MLB.com midseason prospect list

[Otto von Ballpark]

I wonder if these rankings reflect the order mlb.com had for their pre-draft rankings. At least that would be consistent.

At least with Kendall, they are pretty close. They had Kendall at #6 among draft prospects.

[Thrylos]

That is a ridiculous use of a single, contrived statistic. I would consider Wade over Rosario and Buxton at this time.

 

 Wade has a career minor league OBP over 400 and has maintained this at each step in the minors.  If he can project that to the MLB level, he could be a premier leadoff hitter for the Twins.   He has enough pop in his bat that he has hit 6-10 home runs each year (projected to 500 PA) that he isn't a total slap hitter.   I bring him up in September to see if he can continue those trends in the majors, and if he does he replaces Rosario as the starting LF.

 

You do realize that Rosario is the Twins' best hitting OF this year, don't you?

wOBA, wRC+, OPS, fangraphs Off, bref oWAR.  Any way you count it.  Objectively.

 

I don't understand the ridiculous contrived anti-Rosario bias here...

[caninatl04]

 

Nice ranking. Garver comes into the year at #15, hits pretty well at AAA for a catcher posting an OPS over .900, and drops to #21. Seems like a solid system.

But only, what, 13 of them have overall ranks of 50 or better.

[mlhouse]

 

You do realize that Rosario is the Twins' best hitting OF this year, don't you?

wOBA, wRC+, OPS, fangraphs Off, bref oWAR.  Any way you count it.  Objectively.

 

I don't understand the ridiculous contrived anti-Rosario bias here...

 

 

Isn't contrived.  A leadoff hitter that had a much higher OBP would be much more valuable than a left fielder with Rosario's statistics.  Regardless, a good rotation of 4 OF is optimal and if Wade pushed his ability to get on base to the major league level it might be Buxton that is squeezed out.  

[Thrylos]

 

Isn't contrived.  A leadoff hitter that had a much higher OBP would be much more valuable than a left fielder with Rosario's statistics.  Regardless, a good rotation of 4 OF is optimal and if Wade pushed his ability to get on base to the major league level it might be Buxton that is squeezed out.  

 

Now you are talking...  

On the other hand, compare Wade's AA OBP with Granite's AAA OBP, or even Buxton's career MiLB OBP.  

The majors is a different story.

[gunnarthor]

 

Isn't contrived.  A leadoff hitter that had a much higher OBP would be much more valuable than a left fielder with Rosario's statistics.  Regardless, a good rotation of 4 OF is optimal and if Wade pushed his ability to get on base to the major league level it might be Buxton that is squeezed out.  

Wade isn't a CFer. He's mostly played LF. I like his obp (Granite's too) but both of them profile as a 4th OFer. I'm ok moving Rosario for pitching if we get a strong offer and letting Wade or Granite man LF but neither of them are the prospects that Rosario, Buxton and Kepler were.

[mlhouse]

 

Now you are talking...  

On the other hand, compare Wade's AA OBP with Granite's AAA OBP, or even Buxton's career MiLB OBP.  

The majors is a different story.

 

 

First, Wade's OBP >>>>   Granites.   Granite projects as a 4th OF, Wade if he can maintain his 400 OBP projects as a starting leadoff hitter.  

 

Second, Wade's approach is significantly different than Buxton's.

 

Of course, all of this depends upon how well Wade's hitting approach translates to the major leagues. If he can maintain his OBP, draw the walks and hit for a high enoug average to be that guy that gets on base to set things up, then he is one of the most valuable players we have in the system.  If he cannot continue at the level, then of course all bets are off.  

 

But, the most important thing is call him up in September and give him as many PAs as possible to see if he projects.  

[gunnarthor]

Just looked at Rays top 30 - De Leon is #6 and old friend Hu is #20.

[Vanimal46]

 

Just looked at Rays top 30 - De Leon is #6 and old friend Hu is #20.

 

(Insert manufactured outrage that the Jepsen for Hu trade was the worst thing everrrrrrr here) 

[Thrylos]

 

First, Wade's OBP >>>>   Granites. 

 

Not sure where you are getting that.

Fact:

 

2017 minors OBP: 
Zack Granite:  AAA .412, A+ .429
Lamonde Wade: AA .399

Last time I checked .429 and .412 > .399

[mlhouse]

 

Not sure where you are getting that.

Fact:

 

2017 minors OBP: 
Zack Granite:  AAA .412, A+ .429
Lamonde Wade: AA .399

Last time I checked .429 and .412 > .399

 

Zack Granite's career minor league OBP is .359.  LaMOnte Wade's career minor league OBP is .406 and he has not had a OBP under 400 in any of his minor league seasons.

 

If you compare at each level of their careers:

 

R+    Wade  .429   Granite  .362

A-     Wade  .410   Granite  .390  (only 146 ABs)

A+    Wade   .386  Granite  .333

AA   Wade   .399   Granite  .347

 

Do you have any other points you would like to make?

[diehardtwinsfan]

I think the conclusion is that everyone is scouting stat lines and trying to project based on that. I like Granite and Wade as prospects, but it's a bit odd to project either one to be better out of the gate than what Rosario is RIGHT NOW... I'm not a huge Eddie fan, but he's average at worst as a hitter/defender in the majors and his peripherals are trending in the right direction. That's the definition of sustainable projectability (of which the rate is the real thing in question). I cannot say that about Granite or Wade. They might make the majors and equal what Eddie is doing now, and the key word is might... but I doubt that. The odds are highly against both happening. They might make better players at some point than Eddie. That might be more reasonable, but the "at some point" is a pretty key statement and won't likely happen any time soon.

 

Simply put, Rosario isn't a problem on this team. Given the depth in that position, if we can net a similar SP to Rosario, I am all over that, but otherwise, I keep Eddie for now. He isn't the reason this team is fading. Our pitching is.

[Mike Sixel]

Jermaine Palacios (Profile)
Level: Hi-A   Age: 21   Org Rank: HM   Top 100: NR
Line: 4-for-5, HR
Notes
Palacios flopped with Low-A Cedar Rapids last year and did not look comfortable at the plate, but hit .320/.362/.544 in 62 games there to start this year and has footwork has been better and he’s been pulling the ball more. He puts a charge into the baseball with just a flick of his wrist and is producing surprising power for his size. There’s some skepticism about his range at short but he has infield actions and a plus arm, and several orgs think a lack of range can largely be hidden by improved defensive positioning.

 

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/instagraphs/daily-prospect-notes-727-and-728/

 

[Thrylos]

 

Zack Granite's career minor league OBP is .359.  LaMOnte Wade's career minor league OBP is .406 and he has not had a OBP under 400 in any of his minor league seasons.

 

If you compare at each level of their careers:

 

R+    Wade  .429   Granite  .362

A-     Wade  .410   Granite  .390  (only 146 ABs)

A+    Wade   .386  Granite  .333

AA   Wade   .399   Granite  .347

 

Do you have any other points you would like to make?

 

 

Carrer OBP does not matter for prospects, because prospects "click" at some point.  What the did the 3 seasons before they clicked does not matter. 

The point is that Granite now has a better OBP in AAA than Wade has in AA.  Fact.  Period. 

 

And there is no short season A (A-) in the Twins' system.

 

How about throwing their high school and College numbers?

(FWIW their college OBPs were practically identical .391 vs .394)

[Brock Beauchamp]

I'm a little surprised Thorpe is all the way down at 15 on the Twins list. Would anyone here put either Jay or Stewart 6-7 slots ahead of Lewis at this point? I may put Jay ahead of Thorpe but I'd have to think long and hard about it.

[drivlikejehu]

 

I'm a little surprised Thorpe is all the way down at 15 on the Twins list. Would anyone here put either Jay or Stewart 6-7 slots ahead of Lewis at this point? I may put Jay ahead of Thorpe but I'd have to think long and hard about it.

 

This is a pretty easy question for me - would I rather have Stewart or Thorpe? Thorpe. Would I rather have Jay or Thorpe? Thorpe. Would I rather have Jorge or Thorpe? Thorpe. 

 

He's in the Twins top 10 without any doubt . . . which isn't necessarily saying too much at this point, considering the system is lacking in top prospects.

[drjim]

This is a pretty easy question for me - would I rather have Stewart or Thorpe? Thorpe. Would I rather have Jay or Thorpe? Thorpe. Would I rather have Jorge or Thorpe? Thorpe.

 

He's in the Twins top 10 without any doubt . . . which isn't necessarily saying too much at this point, considering the system is lacking in top prospects.

I'd be close to putting Thorpe ahead of Gonsalves too. Much more upside.

[Pitz]

Carrer OBP does not matter for prospects, because prospects "click" at some point. What the did the 3 seasons before they clicked does not matter.

The point is that Granite now has a better OBP in AAA than Wade has in AA. Fact. Period.

 

And there is no short season A (A-) in the Twins' system.

 

How about throwing their high school and College numbers?

(FWIW their college OBPs were practically identical .391 vs .394)

Yeah, i suppose something could have clicked, but its also hard to ignore that Granites OBP is fueled by a .390 babip. I have a hard time believing that is sustainable at any level.

[Seth Stohs]

 

I wonder if these rankings reflect the order mlb.com had for their pre-draft rankings. At least that would be consistent.

 

Absolutely. Their opinions on players aren't (and shouldn't be) altered by where players were drafted. Enlow's higher than Leach because he was rated a higher prospect by them in the rankings. That just makes sense. None of them have done enough since those rankings to move. It's a matter of fitting them in with the other players.

[DJSim22]

 

Shoulders were almost always career enders. Medicine isn't going backwards here, it is giving shots to pitchers that would otherwise be done.

 

Don't say that, my 17 year old is coming back from a torn labrum.