All posts by giventofly41

May, Biddle and Colvin land on the mlb.com Top 100 list

Biddle, Jesse, Colvin, Brody

You can view the list in its entirety here. May came in at #54, Biddle at #78 and Colvin at #80. I’m not going to go in to specifics about my love/hate for the list. Everyone is entitled to create their lists, and everyone has different opinions of players. I think there are a number of weird placements on this particular list, and I’m not sure Colvin is a Top 100 prospect right now, but I won’t complain about any hype/positive reports he generates. The blurbs are free for all to read, so I’ll post them here. But go check out the full list if you’re curious

Scouting report: May is starting to develop into a more complete pitcher and not just a thrower. The fastball is up to 95 mph and it has plenty of sink. May has no trouble maintaining velocity deep into his starts. He complements his fastball with an above-average curve and a changeup that shows glimpses of being above-average as well. While he still walks a good number of hitters, he lowered his walk rate considerably and showed better overall command.

Upside potential: He’ll keep refining his stuff and command, eventually settling in as a very durable No. 2 or 3 starter.

Scouting report: A strong and durable southpaw, Biddle has the makings of three above-average to plus pitches in his arsenal. He’s shown the ability to run his fastball in the low 90s. He has a changeup that could be plus when all is said and done, and although his curve is inconsistent, it’s tighter and has a harder break than when he was in high school. He needs to improve his command, not rare for such a young arm, but he did lower his walk rate in the second half of 2011.

Upside potential: Even if he moves one station at a time, Biddle profiles as a sturdy, innings-eating lefty who will have a long career in the middle of a big league rotation.

Scouting report: Despite the rough 2011 season, Colvin still has pure stuff, and a projectable pitcher’s body, that would be the envy of many a pitching prospect. His fastball is plus at times, up into the mid-90s with good sink that generates ground balls. Both his curve and his changeup have the chance to be very good secondary pitches, and he’s shown a better feel for the offspeed pitch in the past then many his age. His command suffered in 2011, something that will have to improve for him to move forward.

Upside potential: He has the stuff to pitch near the top of a rotation. If the command doesn’t bounce back, his stuff would play well in the bullpen.

2012 Reader Top 30, #17

2012 Reader Top 30

Compact speedster Roman Quinn tops a tightly grouped trio to take number 16. Ten different prospects got write in consideration, with Leandro Castro and Perci Garner both getting multiple votes, so I’ll add both of them. As a reminder on eligibility for the list, to be eligible the player must have fewer than 130 AB or 50 innings pitched. So far we have

01. Trevor May, RHP
02. Jesse Biddle, LHP
03. Sebastian Valle, C
04. Brody Colvin, RHP
05. Freddy Galvis, SS
06. Phillippe Aumont, RHP
07. Jon Pettibone, RHP
08. Justin De Fratus, RHP
09. Maikel Franco, 3B
10. Julio Rodriguez, RHP
11. Tyler Greene, SS
12. Larry Greene Jr, OF
13. Jiwan James, OF
14. Tyson Gillies, OF
15. Lisalberto Bonilla, RHP
16. Roman Quinn, SS/OF

Check below for #17

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Some thoughts on the marquee Cuban prospects floating around

International Signings

Someone emailed me asking my thoughts on Yoenis Cespedes, the 26 year old internet sensation who has now established residency in the Dominican Republic and will soon be granted MLB free agency. The Phillies worked out Cespedes in November, with Pat Gillick making the trip to see him. In every subsequent article written about Cespedes, the Phillies are mentioned. At the end of December, Bob Brookover wrote about the Phillies interest, as well as their interest in Jorge Soler (more on him later) but seemed to spell out that both guys would be out of the Phillies price range. So there are a number of questions: how good are these guys, do the Phillies have a realistic chance to sign them, and where would they rank among our current prospects? I’ll try to answer those questions below the fold.

Continue reading Some thoughts on the marquee Cuban prospects floating around →

2012 Reader Top 30, #16

2012 Reader Top 30

It was a runaway at #15, with Lisalberto Bonilla taking 31% of the vote and rounding out the first half of our list. 7 different players got a write-in vote, and I’ll include Aaron Altherr simply because he ranked the highest on the list last year of the guys who got votes. As a reminder on eligibility for the list, to be eligible the player must have fewer than 130 AB or 50 innings pitched. So far we have

01. Trevor May, RHP
02. Jesse Biddle, LHP
03. Sebastian Valle, C
04. Brody Colvin, RHP
05. Freddy Galvis, SS
06. Phillippe Aumont, RHP
07. Jon Pettibone, RHP
08. Justin De Fratus, RHP
09. Maikel Franco, 3B
10. Julio Rodriguez, RHP
11. Tyler Greene, SS
12. Larry Greene Jr, OF
13. Jiwan James, OF
14. Tyson Gillies, OF
15. Lisalberto Bonilla, RHP

Check below for #16

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2012 Reader Top 30, #15

2012 Reader Top 30

We’re almost halfway through the top 30, and things have progressed pretty close to how I assumed they would. Tyson Gillies edged out Lisalberto Bonilla for #14, with Austin Hyatt and Cesar Hernandez getting a fair bit of write-in support, so they will both be added to the voting for #15. As a reminder on eligibility for the list, to be eligible the player must have fewer than 130 AB or 50 innings pitched. So far we have

01. Trevor May, RHP
02. Jesse Biddle, LHP
03. Sebastian Valle, C
04. Brody Colvin, RHP
05. Freddy Galvis, SS
06. Phillippe Aumont, RHP
07. Jon Pettibone, RHP
08. Justin De Fratus, RHP
09. Maikel Franco, 3B
10. Julio Rodriguez, RHP
11. Tyler Greene, SS
12. Larry Greene Jr, OF
13. Jiwan James, OF
14. Tyson Gillies, OF

Check below for #15

Continue reading 2012 Reader Top 30, #15 →

2012 Reader Top 30, #14

2012 Reader Top 30

Jiwan James easily glides in to the 13th spot ahead of Tyson Gillies and Lisalberto Bonilla. Five different prospects each received a write-in vote, but I’ll add Cameron Rupp this round, since he previously got a bit of support. As a reminder on eligibility for the list, to be eligible the player must have fewer than 130 AB or 50 innings pitched. So far we have

01. Trevor May, RHP
02. Jesse Biddle, LHP
03. Sebastian Valle, C
04. Brody Colvin, RHP
05. Freddy Galvis, SS
06. Phillippe Aumont, RHP
07. Jon Pettibone, RHP
08. Justin De Fratus, RHP
09. Maikel Franco, 3B
10. Julio Rodriguez, RHP
11. Tyler Greene, SS
12. Larry Greene Jr, OF
13. Jiwan James, OF

Check below for #14

Continue reading 2012 Reader Top 30, #14 →

Thursday links: Aumont, Colvin, May, and the state of the farm

Aumont, Phillippe, Colvin, Brody

Here are 4 articles you may or may not have read.

First, new farm director Joe Jordan says all the positive things you’d expect a new farm director to say about his new prospects.

Phillippe Aumont seems to be in the right frame of mind heading in to 2012.

Brody Colvin talks about his rough 2011.

Trevor May talks about yoga.

2012 Reader Top 30, #13

2012 Reader Top 30

While the voting was initially close, Larry Greene Jr bashed his way to the #12 spot, just like he’ll hopefully be bashing balls out of the park in 2012. We now move on to #13, where BJ Rosenberg will enter the ballot in place of LGJ based on the write-in vote he received. As a reminder on eligibility for the list, to be eligible the player must have fewer than 130 AB or 50 innings pitched. So far we have

01. Trevor May, RHP
02. Jesse Biddle, LHP
03. Sebastian Valle, C
04. Brody Colvin, RHP
05. Freddy Galvis, SS
06. Phillippe Aumont, RHP
07. Jon Pettibone, RHP
08. Justin De Fratus, RHP
09. Maikel Franco, 3B
10. Julio Rodriguez, RHP
11. Tyler Greene, SS
12. Larry Greene Jr, OF

Check below for #13

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2012 Reader Top 30, #12

2012 Reader Top 30

As predicted, the voting for #11 was tightly bunched, with SS Tyler Greene emerging victorious. Austin Wright and Mitchell Walding (again) received the most write-in support, so they will enter the ballot. As a reminder on eligibility for the list, to be eligible the player must have fewer than 130 AB or 50 innings pitched. So far we have

01. Trevor May, RHP
02. Jesse Biddle, LHP
03. Sebastian Valle, C
04. Brody Colvin, RHP
05. Freddy Galvis, SS
06. Phillippe Aumont, RHP
07. Jon Pettibone, RHP
08. Justin De Fratus, RHP
09. Maikel Franco, 3B
10. Julio Rodriguez, RHP
11. Tyler Greene, SS

Check below for #12

Continue reading 2012 Reader Top 30, #12 →

2012 Reader Top 30, #11

2012 Reader Top 30

Just as Julio Rodriguez has breezed through the minors, he breezed through the voting at #10, comfortably beating out a tightly grouped trio to round out the first portion of our top 30. Carlos Tocci received the most write-in support, so he will be added to the voting for #11. It will be interesting to see which way the vote breaks at #11 considering Tyler Greene, Jiwan James and Larry Greene Jr were separated by just 2 votes. As a reminder on eligibility for the list, to be eligible the player must have fewer than 130 AB or 50 innings pitched. So far we have

01. Trevor May, RHP
02. Jesse Biddle, LHP
03. Sebastian Valle, C
04. Brody Colvin, RHP
05. Freddy Galvis, SS
06. Phillippe Aumont, RHP
07. Jon Pettibone, RHP
08. Justin De Fratus, RHP
09. Maikel Franco, 3B
10. Julio Rodriguez, RHP

Check below for #11

Continue reading 2012 Reader Top 30, #11 →