Posts belonging to Category Prospects/Rookies

Having not written anything recently, I feel completely lost as I try to put together something for Sombrero Nation.  I checked the files on both my work computer and home computer, and found out that I have eight different blog posts started, just waiting for me to finish them.  For whatever reason, I just have not finished anything I started to write.  It is time to fix that.  Forget the lead in.  Forget fluency.  Forget about even reading a “true” article.  All this is going to be is a collection of my thoughts on baseball.  I call them…Randoms.

–       Tim Kurkjian recently said he believes that the Astros will lose 300 games over the next 3 years.  Oddly, I am not surprised by, or in tears because of, this estimate.

–       Bubba Starling choosing the Royals over the Huskers makes me smile.  For one, I hate watching phenomenal athletes waste their time playing other sports when they could be playing baseball.  Secondly, Nebraska is where college quarterbacks go to die, and that would be a terrible endgame for such a gifted athlete.

–       I tried to explain that opinion to my mom at dinner last night.  All she could do is smile and nod her head.  At least she checks the blog on a daily basis.  Love you, mom!  Thanks for your support.

–       I wish Brettsta would write more for the Sombrero.  He has nasty wordplay skills.  (Editor’s note: I agree and welcome any and all submissions.)

–       Being an Astros fan is finally exciting again.  As much as I will miss competing, I find the direction the club is heading to be fulfilling enough right now.

–       Why is Carlos Zambrano so far removed from his own sanity?  Was he dropped on his head as a newborn?

–       I had a legitimate discussion with one of the 6^th graders in my classroom about how Justin Verlander should win the AL Cy Young.  I was very impressed, to say the least.

–       Will somebody please kick Bryce Harper in the junk already?  Seriously, this is inexcusable at the professional level.

–       Why do I keep falling for Ricky Nolasco’s Jekyll and Hyde routine?  That 33 era he posted the other night might have finally done it for me.

–       I really wish I had learned how to throw a cutter when I was in college.  It is just such a nasty pitch from the left side.

–       The Fantasy Focus baseball podcast on ESPN is excellent.  I listen to it everyday at lunch and thoroughly enjoy listening to the hilarity interspersed with fantasy analysis.  If you have not listened to it, I suggest you check it out.

–       I would really like to find out how many other people are tired of the Brian Wilson “I’m Trying Really Hard So Somebody Please Look at Me” show.  He should really just sit down with Timmy Jim, burn one down, and relax.

–       This was a fun piece to write.  Let me know if I should do something like this once a week.

This has been quite the week for Bryce Harper.  It started with him hitting a 480-foot, walk-off BOMB to dead center.  Then came the video of the phenom failing to run out a double play ball — failing isn’t even the right word; he basically came to a screeching stop.  And now, to culminate the eventful week, here is a video of Harper pulling his hamstring while going first to third on a single.

As we all already know, Bryce Harper possesses an insane amount of talent.  But over the months rumors have circulated regarding his perceived aloofness and poor makeup.  The 18-year-old phenom has been repeatedly criticized for his refusal to sign autographs; he blew a kiss at the opposing pitcher after taking him deep; and he’s nearly started several brawls.  In my opinion, however, the following video is the worst of them all. I could care less how big a prick he is towards the other team — in fact, I dig his competitiveness.  But for him to treat the game with such disrespect is wrong, and the fact that the Nationals organization doesn’t reprimand him is a joke.  Having said all that, he’s still easily the best prospect in baseball.

Gerrit Cole: This is a tougher call than one might expect, as Jameson Taillon is also a power righty in Pittsburgh’s system that arguably had the finest pitch of his draft class too.  Cole’s fastball is bigger and he is more polished than Taillon and probably closer to the Show.

Danny Hultzen: Hultzen is not really competing against anyone here and was the most polished guy in the ’11 class with excellent command and secondary stuff to go with a plus fastball from the left side.

Trevor Bauer: This is another tough one to call because he probably does not have the limitless projection that Archie Bradley possesses.  Nevertheless, he will arrive very quickly and will succeed from the second he shows up.  He has the unshakable poise that will allow him to immediately adapt to the Major League environment.

Dylan Bundy: Manny Machado is awesome and quite clearly the top infield prospect today, but Bundy would have been my first overall selection if I was Pittsburgh.  I personally believe that no other high school pitcher in history has been on the same level as Dylan Bundy.

Bubba Starling: Starling might take a little while to get there, but his tools are without rival in the Royals’ system and quite possibly the Minors today.  He needs time and patience from the organization because he is not remotely close to a finished product.  KC must remember that this is a good thing.

Francisco Lindor: The Tribe dismantled their system to get Ubaldo, so this is a no-brainer.  Nevertheless, Lindor has tremendous upside and tools.  I was not as high on him as many, but I think I am a little slow to accept the fact that the SS landscape is far from what it once was.  The way prospects are evaluated must adapt with the Major League landscape, and I personally have a difficult time assessing premium positions like SS.

George Springer: He has tools to drool over but lacks zone judgment and has his share of mechanical flaws.  I think he will take longer than other guys who were available, but this was far from the typical botched Houston pick.

Taylor Jungmann: Milwaukee made the smart pick here by going with the polished big-conference collegiate superstar.  Jungmann is already close and should arrive quickly.  After blowing the system up over the winter, this was the kind of draft they needed in Milwaukee as they collected two high profile collegiate aces in Jungmann and Jed Bradley.

Matt Barnes: Oh what it must be like to be the Red Sox during a draft like this.  With unlimited funds they were able to take 3 guys I had in the top 20 in Barnes, Blake Swihart, and Jackie Bradley Jr., and Henry Owens who I had immediately outside of it.  Their top guy prior to this week was Will Middlebrooks, and I just don’t see the same kind of upside in him that I do in Barnes.  Barnes certainly needs to improve his secondary stuff as well as command of all of his pitches, but he can work at 95 mph for 70 pitches and is very comfortable throwing in the cold New England air.  Oh, and I see him as a starter.  Duh.

Other teams that totally killed the draft were Washington and Tampa who have the Minor Leagues’ best hitting and pitching prospects respectively.  It should be noted that no one drafted this year would land in front of Bryce Harper or Matt Moore in any ranking of mine.