I guess the best place to start is here- from my seat on this here train. It’s five ‘til 8 and we are on the Amtrak from Gallup, New Mexico and won’t exit this beast until we hit Fullerton, California. What do five coaches, a 12-hour overnight train ride, four and a half days in sunshiny Anaheim, and the nation’s largest baseball convention add up to? That’s a hell of a good question. Be sure to check back each night to find out. I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.
Starling was the top prep position player available in the 2011 draft. His tools were the finest in the 2011 class for any position player, though. He’s blazing fast, throws gas from the outfield, generates outstanding bat speed, and has a frame that projects both in terms of potential and the likelihood of a healthy career. As far as we at The Sombrero are concerned, however, that is where the compliments end.
Starling is loaded with shit makeup, a lack of familiarity with the game, and poor fundamentals in terms of both mechanics and comprehension. He signed late too, and basically missed half a season unnecessarily, suggesting that baseball is not a terribly high priority for him. You’d think a guy who wasted as much time fooling around with a football as Starling did would want to get started early to attempt to maybe even the playing field between himself and the guys who have lived within the game for the last 10 or 15 years.
Starling then proceeded to receive an underage drinking charge. Don’t look for this guy to ever have much in the way of baseball IQ. Expect insane tools and athleticism, the type that guys like Starling don’t deserve. He should spend a season and a half or two in the low Minors and about the same amount in Double-A and Triple-A. Look for him to debut in center some time in 2014. KC is really going to regret passing on Archie Bradley.
It’s hard to believe that a guy like Yasmani Grandal could somehow become dispensable (not to mention Yonder Alonso), but that is exactly what happened when the Reds sent both guys to San Diego for Mat Latos. The primary reasons that deal makes sense for the Reds is No. 1: Joey Votto, and No: 2, Devin Mesoraco.
Mesoraco slashed .289/.371/.484 for Louisville and then was called up for 50 at-bats with Cincinnati. He went deep 15 times in Triple-A, walks at a decent clip, and projects for way more power than he currently displays. Perhaps even more important, though, is that Mesoraco possesses the tools to be an average catcher in the Show. He is an average receiver as well as thrower, and should be the Opening Day starter for the Reds in 2012 , hitting in the middle of the order by 2014 alongside Jay Bruce and Votto.
Grandal is built like a brick wall, so it’s tough for him to get his 220-pound frame moving. That is just about the only knock on him, though. Devin Mesoraco is one of the finest hitting prospects in the game, and he does an average job on the other side of the ball at a premium position.
Skaggs really has nothing left to prove in the Minors in our opinion, even though he has never thrown a Triple-A pitch. His 10 starts in the Southern League were as convincing as any collected by any southpaw not named Matt Moore this season. He posted a 2.50 ERA for Mobile, striking out 73 guys and only issuing 15 walks in under 60 innings. While Arizona will undoubtedly send Skaggs back to the farm for more polishing, it’s no secret that he’s ready and should find himself among the Show’s youngest starting pitchers within the next year or two.
Skaggs features three pitches that all grade as at least 55s, with his breaker a no-doubt plus to double-plus pitch. It is a very tight 12-6 bender that features excellent shape and can get both sides of the dish out consistently, both in the zone and in the dirt. His fastball has picked up several notches of pace in the last year and now is nearly always in the low-90s. His changeup is behind the other two pitches, but only because a changeup inherently has less life than aggressive fastballs and breakers. He turns it over quite well for a 20-year-old who has never needed it, though. His delivery is athletic, fluid, and repeatable. He gets excellent makeup grades as well. Skaggs is a prized commodity and is simply one more stellar arm that the geniuses in Phoenix have stockpiled.
It is hard to still think of Rizzo as a rookie after he was punished to the tune of a .523 OPS for the Padres in 128 at-bats in 2011. He still qualifies for this list, though, and while his stock did take a hit, he still is one of the top corner bat prospects in the game. As soon as he was demoted to Tucson, he began raking again, slashing .331/.404/.652 with 26 jacks in only 356 at-bats. He has true 60-grade power today with a chance at more.
His bat gets long to the ball, a tendency that lefties have had a fairly easy time exploiting, but he is athletic enough to develop his hit tool to a point that he should be able to stay inside of more pitches. Rizzo is an elite defender at first, but will never be an average runner. Who cares? With time, the 22-year-old could develop into one of the top first basemen in the National League and makes the loss of Adrian Gonzalez considerably more tolerable. He was the top offensive prospect in Boston’s organization before he became the centerpiece of the Gonzalez deal last winter. After the Mat Latos trade, the Padres are several pieces away from a legitimate chance at contention, and they have a very bright youngster with a chance to hit in the middle of the order for years in Anthony Rizzo.
January 5, 2012
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Posted by Griffin Phelps
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