The Golden Sombrero Baseball Blog | MLB, Fantasy, College & High School Baseball News

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.


Video: Bryce Harper’s 480-foot, walk-off bomb


Golden Sombrero: Starlin Castro

Top 1: Starlin Castro struck out swinging against Brandon Beachy

Top 3: Castro grounded out to third against Beachy

Top 5: Castro struck out swinging against Beachy

Top 6: Castro struck out swinging against Arodys Vizcaino

Top 9: Castro struck out swinging against Craig Kimbrel

Final Line: 0-for-5, 4 K

Notes: Out of all of the golden sombreros that we’ve highlighted this season, Castro’s surprised me the most.  Possessing a K% of 14.3 in 530 plate appearances, the shortstop has shown the ability to make consistent, hard contact since bursting on the scene last season.  But on Sunday, the Braves’ young, power arms were too much for him, as he notched a sombrero out of the leadoff spot.

Total 2011 Sombreros: 89

Golden Sombrero: Paul Goldschmidt

Bottom 2: Paul Goldschmidt struck out swinging against Mike Pelfrey

Bottom 4: Goldschmidt struck out swinging against Pelfrey

Bottom 6: Goldschmidt struck out swinging against Pedro Beato

Bottom 8: Goldschmidt called out on strikes against Bobby Parnell

Final Line: 0-for-4, 4 K

Notes: For a power hitter like Goldschmidt, especially a rookie power hitter, golden sombreros will happen.  In 41 at-bats since being called up, he has struck out 18 times.  However, Goldschmidt is also capable of this, which, for the record, was way farther than 450 feet.

Total 2011 Sombreros: 88

Golden Sombrero: Kosuke Fukudome

Bottom 1: Kosuke Fukudome grounded out to short against Doug Fister

Bottom 4: Fukudome struck out swinging against Duane Below

Bottom 7: Fukudome struck out swinging against Daniel Schlereth

Bottom 10: Fukudome called out on strikes against Phil Coke

Bottom 12: Fukudome struck out swinging against Joaquin Benoit

Bottom 14: Fukudome hit by pitch by David Pauley

Final Line: 0-for-5, 4 K, HBP, RBI

Notes: A week ago, Fukudome was a hit by a pitch in the 14th inning to drive home the game-winning run and secure a 3-2 victory over the Tigers.  With a potential platinum sombrero on the line, Fukudome wisely stuck out his elbow and wore the David Pauley fastball.

Total 2011 Sombreros: 87