Rating System-
1. POWER- >10 hr (D/C-), 10-15 (C/B-), 15-25 (B-/B+), 25-35 (B+/A), >35 (A/A+)
2. SPEED- >10 SB (F/C), 10-20 (C/B), 20-30 (B/B+), 30-40 (B+/A), >45 (A+)
3. CONTACT- >.250 (F/C-), .250-.280 (C-/B-), .280-.300 (B-/B+), .300-.315 (B+/A), >.315 (A+)
4. FUNDAMENTALS- >30 K (A), 30-60 K (A-/B), 60-90 (B/C+), 90-120 (C+/C-), >120 (D+/F)
5. ONBASE- >.320 (D/F), .320-.340 (D+/C), .340-.375 (C/B), .375-.400 (B+/A), >.400 (A/A+)
6. FIELDING- Bottom 10 RFg (F/C), Middle 10 RFg (C/B), Top 10 RFg (B/A),
Bottom 10 ZR (C/D), Middle 10 ZR (C/B), Top 10 in ZR (B/A)
1. Alexei Ramirez, 2B/SS, Chicago White Sox (B+)- Ramirez is new to the MLB. A Cuban defector Ramirez came to the Sox as a backup last year but quickly made it known that he is a slightly lesser Ian Kinsler when he got hot during the summer. He walks at a poor rate, but at such a thin position 25 homers and 20 stolen bases is pretty damn nice.
2. John Baker, C, Florida Marlins (B-/B)- Not a top tier guy, Baker is a very solid option at catcher. A late bloomer, Baker didn't really put it together until 2008, but frankly if it wasn't for a slew of crappy catchers blocking him (Lo Duca, Ivan, Willingham, Treanor) he probably would've been in the majors by 26-- what I'm trying to say is his minor league stats have always been good. He hit .299 last year and belted 5 homers ina third of a season in such a tough-on-hitters park .280-.300, 12-16 homers and 60-80 rbi's over a full season sounds right.
3. Ryan "The Riot" Theriot, SS/2B, Chicago Cubs (B/B)- When you think of the top ten shortstops in the majors you don't usually think of Ryan Theriot. But frankly, the kid put up numbers that should solidify him in the top 7-10 cherry pickers. True, he only stole 22 bases in '08, but he hit a pretty sexy .307, had an OBP of .387, walked 73 times and struck out only 58 times through 580 at bats. To me, he's a near ideal lead off man, but to Pineilla for some reason he's an ideal #8 hitter. He hit 1 bomb last year and he only slugged .359 so his power isn't there and won't show up anytime soon but Theriot is certainly a very solid guy to have playing shortstop.
4. Ryan Spilborghs, CF, Colorado Rockies, (B/B+)- Spilborgh's line through 668 MLB at bats (about a full season)-- .302, 21 hr, 109 rbi, 16 sb, 34 2b, 6 3b and 80 BB. This guy isn't a super a superstar, but the speedster has the ability to go 20-20 and hit .300, all while getting on base nearly 40% of the time. I was miffed at the fact that the Rockies insisted on playing a guy with a sub .310 OBP (Wily Taveras) and a plain lousy player (Seth Smith) over a guy with an All-Star stat line. Another perk of Spilborgh's is his superb consistency, you'll get .290-.300, 15-20 homers and about 15 stolen bases through 500-600 at bats every time. Give this guy a shot already...jeese...
5. Pablo Sandoval, CI/C, San Francisco Giants, (B/A-)- If you've heard of Sandoval you're either a Giants fan or a serious fantasy baseball guy or even a scout. He's not well known, and wasn't a good prospect before 2008, but like Carlos Santana he came out mashing. in a fourth of a season he hit .345 and had a 118 OPS+. He was plain sick-nasty down the stretch and once he learns to walk/not swing at everything, aka the Robinson Cano school of batting, he'll be a contendor for the batting title. He'll be a Derek Lee type hitter.
6. Brandon Morrow, SP, Seattle Mariners, (B/A)- Alright, I know I didn't explain how I rate pitchers but you can probably take a friggin' guess based on my ratings for batters. Morrow is the fourth place winner of the quadruple uppercut that is Clayton Kershaw, Joba Chamberlian, Max Scherzer and Morrow. He doesn't get the hype that Kershaw, Chamerblain or even Scherzer get, and almost rightly so as Kershaw is Tim Lincecum jr. and Chamberlain is Jon Papelbon jr. but he still should be considered a future superstar. The kid throws 95-100 on his 4 seam and a 91-95 two seamer. He has a hammer curve to go along with those two sick nasty pitches as well. His control isn't great, but he does pitch well on the corners, he just can't always keep it close enough to the plate--which is much better than the Ian Kennedy approach (when in doubt throw it down the heart of the plate).
7. Nick Markakis, CF/RF, Baltimore Orioles, (B+/A+)- Okay, Markakis isn't super underrated, but for the type of player he is he deserves a lot more press. Ryan Braun, Manny Ramirez, Grady Sizemore and Matt Holliday all get a huge following and their own action figure, but Markakis has quietly become the best all around outfielder in the game. First of all, he can get to any ball hit within a mile of him, and he had 17 outfield assists (the league lead) last year. His defense is the illness. Also, he has hit over .300 over the past two seasons, and had a .406 OBP in and belted 48 doubles and 20 home runs in '08. His potential is the sky. 30-40 homeruns when he's in his prime? There's a very good chance. For now look for him to be a .300-.310, 25 hr, 15 sb, .400 obp and 100 rbi guy that plays superb defense.
8. John Lannan, SP, Washington Nationals, (B/B)- The poor guy really got a raw deal last year. He was thrown into a rotation that was in complete shambles, featuring not one decent starter between Odalis Perez, Tim Redding, Jason Bergman and a torn-up Shawn Hill. Lannan went 9-14, a very sub-par record, but he did receive the lowest run support in both leagues (barely 2 runs per game). His ERA was a very respectable 3.91 and he proved he could be an innings eater with his good first pitch strike throwing. He won't be a star, but teaming him with another consistent but unspectacular guy like Scott Olsen is a very good start for the Nats and may very well secure 25 wins between the two of them next year.
9. David Robertson, RP, New York Yankees, (B/A)- Chamberlain, Jackson, Montero, Hughes, Kennedy and even Melancon get all of the hype as far as Yankees' prospects go, yet my favorite is still Robertson (okay Chamberlain is my favorite and Montero second but I swear Robertson is my third!). The kid cam up last year as a middle reliever/set up guy and started dealing right out of the box. To give you an idea of how nasty this kids combo of stuff is, his career ERA in the minors is 1.24 and he's struck out 190 in 138 ip! He throws a 93-96 mph riding fastball, an awesome 12-6 curve and a decent change as well as a below average slider that he rarely mixes in. He hiccuped in the latter part of his callup but then finished strong in September, so to me, he looks like he should be the primary setup man for the Yankees in 2009...But what do I know?
10. Max Ramirez, C, Texas Rangers, (B/B+)- Its strange that Teagarden and Saltalamacchia get all of the fans' support when they aren't the type of player Ramirez is. Sure, Salty could hit 30 homers some day and TG could hit .300 and play stellar defense, but Ramirez has it all. His numbers in AA, with the coolest team in baseball, The Frisco Roughriders, were very videogame like. He had a 1.094 OPS, a .450 OBP, hit .354 and belted 17 bombs in less than a half season. Clement, Wieters and Salty get all of the hype, and Wieters definitely deserves it, but Clement and Salty have done nothing but fail in the majors. Ramirez deserves a long hard look at starter this year and for god sakes, move Salty to first already...
11. Adam LaRoche, 1B, Pittsburgh Pirates, (B/B)- For some reason everybody thinks of LaRoche as a dissapointment. In AIM language I say WTF? A 29 year old that puts up 20-30 home runs and 90 rbi's yearly is no disappointment. Sure, LaRoche is one of the streakiest players I've ever seen, next to Robinson Cano for first place, and he slumps before the All Star break but then turns into Mark Texeira after it. Either way, LaRoche is a very sold all around player an
d .280, 25 homers and 90 rbi's sounds like LaRoche and that's nothing to scoff at.12. Jose Lopez, 2B, Seattle Mariners, (B+/B+)- At such a thin position everyone just loves Utley, Uggla, Cano and Kinsler, but Lopez has quietly become the one of the best bargains out there. The Mariners are putting together a very good and very cheap team for 2009 and Lopez is a big part of it. The kid plays the game how it should be played. He plays solid defense, never strikes out (only 67 times in 644 at bats) and he makes good contact (.297 BA in '09). Outside of his low OBP, Lopez is an ideal second basemen, and is very good at getting his lead off batter to third after stealing second. He spanked 49 doubles and 17 homers last year and collected 89 rbi's so there is power there as well.
13. Hank Blalock, CI, Texas Rangers, (B-/B)- Blalock was once a top-of-the-heap third basement, good for a .280 batting average and 30 dingers. Now he's the oldest 28 year old out there, already have trouble with arthritis for god's sake. However, Ryan and the Rangers still realize that they have a very solid player when healthy. Blalock has slugged .508 and .543 over the past two seasons--some disappointment. His problem is his health, but it looks like he may finally be able to get 400-500 at bats in 2009 so keep an eye out for him.
14. Sean Rodriguez, 2B/SS, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, (C+/B+)- Wood and Aybar get all of the hype as far as the Angels' infield prospects go, but I think Rodriguez is the best. The fact that Aybar, a guy no different than Alberto Callaspo got the short stop job over Rodriguez is beyond me. Last year at age 22 Rodriguez was Jekyl and Hyde. In AAA he hit .306, had 21 bombs and a .397 OBP in less than a half season-- a big wow for a shorstop. Then, in the majors he hit just above the Mendoza line and looked more lost than a white guy in Algiers. At 23 he still has time to put it together, and if he can get his numbers even close to what he's done in the minors, a career .854 OPS, he'll be a top 10 middle infielder in no time. I would say that he tops out as a Stephen Drew type.
15. Mike Aviles, SS, Kansas City Royals (B/B+)- Like Ludwick and Baker Aviles was one of those career AAA ballers that finally got it together as an old man, (27 years old) in 2008. Its hard to make a name for yourself with such a crappy team, but with a career .297 batting average in the minors and the Royal's problems at shortstop I do wonder why he never got a shot before last year. Anyway in about 2/3 of a season the New York native hit .325, had 10 homers, slugged .480 and stole some bases. Although he showed he was prone to the bobble he has good range at short, and although he went get a Gold Glove he'll be in the top half of shorstops on defense. Don't expect him to replicate those 2008 numbers but .290-.300, 12-15 homers and 70-80 rbis is very possible...Pretty damn good from your shortstop.
16. Yadier Molina, C, St. Louis Cardinals (B-/B)- Suddenly catcher is fat position, full of talent. With Wieters, Mauer, Soto, Doumit, McCann, Martin, Martinez, Clement and others there are a lot of teams that are looking pretty darn set at backstop. However, after the top ten catchers there's a significant drop off--all of a sudden you have Gerald Laird, Josh Bard and Michael Barrett starting. The second youngest Molina is my favorite, and he plays the game how it should be played. He struck out only 29 times in 444 at bats in 2008 and hit .304. He didn't show too much power, slugging just .392 with 7 homers but his contact rate is among the top five for catchers. If it wasn't for his speed, or lack there of, he'd be a great 2 hitter, but for now he looks good in the 6 or 7 spot, driving home the doubles hitting Ludwick and Pujols. .390-.300, 10 hr, 60 rbi and 30 k's is my projection.
17. Jason Bartlett, SS, Tampa Bay Rays (C+/B)- The Rays themselves voted Bartlett the team MVP. At first glance you'll find yourself asking "why?" but when you watch him play you can see that he does everything asked of him and then some. He made 16 errors, not a fantastic number but played great all around defense, covering a lot of ground in Tropicana. His range factor and zone rating are usually in the top half of the league. On top of that he can steal bases (20-6 in '08), can bunt (5 sacrifice hits) and makes good contact (.286 with 69 k's). His OBP and power numbers went down, but if he can walk like he did in 2007 he could very well be a guy that gets on base 37% of the time. .290, 20-25 stolen bases, 60-80 runs, good defense and a low strikeout rate are what you should expect of Bartlett over a full season. A super bargain for the Rays, Bartlett is a great stop-gap to Brignac and Beckham.
18. Elijah Dukes, CF/RF, Washington Nationals (B-/A-)- Dukes isn't as overrated as he is hated. The Michael Vick of football has nasty potential though. In less than a half season Dukes hit 13 homers, walked 50 times and stole 13 bases. Oh and he has a hand cannon of an arm too. If he can stay out of trouble and put his tools to good use he could be hit 3o home runs, steal 20 bases and get on base close to 40% of the time. If you play fantasy baseball, watch out for him.
19. Lyle Overbay, 1B, Toronto Blue Jays (B-/B)- People have quickly forgotten how good Overbay was in 2006. He hit .312, had 22 homers and 92 rbi's in his first year with the Jays. Damn good numbers. He was a disappointment in 2007 but he showed flashed of 2006 in the second half of last year. After May he had a .399 OBP, and he's in the top five at fielding his position. A shoulder and elbow injury slowed him down and sapped in the first third of 2008 and that's what made his season kind of soft overall, but 50 doubles, .280-290 and 20 homers all with good defense is very possible for Overbay when healthy.
20. Brendan Harris, SS/2B/3B/1B, Minnesota Twins (C+/B)- Harris is so underrated his own team doesn't give him the respect he deserves. He has played good defense at SS, and in very sporadic play with the Twins he hit 7 homers and 12 the year before. He had a .443 sluggin percentage in 2007 and hit .286 with 8 sacrafice hits. If he got regular playing time theres absolutely no reason why Harris can't hit .280, 10 homers, 10 SB and play stellar defense. The kid can play every infield position sans catcher and pitcher and probably some outfield. A Mark DeRosa super utility guy, Harris deserves the starting job at short, especially over Punto, but over course he won't get it.
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