 10 from our lists here:

1. Matt Moore
2. Hak-Ju Lee
3. Enny Romero
4. Alex Torres
5. Mikie Mahtook
6. Taylor Guerrieri
7. Drew Vettleson
8. Chris Archer
9. Tim Beckham
10. Brandon Guyer

And here is their Best Tools list:

Best Hitter for Average - Drew Vettleson
Best Power Hitter - Derek Dietrich
Best Strike Zone Discipline - Tyler Bortnick
Fastest Baserunner - Hak-Ju Lee
Best Athlete - Ty Morrison
Best Fastball - Matt Moore
Best Curveball - Matt Moore
Best Slider - Chris Archer
Best Changup - Marquis Fleming
Best Control - Matt Moore
Best Defensive Catcher - Mark Thomas
Best Defensive Infielder - Hak-Ju Lee
Best Infield Arm - Tim Beckham
Best Defensive OF - Kevin Kiermaier
Best Outfield Arm - Brandon Guyer

17 comments:

  1. I'm ok with the top ten but what in the world is BA thinking when they did the projected 2015 lineup? Did they put any effort into that list?

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  2. They stick to a set format for that:
    Assuming teams re-sign everyone, only in-house guys, etc. They stopped doing them because of things like Upton in RF in 2015 for the Rays but heard from a lot of people who wanted them back for some reason

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  3. I do find it interesting that they have Luke Bailey as the 2015 catcher, not O'Conner. It is a question I have been asking on a few sites, why O'Conner is consistently ranked higher despite neither one having successful seasons in 2011and Justin having such a miserable strikeout ratio. Any thoughts?

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  4. Personally, I'd rather see Catcher MARK THOMAS ahead of both of them----but, he wasn't as high a draft pick, and unfortunately, money talks.

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  5. I don't think the Rays promote players based on how high they were picked in the draft or how much of a bonus they got. Of course, they may give such prospects a longer leash; after all, they do not change their minds based on limited data. And there may even be some gamesmanship to maintain a high picks reputation so he can become a more valuable trade chip.

    But ultimately, the decisions are based on performance and constantly updated evaluations. If Mark Thomas outperforms Bailey and O'Conner, and if the Rays evaluators see him develop further than the other two, he will get the job. But keep in mind that Thomas was playing in high A as a 23 year old, and he certainly did not dominate in any sense, although I understand he is considered good defensively.

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  6. Considered GOOD defensively? Mark Thomas could start for the big league club right now if it was solely based on defense. Once he begins to hit consistently he will dominate in every sense. I think it's foolish to list O'Connor or Bailey above him.

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  7. Trust me, The Rays player personel guys couldn't care less how BBA ranks their players.

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  8. I think it is exciting to talk about these lists and everyone's projections on which player will be the next big league star but ultimately that's all it is. Performance will dictate who plays in the big leagues, best of luck to all the players in the Rays organization.

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  9. What's happening with Catcher Nevin Ashley? Has he hit as high he can go in the Rays system? He seems to have been dropped off the prospect charts the last year or two with Chirinos and Lobaton joining the Rays. Are they any better than him? I'm actually surprised Ashley wasn't traded for Badenhop, instead of Jake Jefferies.

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  10. Nevin Ashley should play a full season in Durham next year. And it's about time. He seems to join Robinson Chirinos behind the plate (and maybe Stephen Vogt is playing there a bit as well ... but mostly LF I think). I'm very eager to see how he hits in AAA as he has nothing left to prove in AA. The first 138 PA's in AAA haven't been that good, but it was only 138 PA's.

    Chirinos and Ashley are difficult to compare because one is much better defensively and one better offensively. In the Rays catching depth chart it seems as if Molina is 1st, Lobaton 2nd(out of options I think), Chirinos 3rd and Ashley 4th.

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  11. Nevin Ashley has one of the best arms I've ever seen from a catcher and I'm a catcher.

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  12. I got season tickets in Port Charlotte. Can't tell me theres a better infielder then Mike Sheridan. That kid is a natural at first and his bat is coming around. Hope he moves up but hes a pleasure to watch in the field.

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  13. It would be interesting to see last years best player tools compared to this years(if anyone can help)Todd Glaessman still has a rocket arm,but I see Brandon Guyer has dethroned him from best outfield arm strength.

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  14. Sorry for the bad formatting, but here's last year's:

    Best Hitter for Average Drew Vettleson
    Best Power Hitter Josh Sale
    Best Strike-Zone Discipline Desmond Jennings
    Fastest Baserunner Desmond Jennings
    Best Athlete Desmond Jennings
    Best Fastball Matt Moore
    Best Curveball Matt Moore
    Best Slider Alex Torres
    Best Changeup Jeremy Hellickson
    Best Control Jeremy Hellickson
    Best Defensive Catcher Nevin Ashley
    Best Defensive Infielder Shawn O'Malley
    Best Infield Arm Tim Beckham
    Best Defensive Outfielder Desmond Jennings
    Best Outfield Arm Todd Glaesmann

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  15. Thanks Kevin,interesting that all changed except average,fastball,and curve.

    Lee rated as fastest baserunner,but Bortnicks sb totals were very impressive !

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  16. To the commenter that said the Rays don't care about BA's rankings, maybe, maybe not. They surely have their own internal lists, and Hunsicker probably isn't looking at this list and just finding out who Romero is for the first time. At the same time, there's a quote from Friedman right on the back of last year's BA Handbook about how essential it is for getting thorough insight for each team. I don't think the analyst/source relationship is a one way street. People in baseball probe analysts too because someone at BA might know someone in baseball Friedman doesn't, and that can help a team get additional perspectives on a guy.

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  17. Scott you have a point but trust me when I say that player personel guys think their rankings are far superior to BA's, and for good reason. There is a general distaste of BA's self important attitude that I have seen in multiple orgs.

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