I have to admit that I am completely tired of talking about all the Nick Green‘s and Hector Jimenez‘s of the fantasy baseball world. I could use a one-week recharge from rummaging through the free agency trash heap of our deep leagues, which means you do to. I’m the driver, so you never really had a choice anyways. That being said, today’s subject might be useful as you begin to get a feel for what your team is and what it needs. Whether or not you are thinking about buying for a run at the championship, or already day-dreaming about drowning your team in a fire-sale, I’d like to tackle some players you should be asking for as throw-ins. And by throw-ins, I’m talking about prospects outside of the Top-100 that you should ask for in every trade proposal. My goal is to name names that aren’t expensive, don’t move the dynamic of your proposal, but could pay dividends a couple years down the road. Remember, there were 1,026 players taken in the 1988 draft before Mike Piazza. Let’s find ours.
Please, blog, may I have some more?James Paxton
Organizational Talent Rankings via Baseball America
2012 (9) | 2011 (18) | 2010 (12) | 2009 (24) | 2008 (12)
2012 Affiliate Records
MLB: [75-87] AL West
AAA: [63-81] Pacific Coast League – Tacoma
AA: [79-61] Southern League – Jackson
A+: [83-57] California League – High Desert
A: [71-67] Midwest League – Clinton
A(ss): [46-30] Northwest League — Everett
Graduated Prospects
Kyle Seager (SS); Jesus Montero (C); Alex Liddi (3B/1B/OF); Hisashi Iwakuma (RHP); Erasmo Ramirez (RHP)
The Run Down
Please, blog, may I have some more?The Minor League Baseball season has reached it’s glorious culmination. Well, actually, it’s not very glorious. No, no one really cares who wins in the New York-Penn semis, or the International League title, or the Midwest League championship. It’s just not that interesting. Not even for me. Sure, organizations do their best to instill winning attitudes throughout their farm systems, and I absolutely agree that’s important. It’s why Jeff Luhnow is still tweeting crap like “#JETHAWKS WIN”. Yay, Jethawks… It’s fun for the players, I suppose. It’s fun for the small-town fans, too. And it’s a small source of pride for player development types. But that’s about the extent of it. All that said, the various MiLB playoffs are still worth keeping an eye on, if only for the handful of real-deal prospects who’re performing on a slightly grander stage than usual. So, to wrap up this year’s Minor Accomplishments series, I leave you with a brief rundown of what’s happening with some of the more notable prospects in their respective postseasons:
Mike Zunino | C, Mariners – The third overall pick this past June has been simply incredible since signing. His dominance has continued in the Double-A Southern League playoffs: Zunino’s blasted 3 homers and posted a .400+ AVG for Jackson.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Razzball’s weekly look around the minors is back for 2012. In case you’ve forgotten, this is where we’ll highlight notable performances by fantasy-relevant prospects. We’ll keep track of any minor league storylines which might carry fantasy significance here, too. In this first edition we’ll get things started with baseball’s top prospect, Bryce Harper, who’s off to a slow start at Triple-A Syracuse. Harper’s collected just two XBH’s in 29 trips to the plate through Friday. It’s his first taste of Triple-A pitching, so the early struggles aren’t necessarily surprising. Harper has the tools to adjust and turn things around in a hurry, though. I suspect he’ll heat things up before long.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Seattle Mariners 2011 Minor League Review
Organizational Talent Rankings via Baseball America:
2011 (18) | 2010 (12) | 2009 (24) | 2008 (12) | 2007 (24) | 2006 (27)
2011 Affiliate Records
MLB: [67-95] AL West
AAA: [70-74] Pacific Coast League – Tacoma
AA: [68-72] Southern League – Jackson
A+: [59-81] California League – High Desert
A: [63-76] Midwest League – Clinton
A(ss): [37-39] Northwest League – Everett
R: [32-36] Appalachian League – Pulaski
The Run Down
The spacious Safeco Field is a wonderful ballpark in which to begin a pitching career. The Seattle farm system is deep with pitching, and it’s not difficult to envision a handful of prospects making an impact on the mound this year. Beyond the names I’ve noted, keep an eye on relief arms like Stephen Pryor and Erasmo Ramirez – both could occupy roles in the M’s pen. Also, Mauricio Robles will be back from elbow surgery and could be ready for Major League duty before long. Offensively, the Seattle farm system took a tragic hit with the murder of Greg Halman. But with youthful infield prospects like Nick Franklin and Francisco Martinez, in addition to some big league-ready talent (Liddi, Catricala, Chiang), Mariners fans have reason for hope in the coming years.
Please, blog, may I have some more?
The top 50 fantasy baseball prospects list aims to provide a list solely for fantasy baseball purposes. Due to fantasy baseball’s immediacy of statistical production, players are not necessarily ranked based on tools or projections far into the future, but instead, current production.
Please, blog, may I have some more?James Paxton | LHP (SP) | Seattle Mariners | D.o.B: 11-6-88 | 6’3″ | 215 lbs | 4th rd, pk 132, 2010 | MiLB Player Page
Paxton was drafted by the Blue Jays in 2009 as a big powerful left-handed amateur.
Please, blog, may I have some more?