Minor League Ball - A SBNation Community about Minor League Baseball, Rookies, and Prospects

Either/Or: Buster Posey vs. Carlos Santana

by John Sickels on May 16, 2010 9:00 AM EDT Comment 68 comments

This is a question where either option is excellent, but if you could have either Buster Posey or Carlos Santana, who would you pick?

I had Posey one spot ahead of Santana on my most recent Rotowire Top 100 list, but I'm not sure that's right. Both are hitting the hell out of the ball this year, Santana at 1.011 OPS for Triple-A Columbus, Posey at .999 for Fresno. Note that the International League is a more difficult place to hit than the PCL, so Santana's season is a bit more impressive.. On the other hand, Posey is doing a better job defensively, throwing out 48% so far this year. Santana has caught 21%. Posey has just one passed ball and no errors; Santana has two PBs and two errors.

Santana is a year older than Posey, and for that reason I ranked Posey one notch ahead. Was that the right call? What do you guys think? I think that Santana's bat is slightly better than Posey's, but Posey is a bit ahead on defense and age projection. They are very, very close obviously.

Poll

Who would you rather have, Buster Posey or Carlos Santana?

68 comments

Not a Rookie: Martin Prado

by John Sickels on May 15, 2010 3:00 PM EDT Comment 3 comments

More photos » John Bazemore - AP

Atlanta Braves second baseman Martin Prado (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

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Not a Rookie: Martin Prado

Martin Prado of the Atlanta Braves has been one of the better second basemen in the National League the last two seasons, and is off to another good start this year. He wasn't an exceptionally well-known prospect in the minor leagues, but has outperformed many more-heralded players. Let's take a look at his background and development.

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Prospect Retro Redux: Kevin Youkilis

by John Sickels on May 15, 2010 7:00 AM EDT Comment 14 comments

More photos » Elise Amendola - AP

Boston Red Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

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Prospect Retro Redux: Kevin Youkilis

I wrote a prospect retro for Kevin Youkilis back in October of 2007. I've received several requests over the last month or so for a look back at his development, so let's revisit his minor league career and see where he now stands in context.

Here is what I wrote back in 2007:

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Rookie Profile: Brennan Boesch

by John Sickels on May 14, 2010 2:00 PM EDT Comment 14 comments

Detroit Tigers' Brennan Boesch, right, is congratulated by Gerald Laird after hitting a solo home run off of New York Yankees starter CC Sabathia in the fourth inning of a baseball game Thursday, May 13, 2010, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

More photos » Duane Burleson - AP

3 days ago: Detroit Tigers' Brennan Boesch, right, is congratulated by Gerald Laird after hitting a solo home run off of New York Yankees starter CC Sabathia in the fourth inning of a baseball game Thursday, May 13, 2010, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

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Rookie Profile: Brennan Boesch

Detroit Tigers rookie outfielder Brennan Boesch is making significant noise so far in 2010, hitting .368/.383/.684 in his first 16 games for the Tigers, including three homers and 16 RBI in 57 at-bats. Who is this guy, where did he come from, and can he maintain this pace? Let's find out.

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Community Mock Draft: Scouting Director Assignments

by John Sickels on May 14, 2010 12:02 PM EDT Comment 67 comments

Use this thread to volunteer for scouting director assignments. Please state your qualifications and level of interest, so that if two people put in for the same team at the same time i have something to make a decision by. This is first-come, first-serve generally speaking.

Remember, you MUST BE AVAILABLE FOR THE MOCK DRAFT at NOON CENTRAL TIME on SATURDAY June 5th.

If chosen as a scouting director, you should then post a MOCK ORGANIZATION DIARY in the fanpost section to start discussing your team's strategy. You should recruit an assistant/alternate to take over on draft day if you can't be there for some reason. You should conduct your MOD diaries in a fair manner, and I would prefer a collaborative approach rather than a dictatorial one in coming up with your draft lists and preferences.

You should assume realistic budgets for the team you are drafting for.

I will fill this list out as people volunteer

SCOUTING DIRECTOR LIST

Arizona Diamondbacks   dtung
Atlanta Braves nivarsity
Baltimore Orioles: Crawdaddy
Boston Red Sox    Frederick0220
Chicago Cubs   Outshined_one
Chicago White Sox    The Big Hurt
Cincinnati Reds
Colorado Rockies   goldenspikes24
Cleveland Indians   RedSoxFaithful
Detroit Tigers      David Tokarz
Florida Marlins    siddfynch
Houston Astros    Archie A
Kansas City Royals    doublestix
Los Angeles Angels mrkupe
Los Angeles Dodgers    thinkblue
Milwaukee Brewers    backtocali
Minnesota Twins    punto4mvp
New York Mets   Mets2k9
New York Yankees   lurkingoutside
Oakland Athletics: Toddybaseball
Philadelphia Phillies
Pittsburgh Pirates: jar75
St. Louis Cardinals   unclebuck44
San Diego Padres pffrieberg
San Francisco Giants   Caincecum
Seattle Mariners     Andy Seiler
Tampa Bay Rays   AndrewTorrez
Texas Rangers     c60
Toronto Blue Jays: Bouncer
Washington Nationals     John Sickels

67 comments

Minor League Ball Community Mock Draft

by John Sickels on May 14, 2010 11:26 AM EDT Comment 8 comments

As long-time readers know, every year we do a Mock Draft the weekend before the real draft. Here are the ground rules.

The Commissioner of the Mock Draft is me, John Sickels. I will be guided by the principle of making this as fun as possible, and as fair as possible.

Step One: Selection of Scouting Director for Each Team

I will select a scouting director for each of the 30 Major League Baseball franchises. Each scouting director will be known by their Minor League Ball community name. This is basically on a first-come, first-serve basis. If you want to be a scouting director, ask. Qualifications: You MUST be available to participate in the Mock Draft, Saturday June 5th at 12:00 PM noon, central time. You must also pledge to operate the Mock Organization Diary (see below) in a fair, open, and forthright manner. Any scouting director who does not or cannot do this will be relieved of their responsibility. My tolerance level for disruptive behavior is extremely low right now and I won't hesitate to pull the plug on someone not doing their job.

Step Two: Establishment of Mock Organization Diaries

Once a Scouting Director has been officially designated by the Commissioner (me), the Scouting Director should establish a Mock Organization Diary. This should be titled: MOD Angels, or MOD Yankees, etc. In the MOD, readers who want to participate in the Mock Draft should meet to exchange ideas and information, argue, and hash out who you want to draft. Anyone can participate in the MOD, however I suggest that readers try to stick with one or two organizations. Due to the vagaries of the "fanpost" system, it may be necessary to post new MODs frequently.

Step Three: Mock Draft, Saturday, June 5th, 12:00 PM Central Time

The Mock Draft will begin on Saturday, June 5th, at 12:00 PM Central Time. It will run through three rounds. That means round 1, and the supplemental rounds, all the way through supplemental round 3. Teams will select in the order that they select in the real draft. The Scouting Director for each club will be responsible for making the choice in the connecting thread, with the thread moderated by me

Post questions and comments about the mock draft here. Do NOT post requests for Scouting Director Assignments in this thread. I will post a separate thread for that shortly.

8 comments

Either/Or: Jaff Decker or Brett Jackson

by John Sickels on May 13, 2010 5:09 PM EDT Comment 27 comments

If you could have outfield prospect Jaff Decker of the Padres, or outfield prospect Brett Jackson of the Cubs, who would you pick and why?

Jackson has much better physical tools, of course, and is showing substantial progress with the bat. But Decker is two years younger and was a monster in the Midwest League last year. He's just getting back on the field now after a spring injury, so I felt this was a good time to pose the question.

Poll

Who would you rather have?

27 comments

Off Topic

by John Sickels on May 13, 2010 4:33 PM EDT Comment 15 comments

What a man does for pay is of little significance. What he is, as a sensitive instrument responsive to the world's beauty, is everything!----H.P. Lovecraft

Let your soul stand cool and composed before a million universes---Walt Whitman

Very off-topic here, but this has been on my mind lately.

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