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2011’s 100th Golden Sombrero: Kelly Johnson (again)

Bottom 2: Kelly Johnson struck out swinging against David Price

Bottom 4: Johnson called out strikes against Price

Bottom 7: Johnson called out on strikes against Price

Bottom 9: Johnson struck out swinging against Cesar Ramos

Final Line: 0-for-4, 4 K

Notes: Johnson’s golden sombrero on Sunday was his second of the season, as he became the only player to accomplish the feat in both leagues.  Johnson and the Blue Jays collected three hits against David Price, who fanned a career-high 14 hitters over seven scoreless frames.

Total 2011 Sombreros: 100

Which New Prospects Immediately Ascend to #1?

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.


Golden Sombrero: J.P. Arencibia (again)

Top 3: J.P. Arencibia struck out swinging against David Price

Top 5: Arencibia struck out swinging against Price

Top 7: Arencibia struck out swinging against Juan Cruz

Top 9: Arencibia struck out swinging against Brandon Gomes

Final Line: 0-for-4, 4 K

Notes: Arencibia’s golden sombrero against David Price and the Rays on Tuesday night was his second of the season.  Now hitting ninth in the Blue Jays’ batting order, the rookie has shown pretty impressive pop (17 HR, .232 ISO).  However, he has also shown a propensity to strike out (93 K, 28.7 K%), which explains the .219 batting average.

Total 2011 Sombreros: 83

Golden Sombrero: Evan Longoria

Top 1: Evan Longoria called out on strikes against Felipe Paulino

Top 3: Longoria singled to left against Paulino

Top 5: Longoria stuck out swinging against Paulino

Top 6: Longoria called out on strikes against Blake Wood

Top 8: Longoria struck out swinging against Louis Coleman

Final Line: 1-for-5, RBI, 4 K, 7 LOB

Notes: Although the game went well for the Rays—5-0 win—the same can’t be said for Longo.  Now hitting .242 on the season, Longoria fanned in four of his five at-bats on Sunday, and left seven runners on base in the process.  He also committed a throwing error, but luckily it didn’t spoil Alex Cobb’s gem.

Total 2011 Sombreros: 73

Golden Sombrero: Matt Joyce

Bottom 1: Matt Joyce struck out swinging against Freddy Garcia

Bottom 4: Joyce struck out swinging against Garcia

Bottom 6: Joyce struck out swinging against Garcia

Bottom 8: Joyce called out on strikes against David Robertson

Final Line: 0-for-4, 4 K

Notes: It was a tough night for the (first-half) All-Star Joyce, who fanned in all four at-bats in Wednesday’s loss against the Yankees.  The reason for his first three strikeouts is simple: Sweaty Freddy simply throws too damn slow.  And for the final strikeout, well, Robertson is just good at his job.

Total 2011 Sombreros: 72