Gird your loins – we’re going to be navigating positions battles in each division. Today I’m talking about the NL Central, which loses the Astros this year, so you can basically knock off five wins from each team’s 2012 win total. It feels like this could be a close race for the first couple months until the Reds replace Dusty’s toothpick with bubblegum at the trade deadline. There’s also a good amount of both young and rebound pitchers spread out across the division, so this could be a boon for late round draft picks in mixed leagues. Am I telling you to draft a pitching staff solely from the NL Central? Those are your words, not mine. Although I kind of wish they had been my words (you quick thinker, you). You can also read about the position battles for the NL East and the AL Central. Anyway, here are some of the position battles to watch in the NL Central:
Please, blog, may I have some more?Kolten Wong
Organizational Talent Rankings via Baseball America
2013 (1) | 2012 (12) | 2011 (24) | 2010 (29) | 2009 (8)
2012 Affiliate Records
MLB: [88-74] NL Central
AAA: [57-87] Pacific Coast League – Memphis
AA: [77-61] Texas League – Springfield
A+: [64-72] Florida State League – Palm Beach
A: [68-71] Midwest League – Quad Cities (Peoria beginning 2013)
A(ss): [44-32] New York-Penn League — Batavia (State College beginning 2013)
Arizona Fall League Players — Surprise Saguaros
Seth Blair (RHP); Kevin Siegrist (LHP); Boone Whiting (RHP); Mike O’Neill (OF); Colin Walsh (OF)
Graduated Prospects
Matt Carpenter (UTIL); Tony Cruz (C); Lance Lynn (RHP); Joe Kelly (RHP)
The Run Down
This is baseball’s best system, and it’s really not that close. The amount of high-impact talent concentrated at the upper levels of this farm system is nothing short of remarkable — I ranked seven Cardinals prospects in my Top 50 Fantasy Baseball Prospects for 2013. Much of the credit here needs to go toward Jeff Luhnow, former VP of Player Procurement in St. Louis, current GM in Houston. But the impact of General Manager John Mozeliak cannot be denied — since he took over in 2007, he’s brought tremendous balance to this mid-market club, which is primed for big league success for the foreseeable future. Mozeliak signed a well-deserved three-year extension just a few days ago. The Cardinals are World Series contenders at Major League level, they possess the best farm in the game, and their fantasy contributions are plentiful, as usual. Swoon.
Having already covered my Top 25 Fantasy Baseball Prospects for 2013, I thought I’d expand our scope a bit and take a look at 25 more who could offer fantasy value this year. Again, predicting for arrivals is an inexact science, and there’s plenty of time between now and opening day for circumstances to change. No doubt, this list is missing some prospects who’ll surface in the bigs and make an impact in the fantasy game a la 2012 Kyle Seager. Likewise, there’ll be plenty of duds here too. Anyway, here’s how I see the next 25 2013 fantasy baseball prospects:
Please, blog, may I have some more?Okay, it’s more of a blog post than an awards show, but it’s still really effing prestigious. Well, maybe it’s not prestigious either, but no one watches sports award shows anyway, and I think we can all agree that the ESPY’s would be much better if it were simply a short-form blog post. I’ll be digging into team-by-team 2013 previews in the coming weeks, so what we have for you here is one last look around the 2012 Minor League Baseball action. Enjoy.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Kolten Wong | 2B, Cardinals | Born: 10/10/1990
Tyler Greene was the 30th overall selection in the 2005 draft. It was the Cardinals second pick that year; they took Colby Rasmus two spots earlier. At this point, both players appear to be busts, really. I suppose St.
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?I spend most of my time here focusing on prospects who’re nearing their big league debuts. Today, though, I’m gonna be discussing some guys a little further out. In these rankings, talent trumps all – although, I broke that rule a few times based on lack of experience (see Bundy, Sano, Starling).
Please, blog, may I have some more?St. Louis Cardinals 2011 Minor League Review
Organizational Talent Rankings via Baseball America:
2011 (24) | 2010 (29) | 2009 (8) | 2008 (16) | 2007 (23) | 2006 (21) | 2005 (30) | 2004 (28)
2011 Affiliate Records
MLB: [90-72] NL Central
AAA: [77-66] Pacific Coast League – Memphis
AA: [62-78] Texas League – Springfield
A+: [68-70] Florida State League – Palm Beach
A: [81-56] Midwest League – Quad Cities
A(ss): [37-38] New York Penn League – Batavia
R: [45-23] Appalachian League – Johnson City
The Run Down
After decimating their farm system in 2009 with trades and promotions, the Cardinals have reloaded quickly and impressively. Due in large part to the strategic amateur scouting systems implemented by Scouting Director Jeff Luhnow and Assistant GM Mike Girsch, the Cardinals have a slew of promising arms – both starting & relief – and quite a few exciting position players in their Minor Leagues. By now, many of us are familiar with what Lance Lynn and Eduardo Sanchez can do at the big league level, but injury kept both beneath the rookie minimum in IP, so they’re included below. MLB-ready pitching talent is a little thin, as a few of their brightest arms (Carlos Martinez, Tyrell Jenkins) are simply too youthful. Look for St.
Please, blog, may I have some more?
