Where will Lillibridge play? Obviously he's not going to CF now. I think he's got a higher ceiling than Yunel Escobar. Am curious to know what others think will happen with the Lillibridge vs. Escobar situation.

Jeopardy time:

"I'll take MLB Prospects for $400, Alex."

"The Jeopardy Answer: Heyward, Lillibridge, and Jair Jurrjens."

"Who are three excellent prospects in the Braves organization who could have conceivably been amongst the best prospects in the Pirate organization?"

I assume that Lillibridge will be the AAA shortstop. He'll probably get a bit of time in the big leagues at some point this year. Theoretically, if Teixeira walks after '08, Chipper Jones could shift to first base, and either Escobar or Lillibridge to third base. Realistically, I don't see that happening, since I doubt the Braves will ever move Chipper again unless he physically can't handle third base anymore.

Will Heyward make the big leagues as an OF or 1B? I had read Derek Lee comparisons, but people seem to think he's athletic enough to play the OF, which in my mind, would make him much more valuable.

From what I understand, he profiles as a decent, but unremarkable corner outfielder defensively. I think he has enough of an arm for right field.

Cox has a ginormous man crush on Escobar. Ergo, Lillibridge, despite being the better player, is likely to be trade bait. The Braves don't hold onto prospects that are blocked.

Three stars is a pretty aggressive grade for a sixteen year old with no pro experience.

However, weren't there some rumors that Teheran was sitting 94-96 in instructs with two plus secondary pitches (curveball/changeup)? I know BA gave him the best fastball in the Braves org.

This list makes me feel better after the Kotsay debacle. Very interested to see Locke make his full-season debut.

Where will Lillibridge play? Obviously he's not going to CF now. I think he's got a higher ceiling than Yunel Escobar. Am curious to know what others think will happen with the Lillibridge vs. Escobar situation.

I think Lillibridge will wait his turn at Richmond until either Kotsay or Escobar don't work out and he'll get his chance. Obviously Kotsay flaming out is much more likely since 1)he's not good anymore and 2)the forementioned mancrush Bobby Cox has on Yutility.

Rotoworld:

"Chuck James revealed this week that he was diagnosed with a slight tear in his rotator cuff following last season."

He really got smacked around down the stretch. This could be a good or bad thing depending on how you look at it.

Cox has a ginormous man crush on Escobar.

...2)the forementioned mancrush Bobby Cox has on Yutility.

If the team I rooted for brought up a 24-year-old kid who hit like Escobar did while splitting time at three infield positions, I'd be pleased that the manager appreciated his contributions. There must be something about Escobar this Royals fan is missing.

Fair point, but the Escobar treatment stands in stark contrast to the way that Bobby Cox jerks around Kelly Johnson (who hits even better). For whatever reason, Esco has lots of fans in the Braves brass.

I don't have anything against Escobar. I'm perfectly comfortable with him as the everyday SS. I just think Lillibridge has the better upside. He walks a lot more, he's a very good basestealer, and by all accounts is a plus defender at short.

By any measure, it should be an open competition between Esco and Lilli at SS this spring. It won't be.

I dunno - Escobar looked pretty good at short last year, and he hit a ton. Plus he does things managers love (like taking an extra base when the defense ignored him). I'm fairly certain that he'll perform better than Lillibridge will next year. It's a nice problem to have!

Fair point, but the Escobar treatment stands in stark contrast to the way that Bobby Cox jerks around Kelly Johnson (who hits even better). For whatever reason, Esco has lots of fans in the Braves brass.

Makes sense. I've always been very impressed with Johnson at the plate.

You think it's Cox's belief in defense up the middle that's driving his treatment of Johnson? I remember not being able to figure out why Lemke played as much as he did with Jeff Treadway on the roster.

Jason Heyward and Nevin Griffith were the two guys this year who convinced me that John Sickels has no scouting abilities at all. I don't think I have any scouting instincts, and even I catch a ton of problems that went over Sickels' head. Heyward has an ugly swing, getting too little from his hips and legs, built more for line drives than the HRs that people are projecting him for. He's lucky to have landed where he did, because the Braves organization is capable of turning him into a real prospect.

I also have a huge crush on yunel escobar. Mostly because he is awesome.

Heyward is 18 yrs old, do you realise that? And already has excellent plate disciple and power to all fields.

In reply to a question asking him about the long term future of Heyward, Wren said that he was impressed with the instincts Heyward showed in the OF ( in Instructional League ) and as of now, is slated as a RF. Ofcourse after the Kotsay thread, Wren is on my ignore list!!

Poor Eric Campbell. Going from first to forgotten.

"Poor Eric Campbell. Going from first to forgotten."

Its unfortunate but he seems to have created all his problems himself.

Its too bad, I was hoping to see a southern Indiana country boy make good with the Braves

I just think Lillibridge has the better upside. He walks a lot more, he's a very good basestealer, and by all accounts is a plus defender at short.

More walks often means the player has *less* upside, not more - his ceiling is usually lower, but he's more likely to get close to it.

-- MWE

More walks often means the player has *less* upside, not more - his ceiling is usually lower, but he's more likely to get close to it.
That's assuming both players are equal. I'd rather have 'A'+walks than 'A'-walks anyday. Also, a lot of that added value comes when a team has less bargaining power with the player (arb + fa years).
I do agree with your larger point, of course, just in a mitigated form.

FWIW, Lillibridge is a little better defensively at short than Escobar, both by the scouting reports I've seen and by the numbers (minor league defensive stats being, of course, quite unreliable). As Robert noted, the Braves will probably stick him in AAA while monitoring Escobar (a super utility guy, IMO) - I suspect that, in the short term, the Braves other CF options will take precedence should Kotsay fail.

I'm fine with Lillibridge starting the year in AAA. At some point in the season he'll be up in a super-utility role playing around the infield and maybe even some CF...

Lillbridge doesn't walk "that" much more often than did Escobar, he strikes out much more often (60 K in half a season at Mississippi - Escobar fanned 76 times in a full season there), and he wasn't really better than Escobar was at Pearl, at almost exactly the same age. I just don't see a dime's worth of difference between them.

-- MWE

I think Lillibridge has a higher ceiling - a bit more pop, more range, better basestealer, though he's obviously not as good at hitting for average (the K rate concerns me). Incidentally, I know that some hold that righties all have roughly the same platoon advantage, but... Lillibridge has been MUCH better versus lefties as a pro - it's something to monitor as time goes on.

EDIT: If I were running the show, I'd also have Escobar @ SS and Lillibridge playing SS in AAA (who needs to get a little more consistent with the glove anyway). No reason to get his clock running until you're sure he's ready or that you want to move Escobar off the position.

Whats with Pearl's park factor? People who have gone to the park say its huge and tough to hit in. Apart from Salty's half season, most Braves prospects put up better numbers away from it. Yet its PF is 100

air point, but the Escobar treatment stands in stark contrast to the way that Bobby Cox jerks around Kelly Johnson (who hits even better). For whatever reason, Esco has lots of fans in the Braves brass.

I suspec that the organization's "man crush" on Escobar has something to do with his excellent play, both offensively and defensively, through out his career, his work ethic and his zest for the game. Those are the sorts of things that endear you to baseball managers, after all. And can we please get over this "Bobby Cox jerks around Kelly Johnson" bit, please? Johnson was given the starting 2B job out of spring training last year having never played 2B before in his career. He was never threatened by any of the supposed Cox favorites -- Pete Oor, Martin Prado or Chris Woodward -- and he held the starting spot all year. Late in the year Johnson started to struggle and press in his first 162 game season. At the time Escobar was tearing the cover off of the ball and Cox was trying to get him playing time, so he quite reasonably rested Johnson vs tough lefties and dropped Escobar into the 2B slot for a few games (after playing him as the injury replacement for Chipper, and then Renteria.)

When the glut of middle infielders was clear and obvious this winter, Cox and the Braves dealt the older player, Renteria, to make room for Escobar. They did not, you might notice, deal Kelly Johnson, who remains the team's starting second baseman. There are unsubstantiated rumors of trying Mark Kotsay as the leadoff hitter and dropping Johnson down to the 7 or 8 spot, which admittedly is a bad idea on the merits, but it's not like they're trying to dump Johnson to make room for Prado, and they've shown no signs of dealing Johnson to make room for the better defender Lillibridge.

What evidence is there that Johnson was "jerked around" last year, again?

Any hope left for my Campbell or Jake Stevens?

"Jason Heyward and Nevin Griffith were the two guys this year who convinced me that John Sickels has no scouting abilities at all. I don't think I have any scouting instincts, and even I catch a ton of problems that went over Sickels' head. Heyward has an ugly swing, getting too little from his hips and legs, built more for line drives than the HRs that people are projecting him for. He's lucky to have landed where he did, because the Braves organization is capable of turning him into a real prospect."

It may be worth revisiting here what Carlos said about Heyward:

The next time you watch a game on TV and the announcer commends a hitter on his "quick hands," more than likely what he means is that the hitter has a quick body. This is an example of a quick body...

Heyward has a simple, short swing and he turns his hips and hands very quickly. For the most part, he does an excellent job of letting the ball get deep. If there is one minor nitpick about his swing, it is that he does almost too good of a job "staying back." Heyward needs to transfer his energy and hit against his front leg better in order to develop more power. Right now, Heyward is missing out on extra power by not actively transferring his weight forward (see Mills or LaPorta in Part 1 as some good examples). In other words, he has the tendency to spin around his back leg rather than turn against his front leg. He will also need to develop "lift," as his swing is more of a "batting average" swing right now.

Heyward seems like a good athlete. He moves gracefully on the field and has pretty good throwing mechanics. After being not-so-nice last year about the Braves' first round pick (scroll to pick #24), Heyward is an excellent choice at this spot. He could definitely be a steal at 14. -Link.

And...

Top five position players:
2) OF Jason Heyward, Braves (14th overall)
I like power. He has a little work to do with his swing, but I like his chances of becoming a legit 35-plus HR guy down the line.
[...]
Best Picks:
2) OF Jason Heyward, Braves (14th overall)
What do you do when a top five or six talent falls to you at 14? If you're the Braves, you don't pass him up. Great pick. -Link.

Personally, I think Heyward is going to make a lot of the teams that passed on him look bad in a few years.

Personally, I think Heyward is going to make a lot of the teams that passed on him look bad in a few years.

I wonder what team Vlad would put at the top of the list... I think their first round pick's name rhymes with Boscos.

Sparkles, no offense, but I think you're off on Heyward. He has some minor adjustments to make, especially on the ball in, but "ugly?" Not in my eyes.

Heyward played CF in high school and has a plus arm that would make him a plus RF. I think the Derrek Lee comparisons are probably physical, not least because they're both African-American.

Lee is African-American? Damn kung-fu movies... :)

Keith, speaking of raw outfielders, a penny for your thoughts on Tyrell Worthington, the HS outfielder that the Dbacks took in the 5th round in 07?

http://eastcarolina.scout.com/2/649954.html