Time to resurrect the Power 50 (with our readers' Power 25)

[LouisEly]

With all of the top picks signed and in the fold, is it time to revive the Power 50? Rams does a great job with his analysis, however I would be interested in getting more of a consensus from the group. I'll be willing to do the compiling of the results. I don't know if I can handle 50, so let's start with 25 and see how it goes for now.

 

Rank your top 25 prospects and either post them here or PM them to me. No need to go into explanation, just a rank. What were the general Power 50 rules - maximum age of 26, no more than 100 AB's or 50 IP? Let's set a submission deadline of June 25th, and aim for results by July 1st.

[Jose Cardenal1]

I'll play along

 

1 Jimmy Nelson - will be one of the starting 5 in '14

2 Johnny Hellweg - Starter or bulpen? Either way should be part of team in '14

3 Tylor Jungman - ceiling of a #3 starter but starting to think he has a floor of a #4

4 Tyler Thornburg - probably should take J.Axford's spot as a late setup man in '14

5 Hunter Morris - isn't special but could hold down 1b better than average for a few years

6 Orlando Arcia - opposite of Morris. He very well could be special and kick Segura to 3b/2b in '17

7 Ariel Pena - Really solid year

8 Scooter Gennett - not convinced he will be more than ML average, but that is probably what they said about Gantner

9 Jed Bradley - crossing fingers that he continues the recent improvement

10 Devin Williams - clearly just a projection at this point

11 Victor Roache - hopefully tears it up in July & August but not looking good right now

12 Mitch Haniger - should be a ML contributor

13 Clint Coulter - An assignment to Helena next week would help

14 Tyrone Taylor - nice athlete with projection

15 Michael Reed - see Tyrone Taylor

16 Jorge Lopez - has the stuff, just doesn't know how to pitch

17 Tyler Wagner - kind of a pet prospect for me. Like his frame and movement

18 Damien Magnifico - Would be cool for a rotation to include a Figaro and Magnifico

19 Kris Davis - seemed lost at the plate with the Brewers and hasn't been much better back in Nashville

20 Tucker Neuhaus - Projection

21 Drew Gagnon - Good arm at a higher level has to mean something

22 Kentrail Davis - Time to move him to AAA. Not going to be a star but should contribute in the bigs

23 Yadiel Rivera - keep telling myself he is young, that can only last so long

24 Carmeron Garfield - still have some hope for this 2nd rd pick, not that old either

25 Caleb Gindl - shocking to see that he isn't as old as you would suspect. Has spent more time in Nashville than (fill in a country star)

[nate82]

Sorting them will be easier if people don't put an explanation. I believe someone did this last season and that is what they requested for people to post the list without comments and then comment in another post or after your list why they are there if you wanted to.

 

My list:

 

1. Tyrone Taylor, OF

2. Orlando Arcia, SS

3. Devin Williams, SP

4. Ariel Pena, SP/RP

5. Jimmy Nelson, SP

6. Johnny Hellweg, SP

7. Hunter Morris, 1B

8. Tucker Neuhaus, 3B

9. Mitch Haniger, OF

10. Victor Roache, OF

11. Taylor Jungmann, SP

12. Clint Coulter, C

13. Jed Bradley, SP

14. Drew Gagnon, SP/RP

15. Tyler Thornburg, RP

16. Ke. Davis, OF

17. Kh. Davis, OF

18. Michael Reed, OF

19. Chris McFarland, 2B

20. Zach Quintana, SP

21. Jorge Lopez, SP

22. Jose Pena, OF

23. Yadiel Rivera, SS

24. Damien Magnifico, RP

25. Michael Olmsted, RP

 

Players that are close to my top 25 include: Nick Ramirez, Cameron Garfield, Nick Bucci, Caleb Gindl, Edgardo Rivera, and Cody Scarpetta.

[narwhalattack]

1. Jimmy Nelson, RHP

2. Tyrone Taylor, OF

3. Orlando Arcia, SS

4. Johnny Hellweg, RHP

5. Hunter Morris, 1B

6. Ariel Pena, RHP

7. Mitch Haniger, OF

8. Taylor Jungmann, RHP

9. Devin Williams, RHP

10. Clint Coulter, C

11. Victor Roache, OF

12. Tucker Neuhaus, 3B

13. Jorge Lopez, RHP

14. Jed Bradley, LHP

15. Michael Reed, OF

16. Tyler Thornburg, RHP

17. Scooter Gennett

18. Jose Pena, OF

19. Damien Magnifico, RHP

20. Chris McFarland, 2B

21. Zach Quintana, RHP

22. Cameron Garfield, C

23. Drew Gagnon, RHP

24. Khris Davis, OF

25. Yadiel Rivera, SS

[BrewersAA]

1. Jimmy nelson

2. Tyler Thornburg

3. Johnny Hellweg

4. Ariel Pena

5. Victor Roach

6. Taylor Jungman

7. Mitch Haniger

8. Devin Williams

9. Jorge Lopez

10. Hunter Morris

11. Clint Coulter

12. Tyrone Taylor

13. Jed Bradley

14. Orlando Arcia

15. Tucker Neuhas

16. Scooter Gennett

17. Hiram Burgos

18. Caleb Gindl

19. Khris Davis

20. Micheal Reed

21. Kentrail Davis

22. Drew Gagnon

23. Maxwel Walla

24. Brooks Hall

25. Damien Magnifico

26. Taylor Williams

 

I could totally do 50!! what a nice change!! Just off, and i think under appreciated are jesus sanchez and micheal olmsted. At TripleA i would have josh prince, stephen parker, and Kyle Heckathorn in the 50. at AA i would have Jason Rogers (close to making the 25) santo manzillo, daniel meadows, and Mark Rogers. At high A Cam Garfield, Yadiel Rivera, Nick Ramirez, David Goforth, Cody Scarpetta, Jacob Barnes, Bret Suter, and Tommy Toledo. At low A Chris Mcfarland, Adam Giacolone, Austin Balski, Tyler Wagner, and Eric Semmelhack. At SS helena Jose Pena (close to 25), Renaldo Jenkins, ruben ozuna, wil west, joel pierce, and micheal schaub. At SS AZL Edgardo Rivera (close to 25), Dustin Houle, Angel ortega, Anthony Banda, Daniel Keller, and Zachery Quintana. This years draft Astin, brandon diaz, omar garcia, and linehan. DL guy that i think could make an impact in the future still is Eric Arnett, he was actually starting to put things together toward the end of last year. Could have definitely done a 50 . The brewers have quite a few high upside guys that if some start to pan out this system could get decent in a hurry.

[splitterpfj]

1. Jimmy Nelson - More people have noticed him, but I still think he's better than he gets credit for.

2. Orlando Arcia - The best development in the farm system this year - Arcia's complete return from injury.

3. Tyrone Taylor - Not just skills, the numbers are coming now too.

4. Mitch Haniger - He's this high, because he's a safe bet to succeed. He's a ballplayer.

5. Johnny Hellweg - You can't deny the arm. Control? Oh please, oh please...

6. Hunter Morris - He's limited, but he's also skilled.

7. Taylor Jungmann - He knows how to pitch, the question is, can he pile up all those ground balls at the MLB level?

8. Victor Roache - I have concerns here, but the power potential is obvious.

9. Tyler Thornburg - He's convincing me he belongs in the bullpen, but he could be very good out there.

10. Scooter Gennett - He'll be a fan favorite, who will help his club as a league average type. He'll start, but only for a few years.

11. Ariel Pena - He's a different pitcher, but he reminds me of Hellweg. The talent is there to succeed, if the control is.

12. Jed Bradley - I was going to put him behind the top picks of '13, but I decided not to completely hammer him.

13. Clint Coulter - He's not a catcher, move him, so he can become a hitter.

14. Devin Williams - He's just a baby in baseball terms, a lot could go wrong, but a lot could go right!

15. Tucker Neuhaus - He's had a lot to deal with in the last year, he'll be easy to root for.

16. Hiram Burgos - I put him here because he shouldn't be forgotten. Margin for error is small, but he's a prospect.

17. Drew Gagnon - Consistency would be nice.

18. David Goforth - Solid, not spectacular, but he's getting guys out.

19. Brooks Hall - I like him, but I could see him sliding right back down the pole.

20. Khris Davis - He's in an almost impossible situation. He needs a trade.

21. Jorge Lopez - I'm not a believer, but it's a live arm, so you never know.

22. Caleb Gindl - He may have a future in Milwaukee as a 4th OF, but I think his opportunity may come with another organization.

23. Michael Reed - He's easy to overlook on that roster, but he can play.

24. Josh Prince - He may have a future as a MLB utility man.

25. Damien Magnifico - I have a feeling he'll fail at the higher levels, but his velocity says there's always a chance.

[TheCrew07]

1. Orlando Arcia

2. Tyrone Taylor

3. Jimmy Nelson

4. Tyler Thornburg

5. Hunter Morris

6. Mitch Haniger

7. Johnny Hellweg

8. Devin Williams

9. Victor Roache

10. Scooter Gennett

11. Hiram Burgos

12. Tucker Nuehaus

13. Ariel Pena

14. Caleb Gindl

15. Khris Davis

16. Drew Gagnon

17. Taylor Jungmann

18. Jesus Sanchez

19. Tyler Wagner

20. Michael Reed

21. Jason Rogers

22. Clint Coulter

23. Jorge Lopez

24. Cameron Garfield

25. Jed Bradley

26. Chris McFarland

 

I lean towards upside but I also try to appropriately slot players I think will have a MLB career. 4 of my next 5 players would have been pitchers: Magnifico, Hall, Hand, and Goforth, the position player would have been Kentrail Davis.

 

As far as my top 2... recent performance, upside, and age relative to level weighed extremely heavily. Extremely young players showing an advanced hitting approach in A ball excite me tremendously. I wish Erickson would talk about Arcia more, give me the goods Matt!

 

I'm guessing I'm going to have Coulter lower than everyone else, but I just don't like him as a C at all. I don't think he's has a future there and while he had hit safely in 11 of his 13 games before going on the DL the limited momentum he had going with the bat is probably gone now. I think he's got tremendous upside with the bat but as it stands today I think he's playing out of position. With a move to a corner IF spot and solid performance at the plate he's in that 10-15 range.

 

Roache is only as high as he is based on his power potential. His hit tool has been a huge question mark and his defense has been similarly poor. If I wasn't biased towards power he'd easily 7-8 spots lower.

 

Obviously I came around on Haniger, I actually really like him. I'm still not sure he's an impact type guy, but he's a very well rounded player with positional flexibility, I think he's got a MLB future.

 

I've become cautiously optimistic about Jorge Lopez, and that's actually an upgrade in his status. If he can find his stride control wise he could easily jump into the top 15, however if he just maintains this current level of performance he won't be in my top 25 the next time I do this.

 

Any questions people would have regarding why I have pitchers slotted the way I do can probably be answered by 2 things: SO/9 rates and the difference in value between starters & relievers. Starters always are more valuable and I'm always skeptical of pitchers who don't show an ability to miss bats.

 

edit. I forget Caleb Gindl, I'll think about where to slot him and adjust accordingly later.

[heresrobin]

1. Jimmy Nelson

2. Johnny Hellweg

3. Devin Williams

4. Tyrone Taylor

5. Tucker Neuhaus

6. Orlando Arcia

7. Taylor Jungmann

8. Scooter Gennett

9. Hunter Morris

10. Ariel Pena

11. Tyler Thornburg

12. Mitch Haniger

13. Victor Roache

14. Chris McFarland

15. Michael Reed

16. Cameron Garfield

17. Clint Coulter

18. Drew Gagnon

19. Tyler Wagner

20. Jacob Barnes

21. Brent Suter

22. Austin Blaski

23. Damien Magnifico

24. Edgardo Rivera

25. Jed Bradley

[CheezWizHed]

I believe someone did this last season and that is what they requested for people to post the list without comments and then comment in another post or after your list why they are there if you wanted to.

 

I'm still around... I got a promotion last summer and most of my free time vanished. I had a spreadsheet that did most of the work, so that was the reason for the request for names only. Not sure how LouisEly is doing it.

[sheetskout]

I'm sort of surprised that Jose Pena isn't on more of these lists.

[ClosetBrewerFan]

1. J.Nelson

2. Hellweg

3. Jungmann

4. Gennett

5. H.Morris

6. Coulter

7. Thornburg

8. Haniger

9. Roache

10. A.Pena

11. J.Bradley

12. Gagnon

13. O.Arcia

14. T.Taylor

15. Brooks Hall

16. Burgos

17. Kh.Davis

18. Devin Williams

19. T.Wagner

20. Gindl

21. Magnifico

22. Goforth

23. Ke.Davis

24. M.Reed

25. Tucker Neuhaus

 

The new guys are hard to place. Since neither are a #1 pick I placed them lower than some of the others. I hate to get too excited before I see them play.

 

Its a deep organization but still missing impact players. Makes it tough to rank. I could shuffle 4 thru 15 fairly easily.

[LouisEly]

I'm surprised Burgos isn't on more lists - he hasn't reached the 50 IP limit.

 

1. Nelson

2. Hellweg

3. Jungmann

4. A. Pena

5. T. Taylor

6. Haniger

7. Arcia

8. Thornburg

9. Morris

10. Kh. Davis

11. Gennett

12. Coulter

13. D. Williams

14. Roache

15. Lopez

16. Bradley

17. Burgos

18. Neuhaus

19. Wagner

20. Magnifico

21. Gindl

22. Ke. Davis

23. Gagnon

24. Garfield

25. Reed

 

Next five out - J. Pena, Goforth, A. Williams, Viramontes, Uhen

 

I think people undervalue Ariel Pena. Excluding (IIRC a rain delay) 5/3, 10 of his last 11 starts have been quality starts and has given up only 50 hits in 72 IP with 70 K. Just a little better control and he could be special. This list was deeper than I thought; lacking potential All-Stars after Nelson/Hellweg, but hopefully Haniger/Arcia/Taylor can continue to develop and change that.

 

Edit: I also think people, myself included, undervalue Khris Davis. While he has gotten off to a slow start, his OBP is still >.100 higher than his BA and historically has had a surprisingly good BB:K ratio. He had a .451 OBP in 2012 and has a career .393 OBP in the minors.

[BrewersAA]

I wish I could get better and consistent info on the dsl kids because I did t add any of them because I just don't know what they have tools wise. That second baseman is putting up good numbers, and Gina Rizzo was crazy good last year, but like I said wish there was better I to in their talent

[Eye Black]

Here's my best shot...

 

1) Tyrone Taylor

2) Jimmy Nelson

3) Johnny Hellweg

4) Hunter Morris

5) Orlando Arcia

6) Tyler Thornburg

7) Scooter Gennett

8) Mitch Haniger

9) Devin Williams

10) Victor Roache

11) Taylor Jungmann

12) Hiram Burgos

13) Drew Gagnon

14) Ariel Pena

15) Jorge Lopez

16) Tucker Neuhaus

17) Clint Coulter

18) Jed Bradley

19) Caleb Gindl

20) Khris Davis

21) Michael Reed

22) Damien Magnifico

23) Cameron Garfield

24) Jason Rodgers

25) Yadiel Rivera

[PrinceFielderx1]

I'm going to disagree with many here's top 2. I believe it's a very close call on who the top pitcher is in the minors between Nelson and Hellweg, but I'm going to give it to Hellweg over Nelson. I just believe he has more nasty stuff. He throws upper 90's compared to Nelson mid-90's, and has hit triple digits in the past. He has the better arm. The 1 main factor of why I'm giving it to Hellweg is because it looks like he's found his control and has been going deep into games (7th inning lately last 3 starts and had gone 6IP quite a bit) while throwing only about 93 pitches. Nelson has been struggling with his control some (so far) in his short stint with Nashville. I do think he will turn it around pretty soon, but when it comes to experience at the highest level of the system Hellweg has him beat and that means a lot to me. Nelson in a couple months will in my opinion make even more strides and will likely be in Milwaukee with Hellweg.

[Scooter102783]

1. Jimmy Nelson

2. Orlando Arcia

3. Tyrone Taylor

4. Mitch Haniger

5. Johnny Hellweg

6. Hunter Morris

7. Devin Williams

8. Tyler Thornburg

9. Scooter Gennett

10. Victor Roache

11. Drew Gagnon

12. Clint Coulter

13. Ariel Pena

14. Jorge Lopez

15. Tucker Neuhaus

16. Tyler Wagner

17. Hiram Burgos

18. Caleb Gindl

19. Michael Reed

20. Taylor Jungmann

21. Cameron Garfield

22. Kentrail Davis

23. Jose Pena

24. Brooks Hall

25. Chris McFarland

[RWeeksFan23]

1. Orlando Arcia

2. Tyrone Taylor

3. Jimmy Nelson

4. Tyler Thornburg

5. Hunter Morris

6. Mitch Haniger

7. Johnny Hellweg

8. Devin Williams

9. Victor Roache

10. Scooter Gennett

11. Hiram Burgos

12. Tucker Nuehaus

13. Ariel Pena

14. Caleb Gindl

15. Khris Davis

16. Drew Gagnon

17. Taylor Jungmann

18. Jesus Sanchez

19. Tyler Wagner

20. Michael Reed

21. Jason Rogers

22. Clint Coulter

23. Jorge Lopez

24. Cameron Garfield

25. Jed Bradley

26. Chris McFarland

 

I lean towards upside but I also try to appropriately slot players I think will have a MLB career. 4 of my next 5 players would have been pitchers: Magnifico, Hall, Hand, and Goforth, the position player would have been Kentrail Davis.

 

As far as my top 2... recent performance, upside, and age relative to level weighed extremely heavily. Extremely young players showing an advanced hitting approach in A ball excite me tremendously. I wish Erickson would talk about Arcia more, give me the goods Matt!

 

I'm guessing I'm going to have Coulter lower than everyone else, but I just don't like him as a C at all. I don't think he's has a future there and while he had hit safely in 11 of his 13 games before going on the DL the limited momentum he had going with the bat is probably gone now. I think he's got tremendous upside with the bat but as it stands today I think he's playing out of position. With a move to a corner IF spot and solid performance at the plate he's in that 10-15 range.

 

Roache is only as high as he is based on his power potential. His hit tool has been a huge question mark and his defense has been similarly poor. If I wasn't biased towards power he'd easily 7-8 spots lower.

 

Obviously I came around on Haniger, I actually really like him. I'm still not sure he's an impact type guy, but he's a very well rounded player with positional flexibility, I think he's got a MLB future.

 

I've become cautiously optimistic about Jorge Lopez, and that's actually an upgrade in his status. If he can find his stride control wise he could easily jump into the top 15, however if he just maintains this current level of performance he won't be in my top 25 the next time I do this.

 

Any questions people would have regarding why I have pitchers slotted the way I do can probably be answered by 2 things: SO/9 rates and the difference in value between starters & relievers. Starters always are more valuable and I'm always skeptical of pitchers who don't show an ability to miss bats.

 

edit. I forget Caleb Gindl, I'll think about where to slot him and adjust accordingly later.

I'm surprised you have Thornburg ahead of Hellweg, considering each of their stats at AAA this year, and since you've said in the past how concerned you are about how many extra base hits/home runs Thornburg gives up.

[TheCrew07]

Again, Hellweg's K rate continues to fall and his BB rate remains too high. There's no doubt he has a huge arm but I do have my concerns about his ability to last as a starter.

 

I have my concerns about Thornburg as well, in fact there isn't 1 pitcher whom I'm truly confident in at this time.

[BrewCrewForever]

Not really sure what my rankings would look like in order, but I would have a hard time not ranking Tyrone Taylor #1, or maybe #2 at worst. He is only 19 and putting up some pretty darn good numbers in the MWL and the tools are sick. Can't wait to go see him next month in Appleton.

[TooLiveBrew]

Can we just simplify this by calling it the Top 25? I know I'd be in for a slightly more frequent ballot for something like that. Maybe four times per season preseason, post-draft, August 31st, & postseason?

[82brewcrew11]

Jimmy Nelson

Tyrone Taylor

Johnny Hellweg

Orlando Arcia

Clint Coulter

Victor Roache

Mitch Haniger

Ariel Pena

Taylor Jungmann

Tyler Thornburg

Hunter Morris

Scooter Gennett

Hiram Burgos

Devin Williams

Drew Gagnon

Jed Bradley

Tucker Neuhaus

Jorge Lopez

Tyler Wagner

Michael Reed

Chris McFarland

David Goforth

Jose Pena

Nick Bucci

Sean Halton

 

Not sure of the order, particularly in the second half of the list. But there it is.

[monkeyman343434]

1 Jimmy Nelson

2 Tyrone Taylor

3 Orlando Arcia

4 Mitch Haniger

5 Victor Roache

6 Devin Williams

7 Taylor Jungmann

8 Ariel Pena

9 Tyler Thornburg

10 Johnny Hellweg

11 Hunter Morris

12 Kentrail Davis

13 Clint Coulter

14 Tucker Newhaus

15 Jorge Lopez

16 Jose Pena

17 Drew Gagnon

18 Caleb Gindl

19 Scooter Gennett

20 Hiram Burgos

21 Jed Bradley

22 Khris Davis

23 Damien Magnifico

24 Josh Prince

25 Nick Ramirez

 

The next tier to fill out a "Top 50" ... Long shots, but maybe they can help out the Brewers off the bench, as a RP, or as a #5 starter (In no real order)

Rob Wooten

Jesus Sanchez

Sean Halton

Nick Bucci

Chris McFarland

Michael Reed

Max Walla

Chadwin Stang

Tyler Wagner

Austin Blaski

TJ Mittelstaedt

Yadiel Rivera

David Goforth

Brooks Hall

Tommy Toledo

Brent Suter

Chad Pierce

Brock Kjeldgaard

Jason Rogers

Greg Holle

Michael Olmsted

Should probably throw a few of the other 2013 picks in here: Barrett Astin, Taylor Williams, Josh Uhen

 

A few random notes:

 

Reason I have Hellweg further down on the list than most others is his walk rate just scares me. I understand he doesn't give up many hits, but 44 bb:48 k in 70 IP keeps me from putting him any higher

 

I think Roache is still knocking the rust off after basically having to sit out all of last year, his power potential is the reason I have him higher up on the list.

 

I'm not a big Jungmann fan, but I believe he still has a decent shot at being a #3/4 SP, whereas I view Thornburg, Pena and Hellweg as longshots to stick in the rotation.

 

Hopefully Devin Williams has the command and stuff to stay in the rotation, he's a long ways away obviously, but the reports are encouraging. Like the boom/bust pick by the Brewers

 

Hopefully Jorge Lopez is finally putting all the pieces together, they said he was raw/a project when he was drafted. He's still only 20

 

Sounds like many people around the league think Coulter has no chance of staying behind the plate, would be nice if they would try him at 3B to see if he could handle the position. Then hope either he or Newhaus could pan out.

[reillymcshane]

Again, Hellweg's K rate continues to fall and his BB rate remains too high. There's no doubt he has a huge arm but I do have my concerns about his ability to last as a starter.

 

I have my concerns about Thornburg as well, in fact there isn't 1 pitcher whom I'm truly confident in at this time.

This says it all for me. There's not one pitcher I'm convinced is a major league starter. I think Nelson is the guy I'd bet on if anyone. I thought Jungmann was going to be a sure starter, but now, I'm not so sure. Otherwise, Hellweg, Thornburg and Pena all might be best off as relievers (so might Peralta).

[narwhalattack]

As for Hellweg, he was actually terrible as a reliever. That's one of the main reasons why he became a starter in the first place.

[PrinceFielderx1]

I hear Hellweg is inducing more groundball's, which explain his low K rate and his success in AAA. I'm not worried about him as much as others are and that's why I have him above Nelson in my personal rankings. When his K rate starts to increase even a little, and I believe it will, he will hands down be the best starting pitching prospect we've had in a long time. His arm is just that good.