D’Arnaud makes NYPL Top 20

Top Prospect Lists

…and hes the only one.

He came in at #5 behind Jason Castro (Houston), David Cooper (Toronto), Adam Reifer (Cardinals) and Derek Norris (Nationals)

Full info here. Basically praised his defense, said he’s getting even better there, and that he’s got good contact skills and can drive the ball to right field.

9 thoughts on “D’Arnaud makes NYPL Top 20”

  1. Does not surprise me that we only got one player on the list. Stutes would be the next candidate, but only 27 IP was probably not enough to get serious consideration. His stuff is a little better than his round, but it is not like he blows people away with his stuff enough to get noticed on lists like this.

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  2. I wonder how close de Fratus was to making the list. Also, I’d assume that Schwimer and Rosenberg might have gotten a mention if these sort of lists considered relievers (although I obviously understand why they don’t).

    Meanwhile, the Mets had an impressive 4 on that list, though Ike Davis is present merely as a Hewitt-esque “We think he’ll be good down the line” selection.

    Congrats to Travis, especially for one-upping older bro Chase. Let the intra-family trash talking begin I guess!

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  3. I love how Travis has put his name on the map when he was given so little credit after the draft. I’m thrilled to see him there…of course I was thrilled that we drafted him and invested heavily in his baseball cards, so all this hype is a nice little reward for me on top of knowing that we’ve got some great catching prospects for the Phillies (where they desperately need help). Good times all around. Keep it up Travis!

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  4. Score one for Keith Law on identifying D’Arnaud as an underrated prospect as well. I believe it was the Q&A he did here where he really pushed D’Arnaud when lots of us had him nowhere near the top 10. Law had him in his top 5 (one that did not include Cardenas). He may be undervaluing Cardenas for defense, but it looks like he was right about D’Arnaud.

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  5. Inigo Montoya from Cliffs of Insanity asks:
    Who was the second best prospect on Williamsport – Overbeck, Stutes, De Fratus, Worley, Rosenberg or Schwimer and how close were they to cracking the Top 20?
    A:

    Aaron Fitt: Williamsport had a number of interesting college guys, but my favorite might actually be Troy Hanzawa, a little shortstop out of San Diego State. He was the best defensive infielder in the league, just a very reliable defender with sure hands, good range and a strong arm, and he can surprise you with the bat. He’ll never be a power guy, but he can poke the ball into the gaps now and then, and he knows his game.

    Aaron Fitt: Out of those other guys, Schwimer’s above-average downer curveball is a separator, and he’s got very good size. If he can command his fastball a little better, I could see him as a nice setup-type reliever. Rosenberg made a ton of progress this summer after a decent but not great senior year at Louisville. He spotted his average fastball well and showed a nice curve as well. Overbeck hits the ball hard — just a lot of hard liners, some of which get over the fence. I’m worried about his defense, however; he won’t stick at third base, and I don’t know that he’ll hit enough to be a left fielder.

    Very interesting stuff. Likes Hanzawa, maybe we should upgrade him in our books a bit, eh? The two relievers have two average or above pitches, nice to hear from someone who has seen them and is a scout.

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  6. Later on he actually listed Hanzawa as the best defensive infielder in the league. It should be interesting to see where these college guys turn up next year. A+ or A ball.

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  7. Thanks for that, Pat Burrell.

    Hanzawa is an interesting guy. He put up virtually the same OPS as Cody Overbeck (.761 as opposed to .764), but I like him better going forward since he did it with better plate discipline (18:51 BB:K as opposed to 12:65) and, obviously, he’s a superior defensive player. And I know I sound like a broken record on this point, but given the pitcher-friendly nature of the NYPL, Hanzawa could wind up putting up even better offensive numbers as he moves through the system. Also good to hear from a scout that his glove is for real.

    Ultimately, though the Phils didn’t light up this prospect list, a couple of these guys have a legit chance to make the majors. d’Arnaud is obviously the real gem, but Worley, de Fratus, Cisco and Stutes each have at least a chance to make it as a back end starter; Schwimer and Rosenberg look like potential set up men; Cloyd, Roth, McConnell and Noles have a shot as middle relievers; and Susdorf, Hanzawa, Hamilton, and Frew could be spare parts guys down the line. Obviously the odds are against more than 2 or 3 of them ever donning red pinstripes, but there’s still a lot of possibilities. Things could be a lot worse.

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  9. Personally I’m not a big fan of Overbeck. His lack of a true position scares me…I know James points him towards 1B but I could see him moving to LF in the next year or so.

    I like Hanzawa a bit more but he was old for the NY-Penn League.

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