1) Mike over at RAB updated his top 30 prospects to reflect the addition of new draftees. Some interesting names: Heathcott at 4, Vizcaino at 6, Banuelos at 8, Stoneburner, DeLeon, and Murphy at 14-16. Check out the full list, it has some great stuff, and the comments have some really enlightening thoughts as well.
2) Ian Kennedy is on the road back:
Pitcher Ian Kennedy likely will pitch next month in the instructional league, his first game action since surgery May 12 to remove an aneurysm from beneath his right biceps.
Kennedy said Wednesday it’s doubtful he will return for a minor league game this season. The right-hander is throwing fastballs and changeups during bullpen sessions and could be ready for a simulated game early next month.The 24-year-old was pitching for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre when he experienced numbness in his pitching hand. He is set to pitch in the Arizona Fall League later this year.
I had heard that he is not eligible for the Fall League, something that I am still trying to confirm. It is good to see that Ian is healthy and back on the mound.
3) Finally, NoMaas checks in with the minor league assignments for the new draftees:
Slade Heathcott told me he is currently in the GCL with the team, and is hopeful to get in a game tomorrow (8/20) or Friday.
JR Murphy will also be playing in the GCL right away according to a blog from his high school.
Caleb Cotham informed me the plan for him is to start out at Staten Island. He’s preparing in Tampa, will be headed up to NYC sometime around the middle of next week, and said that it’s possible we’ll see him pitch by the week’s end.
Joseph Talerico told me he has just landed in Tampa and will be finishing the season up in the GCL along with Heathcott and Murphy.
Cotham was a fifth round pick who pitched exceptionally well at the Cape. He is a prospect to keep an eye on.
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6 Responses to MiLB Links: RAB Top 30 Prospects, Draftee Assignments, Kennedy
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TIQ IQ
Same reason I never liked Brackman being so high on so many prospect lists. I’d really like to see something from the just drafted guys before getting too high on them. Preferably they’d have a season of GCL or SS-A under their belts before consideration even starts. Unless it was an extreme circumstance like Strasburg.
I couldn’t agree more. I love Mike and RAB, but that list is frigging ridiculous. How can you put all those guys who have never played ahead of Francisco Cervelli, a lock as at least a major league backup catcher. Have we learned no lessons from Carmen Angelini, who got placed on most of the 2008 pre-season lists?? 90% of the guys ahead of Cervelli will never wear a major league uniform. Most scouts will tell you that (except for really, super high-end talent) you can’t rank a guy highly until he’s successful at AA or at the very least, high-A
I disagree. These lists are supposed to be a mix of potential and probability, and I think Mike melded them very well. Cervelli has a low ceiling- a backup catcher. Put it this way- many GM’s, and possibly most, would trade Cervelli to get the guys ahead of him on the list.
I totally and completely disagree with that. I think Cervelli has a lot more trade value than most of those guys. If you look at the BA lists and the Sickels lists, they focus much more on guys who have had success at high-A and higher. There’s a reason why guys like Angelini, Almonte, DeLeon, etc. don’t make the short lists at BA & Sickels, and why they mock the guys who write in, complaining that they’re not on there. Unless you’re a Montero, and absolutely destroy low-A as one of the younger guys in the league, or a Brackman/Strasburg type with enormous physical tools, there’s no way you should make the upper echelon of the list without good high-A/AA/AAA stats.
And Cervelli’s ceiling is not backup. He’s young enough to be a Dioner Navarro starter type. Most catchers don’t put up Mauer/ Montero numbers. If he gets a high OBP, with his defense and intangibles, he could start for most teams, regardless of his power numbers.
Hey, not to infer that it’s not an easy mistake to make. In the past, I’ve been very guilty of getting overexcited about prospect reports for guys we’ve drafted or guys who had good seasons in GCL ball, but I’ve seen too many hit the fan when they get to Charleston or Tampa. It’s way too much of a crapshoot. The instinct is always to fall in love with the draft picks and the backup quarterback, but in reality, they fail a lot more than they succeed. Look at the recent Yankee top picks – how many of them have made the bigs or are still top prospects? Not very many. Every year, we just swap out the Subletts, Suttles, Lairds, Almontes, and Angelinis, for the Stoneburners, Murphys, DeLeons, and Heathcotts.