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Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Kevin Goldstein: Cincinnati Reds Top 11 Prospects

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.

Five-Star Prospects
1. Billy Hamilton, SS
2. Devin Mesoraco, C
Three-Star Prospects
3. Zack Cozart, SS
4. Robert Stephenson, RHP
5. Daniel Corcino, RHP
6. J.C. Sulbaran, RHP
7. Didi Gregorius, SS
8. Todd Frazier, UT
9. Neftali Soto, 1B
10. Henry Rodriguez, 2B
Two-Star Prospects
11. Yorman Rodriguez, OF

Nine More:
12. Kyle Lotzkar, RHP: Can’t stay healthy, but continues to tease with some of the best stuff in the system.
13. Kyle Waldrop, OF: Athletic outfielder impressed Pioneer League scouts in 2011, has excellent chance to move up.
14. Donnie Joseph, LHP: Lefty reliever has bat-missing arsenal; could reach big leagues in 2012 with more strikes.
15. Gabriel Rosa, 3B: 2011 second-round pick is raw, but has the potential for plus power and defense.
16. Tony Cingrani, LHP: 2011 third-rounder has crazy number in pro debut, but projects for many as reliever.
17. Ryan LaMarre, OF: 2010 second-rounder has speed and contact ability, but leaves scouts underwhelmed with overall hitting.
18. Tucker Barnhart, C: Will get to the big leagues on defensive chops alone, but backup bat.
19. Juan Duran, OF: Finally began to untap the power in 2011, but is still uncoordinated after growing to six-foot-seven.
20. Ryan Wright, 2B: Overachiever with more skills than tools, but hard not to like.

Tripon Posted: January 17, 2012 at 07:26 PM | 11 comment(s) Login to Bookmark
Tags: minor leagues, prospect reports, reds, scouting

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1. SoSHially Unacceptable Posted: January 18, 2012 at 12:09 AM (#4039069)

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.

2. Social media assassin (Templeusox) Posted: January 18, 2012 at 12:20 AM (#4039072)

Billy Hamilton is overrated.

3. Non-Youkilidian Geometry Posted: January 18, 2012 at 08:58 AM (#4039177)

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".

4. RoyalsRetro (AG#1F) Posted: January 18, 2012 at 09:08 AM (#4039183)

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

These seem like Star Wars names.

5. Harveys Wallbangers

Posted: January 18, 2012 at 09:57 AM (#4039203)

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

6. hokieneer Posted: January 18, 2012 at 10:38 AM (#4039221)

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+.

7. bpasinko Posted: January 18, 2012 at 02:14 PM (#4039457)

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

8. Vida Blew Over the Legal Limit Posted: January 18, 2012 at 03:03 PM (#4039510)

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.

9. Mike Emeigh

Posted: January 18, 2012 at 03:19 PM (#4039530)

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

10. Vida Blew Over the Legal Limit Posted: January 18, 2012 at 04:21 PM (#4039596)

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.

11. JPWF1313 Posted: January 18, 2012 at 05:06 PM (#4039642)

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

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Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Kevin Goldstein: Cincinnati Reds Top 11 Prospects

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