Thursday, March 13, 2008

2008 Top 100 Prospects: 21-30

21. Johnny Cueto, Reds
- Although he is small, he has four solid pitches that he works very well together. He is the best pitcher in Reds camp right now and will probably out pitch Homer Bailey when pitching in the same rotation.

22. Andrew McCutchen, Pirates
- I am hesitant to put him too high because the Pirates are not very good at developing their players, but he reached Double-A at age 21 and should be up with the Pirates full time next season.

23. Wade Davis, Rays
- He has got unbelievable command and will be joining a young team that is improving. He should be a solid back end of the rotation starter.

24. Jordon Schafer, Braves
- Just 21, he is expected to see some MLB action this season. He led the minors in hits last season and is showing the ability to work the count, find the gaps, and hit for some power. Bobby Cox is good at working with young players so I expect he will go far.

25. Mike Moustakas, Royals
- The Royals are looking to be very good in a couple years and if he can come up and be the Royals shortstop by 2010 or 2011, I think they will be able to compete in the division. He is very poise, and is likely to hit 10-20 homeruns by the time he makes it to the MLB.

26. Jason Heyward, Braves
Just eighteen years old, he has the potential to be a force in the league in just a couple years. He was an excellent pick by the Braves.

27. Gio Gonzalez, Athletics
- Just 22 years old, his strikeout numbers are incredible. He will be pitching in a good stadium and should be able to develop a solid third pitch with one more season in the minors. He was a solid pickup for the A's.

28. Nick Adenhart, Angels
- The Angels are trying not to rush him, but he is just unbelievable. He will probably be up in 2009, and if he can pitch like he has been, we could see the Angels in the World Series...no joke.

29. Brett Anderson, Athletics
- A solid pitcher with remarkable control, he will help the Athletics mostly because he won't walk runners. He has got time, and should improve a lot more before his time with the A's begins.

30. Jair Jurrjens, Braves
- Jurrjens could be a key player in the Braves run to the playoffs. He is pitching with unbelievable command and is throwing it 2-3 mph faster than last season. He should be rounding out the rotation for them.

31-40 this Saturday!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Eli, I was just wondering if you were doing team previews.

Anonymous said...

No love for the Cubs, Eli? Geovany Soto will start at catcher this year for the big club. So far, he's looking a lot like the Pudge Rodriguez of old. Eric Patterson is tearing up spring trainng. Sam Fuld ate up AAA last year and was MVP of the AFL. None of these crack your top 30?

Anonymous said...

So Eli, wat about another one of the Angel's Top pitching prospects Nick Green? He's not even in the top 100?