Time flies when you’re having fun. Well, at least I’m having fun. I can’t speak for you kind reader. We’ve only two more divisions to cover for minor league rankings and spring training is just around the corner. I can smell the pine tar! While lurking on Reddit last week, I stumbled upon a great tool created by a user named BoBtheMule. I reached out to him about it and it turns out he’s a Razzball reader. Basically, he compiled all the prospect rankings from free sites on one sheet. You can check it out here. It’s very well done. Anyhoo, I thought it would be fun to see where I’m higher or lower than some of the other big sites (six others to be exact, including Razzball’s own Ralph from ProspectsLive). Anyhoo part two, I’ve been out of the game for a time, and while I don’t peep other rankings when creating my own, I do think it’s interesting to go back and look at how my rankings compare to others in the industry. As Kierkegaard pointed out, “Life can only be understood backwards.” Let’s take a look!
Three Guys I’m Lower On…
- Pretty much every pitcher on God’s green earth…
While looking through the list, it seemed that just about every pitcher had a difference of at least 10-15 slots. I’m still in the camp that pitching – particularly pitching prospects – are very risky investments. The difference in rankings checks out. There were, however, three pitchers that I was actually higher on – and some by quite a large margin. I’ll get to them in the next section.
- Jesus Sanchez | My Rank: NR | Average Rank: 47
This could be a genuine oversight on my part, and I remember a commenter asking about him in the, er, comments. Here’s what I said in the Rays report: “Sanchez has average tools across the board, but there’s enough power to be fantasy relevant. I think on his current trajectory, he’d reach the majors with the potential for 18-20 homers, a handful of steals, and an average in the neighborhood of .280. He’ll need a full year in the upper minors to really see how his approach works against good pitching.” Sanchez hit .214 in his first go at Double-A (110 PAs). The idea of not getting too excited about players in the lower minors is evident in our next player as well…
- Kristian Robinson | My Rank: NR | Average Rank: 66
Here’s what I said in the DBacks preview: “Another signing from the Bahamas, Robinson is a big dude for 18 (6’3?, 190). He has 60-70 grade power and plus speed to boot. He’s probably not as well-known as some other international signings, but his tools are just as interesting. My guess is he’ll slide to a corner outfield spot down the road but that doesn’t really affect fantasy value. The 10+ walk rate in 2018 is a good omen. Want to get in on the ground floor of possibly the next Eloy? This could be the guy.” ‘The next Eloy’ is pretty high praise, but I honestly never even considered him in my top 100. Next year he could easily be top 50 though..I guess I’m just waiting to see what he can do outside of rookie ball.
Three Guys I’m Higher On…
- Peter Alonso | My Rank: 13 | Average Rank: 32
The twenty-slot difference is pretty aggressive, but I’m liking both Alonso’s offensive abilities and his chances for a callup this season. I was also higher on Hiura by about eight slots. I think both could be difference-makers in 2019 redrafts and contend for ROTY honors in the National League. Yeah, that’s right Robles, I said it. It’s kind of a bold call with the Mets roster leaving nowhere for Alonso to play right now, but it’s a long season and baseball is crazytown.
- Dylan Cease | My Rank: 20 | Average Rank: 41
I love Cease and I think somebody at the White Sox must have photos for them to get him AND Eloy in that trade. There were only two other arms I was higher on: Brent Honeywell (My Rank: 19 | Average Rank: 26) and Rogelio Armenteros (My Rank: 100 | Average Rank: NR). I’ll just leave this here: with over 400 MiLB innings under his belt, what if Armenteros shocks the world and gets the first crack over Whitley and James?
- Luis Urias | My Rank: 22 | Average Rank: 42
Here again I’m aggressive due to Urias’s proximity and opportunity. I also think he has a little more pop than folks suspect. Here’s what I wrote in the Padres preview: “It’s easier to write about prospects who’ve had some MLB appearances already. Urias is one of those – he had over 50 plate appearances with the Padres last season. He’s currently projected to hit second for San Diego in 2019, which bodes well for his counting stats. He’s a plus hitter with good patience and enough pop for 10-12 homers. He’s an average runner, so I don’t think he’ll impact steals. Steamer has him pegged for a .248 average, nine homers, and five swipes in a full season of plate appearances. I’d take the over on all three. Looks like Grey would too.
Other Notable Discrepancies…
- Carter Kieboom | My Rank: 11 | Average Rank: 37
- Nick Madrigal | My Rank: 29 | Average Rank: 44
- Andres Gimenez | My Rank: 21 | Average Rank: 49
- Vidal Brujan | My Rank: 30 | Average Rank: 58
- Estevan Florial | My Rank: 39 | Average Rank: 76
- Leody Taveras | My Rank: 38 | Average Rank: 90
- Christin Stewart | My Rank: 63 | Average Rank: NR
