Overrated and Underrated Prospects

Overrated

1. Ian Kennedy RHP, Yankees - AAAA Player, with below average stuff and without enough control to make up for it. The Yankees will give him another shot at the rotation, but his numbers will resemble Kei Igawa's far more than Mike Mussina's.

2. Fernando Martinez OF- Extremely immature batter without power and with average contact. He's young, but at best, he doesn't look any better than Mark Kotsay.

3. Austin Jacksin OF- Not his fault, Melky Cabrera fell victim to the same problem-- Yankees prospects are simply hyped up way too much. Not to say he won't become a very solid outfielder-- his defense is fantastic-- but his batting and speed doesn't look like the second coming of Grady Sizemore. More like Coco Crisp.

4. Ross Detwiler, LHP- Poor Nationals-- Detwiler is considered their best prospect and he does have formidable stuff. But while lousy control will work in the minors, it won't work for a starter in the majors. He looks like he could develop into a closer though.

5. Andrew Brackman, RHP- Simply put- he's ridiculously overrated. He's big but fragile, his stuff his good but he doesn't have control of it.

6. Vin Mazzaro, RHP- He had a good year last year, but before that he was straight up horrible in the minors.

7. Michael Bowden, RHP- Certainly not a bad pitcher, but won't be more than a 3rd starter on a team like the Red Sox. Doesn't pitch like him, but his numbers will probably look like Ted Lilly's

8. Michael Saunders 3B- The mariners prospect strikes out, doesn't make contact and hasn't shown anything more than average power. Why is he consistenly ranked in the top 100? Who knows...

9. Neil Walker 3B- The guy was a great catching prospect because he has a rocket arm and can hit for power. Now that he's moved to third he's Brandon Inge. Low average, tons of strikeouts. The Pirates just can't ever get it right.

10. Nick Adenhart RHP- Awful numbers in his major league debut. Seemed to lose it under the pressure of the big leagues. Has good stuff-- maybe he can pull it together and quite pulling the Rick Ankiel.

Most Underrated Prospects

1. Trevor Cahill RHP- Price is awesome, but Cahill deserves some more credit for his numbers. He's been unhittable in the minors and has fantastic control of his low-mid nineties fastball.

2. Will Inman RHP- Look at his numbers in the minors throughout the past 2 years.

3. Austin Romine C-Underrated Yankees prospect... Montero gets all of the credit, and he should, the guy hits like ARod. Romine has a cannon for an arm, makes good contact, and has shown some power potential. Those bruises on his face are kinda weird though...

4. Dellin Betances, RHP- A Yankees prospect underrated? Actually yes. Betances has a mid 90's fastball, a Zito-like Curve and he's between 6' 7" and 6'9". Not only that, but he's an incredibly personable kid and scouts love talking to him. He studies the game hard, and is regularly seen at ball games taking notes on other pitchers.

5. Kellen Kulbacki, OF- Not a household name-- in fact the James Madison product isn't even a name that most serious fans have ever heard of. The guy hits for average and power. At A+ last year he proved that he could hit with a wood bat and mashed and made consistent contact.

6. Jesus Guzman, INF/DH- This guy's defense is god aweful, and that's a big reason why Billy Beane didn't feel the need to add him to the 40 man roster. Regardless, he hit .360 at AA last year. Granted the California and Texas leagues are both a hitter's leagues, this guy deserves more credit than he gets.

7. Adam Moore, C- The Mariners prospect hits a ton and plays a crappy catcher. Still, a guy that htis over .300 in AA, as a catcher deserves to get a look at the big league level. The problem? Clement and Johjima. Yes Johjima is guddawful, but he has a huge contract. Maybe Jeff Clement will never pan out...

8. Brett Cecil LHP- This converted starter throws a low to mid nineties fastball and a Joba Chamberlain slider. If he learns to throw his changeup with decent control, then *poof!* A.J. Burnett is back.

9. Troy Patton LHP- Yes, the guy's arm nearly fell off last year after being traded from the Astros to the Orioles for Tejada. He's recovered fantastically, has good control of all of his pitches, a low 90s fastball, a curve, change and slider. He could be Andy Sonnanstine or even Andy Pettitte if he stays healthy

10. Lou Marson C- This guy was good enough to catch for Team USA. His offense has consistently improved--- and although it won't scare anyone in the major leagues, his plus defense will keep him in the top 10-15 catchers in the MLB. .280-15-65 rbi's seems about right.