BA Midseason prospect update

by BeltredNOT on Jul 17, 2007 4:16 PM PDT

http://www.baseballamerica.com/online/prospects/features/264495.html

On the Midseason Top 25 Prospects list, Adam Jones comes in at #10, Jeff Clement at # 21, and Wladimir Balentein just missed the cut.

I knew Jones was going to be ranked high, but Jeff Clement at #21 was a surprise to me, considering the reports that his bat seems to be slow.

I thought it was pretty cool that 2 M's prospects are in the top 25, and 1 just barely outside that range.

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Damn BA.

Charging me for content. I'm opening my own place, with blackjack and hookers!

On second thought, forget the blackjack!

This place has a sign hangin' over the urinal that says, "Don't eat the big white mint".

by Thingray on Jul 17, 2007 4:21 PM PDT reply actions

Somebody already did that

Its called aurora.

by Edgar for Pres on Jul 17, 2007 4:35 PM PDT up reply actions

Hey, my office is on Aurora,

how lucky am I?

I've seen the merchandise, and it ain't pretty.

This place has a sign hangin' over the urinal that says, "Don't eat the big white mint".

by Thingray on Jul 17, 2007 4:38 PM PDT up reply actions

best reference ever

were whalers on the moon

by Trenchtown2 on Jul 17, 2007 9:06 PM PDT up reply actions

We carry a harpoon,

But there ain't no whales
So we tell tall tales
And sing our whaling tune!

This place has a sign hangin' over the urinal that says, "Don't eat the big white mint".

by Thingray on Jul 18, 2007 11:13 AM PDT up reply actions

Nah, screw the whole damn thing.

/Bender

Felix, you magnificent bastard.

by Double06 on Jul 18, 2007 6:39 PM PDT up reply actions

We shouldn't call up Jones yet

It's not like he's the #1 prospect. </Fain>

No, sir, they're saying Boo-vasi.

by Mariner John on Jul 17, 2007 4:38 PM PDT reply actions

Wladamir is far and above better than Clement

Clement probably won't even be a catcher when he comes up because he isn't very good at it. He also has a slow bat, which has been well documented.

Whoever at baseball america doesn't know shit from a hole in the ground.

by TheMarinator on Jul 17, 2007 4:44 PM PDT reply actions

Give me a break about the slow bat.

Dude's crushing the ball. This is the stupid overanalyzing that has come thanks to things like drafts on TV and such. It's like talking about a guy who shoots weird in basketball. I'll take the guy who's making buckets, over the one who is missing pretty.

*Call up Wladam Jonentien!!!*

by SethGrandpa on Jul 17, 2007 5:06 PM PDT reply actions

No kidding.

How many prospects had a "beautiful swing", but never turned into anything?

Where is Greg Dobbs by the way?

This place has a sign hangin' over the urinal that says, "Don't eat the big white mint".

by Thingray on Jul 17, 2007 5:08 PM PDT up reply actions

Doing fairly well in Philly

by Jeff Sullivan on Jul 17, 2007 5:13 PM PDT up reply actions

That's good to hear.

I wasn't trying to imply he sucked, I was just thinking of nice looking swings, and he came to mind.

This place has a sign hangin' over the urinal that says, "Don't eat the big white mint".

by Thingray on Jul 17, 2007 5:17 PM PDT up reply actions

I'm reading Moneyball again

Amen.

by Gomez on Jul 17, 2007 10:06 PM PDT up reply actions

He's crushing 85mph fastballs

All the good arms in AAA are basically in the major leagues by now. Funny how that coincided with his bat heating up.

by TheMarinator on Jul 17, 2007 5:24 PM PDT up reply actions

That applies to some guys,

but is it possible that he's just finally catching up from being rushed to AAA?

This place has a sign hangin' over the urinal that says, "Don't eat the big white mint".

by Thingray on Jul 17, 2007 5:25 PM PDT up reply actions

Anything's possible

but I like my assessment better.

by TheMarinator on Jul 17, 2007 5:27 PM PDT up reply actions

I'd really prefer it if my guess is accurate.

Otherwise it was a really bad draft pick if he flames out at the AAA level.

This place has a sign hangin' over the urinal that says, "Don't eat the big white mint".

by Thingray on Jul 17, 2007 5:28 PM PDT up reply actions

I agree

but I am going to go by what the advanced scouts are saying. I've never seen him play a lick live, so I know nothing about him from watching him play.

Hopefully it's all a bunch of crap and Clement just needed adjustment time.

by TheMarinator on Jul 17, 2007 5:31 PM PDT up reply actions

I haven't seen him play live, or

even seen his swing on video since ST, so I have no clue about how his swing looks. I just like to see the numbers he's putting up.

This place has a sign hangin' over the urinal that says, "Don't eat the big white mint".

by Thingray on Jul 17, 2007 5:35 PM PDT up reply actions

Then...

....you better discount Wlad's and Jones' numbers. Facing the same pitchers...

by rtang on Jul 17, 2007 5:32 PM PDT up reply actions

They've been doing it all year long though

and actually Wlad was doing better at the beginning of the season, which is why I would prefer him coming to the majors than Adam Jones atm if there was a spot for him at 1st base, and we didn't need help in the outfield.

If you go just by offensive numbers, I think he'd produce better than Jones and help the team moreso in that area.

by TheMarinator on Jul 17, 2007 5:35 PM PDT up reply actions

Yeah, but Wlad tore it up in April too

by Jeff Sullivan on Jul 17, 2007 5:36 PM PDT up reply actions

And I should also mention

that the biggest difference is that, unlike Clement, there have been no reports of Jones or Wlad having slow bats.

by Jeff Sullivan on Jul 17, 2007 5:37 PM PDT up reply actions

So then Wlad's bat

has cooled against inferior bats. I'm so confused. Does this all kinda sound like bullshit and best guesses to anybody else?

by Edgar for Pres on Jul 17, 2007 5:57 PM PDT up reply actions

So don't worry about the numbers.

All three are crushing the ball. Two of them have excellent scouting reports. One's is more critical. While it's obviously quite impossible for us to quantify, it's worth considering.

by Jeff Sullivan on Jul 17, 2007 6:01 PM PDT up reply actions

Isn't BA much more "scouty"?

and therefore, ranking Clement at #21 would be considered a good scouting report?

by Matthew on Jul 17, 2007 6:14 PM PDT up reply actions

BA's idea of a numerical analysis

Is listing the basic numbers for each player.

Which isn't to say they're not awesome at what they do, because they are. They just don't do numbers at all.

by Graham MacAree on Jul 18, 2007 12:13 AM PDT up reply actions

I just wanted to bring the overanalysing

back to earth a little. They are all good. I'm happy. I didn't expect much better than this.

by Edgar for Pres on Jul 17, 2007 6:18 PM PDT up reply actions

Oh, please

Like the total overall quality of the arms he's seeing in the PCL right now is going to be substantially any different than he saw at the beginning of the season.
There have been some pitchers moved up, but

1) it doesn't mean they were all the best arms, many of them just happened to be the pitchers that were pitching the best early in the season. There are certainly many pitchers that were left down that were as talented as some of the ones that got called up, but they just weren't going well to start out. And certainly, many of them have gotten it going now and are looking good.

2)Even if all the best pitchers have been called up, and only the best pitchers, the # of them isn't really all that great, and the difference between themselves and the ones they left behind isn't huge, and doesn't dillute the total pitching pool in the PCL by very much. It could not have amounted to anything but a small fraction of the increase in Clements production that it is getting credit for.

How come the whole PCL isn't going apeshit with the bat the last couple months?

by nathaniel dawson on Jul 17, 2007 7:40 PM PDT up reply actions

doesnt the same

rule apply to everyone in tacoma then, so that those numbers that AJ and wlad are putting up that has us clamoring for them now are only there because of shit pitching.

by wadswerth on Jul 17, 2007 8:01 PM PDT up reply actions