I am now finalizing the Atlanta Braves Top 20 prospects list for 2014. I hope to have it finished sometime on Tuesday. Here is the preliminary grade breakdown:
I have rated 37 players.
One Grade B+
One Grade B
Six Grade B-
Nine Grade C+
20 Grade C
There are a few Grade Cs that might wind up as C+ and vice versa, but the final breakdown should be very close to that.
Feel free to speculate!
Sims the b plus? Betancourt the B?
Sims B+ Peraza B
Not really a positive review right there of the system. Oh well, I'm still positive about the production we will get from it moving forward. I would agree that it will be Sims/Peraza with those top rankings.
Natural Immunity Croc
The key IMO is those B's are all in the low minors. In another year half of them could be A's of some sort.
I think by this time next year few teams will be able to match the 1-2 combo of Sims and Peraza.Originally Posted by thethe
I'm definitely hopeful and like Skid said, those higher grades are players who probably aren't even 20 yet.
Natural Immunity Croc
Braves have graduated in the last 4 years, Heyward, Freeman, Simmons, Kimbrel, Minor, Wood, Julio, and made a trade for Justin Upton. We don't have a ton of top shelf talent in the high minors. Braves system will hopefully look deeper in the next few years as they've replenished their depth now they'll hopefully focus on projectible players.
Stockholm, more densely populated than NYC - sturg
Dont know what took him so long the Twins list was something like 6 weeks ago. I would say drop Northcraft, Caratini, and one of either La Stella or Hale down to C+. The farm system isnt as bad as the grades look. Another year of development could see a lot of these same prospects on next years list with higher grades. Add in two top 40 draft picks and it could be one of the best. A large part of the reason for the Braves not being highly ranked is that the prospects are just moving through the system so fast. Alex Wood would be a A- or better on this list if he was there.
"Donald Trump will serve a second term as president of the United States.
It’s over."
Little Thethe Nov 19, 2020.
Sickels had a nasty concussion and was doing badly for several weeks.
Natural Immunity Croc
I think La Stella will be the B with Sims the likely B+ (although he's only in Low A and what I recall of Sickels is that he's usually not overly bullish on guys in the low minors).
We've got some meat-and-potatoes guys in the system, but I wouldn't be surprised if that's where Sickels' grades end up. Not a lot of sizzle, especially with the bats.
Sims should be a B+ borderline A and Tommy will probably be a B- borderline B and Peraza will be a B borderline B+
Sims rocks this year he'll be a top 50 prospect next year.
Stockholm, more densely populated than NYC - sturg
You're missing a couple guys that I personally think are both Top 20 in Victor Reyes and Johan Camargo. Reyes may be borderline Top 10.
The ratings don't mean much without the names and rationale behind the grading.
We have a clear top 4 (Sims, Bethancourt, Peraza, Cabrera) with some separation from the next group of about eight players. Then a bit of a fall-off after that.
Btw if you go back in time and look at players on our farm teams in any given year, on average there are about 40 who haven't yet played in the majors but eventually will. The distribution by level is interesting. Of those 40, about 10 are on the AAA roster, another 10 on the AA roster, about 5-6 each in High A and Low A, and 3-4 each on the two rookie league teams. It should be noted that about half of those 40 are guys who will have relatively short major league careers (the cup of coffee types). The other 20 have more substantial careers, but half of those are bench players or relatively low-leverage bullpen arms.
Well I think you can get a few hints as well from Sickels' season in review
Graham - Originally a B but injuries will knock him down he probably is a B- guy
Sims - B- but borderline B, comments hint that he'll go up, question is will he be the B+ or the B
Gilmartin B-will drop I'm sure
Cabrera B- probably the same grade, no indications he'll drop in ranking
LaStella B- he will not fall, he'll either be the B or B+ or a B-
Peraza B- he will not fall either. my guy says he'll probably be a B- but our 3rd prospect
Northcraft B- Maybe stays probably drops
Martin B- stays a B- is my guess
So out of the old B and B- group I see potentially 6 of the 8 B rated players covered, amybe 7 if Northcraft stays. So you look to the C players from before who could rise and you see Bethancourt Salcedo, and maybe Elander could move up. I'm thinking Northcraft probably stays and Bethancourt goes up to a B-
Just a matter of who of Sims, LaStella and Peraza claim the top 3 in what order. My guess is Sims, Peraza, LaStella but who knows.
Stockholm, more densely populated than NYC - sturg
Our first two picks in the 2013 draft, Caratini and Hursh, should be within any list of our top 10 or top 15.
Would anyone trade both right now for David Price, if those two were the meat of the outgoing package? And would a successfully-negotiated extension, as component to the trade, sway any who'd be on the fence otherwise?
"For all his tattooings he was on the whole a clean, comely looking cannibal."
Sometimes it is the extension that gets you into trouble (see Uggla, Dan). Extensions add value only to the extent they are below market. I wouldn't do Sims and Peraza for Price, but I think it is a fairly close call.
I think I would, without hesitation. An extension would be the icing on the cake.
But I don't value prospects as much as others 'round here.
If we locked up Price I would have a hard time saying no to that.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote