The Preliminary 2013 Watchlist, Part One
With the season reviews complete, the Arizona Fall League finished, and the Rule 5 draft upcoming, it’s time to start looking towards the next iteration of the watchlist. I use the word “iteration” because I prefer to see this as something that’s evolving; Last year, I decided to be more exclusive. This year, I decided to change some of the categorizations to balance both workload and utility.
The changes will be much more visible in part two and thus I’ll go into it in more detail then. In the meantime, here are some of the usual caveats…
It’s not a depth chart… Obviously, when you arrange it the way I have — by the highest level played to date — it’s going to look like it at first glance. But when there’s a “tie,” I can either go alphabetical order or (for the most part) list the player that played more games at the position/level.
It’s based on 2012 usage… Yes, there’s one rather big (6’3″, 225) exception at first base, but that’s more of an acknowledgment of the certainty I feel about Keyes’s position switch in instrux vs. Skole’s usage in the AFL (i.e. there’s a better chance of Skole still playing at 3B than Keyes returning to the OF).
It’s preliminary… I like how Sickels takes feedback with his prospect lists, so part of the purpose of these posts is to listen to your comments (the other part is to keep the traffic coming, *wink, wink*).
As I’ve written previously, let’s not forget players and their families (and their agents) are readers here, too. It’s okay to be critical, but let’s keep it as civil as we can and focused on what the players do (or don’t do) on the field.
| C | 1B | 2B | SS | 3B | OF |
| Leon | Marrero | Kobernus | Walters | Rivero | E. Perez |
| Kieboom | Bloxom | Sanchez | Hague | Rendon | Goodwin |
| Manuel | Keyes | Renda | Martinson | Skole | Hood |
| P. Severino | Pleffner | Foat | Difo | D. Eusebio | Taylor |
| Lippincott | Oduber | ||||
| Souza | |||||
| Burns | |||||
| McQuillan | |||||
| B. Miller | |||||
| E. Martinez | |||||
| W. Ramos | |||||
| Piwinica-Worms |
Other than your annual disrespect for Solano, it looks good.
BTW, it’s ‘nudge, nudge, wink, wink.
I know, but I shortened it, a la “been there, done that” instead of “been there, done that, bought the t-shirt” — liked the way it laid out on the page.
As for the Onion, I think you’ll find the new categories in part two have some appeal, so don’t cry just yet.
I’m wondering about Ramsey, Luke.
The consideration Calem Ramsey, Souza, and Burns get speaks to how underwhelming Hood, Taylor, Oduber, JP Ramirez, and Keyes have been. While most were born in 88 & 89, Taylor wasn’t born until 91. That said a .242 hitting 21 year old (Taylor) isn’t of much more value than a 23 year old .294 Low A Batter (Ramsey).
With Auburn having a good year and Hagerstown’s “older 23 ” OF producing it should be an interesting spring to see who lands in the OF of Harrisburg, Potomac, and Hagerstown this year. As a Potomac fan it’s been frustrating watching the guys in Potomac underperfom, while hearing about Goodwin, Skole, and others playing well most of the year in Hagerstown. The fact that Harper and Strasburg “bypassed” Potomac doesn’t help morale.
Thank you. I’m glad to see someone else note how Taylor has profoundly underachieved. I hope the self proclaimed expert who posts on here all the time takes note of that. And BTW, the Harper and Strasburg bypasses were done to stick it to that idiot Silber more than anything else.
I’m thinking Taylor, Ramsey, and Burns in the outfield at Potomac next year and Martinez, Ramos, and? at Hagerstown. Goodwin, Hood, and Souza at AA.
WILSON RAMOS GOT MOVED TO OUTFIELD?!?
McQuillan played a bit more in the infield than the OF this year across levels – is he listed as OF because he played more OF than infield once he hit Auburn?
I’m glad to see Wander and Mike McQuillan on the list. 2 of the more intriguing lower level guys on my list.
Roughly, on McQuillan. Loved the mock overreaction on “Not Wilson” (no? Thought it was better than “Help Me”)
groan
May that earworm haunt you the way it is now haunting me
My kids were fans of The Wiggles; I can assure you I’ve had worse earworms.
Luke do you not see Kelso in the mix?
Have a feeling Kelso is going to be edging towards utility guy status next year.
Looks like you’re not a fan of Jhonatan Solano? Isn’t he on the depth chart somewhere?
Yes, it looks like a depth chart to me when you place Rendon below Rivero because Rivero is on the 40-man and played in AAA. Talent-wise he’s not in the same league.