A few surprises here. But first let’s get to the Top 10 list, from the home office in Durham, NC…
- Bryce Harper, OF
- Derek Norris, C
- Danny Espinosa, 2B-SS
- A.J. Cole, RHP
- Wilson Ramos, C
- Sammy Solis, LHP
- Cole Kimball, RHP
- Eury Perez, OF
- Chris Marrero, 1B
- Brad Peacock, RHP
As you might imagine, the free article focuses on Strasburg and his return and how much money the team has spent in bonuses the past two drafts. Four of last year’s Top 10 “graduated” (Strasburg, Storen, Desmond, Maxwell) and three prospects dropped off the list (Kobernus, Burgess, Hood) while Marrero fell from #6. About the only quibble I have is the ranking of Kimball, which is particularly odd for BA, which worships youth.
Harper naturally was named as the system’s best athlete, hitter for both power and average, and OF arm. Perez got props for both his footspeed and fielding while Espinosa was named the best infielder and IF arm. Norris got the nod for the best strike-zone judgment. Kimball’s fastball was deemed the best, with A.J. Morris getting the nod for slider, Josh Wilkie for changeup, Brad Peacock for curveball, and Tom Milone for control. Ramos was named the best defensive catcher.
As for 2011 projections, which I know folks are always interested in, here’s where BA thinks they’ll start:
Low-A – Cole
Low-A or High-A – Harper
High-A -Solis, Perez
AA – Norris, Peacock
AAA – Marrero
AAA or MLB – Kimball
MLB – Espinosa, Ramos
None of those projections I can argue with. I am pleased about the respect that Peacock got, because he was one that caught my eye this summer. The Eury Perez disrespect may be over now, as they’re starting to see what we see in him using a word that one of our Hagerstown spies uses (“slashes”) to describe his game. Finally, don’t confuse my earlier statement with Kimball for anything other than surprise that Robbie Ray or J.P. Ramirez didn’t make the list. Obviously, the likes of Milone and Steve Lombardozzi not making the list was not a surprise for reasons we’ve discussed ad infinitum (not only that Skipper, over and over again).