MiLB.com -- Baseball's Top 50 Prospects

[Mass Haas]

MiLB.com is counting down the Top 50 Prospects in all of baseball this month. This week we see # 50 through # 41.

 

Brewers chime in at:

 

# 43

 

and

 

# 42

 

As part of the little video they make available, it looks like a LH-bunting Hernan Iribarren photo was mistakenly incuded at # 42.

[DrWood]

If you want to know who they are before you click, 43 is Jeffress and 42 is Escobar.

[Mass Haas]

Elaine takes a drink of something.

Elaine: Oh god this tastes terrible.

Jerry: Did you shake it up?

Elaine: No.

Jerry: You gotta shake it up.

Elaine: No. I'm sick of shaking. You've got to shake everything.

Jerry picks up the bottle and shakes it gently.

Jerry: Yeah, that's a real nuisance. This is killing me.

We were just having fun with a little dramatic license there, Dr. Wood. Clicking can be fun! http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

[DrWood]

drama is overrated. haven't you ever lived with a woman before? yes, drama is way overrated. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

[sbrylski]

That seems rather high for the both of them. I'm still skeptical of Escobar ever being a good overall player.

[TooLiveBrew]

Escobar's BB totals make Estrada's look good. Hope he can improve in that department. Btw, I really dig that WV Power hat Jeffress has on - is that an alternate hat or is that the regular one?

[homer]

Way to party poop, Doc Wood.

[wvpowerblkwel]

http://images.yuku.com/image/bmp/b9925c499b72ee77c26e73a13da1e7f2b39ef3b.bmp

Here's Matt LaPorta in the same hat! Those are worn pretty much at home.

 

[DrWood]

Way to party poop, Doc Wood.

 

drama queen. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

[PlayerHader]

So who do we have to look forward to. Probably just LaPorta, huh? Will Parra be considered? I doubt Salome makes it. Rogers either. Am I missing anyone?

[twobrewers]

Hmm...No Parra yet. I have to imagine he wasn't considered then.

 

LaPorta will be in the top 10 revealed tomorrow.

[twobrewers]

I am outraged here.

 

They finished their listing of top prospects today. (Link)

 

So far we have had Jeffress at #43 and Escobar at #42.

 

MATT LAPORTA DID NOT MAKE THE LIST!?!

 

Homer Bailey was on the list and pitched 45 innings of MLB. Clay Buchholtz was on the list and pitched 22 innings in MLB. Parra pitched 26 innings and didn't make the list either. Very disappointing. I can't imagine Parra isn't a top 50 prospect. I figured the only way to keep him off of the list was if he played too much MLB - which doesn't appear to be the case.

[filthyfrog]

Given his injury history, I understand Parra not making the list. But I agree that leaving out LaPorta is a glaring oversight. Good thing it doesn't really matter. LaPorta will prove them wrong soon enough.

[Mass Haas]

Neither LaPorta no Parra made the 50-through-60 portion, either:

Just missed the cut
With all the debate around the top 50 -- who got in and who didn't -- it's only fair to point out who just missed making the cut. After all, being considered prospect No. 51-60 in all of baseball is nothing to sneeze at:

• 51. Jason Heyward, OF, Braves
• 52. Brett Anderson, LHP, Diamondbacks
• 53. Gorkys Hernandez, OF, Braves
• 54. Jeff Niemman, RHP, Rays
• 55. Daric Barton, 1B, A's
• 56. Michael Bowden, RHP, Red Sox
• 57. Ryan Tucker, RHP, Marlins
• 58. Chuck Lofgren, LHP, Indians
• 59. Wladimir Balentien, OF, Mariners
• 60. Justin Maxwell, OF, Nationals

[sbrylski]

How can you call Jeffress and Escobar our two best prospects? It's funny, because I'd drop both of them off the list and slide LaPorta on - you'd think he would be top 40. I'm not really sure Parra deserves to be top 60 though either.

[colbyjack]

I'm surprised to see people keep doubting Parra. I'm not sure if the injury thing is still lingering, but the guy had an absolutely dominant year between AA and AAA, and looked pretty dang good in the big-leagues as well. He's a lefty that has always known how to pitch and he throws pretty dang hard to boot. Ranking a prospect purely on merit without looking at his history, Parra would easily be a top 50 prospect in all of baseball, and to see him, and LaPorta, not included on this list makes me question the overall integrity of that list.

 

It's one thing if no Brewers made it, but to imply that Escobar and Jeffress are the organization's top two prospects is misguided to me. I don't mean to sound overly critical, but this is the first of such overall prospect lists to pop up, and so far, not so good.

[sbrylski]

I'm surprised to see people keep doubting Parra. I'm not sure if the injury thing is still lingering, but the guy had an absolutely dominant year between AA and AAA, and looked pretty dang good in the big-leagues as well. He's a lefty that has always known how to pitch and he throws pretty dang hard to boot. Ranking a prospect purely on merit without looking at his history, Parra would easily be a top 50 prospect in all of baseball, and to see him, and LaPorta, not included on this list makes me question the overall integrity of that list.

 

It's one thing if no Brewers made it, but to imply that Escobar and Jeffress are the organization's top two prospects is misguided to me. I don't mean to sound overly critical, but this is the first of such overall prospect lists to pop up, and so far, not so good.

I just think Parra has, through injury, slipped out of any spotlight. And his AA/AAA seasons were good, but not amazing, and he was 23/24. Nothing wrong with that, but I think it puts him in that middle tier of prospects and he could have been listed anywhere from ~35 (#36 Scott Elbert compares well to him, I believe) to ~75.

 

With LaPorta, there are resonable concerns. Defensive issues, maybe age and lack of a professional sample. Still, he should be at least top 40.

 

Then again, I'm not the most well versed in the minor leagues. I only recognize about 75-80% of the names on the list and actually know only about 50%.

 

[sheetskout]

Neither LaPorta no Parra made the 50-through-60 portion, either:

 

Just missed the cut

With all the debate around the top 50 -- who got in and who didn't -- it's only fair to point out who just missed making the cut. After all, being considered prospect No. 51-60 in all of baseball is nothing to sneeze at:

• 51. Jason Heyward, OF, Braves
  
• 52. Brett Anderson, LHP, Diamondbacks
  
• 53. Gorkys Hernandez, OF, Braves
  
• 54. Jeff Niemman, RHP, Rays
  
• 55. Daric Barton, 1B, A's
  
• 56. Michael Bowden, RHP, Red Sox
  
• 57. Ryan Tucker, RHP, Marlins
  
• 58. Chuck Lofgren, LHP, Indians
  
• 59. Wladimir Balentien, OF, Mariners
  
• 60. Justin Maxwell, OF, Nationals

This is why I love the Milb list! (sarcasm). Gorkys is WAY to young to be rated this high. I cannot believe LaPorta isn't anywhere on their radar nor is Parra.

 

(Brett Anderson deserved to be in the top 50 though, IMO)

 

[jackalope02ca]

Here's the problem with Laporta. It's pretty obvious we are aggresively searching for a 3B. That will move Braun to LF and completely block him. He's not knocking Braun nor Prince out of the lineup. This would suggest to me the Brewers will trade him for help if we are in it at the deadline for a playoff run. If not he's likely trade bait the following winter.

 

This is no knock on Laporta. It's just how do you compare him to Prince or Braun and from what I've read and heard about him it's either 1st or LF for him.

 

When you effectively make it known your going to block a prospect like this it does knock his star down a little with other teams as it suggests the Brewers have taken him out of their future plans. It's not like this wasn't guessed at months ago and may have influenced the rankings a little. It's also hard to rank a prospect high when he effectively came out of the draft ranked as a 1B with little chance to change positions and then the team changes his position. Again this isn't a knock on Laporta but there are lots of people outside of our organization who still see him only as a 1b or DH. This would seriously influence his ranking.

[Hammer]

Is Braun going to be in LF for good or could he shift to RF after he gets acclimated to OF duty? An OF of LaPorta, Hart and Braun would be amazingly dynamic. Also, I am not the new Clancy...

[colbyjack]

I've never heard about a prospect being under-valued because he was perceived as being blocked at the next level. If people are seriously letting that effect their opinions on ranking prospects, they shouldn't be ranking prospects.

 

LaPorta is a decent enough athlete to handle LF, and even BA has reported that he should be average at worst in LF. Power is what LaPorta is all about anyway, and few can rival that potential.

 

And as I stated above, to me it really isn't about what I or others think about Parra or LaPorta, because I can live with them not making a top 50 prospect list (or 60 for that matter), to me it is about having Escobar and Jeffress rated as the top two prospects in the Brewers system. I think most people would agree that is a mistake, although I know BA sometimes ranks some players differently in their annual top 100 prospect list vs. their team-by-team top 10s, which IMO never reads right since that screams of inconsistency.

[jackalope02ca]

I guess what I'm trying to say is that if St. Louis had drafted him where he was blocked by Pujols I doubt very much that anyone would be talking about Laporta on this board. That's not a knock on him as he's either going to be playing sometime in 2009 or bringing us back a very good major leaguer. Either way it turns out to be a good pick. I'm just saying we naturally tend to rank our own higher. The fact Mark Rogers still gets a lot of love on this sight when his chances are slim at best is a prime example. Not that the talent isn't there it's just it's not often a Parra happens where a minor league pitcher comes back from a major injury to make an impact. Actually Parra is still just assumed but hopefully will have an injury free breakout this year at the major league level.

[Mass Haas]

Jonathan Mayo of MiLB.com responds:

BREWERS

Being a fan here in Charleston, W. Va., where the Brewers have their Class A affiliate, I have to say you missed a Top 50 kind of guy in Matt LaPorta! That guy will be in the bigs inside of two years, mark my words. He has a quick bat, fantastic power and didn't do a bad job learning to play left field. It may only be the Sally League, but he owned it this year! I'd say he should start in Double-A and be in Triple-A by the All-Star break! -- John B., Charleston WV

Matt LaPorta? Is he minced meat, or what? Several folks have him in their top 10 and they aren't even in your Top 50? Otherwise, nice job! -- Daaron

No, he's not minced meat (I'm not even sure what that is, to be honest). He is indeed one of the top right-handed power bats now in the Minors and I agree, he will make it to Milwuakee quickly. He finished tied for 65th with pitcher Jair Jurrjens, so he was mentioned by some scouts. Why not more? I think, more than anything, it's that LaPorta was deemed to be a little one-dimensional. He entered the pro game as mostly a power hitter. After his showing in the AFL, it's evident he's willing to put in the work to be a more complete hitter. But a power hitter with a questionable defensive home who is just starting out his pro career isn't going to be a Top 50 guy.

[twobrewers]

I think, more than anything, it's that LaPorta was deemed to be a little one-dimensional. He entered the pro game as mostly a power hitter.

You could say the same things about Braun and Fielder. Although, I suppose Braun has quite a bit of speed. Fielder was regarded as a power hitter and poor defender. He turned out pretty well.

 

Not to mention MiLB has Esbocar in the Top 50. He is pretty one dimensional. (Whiz with the leather - poor with the bat)

[colbyjack]

This Mayo comment from above prompted me to go back and read how they put together this list:

 

He finished tied for 65th with pitcher Jair Jurrjens, so he was mentioned by some scouts.

 

And the comments from how the list was put together:

 

This year's rankings come courtesy of 20 members of the scouting community. The results were tabulated in an AP poll-type format: Each voter submitted a list of their top 30 prosepcts, with a No. 1 ranking worth 30 points, No. 2 worth 29 and so on down to one. The cumulative score for each player helped determine the final rankings.

 

So this isn't really your stand subjective top prospect list put together by one person or a series of people, it's more similar to our fan top prospect poll that we conduct every year (I'll probably think about putting this together right after the New Year).

 

And if Jeremy Jeffress did indeed receive that much love from the 20 scouts polled, it makes me wonder how BA missed the boat on him when it came to the Sally League's top prospect list. If he's in the 40s overall, and didn't make the Sally League top 20...forget it, you get the point http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif.