What are your thoughts on Tim Wheeler? How does his upside stack up versus other OF prospects like Trayvon Robinson or Leonys Martin?

The hype machine is all of the minor league prospecting and scouting BA and other types sell to the general public. When you quote verbatim from BA and other sources that is part of it. They might say publically how great Brett Lawrie is, but everyone knows he is getting by on his athleticism and is going to hit the wall hard.

Gordon will still probably get to 40+ HR power in a season, but it’s a lot more profitable for these places to hype the prospects and sell scouting reports saying how great they are.

People want to call Harper the next Alex Rodriguez, as if he is on a one way track to the hall of fame, but JD Drew tore up the minor leagues as well. lmao which comp do you think people will pay to read?

@TillmanLover: Duffy and Montgomery will be up come June. I don’t know who they send down.

18 years old and has a 1.150 OPS, hitting .373 vs. LHP, .387 vs. RHP, on pace for about 36 HRs, 44 2B in 140 games with 72 walks.

It seems like everyone keeps waiting for competition to catch up with him, whether it’s at the JC level as a 16 year old or at A-ball as an 18 year old. He seems like a legit perennial Triple Crown candidate in the MLB …. just imagine him when he’s 26-27 years old!

@ltf: mhm. It would just be a travesty to see him trend towards Joe Mauer rather than a Justin Morneau.

re:expectations: A lot of that is the win-now mentality, and on this site, the fantasy production. I mean, that’s what we need. As for a baseball fan, I hate the hype machine. Truly hate it. I look at Alex Gordon finally having success after three years of toiling away. Personally, I really enjoy seeing the prospects rebound from their initial struggles. Even Moustakas and Hosmer returning from a bum 2009 season last year was exciting.

@Something Really Swell: Sure.

@TillmanLover: Thank you. re:Trout: June at the earliest, but I would be surprised to see the Angels rush a non-pitching prospect.

I think people have odd expectations for young 1B like Freeman, Hosmer, and Belt and expect them to hit from day one, or read all the public scouting reports with comps and whatever else sells. I’m not calling any of them the next Jim Thome, but before he had all of his success he was sent down a few times as well.

re: Brad Meyers (WAS): from Baseball America (2011) and John Sickels Handbook (2011): Struggled with injuries in the past (left foot – stress fracture in 2010 that caused reoccurring problems). He’s a groundball pitcher with four polished pitches. Throws a 88 to 90 mph fastball that tops at 92 mph. Creates deceptive arm angles from lanky body. Has excellent command of all pitches. Throws an average change-up and average slider. His curveball is a “show-me” pitch. Back end of the rotation starter (number 4 or 5 SP).

His great success in the minors is due to his ability to control pitches and deceive hitters. I would think he’d be a valuable arm. Like a Joe Saunders/Jon Garland type pitcher. Thank you for bring him up. I appreciate the help. I also appreciate your discerning comments and discourse about prospect information. Keeps me sharp and reminds me to provide more details and more opinions.

@Dirt: If you believe Latos is fully healed, sure. Lilly.

@Eddy: re: Jay Buentes: I almost wrote about him. I think he’d be a solid options. He’s been in the minors for quite some time. However, remember his career control (3.6 BB/9) is over a full walk more than this year (2.2 BB/9). I think he’s more a back end rotation man.

@Eddy: Yes and yes.

@Bleacher GM: Fantasy wise they both offer similar skills at the same position. They both have the ability to be boom or bust. I still rank Moustakas over Chisenhall. Moustakas is just struggling/stumbling so far this year at Triple-A. That’s the majority of the reason for the Chisenhall pick.

re:second question: See article for Lawrie. As for Todd Frazier, I don’t see the Reds giving him much opportunity this year.

If no one minds, I’m going to take a stab at this one: plate discipline. Moustakas doesn’t have it yet and Lonnie does have a better batting eye. Once pitchers catch onto Moustakas’ weaknesses, you’re going to see some long standing valleys of minimal production from him. Lonnie may not be as exciting, but when you consider how little has come from 3B this year, a .275 average with a 20HR bat looks mighty enticing.

Second question:

Do we see Jesus Montero get called up in June? Moustakas?

we only get 20 moves (ive used 9 already)
I have Napoli at C right now (but Alvarez/Peralta at IF/UT)
I also have Snider and Teheran, so 3 of 5 Bench spots as Minors

a lot of reasons not to add him, but I would only be dropping either Snider, Volquez or E Sanchez. Thoughts?

WIth Javier Vazquez sucking big time (6 ER in the 1st already), is there any chance we see Jay Buentes? He’s 3-0 with a 1.94 ERA and 44 Ks in 41 IP.

Though the Marlins are not the type to promote prospects on a whim (especially because they’re not going to relegate Vazquez to the bullpen and pay him his $7 mil there), let’s say he does get called up. How do his numbers translate into the majors?

Do I use my #1 waiver to pick up Latos??

Who do I drop first Carlos Pena or Ted Lilly

Nice! You may see some strange yet sometimes entertaining comments from Wang Chung then!

“But, and there’s always a but, keep expectations tempered and be prepared for pitchers start finding his weaknesses.”

His weaknesses? That entire beginning paragraph is incredibly vague. I’ve met Hosmer before, and he is a very intelligent and impressive guy. He went 3rd overall as a HS 1st baseman. the only thing holding him back is being able to hit for enough power as a MLB 1B at his age. I’d love to hear what his weaknesses are in his approach to the plate.

Brad Meyers has started the season at AA-AAA with a 51:1 K:BB ratio. He’s a couple years older than me and I know him from ball growing up. so it’s nice to hear him talk about him ripping it up so far this year.

FYI all, I’m guest-opining on the Yahoo! Fantasy Baseball chat tonight starting at 7PM. Here’s the URL if you’re interested – http://sports.yahoo.com/fantasy/blog/roto_arcade/post/Sunday-Closing-Time-Live-Chat-Boston-vs-New-Yo?urn=fantasy-wp2411