Baseball Prospectus released their annual “Rockies Top 11 Prospects” Wednesday, and while there is no surprise who is on the list, the list itself “is about as glowing as BP gets”, states RWO faithful reader Sdcarp. With statements like, “Arenado is a fantastic pure hitter with a seemingly supernatural feel for contact” and “Story is a scout favorite who combines energy with fundamentals and solid tools” peppered throughout the article, one would think we had the farm system to end all farm systems.
Several Rockies faithful have commented in the past that our system is woefully in need of refreshing and that many promising players are left down too long, giving them time to “over prepare” and in some cases loose their edge. Whether or not you agree with this assessment, reading Baseball Prospectus’ report will give you great hope that we are heading in the right direction. Here are some more highlights:
#1 Nolan Arenado: The top bat in the system made improvements throughout the season, shined in the Arizona Fall League, and shocked scouts with his defensive development.
#2 Drew Pomeranz: He could be a number-two starter starter.
#3 Wilin Rosario: Rosario can impact a game both at the plate and behind it. He has well above-average power thanks to a quick bat with plenty of torque in his swing, and the potential to hit 20-30 home runs annually in his prime.
You can read the full report at: Baseball Prospectus’ Website (subscription required to read beyond teaser).
Thanks SDCARP for your help on this!
In my opinion, BP tends to be a bit harsh when discussing the Rockies in general, but their rating of the farm system (out this morning) is about as glowing as BP gets. Very, very nice things said about a number of players, and the system as a whole. After reading through it, I had 2 immediate thoughts:
1 – You can see why DoD is signing some veterans to short term contracts. Help is on the way.
2 – #1 being said, it does seem like there is opportunity to trade some minor league guys to fulfill immediate needs.
Interesting but ???? Let’s not forgot that it wasn’t all that long ago when Ian Stewart was rank #4 in all of baseball.
Oh yeah – these things are insanely fluid. Two years ago Friedrich was a 5 star – now he’s not on the list, and Matzak is just clinging to the bottom of the list.
Tim Wheeler’s stock has really risen – and it’s ironic that they ultimately see him as a corner outfielder. So there is room longterm (Boras nonwithstanding) for Fowler, Cargo, and Wheeler and Cuddyer may end playing a fair amount at 1st. By midway through 2013 we may see the following:
1st – Cuddyer/Helton
2nd – one of the current SS prospects
SS – Tulo
3rd – Arenado
OF – Wheeler/Fowler/Cargo
C – Rosario more than Hernandez.
That’s a dynamic, generally young lineup.
Just as an aside, there was also a fascinating article in today’s BP about lineup tinkering (something I think Tracy does too much). Turns out the NYY, Brewers, and Phillies rate as 3 of the 4 “least” tinkered lineups in baseball. The Rockies are relatively near the “top” of the tinkering list – there were maybe only a dozen teams that used more lineups/batting orders.
Without cheating – try to guess the absolute LEAST tinkered team.
St. Louis?
St. Louis was my first guess as well, but since Jaredean beat me to it, I’ll guess San Francisco on a long shot. Arizona?
Above should have been indented. Dang, got to learn my way around this site. Jaredean, we need that edit/delete capability for our own posts.
Not to throw a wet blanket on all of the excitement, but along the lines of what Mike Raysfan says:
Player 1 as a 20 year old in the Cal League: .274/.353/.497, 17 HRs (850 OPS)
Player 2 as a 20 year old in the Cal League: .298/.349/.487, 20 HRs (836 OPS)
Pitcher 3 as a 23 year old in the Texas League: 13-1, 1.98, 11.6 K/9, 1.7 BB/9, 0.7 HR/9
Pitcher 4 as a 22 year old in Hi A/AA: 4-3, 1.78, 10.6 K/9, 3.4 BB/9, 0.3 HR/9
Player 5 as a 23 year old in AA/AAA: .336/.433/.564, 14 HRs (996 OPS)
Player 6 as a 22 year old in the Texas League: .249/.284/.457 (741 OPS)
Player 7 as a 23 year old in the Texas League: .287/.365/.535 (900 OPS)
Player 8 as a 23 year old in the Texas League: .294/.361/.483 (844 OPS)
Now to play the old game: who are they?
Hint: a pair of third basemen, a pair of lefty pitchers, a pair of catchers, and a pair of corner outfielders …
Guys – the answer to the trivia question is Kansas City. Kansas Freakin City. You would think with all their young talent – they would be experimenting constantly.
The point I took away from the article is that most of the playoff teams from last year had stable, consistent lineups.
Minnesota (with lots of injuries) had the highest “tinker” factor last year.
But you asked who had the “least” tinkered team. That was what I was guessing on.