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LSB Community Prospect Project: Mid-Season #15

Tongue_out_tiny by thedirkatron on

After 216 votes, Derek Holland has won the right to be called the LSB Community #14 prospect!

The list so far:
1. 1b, Chris Davis
2. RHP, Neftali Feliz
3. RHP, Eric Hurley
4. SS, Elvis Andrus
5. C, Maximiliano Ramirez
6. 1b, Justin Smoak
7. RHP, Michael Main
8. RHP, Blake "C-Wun" Beavan
9. C, Taylor Teagarden
10. LHP Kasey Kiker
11. OF, Engel Beltre
12. LHP, Matt Harrison
13. OF, Julio Borbon
14. LHP, Derek Holland

Time to move on to the next vote.

The polls are open, so go ahead and vote in the poll at the bottom and feel free to make any suggestions and/or criticisms in the comments below.

And please don't hesitate to tell me you want on the list for next time.

NOTE: There has been some speculation as to what the criteria are for this vote. Should guys who are currently in the bigs be involved in "prospect" discussions? For the sake of this exercise we're taking what the guys have done in the big leagues and using the BA prospect formula of 130 AB's or 50 ip. If a guy is under those limits, he's still a prospect right now, so he goes on the list. It's that simple.

Poll
Who is currently the #15 prospect in the Rangers' system?
  • LHP, Robbie Ross
  • LHP, Martin Perez
  • LHP, Beau Jones
  • RHP, Wilmer Font
  • RHP, Neil Ramirez
  • RHP, Tommy Hunter
  • RHP, Omar Poveda
  • RHP, Thomas Diamond
  • RHP, Wilfredo Boscan
  • RHP, Kennil Gomez
  • RHP, Warner Madrigal
  • C/OF, Cristian Santana
  • 1b, Ian Gac
  • 2b, Jose Vallejo
  • 2b, German Duran
  • SS, Marcus Lemon
  • SS, Joaquin Arias
  • 3b, Matt West
  • OF, John Mayberry, Jr.

  236 votes | Results

8 recs | Comment 90 comments

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Love the upside and supposedly this mysterious arm injury isn’t too serious.

Plaschke: Scioscia, the former Dodgers catcher, is the model manager who has created an atmosphere of winning.
Junior:It's that simple. Mike Scioscia brings a Glade Plug-In labeled "Winning™" into the clubhouse and everyone who breathes it in gains 15 points in average.

by TheBZA on Jul 21, 2008 12:40 PM CDT   0 recs

Font

high upside, throws 99mph, young as hell, no way i can take hunter (who i think is still a middle reliever) over that kinda talent. if he had pitched all season he’d be in the top 8 or so with feliz. sounds like he should be on the mound soon. so he’s my vote.

"Do they know who I am? Do they know my status? Thats what I thought."
-Miles 6/21/08

.501 or bust!

by Jayslick on Jul 21, 2008 12:59 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

if if and buts were candy and nuts then

we’d all have a merry christmas..

but what we have is a pitcher who has only pitched at rookie ball level with a plus 4 era.

Tommy Hunter has done it, he is almost to the show.

by tyd3311 on Jul 21, 2008 1:01 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

Such perspicacity

{ring ringgggg}

Billy Beane: Hello.

JD: Hey Billy, it’s me, JD.

BB: S’up kid. Do you want to hear a couple more stories about how smart I am? Or would ya like to hear a few yarns about how badass I am? I got loads.

JD: Well, seeing as how you chiseled us out of Inoa, what would it take to pry him away from you?

BB: I aint gonna lie. It’ll cost ya. Do you know how much geniusness it takes to manage a low payroll team like the A’s? Hold on, I need to go get my notebook of anecdotes about my geniusnessness.

JD: How about we just stick to trade talk? Any interest in Tommy Hunter?

BB: Did I mention I have a big penis?

JD: Yes, you have apprised me of that fact many times. I repeat, any interest in Hunter?

BB: Hell yeah. He’s nearly to the show!! Done! Now, about those anecdotes…

Don't knock masturbation, it's sex with someone I love .

by Brian Thomas on Jul 21, 2008 3:14 PM CDT to parent up   2 recs

nice

The 40 Trumps All!!!

by thedirkatron on Jul 21, 2008 3:25 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

He is under Billy's desk

Don't knock masturbation, it's sex with someone I love .

by Brian Thomas on Jul 22, 2008 11:18 AM CDT to parent up   0 recs

Blogging

It might be dangerous, whole new meaning now.

Time you enjoy wasting was not wasted.

by t ball on Jul 22, 2008 1:45 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

hah nice

by zywica on Jul 21, 2008 4:42 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

Rec

"The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance."-Socrates

by slc ranger on Jul 21, 2008 8:30 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

Hunter's not a middle reliever

He may not be much better than a 4/5 at the ML level, but he belongs in the rotation.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/Stuff-You-Need-Brett-Favre-action-figure-bench?urn=nfl,93739

by BudLight on Jul 21, 2008 1:32 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

OMG

By John “Way Back” Wasdin!

"An effortless 98" - Scott Gardner after Neftali Feliz's first AA pitch

by RangerMad on Jul 21, 2008 2:02 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

bullpen

I’d like to see Hunter come up this year and pitch out of the bullpen to start with.

by tyd3311 on Jul 21, 2008 3:04 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

German Duran

He’s shown potential at the MLB level – somewhere that at least half that list above will never see.

After Duran, I think it’ll be a tossup between some of the guys who will obviously be in Arlington soon (i.e., Hunter), and the high ceiling guys (Font, Ramirez)

by JBImaknee on Jul 21, 2008 12:44 PM CDT   0 recs

yep

poor German has to deal with the WW2 bias’ though

by bushe on Jul 21, 2008 1:22 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

went with Hunter

I predict Holland makes the post season top 10 in our commumity projections.

"An effortless 98" - Scott Gardner after Neftali Feliz's first AA pitch

by RangerMad on Jul 21, 2008 12:51 PM CDT   0 recs

Possible

I’d put him there. My top 6 after this season might be something like Feliz, Smoak, Andrus, Main, Beavan and Holland, not necessarily all in that order. Beltre is probably #7.

Time you enjoy wasting was not wasted.

by t ball on Jul 21, 2008 2:40 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

And i really think

Borbon is in that conversation too..

watching him a little on tv last night..

looks like a stud.

by tyd3311 on Jul 21, 2008 3:03 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

I have Ramirez

just a shade over Hunter

"Well, the Dallas Mavericks got beat by the New Orleans Hornets last night ending their season. Word is that someone on the team is dating Jessica Simpson." - Jay Leno

LSB facebook group ---->>> http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=33345329288

by hinduplaya on Jul 21, 2008 1:05 PM CDT   0 recs

Ramirez

Duran/Hunter… same story. Close to the majors, but will they have any years that might be considered impact years? I’m not convinced enough to put them ahead of the high-upside, high-risk guys.

Font… Ramirez doesn’t throw 99, but his stuff is good enough to get 27 K in 23 IP in the Northwest League. That’s good stuff, and he’s a little farther along than Font. Perez, Font, Boscan are probably grouped together next, IMO.

Go Rangers!

by rooster on Jul 21, 2008 1:17 PM CDT   0 recs

Fabio Castillo

Don’t forget about him. Despite the disappointing season, he still very young and has incredible upside. He should definitely be on the list before a guy like Gac.

Give it a Name

by jparks77 on Jul 21, 2008 1:18 PM CDT   0 recs

Yes, based on upside

Castillo seems to have a lot of work to do, but I’d probably put every choice up there ahead of Gac, who is a longshot.

Time you enjoy wasting was not wasted.

by t ball on Jul 21, 2008 2:42 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

Castillo

Feels like an obvious question, but what exactly is his repertoire? I know he can put on a show velo-wise, but after that?

No need to dwell, but the numbers…uglier than pretty.

Go Strangers.

by hightowersmith on Jul 21, 2008 3:16 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

Should get a mention...

A few years back I have to imagine that somebody like Frisco’s Murphy (.273/.325/.510 in 355 at-bats), who’s on pace for about 25 HR’s and 15 SB’s, would have landed right around here in the prospect rankings.

I also think Ben Harrison (.314/.396/.557 in 296 Roughrider at-bats), despite being 26, is worthy of voters’ consideration. Harrison’s really rebounded from last year’s injury-plagued campaign.

But in my mind, the biggest omission from the list of candidates as of now is shortstop Renny Osuna, who’s hitting .363/.428/.481 between Clinton and Bakersfield this year.

by YourNameHere on Jul 21, 2008 4:20 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

Osuna

Yah, he belongs on before Gac and maybe even West.

I don’t worry too much about that since I don’t think anyone would be voting for him now anyways. But I’ll add Osuna next.

The 40 Trumps All!!!

by thedirkatron on Jul 21, 2008 6:16 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

Calm down

No one’s asked for those guys.

Don’t be a dickhead.

The 40 Trumps All!!!

by thedirkatron on Jul 21, 2008 6:31 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

I asked for Moreland

and I’d put him ahead of Osuna.

Time you enjoy wasting was not wasted.

by t ball on Jul 21, 2008 8:32 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

And furthermore

after reading some of the posts below, I’ll tell you why I like Moreland and Vallejo and others much more than Osuna, and why I’ll vote for Vallejo ahead of Lemon (as much as I like him).

All of these guys are putting up nice numbers this year, handling tougher competition than last year with aplomb. But Vallejo (especially) and Moreland (to a lesser extent) also have people who have seen them play raving about their potential. Osuna has improved a bit each year, but he’s 23 in high-A, and Vallejo is in AA already. Moreland is making big strides in his 2nd season and the tinkering the org did with his swing is apparently paying quick dividends. He also is getting good reports on his defense.

Lemon has a beautiful walk rate and age on his side. But no one is talking about him like they speak of Vallejo, and his defense gets horrible reviews from everyone. The whole picture just gives me a feeling that Vallejo and Moreland may be better bets in the long run than Osuna and Lemon.

I’m really not sure where Castillo fits, but to me he certainly belongs in the poll now, and I’ll vote for him long before I vote for freakin’ Ian Gac and West. Oh, and Arias, who is nothing more than a trade throw in, if that.

Time you enjoy wasting was not wasted.

by t ball on Jul 21, 2008 8:42 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

I can definately see that

but you also have to understand that it is frequently hard to appreciate something like first steps and defense unless you’ve seen it with your own eyes.

For example, I am a big Spurs fan and was a big SPurs fan growing up, and I always heard about how athletic David Robinson was, and when I saw him on TV, it certainly looked like he jumped high, but there was no true appreciation of how much of a freak he was. Until I saw him in person, I just put him in with all the other guys people called athletic. When I was 11 or so, I got a chance to see him in person, and it blew me away. The quickness he displayed beating seemingly everyone down the court was amazing, and you don’t get a true appreciation of it until you see it from an up close and personal perspective.

Maybe that’s it, and Vallejo’s defense is like David RObinson’s athleticism and those who have not seen him play cannot truly appreciate how awesome it is, but I think a lot of us also believe seeing things with your eyes is decieving. There’s plenty of guys in baseball that’s looked awesome playing the game, but when you treat it with stats, they look less than spectacular. We won’t know about Vallejo’s defense until someone is kind enough to do some defensive metrics in the minors or more of his games are aired, but I don’t think you can blame people for waiting to form their own opinions.

by FirebatM3 on Jul 21, 2008 10:00 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

Sure, but for ranking guys

if I see enough opinions that I respect - guys like Jason Cole, Hindman, etc. who have been to spring training and games in person - I’m just saying I add that in to the stats, age/level, size, health and the rest of the soup when voting.

I still hesitate to put much stock in defensive stats. I don’t know enough about the stuff to trust it.

Time you enjoy wasting was not wasted.

by t ball on Jul 21, 2008 10:31 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

Sorry

but I thought they were requested. I doubt the dickhead comment was necessary.

Give it a Name

by jparks77 on Jul 21, 2008 9:02 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

dirkie

gets emotional about his prospect loves. That face in his avatar photo is him after he found out Lemon went 0 for 4.

Time you enjoy wasting was not wasted.

by t ball on Jul 21, 2008 9:07 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

It's a "dick" move to ask people to explain themselves?

Even if asked with a tone of incredulity, that’s certainly not something worthy of bringing “dickhead” to the table.

by NoNameOnCard on Jul 21, 2008 9:13 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

Mitch Moreland and Fabio Castillo are good names as well...

I’m not sure how far this prospect rankings will go (30?), but the disparity between the players’ potential is starting to get harder to discern. Tim Smith, who’s 22 and hitting .304/.364/.432 for Clinton, is also starting to look like he might be worth tracking.

by YourNameHere on Jul 22, 2008 11:18 AM CDT to parent up   0 recs

define prospect

What is the definition of “prospect”? Do you choose someone like Hunter who is close to the MLs and easier to project. Or do you take someone like Font who may have a higher upside than Hunter but is much farther away from the MLs.

"An effortless 98" - Scott Gardner after Neftali Feliz's first AA pitch

by RangerMad on Jul 21, 2008 1:31 PM CDT   0 recs

Both are prospects, just different types

That’s why you have some folks voting for Hunter and others voting for Font

by Telegraph on Jul 21, 2008 1:52 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

Smart Voters,

Vote Hunter!

"...my balls are really like a veiny flesh color" blueballlefty on Jun 4, 2008 7:44 PM EDT
"you gonna lose your horse. seriously." FX2
"If you ain't got no money, ain't nobody calls you honey," Bo Diddley

by Rodney on Jul 21, 2008 2:06 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

Hunter for the third time in a row...

...maybe I’m too high on him. Or maybe I’m just swayed too much by his closeness to the bigs.

Physician: Primum non nocere

Batter: First, make no out

by Chad Crudup on Jul 21, 2008 2:18 PM CDT   0 recs

eeh

I’ve gone with Tom Diamond three in a row now. I still think at worst he becomes our closer in 3 years, and solidifies the bullpen before that for a contending team.

at best, I see visions of Roger Clemens Lite.

"No, Donny, these men are nihilists, there's nothing to be afraid of."

by Walter Sobchak on Jul 23, 2008 10:14 AM CDT to parent up   0 recs

Diamond

is not a closer.

Time you enjoy wasting was not wasted.

by t ball on Jul 23, 2008 12:33 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

thanks t ball

for the obvious. I’d take a look at him in the pen in a year or two though, if he is passed up by Feliz, Hurley, McCarthy, a free agent acquisition and another rando out of the group of Hunter, Harrison, trade acquisitions, etc.

"No, Donny, these men are nihilists, there's nothing to be afraid of."

by Walter Sobchak on Jul 23, 2008 12:52 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

If it's obvious

why did you suggest he’s our closer at worst? I think he can be a solid middle guy but doesn’t have the stuff to be a closer. He has the attitude to be a closer, but not so much the stuff.

Time you enjoy wasting was not wasted.

by t ball on Jul 23, 2008 1:57 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

why not the stuff

I think his stuff projects very well to be a closer

By 2028, Mark Teixeira will be in the HOF.
-The Outlaw

by Gdawg1 on Jul 23, 2008 4:21 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

Thanks You Wally

Your reply to T makes even less sense than your “Roger Clemens Lite” tomassaninery.

Don't knock masturbation, it's sex with someone I love .

by Brian Thomas on Jul 23, 2008 8:12 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

Thanks you, too, tyd3311, for the thanks you do

My most unfeigned and unfettered condolences if you felt left out.

You de man, tyd.

Don't knock masturbation, it's sex with someone I love .

by Brian Thomas on Jul 23, 2008 8:33 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

Who thanks me?

You mean

Thanks, you too.

by tyd3311 on Jul 23, 2008 8:40 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

A battle of wits with an unarmed man

I like it.

I give thank for your didactically helpful grammar lesson.

Thank again, tyd. You write good.

Don't knock masturbation, it's sex with someone I love .

by Brian Thomas on Jul 23, 2008 8:49 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

I call 'em like I see 'em

and maybe I don’t see too well these days…

thankfully, I’ll always have you waiting around the corner to pick me up, dust me off, and send me back in

"No, Donny, these men are nihilists, there's nothing to be afraid of."

by Walter Sobchak on Jul 23, 2008 9:49 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

Went with Font

Hunter is next for me.

Time you enjoy wasting was not wasted.

by t ball on Jul 21, 2008 2:42 PM CDT   0 recs

Hunter v Font

Font looks a lot better in light of Hunter’s very mortal outing this afternoon, but the guy isn’t pitching.

I got to go Hunter… Probably go Lemon before Font actually, too.

Go Strangers.

by hightowersmith on Jul 21, 2008 3:17 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

Font called the other night

threatening to bite me in the ass, so he’s got my vote.

by zywica on Jul 21, 2008 3:23 PM CDT   0 recs

wilmer can skyrocket..

if he could just get some numbers on the board.

by tyd3311 on Jul 21, 2008 3:25 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

I knew sooner or later

one of these Latin kids would blackmail you.

Time you enjoy wasting was not wasted.

by t ball on Jul 21, 2008 3:26 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

I'm surprised

M-Per is so much younger and more supple.

The 40 Trumps All!!!

by thedirkatron on Jul 21, 2008 3:27 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

My brain says W-Fon, M-Per and NeRa should go next

but my heart just hearts Lil’ Lemon so hard.

I had to.

I mean… I just freaking had to.

The 40 Trumps All!!!

by thedirkatron on Jul 21, 2008 3:27 PM CDT   0 recs

Yah-Huh

Lemon is freaking sweet, dude.

Stop hating.

He’ll be a better major leaguer than Harrison.

Book it.

The 40 Trumps All!!!

by thedirkatron on Jul 21, 2008 6:19 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

Sure

But you gotta give me odds, since you’re boner-boy and his underwhelming stuff have already made it to the bigs and mine is still plugging away with his incredible intangibles and steady production in A+.

What you got in mind?

The 40 Trumps All!!!

by thedirkatron on Jul 21, 2008 6:28 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

I'll think on it

Since Harrison and his underwhelming stuff made it to the show at age 22, we should probably start the clock on Lemon at the same time.

We can check back in ten years to see who has the advantage. I’ll think about a wager.

Give it a Name

by jparks77 on Jul 21, 2008 7:00 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

Some voting Lemon over Vallejo?

That’s one I can’t understand. I appreciate the BB/K and understand what it indicates, but still couldn’t take him over a much more physically gifted player like Vallejo who has also shown secondary skills.

by Baider on Jul 21, 2008 5:16 PM CDT   0 recs