mr. maniac's Ray's Top 30 Prospects

by mr. maniac on Nov 14, 2011 6:50 PM EST

Here is my ranking of the Ray's top 30 prospects.

1. Matt Moore LHP

2. Hak-Ju Lee SS

3. Drew Vettleson OF

4. Enny Romero LHP

5. Taylor Guerrieri RHP

6. Mikie Mahtook OF

7. Tim Beckham SS

8. Alex Torres LHP

9. Parker Markel RHP

10. Ryan Brett 2B

11. Josh Sale OF

12. Brandon Guyer OF

13. Chris Archer RHP

14. Alex Colome RHP

15. Jake Hager SS

16. Derek Dietrich SS

17. Tyler Goeddel 3B

18. Felipe Rivero RHP

19. Tyler Bortnick 2B

20. Granden Goetzman OF

21. Jeff Malm 1B

22. Johnny Eierman OF

23. Oscar Hernandez C

24. Braulio Lara LHP

25. Russ Canzler DH

26. Justin O'Conner C

27. Brandon Martin SS

28. Jeff Ames RHP

29. Jake Thompson RHP

30. Lenny Linsky LHP

Others(in no particular order): Wilking Rodriguez, Grayson Garvin, Matt Bush, Kes Carter, James Harris, Ty Morrison, Cameron Seitzer, Joseph Cruz, Andrew Bellatti, Chris Carpenter, Marquis Fleming, Matt Spann, Blake Snell, Kyle Lobstein, and C.J. Riefenhauser.

A few thoughts of mine......

-- This system is clearly one of the top 3 in baseball for me. Arizona has a good one, but the Ray's has more depth. I am also cautious when a system "shoots up" as it normally means several prospects having better than normal years.

-- I count five prospects who would probably be top 100 for me. They are Moore, Hak-Ju Lee, Vettleson, Romero, and Guerrieri. The latter two would barely slip in at the end.

-- There are only twelve hitters on the list compared to 18 pitchers. The Rays hitting depth is very impressive right now.

-- Once again, 1B and C prospects are few and far between. Sad.

-- Between Bush, Linsky, and Fleming, the Rays have several good relief prospects.

-- I would give C+ or better grades to all of the top 30 and maybe a few more.

Thoughts? Discussion? Questions?

This post was written by a member of the DRaysBay community and does not necessarily express the views or opinions of DRaysBay staff.

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Comments

Upon review, the grading system failed, and it failed badly.

In no way do I feel that Linsky is as good as Archer.

by mr. maniac on Nov 14, 2011 6:51 PM EST reply actions

So I deleted it.......

by mr. maniac on Nov 14, 2011 7:00 PM EST up reply actions

I think Torres needs to be higher.

Sure, he needs to work on his command but he has some nasty stuff, shown even in the majors.

Under construction

by joeybw on Nov 14, 2011 11:55 PM EST reply actions

there was an update at end of year about a mechanic change that helped his control

It was mentioned before his final start in September, which went very well. Does anyone else remember this? Torres is the arm that intrigues me the most in AAA. With his short stature, can he handle starting and 200 IP? Or should the Rays consider making Torres the next McGee?

by raysfaninminnesota on Nov 15, 2011 8:41 AM EST up reply actions

I did not hear about that.

Regarding injury concerns, Torres is small in stature, but his mechanics are fairly clean and he has yet to have injury issues.

by mr. maniac on Nov 15, 2011 9:16 AM EST up reply actions

Besides Moore, he has the best stuff in the system.

However, he did walk 5 batters per 9 innings this past year. Unless he can make some type of adjustment, it is hard seeing him as anything else but a Jonathan Sanchez or a good reliever.

by mr. maniac on Nov 15, 2011 9:17 AM EST up reply actions

Who's Ryan Brett? I feel like this is the first I've heard about him.

A DRaysBay and FanGraphs writer from Cubs Stats and Twitter @BradleyWoodrum

by BWoodrum on Nov 15, 2011 11:17 AM EST reply actions

Second round pick from 2010.

Small tougher player, almost like Pedroia.

by mr. maniac on Nov 15, 2011 11:47 AM EST up reply actions

Third rounder, but yeah

Vroom vroom party starter
www.raysprospects.com

by Imperialism32 on Nov 15, 2011 12:14 PM EST up reply actions

I'll take a Pedroia

I AM THE MONSTER - The big SCARY monsta

by sc_monsta1015 on Nov 15, 2011 3:45 PM EST up reply actions

Think of a mini-Pedroia-- less power, less speed, less defense, less everything.

I don’t want to compare him to a former MVP.

by mr. maniac on Nov 15, 2011 4:51 PM EST up reply actions

Would you compare him to Zobrist or is that higher than his ceiling also?

Under construction

by joeybw on Nov 15, 2011 5:02 PM EST up reply actions

I'm not sure they are very comparable players.

Brett is much shorter in stature and much much thicker. I don’t think he will ever hit for the amount of HR power that Zobrist does.

On the other hand, I do believe that he will develop into an excellent defender at 2B, even with the negative reviews this past year.

I see his bat, in a best case scenario, as a .290/.370/.460 type, with most of the power coming on doubles into the gap.

by mr. maniac on Nov 15, 2011 5:31 PM EST up reply actions

Yeah, I understood what you meant

I AM THE MONSTER - The big SCARY monsta

by sc_monsta1015 on Nov 15, 2011 5:38 PM EST up reply actions

One guy I just realized wasn't on here anywhere was Cole Figueroa

I would have him at least in the honorable mention if not tail end of the top 30.

by Dbullsfan on Nov 16, 2011 1:35 AM EST reply actions

My thoughts

Likes: Brett in Top 10

Dislikes: Parker Markel at 9? Sale at 11? Nothing wrong with them(it’s your opinion), though I’m worried about Markel’s command and Sale needs to hit before he goes near my Top 15.

by Jacob Larsen on Nov 16, 2011 11:01 PM EST reply actions

I was under the impression Markel did have some command.

“Markel isn’t just the best and most advanced pitcher in the league, he also has the best stuff. Formerly drafted by the Tigers, Markel shows tons of demeanor on the mound. He throws a well-commanded fastball which regularly sits 94-95 (and touched 96-97 at times), a slider in which he throws at a consistent, over-the-top arm slot and a change up. His change up isn’t plus but his fastball and slider are. Markel can both control and command the zone with his pitches and has a very simple, smooth delivery. The Rays love young pitchers with pitchability and good mound presence, and along with other things Markel definitely has just that.”

by mr. maniac on Nov 17, 2011 12:52 AM EST up reply actions