System In 20 Words Or Less: Considering the trades made for a 2012 run at the National Leaugue Central, there is still some strength in the system.

I bet Goldstein thinks nobody will notice when he's got 13 items in the 12 items or less line. But I'm counting dammit.

Billy Hamilton is overrated.

KG is very much the outlier on Hamilton - none of the other prospect rankings I've seen have him anywhere near this high. If Hamilton's new-found ability to get on base holds up he'll be a valuable player even though he has no power, but that's a big "if".

5. Daniel Corcino, RHP
6. J.C. Sulbaran, RHP
7. Didi Gregorius, SS

These seem like Star Wars names.

I like Cozart a lot. He is very smooth out at short.

Me too Harveys. He should be a very solid-to-potentially great glove out there. Hopefully he hits well enough to not be a black hole. I think ZIPS has him around 89 OPS+.

Is Billy Hamilton supposed to be a top-notch fielder at SS? How does he compare to Dee Gordon?

Is Billy Hamilton supposed to be a top-notch fielder at SS? How does he compare to Dee Gordon?

Hamilton has range, in that he can get to balls, but his routes, hands and arm are suspect. I don't think he'll stick at short. Maybe 2b, but I'd love to see him in CF as TFA suggests.

I think Hamilton's going to have to move to get a major league job, and like Temple I think Kevin's overrating him. It's easy to be seduced by his speed, but he can't steal first base, and Hamilton doesn't have enough pop to punish mistakes so pitchers won't be as concerned about hitting spots against him. The prototypical player of this type is Juan Pierre, and Hamilton's not as good.

Henry Rodriguez is a sleeper. He's hit everywhere he's played, he can play shortstop without being stretched too much, and he's kind of a stealth prospect, like Heisey was.

Gregorius was born in the Netherlands, but his family is actually from Curacao. It's a baseball playing family, going back several generations. He's fun to watch, but there are a lot of questions as to whether the bat will play. Long-term I like his chances, but he still has a lot to learn.

Soto's limited to 1B/LF at this stage, and blocked at the major league level. He might be the next trade candidate.

-- MWE

Soto's limited to 1B/LF at this stage, and blocked at the major league level.

This year is make or break for Soto. If his power continues, then he becomes viable as a future LF or Votto stop gap.

and how is Todd Frazier still a prospect? (yes I know he still has rookie eligibility)
He'll be 26 a month from now.
In 2009 he hit .292/.351/.481 between AA and AAA
in 2010 he hit .258/.333/.448 in AAA
in 2011 he hit .260/.340/.467 in AAA

Juan Francisco is year younger and just hit .307/.334/.540 for the same team, and in 2010 Juan hit .286/.325/.565 for the same team, no one thinks Francisco is a prospect...
at one time the thought was Frazier could fake 2b... now he's apparently a 1b/3b... of course the destiny of all 1b/3bs is 1b/dh...
a 26 year old future 1b/dh who is a somewhat above average hitter- in AAA- is not my idea of a prospect