LSB Community Prospect Project: Mid-Season #11

Now if we can keep ignoring the boring Kasey Kiker for the much more exciting Robbie Ross, I’ll be happy.

I’ll fix the formatting on the list tomorrow.

He K:BB is ridiculous.

In the same boat as Main.

both of them fit right about here for me, just not sure which to take over the other

Tough to know where to place Max. I remain convinced that his bat is legit, but basically losing this whole year and considering that wrist injuries sometimes wreck havoc on a player’s power, plus the fact that he will be 25 years old later this year…just makes it tough to figure where he should fit on a list like this.

I voted Kiker. Probably will go Ross next, then Max after that.

Really unfortunate how this year worked out for him. I have to think that without his injury he would have been mashing in AAA and the Kris Davis and the Mighty Whiffs show would have been cut short with Max getting a great opportunity. As it is, his trade value has plummeted, and his opportunity for big league time here in Texas gets complicated because he’s got a serious injury to recover from and now Smoak will probably be ready for full time duty about the same time Max is.

He’s pitching well in the Texas League, which to me is more impressive than Ross dominating the Northwest League at 19. When Kiker was 19, he pitched very well in the Midwest League with 112 K’s in 96 IP and an impressive 2.90 ERA. I could see, potentially, an argument for Ross over the 2007 Kiker, but Kiker is still performing very well two levels higher than he was back then. His K rate has dropped to 8.3 per 9, but his ERA in Frisco is an excellent 2.70, his best ERA at any level.

So…Ross has been impressive, but would you bet on his potential to equal or surpass Kiker when he gets to Frisco? They’re similar pitchers, so it’s not like he projects to be an ace or anything. He very may well continue to improve and dominate in Frisco as well, but the fact that he is so far away is more than enough to balance out that possibility in my opinion.

MJH has him ranked #7. His analysis is very insightful.

In my book, Kiker has improved his stock more than any other player in the system this year.

BBTIA Top 25.

he should be #6.

Given that Main is now done for the year and also that MJH has Main ranked at 10 (with no Scheppers, Purke, or Hunter in his rankings), just wondering if anyone feels differently about Main over Kiker/Ross/whoever or if that has no effect on them.

Main sitting 2-3 spots above Max, because Max’s production has dropped due to wrist tendinitis while MM might have fucking AIDS for all we know.

I’m drafting him again today.

My votes so far:

1. Smoak
2. Feliz
3. Perez
4. Kiker
5. Purke
6. missed
7. missed
8. missed
9. Kiker
10. Kiker
11. Kiker

Maybe tomorrow I can vote for someone new…

7) Kasey Kiker (21 year old LHP: Double-A)
– There are some who think that Kasey Kiker’s dominance of the Texas League is a smoke and mirrors act — maybe even an accident — but I’m not one of them. The league leader in strikeouts and among the leaders in ERA, Kiker — in my opinion — has an extremely advanced idea of what he’s doing out there. Yes, his velocity has been "down" (normally sitting 89-91 mph with his fastball) but I’ve seen him a couple of times and on both occasions, he’ll pop a 94 or even a 96. And then another one an inning later.

Kiker will bust a hitter inside (actually hitting them too often), but he’ll follow the high-and-tight cheese with offspeed stuff away and he has the command to drop either his curve or his change in for an easy strike on the outside corner once he’s backed a guy off the plate by an inch or two.

In my glass-half-full analysis of Kiker, he has an uncanny feel for changing speeds. On one occasion, I saw him hit every number on the gun between 77 and 94. Literally, every single one, making him very unpredictable. Personally, I think he does this on purpose and it’s a big reason that he’s holding the Texas League to a .219 batting average this year.

Kiker’s change is actually better than his curve right now. He seems to be just as likely to throw either one to a lefty or righty. Once again, unpredictable. Like Ross, Kiker is extremely competitive and it shows.

For me, this was going to be a huge year for Kiker. I wanted to see him post up and show some consistency. He had two bumpy outings in June, but otherwise he’s done the job so far. In my book, Kiker has improved his stock more than any other player in the system this year.

I keep forgetting how this system has so many of these solid mid-level arms.