Wood, Bethancourt, La Stella, Salcedo make BA's Southern League Top 20

[nsacpi]

A good showing for our guys in Mississippi.

Wood was rated the #6 prospect. Of course, he used up his rookie eligibility this year. His strong showing at the major league level supports the high ranking.

Bethancourt was #8. Showed significant offensive improvement. Played most of the season at age 21, young for the league.

La Stella was #16. A hitting machine who should compete for the second base job next spring.

Salcedo was #19. Statistically a disappointing season. But the talent evaluators could not overlook the tools and relatively young age (21 for most of the season). I suspect he will repeat next season at AA and show improvement just like Bethancourt did in his repeat season. Our top third base prospect. We have three more years of contractual control over Chris Johnson. The time frame works well with Salcedo's likely development path. Another season in AA, one if AAA and one as a major league backup.

[cajunrevenge]

For those without BA subscription.

Wood - they say his awkward delivery throws off hitters timing but even without it his stuff would make him a #3 starter
Bethancourt = Had a Mississippi record 40 game on base streak in which he had a .976 OPS from Jun 13-Aug 14th. Scouts that like him see him as a .275 hitter with low walk rate and 12-15 homers.
La Stella - One scout projects future offensive output similar to Daniel Murphy although they dont have similar body types. Multiple scouts called him the best pure hitter in Southern League. He hits lefties very well with .338 BA vs them this year and .350 in his 206 pro at bats vs them. Scouts expect 7-10 homers with a lot of doubles. Defensively he is a below average runner with below average range but has strong instincts, quick hands, and a strong arm.
Salcedo - They said he has one of the strongest work ethics. Said he improved his ability to grind through at bats but he still has had crappy results vs RH pitching. Said his swing gets long and he gets fooled by breaking pitches but you can see the improvements he is making. Defensively he moves well and has a cannon for an arm with good accuracy. Cut his errors down to 29 this year which is an improvement. He was second in Southern league per game by a 3B.

Overall looks good to me except Salcedo. He still has a long way to go in my opinion. I am a little more optimistic about Bethancourt and La Stella after reading those scouting reports. Hope La Stella gets a chance in spring training this year.

[nsacpi]

There were two other middle infield prospects ranked higher than La Stella in the Southern League: Arismendy Alcantara of the Cubs and Marcus Semien of the White Sox. Semien has already reached the majors. I'd talk to those two ball clubs to see if either was available.

[50PoundHead]

More good news.

[nsacpi]

More good news.

The way I look at it is the big league club is there to break my heart and the kids in the minors are there to give me hope.

[thethe]

Those of us that followed the farm this year have been saying there are players down there. Even with the promotions of Wood/Gattis the farm might be rated higher than this time last year. The early returns from the 2013 class have been positive. The farm is on the upswing.

An astute trade of a Kimbrel or Medlen could bring us back to the point where we have a top system. Sims is going to have a big time year next year barring injuries and I'm looking forward to Graham coming back.

[nsacpi]

Those of us that followed the farm this year have been saying there are players down there. Even with the promotions of Wood/Gattis the farm might be rated higher than this time last year. The early returns from the 2013 class have been positive. The farm is on the upswing.

An astute trade of a Kimbrel or Medlen could bring us back to the point where we have a top system. Sims is going to have a big time year next year barring injuries and I'm looking forward to Graham coming back.

There are also a couple darkhorse pitchers who didn't make their league Top 20s, but had fantastic seasons in 2013. Wes Parsons and Ian Thomas. Both NDFA. Those two guys had very good strikeout to walk numbers. And they had success pitching to opposite handed hitters. We'll see. One of them could be the next Beachy.

[Tapate50]

Boy, Graham is the forgotten man. He could be a back end high leverage arm for the run at the end of next year.

[thethe]

My darkhorse for next year is Andrew Waszak.

I also like Eric Pfisterer as a quick riser.

No real reason. Just because I feel like naming them!

[cajunrevenge]

I have been saying the last few years the farm is not good and just because we get some outperforming their projections that we shouldnt overrate the next batch of prospects but its really developing into a habit now. Teheran, Wood and Gattis all exceeded expectations a good deal. I dont think the farm is as good as last year only because Wood lost rookie status. The farm rankings have definitely suffered because the prospects are moving to Atlanta so fast which is not a bad thing. If you rank teams based on 25 and under talent the Braves are easily #1 in those rankings. I think the farm rankings are due for a big jump after next season because the best prospects shouldnt see Atlanta next year outside of possibly Bethancourt and Graham. Simms, Peraza, Cabrera, Hursh, and Elander is a very nice clump of prospects we had in A ball this year. I like what I have seen from Cody Martin, David Hale, and Bethancourt this year but I think all 3 will not be rookies for the next list. If Graham comes back healthy that would be a big boost for the system. I know they wont trade Kimbrel this offseason but if they did Graham would be high on my list of possible replacements. Add in 2 first round picks next year and I think we have the makings of a top 5-10 farm at the end of next year.