So yesterday was a big day as Baseball America released its Top 100 Prospects List. The Reds had four players crack the Top 100. Here is where the Reds came in at on the list:
- #7 – Aroldis Chapman – Best tool: 80 fastball
- #50 – Billy Hamilton – Best tool: 80 speed
- #64 – Devin Mesoraco – Best tool: 60 power
- #73 – Yonder Alonso – Best tool: 65 bat
The guys at Baseball America also held a Top 100 Prospect chat where they addressed multiple Reds questions. This one stuck out to me, and several others though as a bit confusing:
John (Columbus, Ohio): What happened between this year and last year that made Yonder Alonso drop so much?
J.J. Cooper: He’s a year older and really not any closer to a big league regular job. When the Reds selected him in 2008, one of his biggest assets was that he was a relatively polished player who would move quickly. Now he’s looking at a third full season in the minors barring injuries. That’s not really his fault—he’s blocked at his one defensive position by the NL MVP. But for an offensive-first player, Alonso’s ceiling has taken a hit.
It seems to me that if Alonso were traded four days ago his ranking would have been a little bit higher, as if he somehow would be a different player with a different talent level. As for Alonso’s ceiling….. During his healthy stretch from being drafted to the point where he broke his hamate, then from the one year mark of that break until the end of last season he has hit .327/.404/.549. If that is a ceiling that took a hit, what was he expected to do? Just confusing a little bit.
Baseball America also talked about the Top 100 during their most recent podcast. I haven’t listened to it yet, so I don’t know if there is any Reds related information in it.
I missed this the other day, but John Fay had an article up on Daryl Thompson’s road back. Go check it out. The guy has a very good arm, but has had problems staying healthy since being drafted by the Expos in 2003.
John Sickels also had up an All Questions Answered topic yesterday. He tackled a few questions relating to Reds prospects throughout the day.
It appears that Yasmani Grandal will start the season in AA. That is really aggressive. The Reds haven’t started a draft pick that high since Ryan Wagner in 2003 and he wasn’t a position player, much less a catcher who generally come along a little slower in order to get them the amount of time behind the plate they need to be major league ready. I wouldn’t have started him that high, as I don’t see a need to move him so quickly with Mesoraco on the brink.