This is always painful, but it’s also necessary. What follows is a look back at my preseason prospect rankings — a self audit, if you will. To be clear, this isn’t a re-ranking or anything, but it should suffice to remind all of you that I am mostly stupid. Please keep in mind that these guys are very early in their careers, and there is plenty of time for each to either figure it out, or get figured out. Anyway, let’s cut to it:
1. Matt Moore | SP, Rays: He’s currently #295 on the Razzball Payer Rater, and performing nowhere near expectations. I’m disappointed, Tampa’s disappointed, his parents are embarrassed. He’s been good enough to stay rosterable in most formats, which is valuable in itself, but no one at this point in the season is pleased that he drafted Matt Moore.
2. Yu Darvish | SP, Rangers: At #82 on the aforementioned player rater, Yu hasn’t been a complete turd, but he hasn’t quite pitched at the level that many thought he would. Plus, Grey made me rank him top-5 in order draw more Japanese hits.
3. Yoenis Cespedes | OF, Athletics: Hitting .283/.341/.505, Cespedes has been decent. Not worth the $7 I paid for him in Blog Wars, but I’m hopeful for a better, healthier second half.
4. Jesus Montero | C, Mariners: He’s been pretty horrendous at the plate: .246/.285/.375. Right now, he’s the 16th best catcher according to our player rater, so if you’re still starting him… don’t.
5. Devin Mesoraco | C, Reds: Mesoraco has seen only 140 PA as the Reds’ backup catcher. It’s hard to get into a rhythm at the plate without regular play as his slash line reflects: .218/.300/.387.
6. Bryce Harper | OF, Nationals: Hasn’t reached that immediate fantasy stud potential, but he’s had a solid rookie campaign and has certainly proven himself a capable fantasy option. Still five or so years from peaking.
7. Zack Cozart | SS, Reds: He’s been the 22nd best shortstop so far. It was easy to project a lot of playing time for Cozart, tougher to project what he’d do with it. He’s a fringy option even for deep formats, but he’s still owned in 23% of Yahoo! leagues.
8. Yonder Alonso | 1B, Padres: Uuugh, these rankings are terrible. Hitting .262/.345/.357 on the year. Petco is a killer, but Alonso isn’t helping himself.
9. Trevor Bauer | SP, Diamondbacks: If I were re-ranking these guys for ROS, Bauer would be the top pitcher.
10. Julio Teheran | SP, Braves: He’s appeared only once for the Braves this year. Atlanta went with Randall Delgado early, and now they’ve got Ben Sheets. Meanwhile, Teheran has an ugly 4.96 ERA in Triple-A
11. Addison Reed | RP, White Sox: As full-time closer for the White Sox, Reed’s been an asset in the fantasy game.
12. Mike Trout | OF, Angels: Here’s what I wrote in March: “If he truly had a shot at playing this year he’d rank top five. He doesn’t. Still, he deserves to be mentioned here because he’s absolutely ready if there is a need.” In my defense, I spelled every word of that quote correctly. Trout is the #4 overall player according to our player rater.
13. Anthony Rizzo | 1B, Cubs: Rizzo mashed in Triple-A and was called up only a couple weeks ago. Since his arrival, though, he’s been terrific: .356/.377/.627.
14. Brad Peacock | SP, Athletics: Peacock is having a particularly brutal year in Triple-A and is falling quite a ways down prospect lists.
15. Jarrod Parker | SP, Athletics: Parker has been more than serviceable as a fantasy starter. He’s owned in 55% of Yahoo! leagues and his ERA sits at 3.16.
16. Drew Pomeranz | SP, Rockies: He’s shaken off the efficiency problems, found his stuff, and worked his way back to the majors. Could help as a streamer going forward… away from Coors, of course.
17. Jacob Turner | SP, Tigers: Turner is replacing the injured Drew Smyly in the Tigers rotation. I figured he’d get a look before Smyly in the first place, and I think he’ll have a good chance to stick.
18. Leonys Martin | OF, Rangers: A reserve outfielder for the Rangers, Martin isn’t getting the PA’s necessary to make a fantasy impact.
19. Shelby Miller | SP, Cardinals: Miller is having a poor year at Triple-A Memphis and the Cardinals are now rumored to be shopping the once “untouchable” prospect.
20. Danny Hultzen | SP, Mariners: A month ago he was tearing up Double-A and had many anticipating a jump straight to the spacious Safeco Field. Instead, he was bumped up to Triple-A, where his walk rate has doubled.
21. Tyler Skaggs | SP, Diamondbacks: Skaggs has been steady in the minors all year, but he hasn’t broken through with guys like Trevor Bauer and Patrick Corbin ahead of him, developmentally. His ceiling remains extremely high, but it looks like we won’t see him ’til 2013.
22. Hisashi Iwakuma | SP, Mariners: He currently holds a SP slot for the M’s, but he’s not very relevant in the fantasy game. Iwakuma was crushed by the Rangers in his most recent start.
23. Brett Jackson | OF, Cubs: Not handling Triple-A as smoothly as expected, but still on track to reach Wrigley this year.
24. Joe Benson | OF, Twins: Benson is recovering from hand surgery and returned to Triple-A action on Monday. It’s unlikely he’ll surface in the majors this year.
25. Lance Lynn | SP, Cardinals: At #44 overall according to our player rater, Lynn has been the best guy on this list other than Trout. At this point in the review, though, I’m just glad I ranked him. Thank god.
