This has been building for years, but I've finally had enough. Those guys at Baseball America are driving me crazy! I don't know how they come up with their Top 100 prospect list, but they obviously have something against my Reds organization, my prospects, and me personally.
I'll start with my SP prospect Green - #78 prospect. He's 15 9 14 potential, throws 98 mph, has six pitches (four really good ones), and a lefty that was 3rd in AAA with 197 K's last year. And he's ranked behind guys like #64 Flint Hawk (14 9 13 potential), and #54 Matt French (11 14 11)??? How is Green not in the top 50???
Sticking with pitchers, my guy SP Shearin (AA) is not getting any respect. He's a lefty with 8 14 17 potential. Okay, he's 23 with low stamina, but I see similar guys ranked like Antonio Martinez at #39 (6 17 16) , Sam Harris at #46 (9 15 17), and Tyler Robbins at #69 (8 15 17)? Somehow Robbins gets 4-star potential rating and Shearin gets only 2 stars. How about some consistency here guys?
I also like a couple other prospects of mine like CF Torres and 1B Munoz. I know BA writers will never put them in the top 100. But take a look at guys that are on the list like #61 Byron Jenkins, #63 Rafael Rodriguez, #73 Arnold Duncan, #79 George Morris (2-star potential), #84 Ron Jones, and #93 Jerry Ervin in the top 100. All are pretty questionable to me.
Then there is an SP at #88, Dave Allen. He's 12 10 11 potential, had a really good year in AA, but he's 22. I have a SP Dale White who is 11 10 12, lefty, and just 18 years old. I know who I would rank higher on my prospect list.
And it's not just the current rankings that are suspicious. My beef goes back for years.
Eric Mason was consistently ranked around BA #40 prospect. You'd think BA might have considered him a top 10 prospect at some point considering he's been one of the top 10-20 players in the MLB the last 3 years. Having him at #40 prospect was a complete fail.
Al Burden reached #67 on the BA Top 100 after being drafted in 2011. By 2015, he fell to #94. Now, he finished 5th in the NL in AVG, made the all-star game, and is listed as the #3 SS in the MLB with a nice 4-star rating. Another miss by BA.
SP Alvarado wasn't even in the Top 100 after being drafted. He finally made it to #60, then made the AAA all-star game, and MLB all-star game the following year. He's a 4-star SP, won 15 games this year, and never cracked the BA top 50??? Come on, man!
I don't know what these guys at BA have against me, but they need to stop the nonsense and give my players/prospects a fair shake. Sorry to call some players out like this, but I needed to get this off my chest!
Eric
I'll start with my SP prospect Green - #78 prospect. He's 15 9 14 potential, throws 98 mph, has six pitches (four really good ones), and a lefty that was 3rd in AAA with 197 K's last year. And he's ranked behind guys like #64 Flint Hawk (14 9 13 potential), and #54 Matt French (11 14 11)??? How is Green not in the top 50???
Sticking with pitchers, my guy SP Shearin (AA) is not getting any respect. He's a lefty with 8 14 17 potential. Okay, he's 23 with low stamina, but I see similar guys ranked like Antonio Martinez at #39 (6 17 16) , Sam Harris at #46 (9 15 17), and Tyler Robbins at #69 (8 15 17)? Somehow Robbins gets 4-star potential rating and Shearin gets only 2 stars. How about some consistency here guys?
I also like a couple other prospects of mine like CF Torres and 1B Munoz. I know BA writers will never put them in the top 100. But take a look at guys that are on the list like #61 Byron Jenkins, #63 Rafael Rodriguez, #73 Arnold Duncan, #79 George Morris (2-star potential), #84 Ron Jones, and #93 Jerry Ervin in the top 100. All are pretty questionable to me.
Then there is an SP at #88, Dave Allen. He's 12 10 11 potential, had a really good year in AA, but he's 22. I have a SP Dale White who is 11 10 12, lefty, and just 18 years old. I know who I would rank higher on my prospect list.
And it's not just the current rankings that are suspicious. My beef goes back for years.
Eric Mason was consistently ranked around BA #40 prospect. You'd think BA might have considered him a top 10 prospect at some point considering he's been one of the top 10-20 players in the MLB the last 3 years. Having him at #40 prospect was a complete fail.
Al Burden reached #67 on the BA Top 100 after being drafted in 2011. By 2015, he fell to #94. Now, he finished 5th in the NL in AVG, made the all-star game, and is listed as the #3 SS in the MLB with a nice 4-star rating. Another miss by BA.
SP Alvarado wasn't even in the Top 100 after being drafted. He finally made it to #60, then made the AAA all-star game, and MLB all-star game the following year. He's a 4-star SP, won 15 games this year, and never cracked the BA top 50??? Come on, man!
I don't know what these guys at BA have against me, but they need to stop the nonsense and give my players/prospects a fair shake. Sorry to call some players out like this, but I needed to get this off my chest!
Eric
