The Preliminary 2014 Watchlist, Part Two
Perhaps the thing I’m most glad about when looking at this iteration is that the M*A*S*H category could very well be ditched in favor of breaking up the DSLers into arms and bats (yes, design does have an influence). There’s a certain sardonic timbre to it as I take a step back and look at this first pass that’s just not as applicable as it was a year ago. But some of the point of this exercise is to share the thought process (hence the previous parenthetical) before changing the “Watchlist and Player Reports” tab above.
Thus, I can tell you that I’ve already changed my mind of some these selections and those of the previous post, which I prefer to treat like a print publication that’s already left the building rather than editing the previous post. That may seem quaint, but it’s a byproduct of my professional training and experience as a Journalist and a newspaperman, respectively. Too many other sites — news or gossip — have the “get it first, fix it later if we have to” mentality. I’d rather be honest and finish the list as if it were done all at once. Besides, I’ve already copped to splitting it into two to maximize traffic ;-).
As always, let me know what you think in the comments…
| RHPs | LHPs | DSL Guys | M*A*S*H | Notables (Bats) | Notables (Arms) |
| Karns | Ray | Corredor | Garcia | Hood | Rosenbaum |
| Barrett | Solis | Gutierrez | W. Estevez | Oduber | E. Davis |
| Cole | Purke | Ortiz | Kieboom | Keyes | Holland |
| Schwartz | Mooneyham | Mota | Anderson | Ramsey | Grace |
| P. Encarnacion | Lee | Florentino | Manuel | Rauh | |
| C. Davis | Orlan | Sanchez | Gunter | Dickson |
|
| Mendez | Silvestre | Yrizarri | Masters | R. Pena | |
| Johansen | Ott | Reyes | Yezzo | Bacus | |
| Voth | Torres | Franco | Spann | ||
| Pivetta | Valerio | ||||
| Giolito | |||||
| Hollins | |||||
| Simms | |||||
| Suero | |||||
| K. Rodriguez |
|||||
| P. Valdez |
Anderson still banged up healing
From late season DL- reason
Gunter should break out with move
To outfield in low A hags
Some people say Orlon could take
Off this season
Hmm
No love for Mirowski?
That’s why they’re preliminary… I’m bound to miss one (or two guys) — especially if they played multiple levels.
No love for Taylor Hill? Possibly just an oversight since he’d most likely be slotted with Schwartz and Encarnacion
See previous reply 😉
I think Blake Treinen and Jefry Rodriguez, and Robert Benincasa deserve mention. Also think that bates, Self, Swynenberg, Mendez, Lee, and Pena could deserve notable(All fringe players)
Guess we won’t be keeping an eye on Ray…good list otherwise.
Yep, Rizzo has traded him good thing this list is preliminary.
Was going to ask about Hill and Treinen but I see other posters have beaten me to it.
I guess Erik Davis still qualifies with only 8.2 IP with the big club. He will have a lot of competition in 2014, though, particularly if Garcia is healthy.
I’m not quite following the Notable Bats criteria. The only thing notable about the top three is that they’re still barely clinging to baseball careers. There’s some great athletic talent with that trio, but they’re all facing seasons where they’ve got to improve dramatically at the plate.
The “Notables” are relatively new categories. As I’ve written before: “They’re a means of acknowledging the ones that don’t quite merit full-fledged watchlist treatment, but are often discussed or mentioned.” What I haven’t figured out is if that always means older guys or can sometimes include draft picks that have struggled in short-season ball.
What I found this year in drawing up this draft is that I was asking myself the question “Has this guy played himself off the list entirely or not?” The watchlist itself is an evolving thing — the first year I did it, I found that I was too inclusive (89 guys IIRC); and have been whittling it down ever since to make it more meaningful, though I think the range of 50-60 names across all categories is the goal (i.e. the top third of the organization).
I did decide that repeats in those two categories should be rare. A young draft pick could be given the benefit of the doubt in one year (presumably short-season ball), but if he *still* isn’t producing in full-season ball in the next year, then he’s played his way off. Likewise, an older guy that’s put there because he was hurt and/or struggled (usually both) that is still foundering in the next season… unless he’s in a position that’s unusually thin in talent, then he, too, has played his way off.
Yes, it’s like apples, oranges, and tomatoes trying to compare guys across leagues, ages, and career development arcs. This time last year, Ray was just barely on the list; 12 months later, he’s the key to a major deal. Hood has the physical gifts to make a similar turnaround . . . or to start considering going to college on the WR career path. And I’m sure Josh Johnson sat at Syracuse last year wondering what Walters, Kobernus, and Espinoza have that he doesn’t, not to mention Lombo. Perhaps he at least rates a mention among the notable bats, even at 27. I would think recently acquired John Wooten does as well, at a much younger age.
If that’s the true pitching watch list guys I think I’ll stick to following the local HS team. Theres literally only a couple guys on that list in my opinion that are worth mentioning. Why don’t the guys that put up numbers and have a real future ever get any love on this blog. Gets old seeing the same names that don’t impress anyone whatsoever.
“Why don’t the guys that put up numbers and have a real future ever get any love on this blog.”
Such as?
Hill treinen swynenberg bates mirowski etc etc….
Rodriguez? Valdez? Mendez? Encarnacion? The Latin guys rarely amount to anything. Ya they’re young but so what. Who wants to wait 10 years for them to “develop”?
I guess I’m thinking more of guys that could or should be close to the big leagues soon (a year or less) maybe I’m interpreting the meaning of watchlist incorrectly.