52. Mike Moustakas, 3B/SS, Kansas City Royals (B-)- I'm not sold on Moustakas yet. Although he's shown some power, his contact hasn't been very good, striking a little too much and hitting only .272 in 2008. He doesn't have good range and as a result he has been moved to third, and with Alex Gordon in the bigs that really blocks Moustakas. Most scouts rate him in the top 20 but I simply can't rate a guy who only gets on base .337 of the time and only slugs .468. To me, he seems a little too much like Drew Henson.
53. David Robertson, RP, New York Yankees (B+)- Again I rank relievers lower as they're simply not as valuable as starters. Robertson had a good debut with the Yankees in 2008, although inconsistent he showed that his two pitches, a hard 12-6 curve and a 94 mph fastball are good enough to strike out tons of batters. The Yankees went from an awful bullpen in 2007 to one of the best looking ahead to 2009.
54. Austin Romine, C, New York Yankees (B-)- Romine is the second best catcher in the Yankees system which isn't a bad thing considering how ridiculously good Jesus Montero is. Romine doesn't have the power that Montero does, but in his first year in Professional ball he hit .300 and showed solid pop and line drive power. His defense is a lot of his value as his arm is rated as one of the best among minor league catchers--if not the best. He's young, but he's significantly more polished and ready than the raw Montero and for this reason would could see him come September.
55. David Freese, 3B, St. Louis Cardinals (B-)- Freese is big time trade bate only because Brett Wallace, Mr. Uber Prospect is better than him. Freese is good too though, he's just the other guy out of the two. In his career in the minors he has hit .307 and had a nice OPS of .917. Turning 26 in 2009, Freezer is almost MLB ready and he slugged .550 in AAA in 2008. If he can move to second or the outfield he can get some at bats especially with Chris Duncan's injury risk.
56. Michael Stanton, OF, Florida Marlins (B-/B+)- Michael Stanton has the best power of any minor league prospect and he belted 39 homers in just 468 ab's. What kills his value is his absolutely awful whiff rate--153 times in those 468 at bats. He is fairly patient and looks like he can be Adam Dunn in the Majors. If he can fix his contact and his swing he could be a B+ player, but until he does he's not looking too hot for the Majors as young whiff artists don't usually fair well in the bigs. Again power can come with age and bulk, but contact can't be taught.
57. Christopher Carter, 1B, Oakland Athletics (B-/B)- Like Stanton Carter has a lot of potential, but he too is a wild card because of his poor contact ability and his really high whiff rate--really really high but not quite Mark Reynolds. He looks like he could be enough to unseat Daric Barton--disappointing Daric-- but he needs to learn to hit. The long ball is fine, he hit 39 of them in 2008 but he only hit .259 and struck o
ut over 150 times.58.Kila Ka'aihue, 1B/DH, Kansas City Royals (B-)- Before 2008 KK wasn't a particularly good prospect, pretty bad actually. Then he turned 24 and something clicked. In AAA he slugged an awesome .640 and had a Bonds OPS of 1.079. He mad his debut with the Royals and looked very good doing it. He'll be in the first base mix with Jacobs and Butler in 2009. His contact potential is good and he has some power, but his defense is aweful, so the Royals have a log jam with a bunch of terrible fielding plus hitters between Butler, Shealy, Ka'aihue and Mike Jacobs (not that bad actually).
59. Brett Cecil, LHP, Toronto Blue Jays (B-/B+)- Since being drafted as a closer a few years ago Cecil has shot up the rankings. He's now a starter and scouts consider his slider to be one of the best in the minors. He throws a hard 94 mph fastball, a slow curve, a decent change and that awesome slider. He looks like he could peak as a lefty Joba Chamberlain, but for now he's still fairly raw. Even so, his numbers in 77 ip in AA were a 2.55 era, 66 hits allowed and 87 k's. He wasn't as untouchable in AAA and like I said he's rated low because he is still raw, but look for him to be a top twenty guy soon enough.
60. Kyle Blanks, 1B, San Diego Padres (B-)- Okay, San Diego's system isn't all that bad, but seriously, after Blanks theres only Matt Antonelli and then absolutely no talent. Blanks is a power hitting first basemen--go figure--that was intriguing in AA during 2008 because he doesn't whiff yet hit 20 bombs in 492 at bats and hit .325. Guys who make this contact and don't strike out usually fair well in the majors so this bodes well for Blanks. When he matures and if he pans out he could be a B+ player.
61. Logan Morrison, 1B, Florida Marlins (B-)- Morrison went from an all power, no contact guy to a power and contact guy in 2008. He went from .267 in 2007 to .332 in 2008 and hit 20 homers. He's only 21 so that's pretty damn nice for that young of a kid. He's also good at getting on base and has solid fundamentals. For a power hitter he doesn't strike out too much anyway.
62.Bryan Anderson, C, St. Louis Cards (B-)- Anderson has a ton of potential, maybe even an A hitter if he develops more. He hit .302 as a nineteen year old in A-ball and then basically the same average the next year in AA. His defense is very good and his bat, although raw, looks it'll unseat Yadier Molina for the
starting gig soon.63. Chris Coghlan, 3B, Florida Marlins (B-)- Coghlan is a very good all around player but without a huge ceiling. At his peak he'll probably be a B player hitting like Kevin Frandsen or Alberto Callaspo and stealing 20-30 bases yearly. He doesn't strike out-- only 65 times in almost a full season in 2008, and he makes good contact (.298 in 2008) and gets on base very well, sporting an OBP of .396.
64. Gaby Sanchez, 1B/C, Florida Marlins (B-)- Sanchez is finally getting the shot he's deserved for quite some time now that the crappy Mike Jacobs finally took an effing hike. Now turning 26, Sanchez looks poised to take over the job, and he put up good numbers in a September call-up. He hit .314 in 2008 with just 0 strikeouts and had a .404 OBP and hit 17 bombs in in a shade under 500 ab's. Its a shame he isn't still a catcher, but either way, he looks like the real deal. He's a nice guy too.
65. Taylor Teagarden, C, Texas Rangers (B-)- Teagarden has already won a championship--with the Longhorns while playing college ball. He's a very good prospect and will only get better. Salty is in front of him, but there's a chance that Salty will be moved to 1B/DH with Bradley gone as Teagarden is the better defender. His numbers of late haven't been too impressive but between 2005 and 2006 he consistently had an OPS above one. He has a ton of power, but his contact has regressed. Either way he's one of the better catchers out there.
66. Max Ramirez, C, Texas Rangers (B-)- Although he's ranked just behind Teagarden his potential is much higher than Teagarden's. In fact he's probably the best catcher in Texas at this point. He's a career .312 hitter with a .413 OBP and a .928 OPS in the minors. He was called up for 46 at bats in Arlington but he didn't really impress. Look for him to redeem himself and take over the backup or even starting job in 2009.
67. J.P. Arencibia, C, Toronto Blue Jay (B-)- There are so many good catchers in this year's top 100 that its hard to believe Arencibia is ranked this low. He's a fantastic defensive catcher and is poised to take over the starting catcher's job in Toronto. He makes solid contact always hitting around .300 and has above average power for a catcher.
68. Jordan Schafer, RF/CF, Atlanta Braves (B-)- Schafer was suspended for 50 games after getting caught using steroids last year. A few years back he was a top thirty prospect, but batting average dropped all the way to .269--hopefully not the product of quitting the juice. His career slugging percentage isn't all that impressive at .447, but if he can get back to the point he was at in 2007, he could be a 20-20 guy in the MLB.
69. Michael Saunders, 3B/OF, Seattle Mariners (B-)- Saunders is a strange case. Not particularly good at any one thing, he does a lot of things pretty well. He can steal bases, he grabbed 29 in 2007, he can hit for average--.299 in '07 and he has decent pop, slugging .484 at AA in 2008. He was moved to outfield as soon as he became a professional and for this reason his value has dipped. He's a tall, lanky guy and looks like he could be a decent hitter. He also has a good arm, so right field is his probable destination.
70. Jose Tabata, OF, Pittsburgh Pirates (B-)- Perhaps stupidly, the Yankees traded Tabata for the likes of Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte. At the time the Yankees were angry with his lax style of play and his overall cockiness, but once he got to Pittsburgh he shit in Cashman's mouth and hit .348 and slugged .964. Cashman screws up consistently and is not good at spotting prospects. Its a shame, but Tabata is now with the Pirates and has a very bright future. He has the best outfield arm in the minors and has the ability to win a batting title some day.
71. Trevor Crowe, CF, Cleveland Indians, (B-)- Crowe is a good fielder and has some good tools. He's not a true power threat, but if there's one thing you've learned by reading this blog its that power can pop up at any time in a young gun's career. He makes good contact and hit .323 at AA in 2008 and stole 45 bases in half a season in 2006. Yeah he's super fast.
72. Ben Revere, CF, Minnesota Twins, (B-)- Ben Revere is a fantastic fundamental baseball player. He makes contact at one of the best clips in the minors, hitting .379 at single A in 2008 in only a half season. He's another fast guy as well, stealing 44 bases in 2008 as well. His only drawback is his absolute lack of power, in his professional career he has only 1 homerun. He could potentially break ten homers some day but that's really not his game. He looks like a baby Ichiro. The comparison is unfair to anyone, but this kid is darn good at hitting.
73. Aaron Cunningham, Oakland Athletics, RF, (B-/A-)- Cunningham's minor league stats look fantastic and he could be an All Star in no time He has a .317 career batting average and slugs just under .500. He's one of those rare players that has improved with every promotion. The only thing that makes me rank him this low was that he looked absolutely lost in the MLB in 2008. Sure, he hit .250 but he struck out in more than a third of his at bats and didn't walk at all. If he can improve in his sophomore season he could easily be an A- player.
74. Michael Bowden, Boston Red Sox, RHP, (C+/B-)- Bowden is a solid all around pitcher without a high ceiling. He projects to be a third starter. His mechanics are very good, and he has plus control, but his stuff isn't anything special, with a low 90's fastball and an inconsistent but good curveball. What scares me about Bowden is the increase in ERA at each stop throughout the minors and this is usually a bad sign for young pitchers. Of course there will be increase but his ERA went up a run from AA to AAA.
75. Nick Adenhart, Anaheim Angels, RHP, (C+/B-)- Adenhart seems to be a AAAA player, atleast so far in his career. He put up good numbers in '06 and '07 but fell apart at AAA and was absolutely horrid in the MLB-- walking 13 in 12 innings and getting absolutely shelled every time out. He doesn't seem the most stable mentally and for this reason Beane doesn't want anything to do with him, but he may very well shake it off and come back as a Jon Garlan or Mark Buehrle type player in 2009.
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