Each year USA Today publishes their 100 names to know. These are the newcomers they predict will make an impact on MLB baseball for the upcoming season. I am going to list the ones available in my Dynasty keeper league.
26. Rob Brantly
33. David Holmberg
37. AJ Pollock
45. Adeiny Hechavarria
50. Jonathan Pettibone
53. Edwar Cabrera
54. Darin Ruf
58. Donn Roach
67. Alex Castellanos
69. Travis d’Arnaud
73. Didi Gregorius
76. Ryan Jackson
80. Tommy Joseph
85. Jerry Sands
90. Nick Noonan
95. Tony Cingrani
96. Justin Wilson
97. JJ Hoover
Unless your name is John Orelud, each baseball player has to go down to the minor leagues, and work his way up the food chain. It is not an easy journey for a player trying to force his way onto a major league roster. Every step along the way, the minor league players performance is analyzed and scrutinized. The players results are compared to the their peers in the current season, and historically to any player who has come through a similar path.
The game of projecting a player’s career based on minor league numbers is not an easy one. For every success case such as an Evan Longoria, there is another player on the other side of the spectrum that fools the critics. Anyone remember when third baseman Andy Marte was rated as a better prospect than David Wright? There are tons of examples out their of players who lived up to the hype, and those who were utter failures:
Jesse Foppert, Joel Guzman, Andy Marte, Sean Burroughs, Greg Miller
Todd Van Poppel, Brien Taylor, Darren Driefort
However, each year we pay attention to these players known as a prospects, phenom, young talent, the future, what ever name you want to give these guys. Some of these players make it, some do not. Another factor in all of this is opportunity. There are some players who did not shows up on the big time prospect lists and go on to have wonderful careers as late bloomers. Matt Holiday is one guy in this mold. Jason Bay is another. How can we forget Big Papi started his career out as with Twins? Johan Santana certainly didn’t start with the Twins organization either.
Now, one last thing that you can’t put a number to (at least yet) is a player make up. The player who has a good head on his shoulders and can get over the failures from previous day, and move on and get past the bad day is better equipped to be successful. The game of baseball is one of always making adjustments and dealing with failure.
With this mind, when you think prospects, think about the combination of talent, opportunity, and makeup. These three together give you an indication of what kind a player you have.
Each year, USA Today comes out with their 100 names you need to know for the upcoming season. This is a good resource of getting to know some of the minor league players that are usually at that point of their career where they are ready make a big impact at the major league level.
Bullpen is the answer to the first big question about the Cuban flamethrower for this season. That’s where he’ll pitch, though the Reds aren’t ruling out a future role in their rotation. The next question revolves around when and if he could take over for closer Francisco Cordero, who is entering the final guaranteed year of his contract ($12 million option for 2012) and allowed baserunners last season at the highest rate of his career.
#2 Craig Kimbrel
Kimbrel, 22, got a taste of key late-inning situations late last season and in the playoffs. His 14.4 strikeouts-per-nine-innings rate through three minor league seasons was impressive enough, but he boosted that to 16.9 in his 25 combined regular season and playoff innings in the majors last year.
#3 Freddy Freeman
Freeman will show up this spring with the first base job and expectations he can be as impactful as Heyward. A lefty like his close friend Heyward, Freeman’s best attribute might be his defense, though he finished in the Class AAA International League’s top 10 in batting before turning 21 in September. His 18 homers last year dispelled concerns the 6-5, 225-pounder might not develop big-time power.
#6 Logan Morrison
Florida has plenty to chirp about with its trio of young studs on offense. Twitter-happy Morrison - and not Mike Stanton or Gaby Sanchez - remains eligible for our list thanks to his late-July 2010 call-up. Morrison moved to the outfield last year after older Sanchez beat him out for the Marlins’ first base job.
I can remember that miracle rookie season of 1988, Mark McGwire hitting home runs at a mammoth pace. Its hard to recall someone coming on the scene and being a slugger like we were witnessing that year. With his Bash Brother counterpart Jose Canseco, these guys were the talk of baseball.
We have heard the Jose Canseco claims that McGwire participated in steriods as they were slugging home runs together in Oakland. I don’t really believe McGwire saying he did not discuss steroids with any other players, as I believe it was Jose Canseco that introduced McGwire to the steroid lifestyle.
Sure, McGwire had been blessed with the ability to crush a baseball. However, steroids do help you. In the steroid era, the record setting numbers were enhanced like never before. I am puzzled why he took this long to come clean. I believe he did go on an exile, refusing to speak to reporters. Additionally, it’s hard to believe that reporters failed to approach him to tell his story.
As McGwire gets ready to start a job in baseball, I find it hard to believe he will not become a distraction to the St Louis Cardinals. It will be a traveling roadshow in every town he enters. Instead of the players on the field being the focus when the Cardinals come to town, the local press will replay the steroid story.
I wonder at what point McGwire fessed up to LaRussa on the steroids. Was it after he accepted the job as the hitting coach, or is it something that McGwire wanted to get off his chest before starting his new job. In a way, he did prevent alot of the negativity that was sure to come his way, as the last image we have of him is his claiming to congress that ‘We are not here to talk about the past’.
I am sure as a man, its freeing to get this out of his system and to turn the page. We’ll see how this plays out, but he sure has a lot more explaining to do.
The Dodger’s finally ran out of room on the roster for Delwyn Young. In the minors as an infielder he crushed the ball, but his defense made him into an outfielder. His bat is intriquing, but as he turns 27 this years old, he is running out of chances. In the right situation, it would be interesting to see what he might be able to do.
We lost Harry Kalas yesterday. Here are some of the memories of him:
Mark “The Bird” Fidrych is gone too. I was just watching a feature they had on him over the weekend on MLB network. I’ll never forget him as he was someone I grew up watching his first year in the league.
This is the fourth AL voting period after six seven in the books. The MLB Blog Poll votes on the MVP, Cy Young, and Rookie of Year candidates in each league throughout the regular baseball season. In doing so, you get a cumulative snapshot of the award winners, instead of the single vote. That way we get constant feedback as the year goes on.
The player ranked first on a ballot is assigned 14 points, the player ranked second is assigned 9 points, and the player ranked third is assigned 8 points. Click to see the actual votes.
The player ranked first on a ballot is assigned 5 points, the player ranked second is assigned 3 points, and the player ranked third is assigned 1 point. Click to see the actual votes.
The player ranked first on a ballot is assigned 5 points, the player ranked second is assigned 3 points, and the player ranked third is assigned 1 point. Click to see the actual votes.
The following blogs contributed to the Blog Poll results:
This is not the first, nor the second secondNLVoting period, but the third NL voting period after six weeks in the books. The MLB Blog Poll votes on the MVP, Cy Young, and Rookie of Year candidates in each league throughout the regular baseball season. In doing so, you get a cumulative snapshot of the award winners, instead of the single vote. That way we get constant feedback as the year goes on. Whereas, from Fox News is the Dayn Perry’s 25% awards.
The player ranked first on a ballot is assigned 14 points, the player ranked second is assigned 9 points, and the player ranked third is assigned 8 points. Click to see the actual votes.
Berkman is just so locked in with a mind boggling 1.256 OPS that has put the Astros right in the thick of the NL Central race. Same for Ramirez 8 HR’s has 13 stolen bases as well as leading the Marlins (The Marlins?) to first place in the NL East. Joe Morgan is a lousy announcer but is a Hall of Fame player and if he says Chase Utley is the best 2nd baseman he has ever seen that is very high praise. Tough to leave Alber Puljos off this list and how about an honorable mention for Nate McLouth and Xavier Nady for making baseball worth watching in the Steel City once again” — Steve, Kranepool Society
The player ranked first on a ballot is assigned 5 points, the player ranked second is assigned 3 points, and the player ranked third is assigned 1 point. Click to see the actual votes.
“There is no way Webb doesn’t have a stranglehold on this award now: 8-0, 2.41 ERA. Wow! Edison Volquez: An obscenely low 1.06 ERA, Volquez has done a great job keeping the ball in the park, but needs to firm his command up. Aaron Cook :Any time a Rockies pitcher has a 2.26 ERA through eight starts, you’re recommended to sit up and take notice. ” — Evan , Fire Brand of American League
The player ranked first on a ballot is assigned 5 points, the player ranked second is assigned 3 points, and the player ranked third is assigned 1 point. Click to see the actual votes.
“Chicago Cubs’ catcher Geovanny Soto takes over the top spot with a 1.003 OPS. Teammate Kosuke Fukudome falls to second because Soto’s postion and SLG outpace Kosuke’s excellent .481 OBP. Reds’ 1B joey Votto noses out Braves’ SP Jair Jurjjens thanks to history-making 3HR/1Sb day. He is also drawing some walks which should serve to keep his OBP respectable. In a weaker field, Dodgers’ 3B Blake DeWitt would get more props with a slash stat line of 323/398/479 - after doing worse between Hi A & AA last season!” — Eric, Fake Teams
The following blogs contributed to the Blog Poll results:
The MLB Blog Poll votes on the MVP, Cy Young, and Rookie of Year candidates in each league throughout the regular baseball season. The Blog Poll Voters is a group of some of the best writers the baseball blogosphere.
The player ranked first on a ballot is assigned 14 points, the player ranked second is assigned 9 points, and the player ranked third is assigned 8 points.
The player ranked first on a ballot is assigned 5 points, the player ranked second is assigned 3 points, and the player ranked third is assigned 1 point.
The player ranked first on a ballot is assigned 5 points, the player ranked second is assigned 3 points, and the player ranked third is assigned 1 point.
The following blogs contributed to the Blog Poll results::
The MLB Blog Poll votes on the MVP, Cy Young, and Rookie of Year candidates in each league throughout the regular baseball season. The Blog Poll Voters is a group of some of the best writers the baseball blogosphere. This week we vote on the National League. This week I am making an individual post per award where I show each voters selections.
Please keep in mind for Rookie of the year voting, they must be of Rookie status
as defined by Major League Baseball.
http://www.mlb.com/mlb/official_info/about_mlb/rules_regulations.jsp
The stats section on ESPN allows you to droll down on stats by Rookie
Thus, Edinson Volquez (like Carlos Gomez in the American League) is not eligible for the Rookie of Year award. They collect 0 points in anyone who selects them for the Rookie of the Year.
The player ranked first on a ballot is assigned 5 points, the player ranked second is assigned 3 points, and the player ranked third is assigned 1 points.
With the Chicago Cubs in need of OBP, the arrival of RF Kosuke Fukudome’s .444 OBP is just what the doctor ordered. Add-in a rookie catcher with a .415 OBP, and the Cubs look like they could run away with the NL Central. Helping these teammates rank 1st and 2nd in the NL ROY voting are OPS greater than .900 for each.” — Eric, FakeTeams
In my recent keeper league player draft, where we draft NL minor league prospects, I had the choice where I could either select Cameron Maybin or Jordan Schafer. In looking at both players, they both have a clear path on their way to the major leagues. In Maybin, the stop gap for the Marlins is Cody Ross and Alejandro DeAza. In Atlanta, the stop gap is Gregor Blanco and Mark Kotsay. I feel as both will be base stealing threats at the major league level, but Maybin will clearly be the better base stealer capable of Carl Crawford type numbers. The bottom line here in my selection is do I go with the safe pick and trust the Braves organization with developing Schafer, or do I go for the glamor pick in Maybin who is on the Marlins watch. I went for the safe pick as Maybin reminds me of a Carl Crawford with more power. The bottom line is how he develops as which path he takes.
Keith Law on Maybin: “his swing is long and gets out of control, and he glides through it at times, leaving him swinging off his front foot and generating less than maximum power. He crushes fastballs, but needs to improve his recognition of and adjustment to offspeed stuff. Even if his contact issues don’t go away, he’s a plus glove in center with a strong arm and 30-plus homer potential, which would make him an above-average regular with star potential if he can stay back at the plate and do a better job of recognizing offspeed pitches.”
Keith Law On Schafer: “He is an excellent athlete and has the strength in his arms to hit for average and power, but he has some mechanical issues. His load at the plate is a little too deep, and he doesn’t have the bat speed to overcome it, so he commits early and often ends up way out in front. He also gets too pull-conscious in games, despite showing a good whole-field approach in batting practice. On the plus side, the ball comes off his bat well, and if he can shorten up his swing, he should see improvement in his contact and long-term in his power output. He plays a strong center field with an above-average arm. I don’t project him as a top-shelf center fielder right now, but he is ranked this high because he has the physical tools to become one with some work on his swing.
“
Kevin Goldstein On Maybin: “Maybin is a tantalizing package of tools with 30/30 potential. Let’s hope the Marlins don’t rush him too much and instead let him work on his contact issues.”
Kevin Goldstein on Schaffer : “One of the best defensive center fielders in the minors took a larger step forward than any other prospect in the game last year, showing power, speed, and a patient approach.”
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