Reader Top 30; #24

2009 Reader Top 30

I suppose my post draft writeup on Damarii Saunderson stuck in the heads of some, as he took home spot #23, edging out Andrew Carpenter by 5 votes. Saunderson is really raw and is going to take a lot of patience, but he could turn out to be a nice draft steal. Colby Shreve received 5 write in votes, so he enters the voting at #24. Javon Moran received zero votes, Jared Cosart received 2, so he will take Moran’s spot. Onward…

01. Carlos Carrasco, RHP
02. Lou Marson, C
03. Jason Donald, SS
04. Kyle Drabek, RHP
05. Michael Taylor, OF
06. Dominic Brown, OF
07. JA Happ, LHP
08. Travis D’Arnaud, C
09. Joe Savery, LHP
10. Zach Collier, OF
11. Jason Knapp, RHP
12. John Mayberry Jr, OF
13. Edgar Garcia, RHP
14. Antonio Bastardo, LHP
15. Julian Sampson, RHP
16. Drew Naylor, RHP
17. Mike Stutes, RHP
18. Anthony Hewitt, 3B
19. Sebastian Valle, C
20. Vance Worley, RHP
21. Freddy Galvis, SS
22. Travis Mattair, 3B
23. Damarii Saunderson, OF
24.

80 thoughts on “Reader Top 30; #24”

  1. If it’s between Carpenter and De Fratus I am going with the De Fratus. At least he still gives me hope. Carpenter has just done absolutely nothing last year.

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  3. Now it’s a case of personal preference between a relatively high likelihood of attaining a low ceiling (Carpenter, whom one can easily imagine doing okay in a long relief or swingman role) and a much lesser chance of turning into something special (Gose, Shreve, Cosart). I voted for Shreve, just because the Hamels and, based on what we know so far, Drabek experiences give me some confidence that the Phillies can run a decent rehab.

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  4. My vote goes for the Air Force Lt. Karl Bolt. Saw him perform well in ST last year and in the GCL 2 summers ago. If they let him play, I think he’ll make it on hard work and discipline. He rakes. I think he had some trouble with an overcrowded 1B spot last year in Lakewodd, but when he was in the lineup as an OF or as an infielder, he did well.

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  5. I’m going with Gose – has a ton of tools and is more polished than Hewitt. I am still in shock that Saunderson went this high. The guy batted 80 points lower than the Mendoza line! He may turn out to be a guy who can learn the game and use his tools but his enormous k ratio to me shows that his bbs are due to a lack of aggresiveness rather than actual patience (aka a fear of swinging and missing – not uncommon in high school, which is essentially what this kid is).

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  6. Voted for Gose. Phils took him in round 2 (51 overall) and gave him $770K bonus. Good enough for me for #24.

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  7. Sticking with Cisco here, although it looks like it could be Carpenter’s day – I guess I have no problem with that. I saw him pitch a heckuva game against Trenton last year. 7ip, eight strikeouts or so, maybe one walk, and a lot of movement on his pitches. He ought to be a pretty decent MLBer

    – Jeff

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  8. Well, Damaurri got some recognition. I suppose , in the minds of some, a relatively high amount of walks in relation to At Bats overrides few plate appearances and little use, around a .120 batting average, and alot of strikeouts in relation to At Bats.

    Glad the inappropriately placed Javon Moran has been bounced from this survey, and that the like situated Jeremy Slayden’s name no longer appears.

    Given all that I will vote again for Carpenter. The avalanche of criticism that has developed likely started as a little muddy snowball.

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  10. Dajafi’s right that the voting, at this point, is a matter of personal preference — how you weigh upside v. certainty. Carpenter represents one end of the spectrum, with Shreve/Cosart/Gose/May at the other end.

    What I like about Cisco is that he’s somewhere in the middle — higher upside than Carpenter, but further along and a greater chance of reaching the majors than the “upside quartet,” if you will. With scouting reports that back up his insane numbers, you have to like the early odds on his being a #4 starter.

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  13. Airborneranger – Naughton to me falls in line with Carpenter/Slayden/Moran/Berry the 31-35 range.

    I just don’t see how Carpenter, who has struggled, is at this point any better than Fratus or Gose. A highlight reel of A ball can only carry you so far.

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  14. Gregg —
    I don’t see Bolt as a prospect and don’t see how you can say he ‘raked’. For a 1B to have an OPS of .688 as an almost 23-year old in low-A ball, does not seem at all impressive. Rizzotti hasn’t been mentioned at all as a prospect yet, but he is a few months younger than Bolt and put up an OPS of .810 in about the same number of AB as Bolt for the same team. I don’t see .810 as exactly raking either for a 1B who is old for his league, but it is one heck of a lot more promising than Bolt.

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  15. mike is still a “friend of mine”

    lets wait and see on Bolt when he was good he was awful good ,May,August and when he was bad he was awful bad
    April, July

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  16. A’town, In my dictionary, raked means hits the ball extremely hard. Bolt has always done that. I asked you a year ago, as you have been down on this kid since the 07 Draft, have you ever seen him play? You said no, and with all due respect, I ask again, have you ever seen him play? Or are you one of these pure sabremetric guys? Bolt played with a broken nose, face mask in the field and helmet mask at the plate for over 5 weeks last summer. He hit 3 months over .325, higher than anyone except Taylor. I’ve seen this kid in over 50 pro games and have researched his college stats, and he is the real thing. Do you have some dislike for his military connection? Politics should have no bearing here, but I have read some of your thoughts on a similar site.

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  17. Whoa greg, you’re getting awfully personal. Karl Bolt doesn’t have good numbers. Matter of fact his numbers are bad. Meaning although he desroys the ball he doesn’t get on base at a rate even comprabable to a non-prospect who is age appropriate in the league. Karl Bolt is absolutely not the “real deal.” There’s still debate over whether Michael Taylor is the “real deal.” Seeing a player play in person does not make them any better. Whether or not allentown is “one of those sabermetrics guys” or not, I haven’t seen hardly any of the top 30 play, nor have most people on this site, but that doesn’t mean you can’t voice your opinion on a player.

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  18. This discussion has now passed the point where I feel I can make meaningful distinctions among players – I’ll enjoy the discussion.

    By the way, I actually do believe that you learn something (how much is debatable) by seeing a player in person.

    The examples abound.

    Last year I saw Donald crush a ball over the fence to the opposite field. It’s hard to do that unless you’re a really good hitter and have a nice dose of power. That sort of thing means something.

    We’re going back a little (okay, a lot), but when he was in AAA, I saw Sid Fernandez throw in spring training. On the gun Fernandez only hit about 87 or 88 MPH. In person, however, what you saw was almost incomprehensible. When Fernandez threw a fastball, about ten feet from home plate, it just exploded on the hitter. It was bizarre, but you could actually see it sitting in the crowd – the ball just took off. It was not an optical illusion, Fernandez has about the lowest hits per nine innning ratio in MLB history (may be behind Ryan) and, at his peak, he pretty much strike out 14 guys whenever his control allowed him to stay in the game.

    In a like manner, you did not need to see Chase Utley play for very long before you knew that he was capable of amazing things. There was just something about him. You could see it; you could feel it.

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  19. Gregg –
    No, I haven’t seen him play, but I know what numbers to expect for a ‘real deal’ 1B who is old for low-A ball and an OPS less than .700 doesn’t come close to getting it done. His GCL season was also nothing to write home about. Since you raised the political issue, I’ll ask you — do you give him such a positive review only because he is military? I don’t think military or not has anything to do about it, other than it lumped him into the college senior pool when he was drafted. Military or not, Staubach was a stud QB and worth waiting for. Bolt, not so much. If he gets to Reading or Lehigh Valley, I’ll get to observe him. Until then, I’ll continue to conclude that you are ignoring both his field position and his age when evaluating his offensive talent. I put your argument in the same category as the guy who has argued here that the official scorer has stolen enough hits from D’Arby Myers to hide the fact that he hit well last season. I’m not buying that one either.

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  21. Cisco and Carpenter could both be legit in the 23 – 30 range. Cisco really tough to figure. A smallish righty, with not great scouting reports going into the draft and not great college stats, who put up insane numbers at Lakewood after starting with quite good numbers at Williamsport. Just don’t know quite what to make of him. This forum is not alone in its placement of him. Squire on Philliesphans has him at #54, which seems unduly harsh, but his comments make it clear that he doesn’t know quite what to think of him either. With that kind of performance, you just need to keep fast tracking him until he does or doesn’t exhibit Peter Principle tendencies. If he does well at CLW this year, I am guessing he can finish the year at Reading and then we should get a pretty good handle on what we’ve got.

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  23. No word on the suspicious voting patterns for Saunderson?

    I picked Gose last round, will do so again. Not terribly confident though.

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  26. Catch 22 f/k/a/ H Man
    Sid Fernandez interesting comment illustrates the many kinds
    of successful players. Being heavy seemed to be part of his pitching his heavy upper body helping his followthru. So one needs to be open minded when it comes to different styles

    Only results count

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  27. Let’s say Carpenter becomes a competent #5 starting pitcher, or a decent reliever (although, I do not think his “stuff” plays up in short stints), how is that blah? A #5 starting pitcher/middle reliever can save a team from signing the Adam Eaton’s and Carlos Silva’s of the world, in other words, a lot of money.

    Also, I do not understand the tragedy of Michael Cisco still being on the board. An old college pitcher who accumulated two years worth of sub par stats at USC before dominating a bunch of kids for 54.1 innings does not make a great prospect. I think it would be fine if he was selected around #24, but I also would consider it to be fine if he was prospect #30. Finally, it is my understanding that Cisco has great control with middling stuff, which sounds like the type of pitcher who might be able to dominate less advanced kids, before moving up in the ranks and becoming dominated himself. If I haven’t said it above, I am voting for Carpenter once again.

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  29. I’ve stopped voting for Naughton as he does not seem to get much love.

    I’m Biased as I know the guy, I firmly believe he has the mental makeup to be a geniune prospect along with a cannon arm, smart catcher/manager of Pitchers. If he does stick close to .300 next few seasons as he climbs the ranks. he will make it for sure.

    I guess he does not have as high a ceiling though as a lot of other young Phillies though admittedly.

    I’ve seen a lot of young signees come out of Australia for various Clubs. A lot of them you can tell they will not last 2 seasons in the lower ranked A Pros.

    Naughton will be there for the long haul.. A fair chance he will be #1 or 2 Catcher for Aussie in the WBC so that will test him V the big boys.

    For this Poll I like Cisco.

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  30. 113, Naughton is a 21 year old left handed hitting catcher whose improved at each level he’s played. Not an organiazational fill in. I’m not even sure Moran is still in the system.

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  31. Naughton is a 21 year old left hand hitting catcher whoses improved at every level. He’s considerd a prospect. Is Moran still in the system?

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  34. Anthony Hewitt at #18, Sanderson at #24 and nobody has even mentioned Michael Durant? I don’t get it.

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  36. Durant’s going to have to hit above .240 at some level before he deserves to be mentioned. Other than having some power, he doesn’t do much else well with the bat. Don’t know what kind of defensive player he is, but as a 1B, he needs to hit..

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  37. Naughton! The guy has certainly benefitted from the tutelage (sp?) of Compton and Roadcap. The arm isn’t the strongest I’ve seen, but the reaction time and footwork clearly makes up for it – teams definitely respected this aspect of his game (as evidence by when he went out with the freak injury and they started running on Lakewood again).

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  38. Airborneranger – 1st of all I do like Naughton as my family lives close to Lakewood, I got to see some of him. But to say he “improved” at every level is jus tnot rue. He was horrible in the Penn League and he repeated Lakewood in ’07.

    So if he didn’t do better I and others would have knocked him for it, so I cannot really give him props fo doing better in the league the 2nd time around.

    I really think he is your classic 31st prospect. He could move up with a nice year or just fall out of the discussion all together but he has yet to stand out above most of the position players in our farm. And as for arms, I will always take the arm over the bat. So all these pitchers in my mind get a boost just based on the fact they are pitchers since that is more valuable than a possible (at best) average catcher.

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  40. Carpenter again. One great season and then one bad season with some improvement later in the season. To me that translates to a question mark, not a permanent thumbs down. If he comes in bloated again this spring and has a bad start, I will be first in line to say “Head case! –Next, please!”. But given his effort and improvement late last season, I will bet on a turnaround.

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  41. If we’re worried about who is on the 40 man, where is Sergio Escalona? I looked at his stats the other day, nothing amazing, but there must be something at work there if he was put on the 40 man, right?

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  42. Catch 22. You bring up a good question. When is direct player observation and anecdotal info valid? Here are my thoughts. I am sure there are other points to make:

    1. When the observer is experienced and astute. Fans are like scouts. Some are better than others. On a forum like this, an astute observer also has to make the observational case with well-selected details to back up a point. That is what will convince others you are astute.

    2. Single game observation or a few games can be very misleading if a player is in a slump, has a minor injury, or is just tired. The more games watched by an astute fan, the more value the report has.

    3. Positive facts have more validity than negative facts. Watching Donald hit an opposite field HR is a positive fact. Even one time means something. He takes the ball to the opposite field and (might) be a smart hitter. He does in fact have the power to hit the ball out without pulling it. See in Mathieson hit 100 mph about 6 times in a game and high 90s many times, with a decent slider. That was enough to for me to see his potential as very high (before his injury). Watching a player fight a pitcher for 11 or 12 pitches, fouling off several nasty pitches provides valid, valuable insight. It doesn’t mean the player will always do that in the major leagues, but it shows he is capable. Negative info, such as four weak ground balls, does not necessarilty mean the hitter is bad. So direct observation can confirm physical limits or approach and intelligence.

    4. Combiningg observations with stats to form a consistent quantiative/qualitative profile of a player is best.

    So yeah, we can be our own scouts, if we have learned significantly over the course of our careers as fans and express ourselves well. But there are also a lot of bull-poop comments you see. Many sharp observations, but many casual, know-it-all observations that aren’t worth the space on the site or the time it talkes to read them. And that’s part of the fun, searching for pearls in a sea of barnacles.

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  43. PhillyFriar on Cisco “With scouting reports that back up his insane numbers, you have to like the early odds on his being a #4 starter.”

    How many 5′ 10″ starters are there in the majors ? Just saying …

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  44. Well put, Diamond Derby.

    I should also add in that just reading this site, and being able to composite a bunch of write-ups (i.e. a few different people all observing that Michael Durant seemed to struggle to run on the basepaths) also can serve as a scouting report. Personally, I can only afford to go to a couple of games per year, but I certainly think that I can offer some insight from my limited firsthand exposure to players, especially when combined with other firsthand knowledge. Not to overstate the obvious, but there are things that don’t show up in a boxscore that are really helpful from witnessing a game in person (for example: Brad Harman’s awareness in the field was impressive).

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  45. with all due respect, i think that we need to do some self policing or this exercise will lose its integrity. Damarii Saunderson in our top 25 prospects? that is just plain silly.

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  46. I wrote in Saunderson again – so good he deserves two spots! Sorry for the sarcasm. Maybe we need to go to 31 so the Saunderson spot can be ignored as not legit. Not to ignore your influence, James, but you didn’t sell him that hard. I’ll be rooting for him all year regardless.

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  47. RodeoJones makes an interesting point about Escalona. I guess he comes close to the argument I made about Carpenter: if Escalona makes it as a marginal LOOGY type, is that something to get excited about? Depends on your tastes, I suppose. But it seems like the Phils see that as a legit possibility for him, given the addition to the 40-man and AzFL assignment.

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  48. I voted for Gose again because I think he has the most upside remaining as a 2nd round pick with all kinds of ability. By the way, as someone who saw and met Bolt at spring training last year, I came away very impressed with his ability and with the man. I attributed much of his problems last season to exhaustion. His military commitment had him working two jobs for a very long time. He would work at the base all night and then take a shower and come right to baseball with little time for sleep. I don’t care what kind of shape you’re in (he’s in amazing shape), eventually you have to tire out from that routine. While I won’t put him on this prospect list, I’ll root hard for him this year because he does have the ability to be very good and he seemed like a real good guy.

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  49. Billy Mac says: “How Many 5′ 10″ starters are there in the majors?”

    I see your point, but I just want to throw a name out there- Tim Lincecum. Pedro Martinez. there’s some good 6 footers out there as well. i know its not 5 10, but its still shortrer than average. Roy oswalt. Tim redding. I don’t believw in writting off a pitcher because of size.

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  50. mike hampton is another. if it was cut and dry that a 5’10” guy couldn’t make it to the majors, then the phillies wouldn’t have drafted him. ohh…i know what you synics will say…the phils are cheap and wanted to draft him to save money. but i just think that it is silly to ignore results and reports and only look at a player’s height.

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  51. I’m too lazy (and should be working instead of typing this post) to look it up, but aren’t Randy Wolf and Billy Wagner sub 6′. I could see why a guy’s height would count against him, in terms of drafting (similar to a QB in the NFL), but if he puts up numbers and has the stuff, it really shouldn’t matter. While I think I rated Cisco a bit high on my top-30 list, I still think that the numbers he put up certain warrants that I will be following him pretty closely this year.

    – Jeff

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  54. Naming a handful of short starters doesn’t prove anything when the vast majority of them are 6′ or taller.

    I threw Escalona out there hoping some people who knew more about him might fill me in a little on him. Information on him is sparse.

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  55. Escalona is this years So-So Taguchi no one seems to know why he is there
    He was terrible so they promoted him to Lakewood which he also stunk out so they promoted him again
    08 barely ok at Lakewood so they promoted him again
    they to the 40 You tell me I am still stuck on taguchi

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  56. rodeo – the point was made that cisco is a non prospect because he is under 6 foot. the counter points were that there are several sub-6 foot mlb’ers that are very productive. thus disproving the argument about cisco’s hight being a disqualifier.

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  58. I don’t want to get into a cow chip throwing contest but Escalona had some pretty good numbers at Lakewood. 5-1, 60Ks in 44 innings. They double jumped him to Reading and he posted a 2.22 ERA and 29Ks in 24 innings. He’s left-handed. He’s not Cole Hamels but if he can get comfortable, he could be a middle reliever. We never seem to value these guys as much as any other position player or starter but ask the Mets how important these relievers are. Where would the Phils be with Madson, Romero and, yes even, a LOOGY like Condrey? They all had roles that helped the Phils to be Champs and not chumps. What if Escalona is that other lefty in the bullpen that the Phils talk so much about? I haven’t seen him and don’t know what kind of stuff he has but the Phils double jumped him and put him on the 40 man. Somebody knows something.

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  59. Not saying that Cisco doesn’t have a future, but it is very rare for a starter to be under 6 feet tall. There are exceptions to every rule, but typically pitchers his size are relievers. I also see this as an issue for Kyle Drabek, who looked to me to less than his listed 6′ 1″.

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  60. jamie moyer
    Weight 185 lbs.
    Height 6-0
    Bats Left
    Throws Left

    Can someone in Washington put Balco in prospective in a drug torn country. Now that is bellman’s cow chip throwing contest.
    use the resourses to fight real drug problems

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  61. Carpenter, again. Just like Gose, he was a second rounder. Unlike any other prospect, he has had a 19-win season in pro ball. I think it is interesting that Mayberry went #12 and Slayden is off the list of candidates. I haven’t voted for either, but I think they are very similar prospects in terms of age, experience, overall value, and ceiling.

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  62. i think that we should have a long discussion on what makes a prospect. the people on this blog are really all over the place.

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  63. Saunderson over Gose. Wow! As for Naughton, when he first signed, along with Mitch Graham, Mark Kelly, Harmon, I didn’t think he’d make out of spring training. It’s a tribute to his hard work and coaching of the player development staff that he’s reached a level that he’s considered a prospect. This should be an interesting year for players like Taylor, Brown, Mitchell, and yes Naugnton.

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  64. The thinking on Escalona is that he might be good enough to be a lefthanded specialist in the majors like Eyre is. You’d have to get his stats only against lefties from the minors to make a comparison because he obviously faces both currently.
    The thinking is that Mayberry could become a right handed half of a platoon while Slayden is seen as one notch below as a stright 4th or 5th OF on the bench. I agree that a platoon player shouldn’t be voted the 12th prospect but I guess folks think he can become a starter (I don’t).

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  65. PP Fan –

    I think James has set the disqualifier for prospects based on age, years in the minors and major league service time. As to how to rank them, I seem to recall that there are a lot of factors, and it is up to us to determine which ones are most important: Ceiling, stage of development, projectability, proximity to Majors, and likelihood of reaching ceiling were I believe a good many of the factors.

    – Jeff

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  66. Jeff O – good points. then maybe we should make a requirement that when people put names up there they should justify against those criteria. it just seems that this process has lost its integrity with some of the names that are being thrown around.

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  67. I agree.

    Is it youth with projection?
    Is it youth w/ numbers?
    Is it youth + which round they were drafted?
    Is it stats + upside?
    Is it age + need @ the big league level?
    Or it is just “here’s what i think?”

    My thoughts are from what I’ve seen so far in the games that I have been to. Being on the West Coast I don’t get to see a lot of them but I do get to catch a few. Some players I follow more than others & yes, I do have my favorites that I pull for (& maybe vote for as well). I will now sit back & see what everyone else thinks…

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  68. Cisco again. Carpenter is close. Don’t like Gose at all, unless he finds his way to the mound. But, I like Hewitt even less, and he’s higher on the list for most people.

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  69. I find the Saunderson vote to be very strange. I have no idea where all of that support came from and it didn’t seem like he got a lot of support in the comment section of the voting thread in which he won. I don’t know what happened there, but I guess we’ll all just have to live with that one.

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  70. I’m on board with those that find the Saunderson vote compromises the integrity of this excercise. It’s not that I think 90 some odd people stupids who voted for him (that would compromise the entire site!), it’s that I don’t think there were 90 some odd people who voted at all.

    If you take away those 90 and make it, say, 5, then the overall vote approximates the vote totals for the previous several rounds. If you don’t take them away, then the vote last round was, let’s see, approximately 85 votes above the average. Let’s just say, if this were vegas, the bets would be halted.

    Still voting for Gose, will never vote for Cisco, and can’t stand the idea of voting for Carpenter (I HATE professional athletes who are so self-indulgent so as to actually get fat. He should have been George Hegemin’ed) but probably should be if I were to be predicting future success if only because the odds that anyone after Knapp on this list ever make a difference in the majors is so small, the fact that Carpenter can at least claim he can get a couple outs in the majors (because he already has) should probably move him up the list.

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  71. “people stupids who” should just be “stupids”

    or “people”

    either works depending on how caustic I’m feeling.

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  74. Yeah, Saunderson vote makes no sense. Not enough discussion or even awareness of him to explain the vote count. Maybe an American Idol-like vote sabotage by someone who had a way to fool the system. It does take way from the experience of this. You kind of think–whatev, man.

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  75. Colby Shreve, again!

    Even though one of our “comrades” believes that voting for Shreve should not even be a consideration: …”How can anyone vote for Shreve? We have NO IDEA how he’ll come back from TJ surgery. If he comes back at full strength or better, then he could be Kyle Drabek next yearr Shreve should never happen”…

    Since the odds are on his side of a complete recovery, as is the case with most TJ surgeries these days, I do not understand how anyone could possibly dismiss this guy’s ability.

    Colby Shreve will prove to be an excellent prospect and he will pitch in the Bigs!!!

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  76. Carthurs –

    I think your tone may have been a bit harsh (as I interpreted it, your intent may not have been such). I think the poster who is against voting for Shreve stated that there is too much of a health question plus the fact that he hasn’t thrown a single pitch in the minors, and he feels that (by his ranking system, I’m guessing) Shreve doesn’t warrant a top-30 slot. He wants to take a wait and see approach, and, if he’s healthy next year, we could have a HUGE. I also believe the latter reason is also why some people aren’t going to vote for Cosart.

    Personally, I think that both of them may crack the 29-30 spots of the top 30, but I tend to rank according to projection and ceiling, and both of those guys rank high in those regards.

    I think this ranking exercise has been awesome, and the tone of all the comments has been quite civil and friendly. Let’s keep it that way.

    – Jeff

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  77. Jeff O:

    If my tone appeared harsh, it was not my intent.

    If you look at my comments, all I did was copy/paste what someone said, which included: “How can anyone vote for Shreve?”. My response was: ” I do not understand how anyone could possibly dismiss this guy’s ability”.

    I am not sure what else in my comment could be construed as “harsh” but again, my intent was only to respond as to why Shreve should be considered vs. why he should not.

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  78. PP Fan – No, his height doesn’t disqualify him, but you have to consider the available information. When you have limited information on a guy and some of that isn’t good information to make a judgement on, you must consider all relevant data.

    We aren’t selling jeans here, as Billy Beane would say, but we have to consider a guys physical makeup. The majority of pitchers exceed a certain height threshold. Naming a few outliers does nothing but further validate this point. As a phan, I obviously wish him the best, but you have to temper your expectations given the data at hand.

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  79. Carthurs –

    Point taken. The “how can anyone vote for Shreve comment?” is probably inappropriate, given that we are supposed to use our own criteria for ranking a prospect. I guess what I considered a bit harsh in your post was the way you referred to the original poster as a “comrade” and put it in quotes. And I don’t think he was discounting Shreve’s talent (IIRC, he would’ve been a first or second rounder if he didn’t need the surgery, and oftentimes guys come back throwing harder after TJ), but his personal ranking system dictated that he wouldn’t rank a guy who hasn’t played professionally yet due to a serious health concern. I personally am hoping that Shreve pans out – a draft pick like that was a great move by the Phils front office, and if he becomes a stud prospect, their Phils Front Office deserves a ton of praise.

    – Jeff

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  80. Jeff O:

    Agreed & undwerstood!

    To me, comrade means: associate, buddy, pal, friend, etc. I will choose my words more carefully in the future.

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