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Final List: BJMB Top 15 Prospects, as of November 2016

King

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King All-Star

King

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#7. Bo Bichette, SS, GCL Blue Jays (Dec. 2015 Rank: N/A)

 

http://i.imgur.com/sLZsMKJ.png

http://i.imgur.com/IDMoibU.png

 

Highest on Bo Bichette: LetTheBallFly, #3

Lowest on Bo Bichette: BBBB, #13

 

What The People Are Saying

Bobthe4th: Obv small sample size but I can't ignore his start to his career >.400 AVG, another teenager too

 

Spats: I haven't seen Bichette in person but I'm excited to see him this spring..can't dismiss the start he has had before being shut down.

 

LetTheBallFly: Should team up with Vlad Jr. to make one of the best offensive duos moving through the minors. Really played well this past summer. His swing isn't textbook, but it worked great to begin his pro career.

 

43211234: Took complex ball by storm after going in the second round of the 2016 draft. Only a burst appendix could slow down his assault on GCL pitchers, though he did return for the final two games of the season after missing over a month. Bo is said to have a mechanically unorthodox swing. Though he is currently playing both middle infield positions, it's not known where he'll end up defensively. If he is able to stick at shortstop, that would obviously greatly increase his value.

 

P2F: Came out of the gate like gangbusters after questions surfaced at the draft about his swing. Prospect evaluators have since noted that his bat was incredible in the GCL, for now silencing those critics. A SS, he profiles at second or even third base in the long-term.

 

Krylian: Hit hitting was his claim to fame, but no one thought it would be this good. Improved competition will tell the story.

 

Maahfaace: Kid is still super young, but id like to see the Jays be aggressive in his development path and try and push him early.

 

TheHurl: I'll buy in. Why not…I'm going all in on kids of big leaguers.

 

Grant77: I'd guess I was a little more cautious than most in ranking Bichette 9th. That was difficult considering his historic debut, but I have a few concerns. There's a ridiculous amount of movement his his hands and lower half that he needs to clean up and that may lead to some struggles down the road. That being said, he keeps his head still and if he can simplify the leg kick more like Bautista then we may have something. He's a little too thick and doesn't have the agility to be a great shortstop from what I have seen and read, so I think he ends up at third base. The strong arm and bat will certainly play at the hot corner.

 

KingKat: How much do you buy into a strong debut? I buy into it enough to rank tops amongst the new draftees but he’s not cracking my top five just yet. I might regret this.

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King All-Star

King

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#6. Richard Urena, SS, Dunedin Blue Jays/New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Dec. 2015 Rank: 8)

 

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/images/players/head_shot/620446.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/l9I3eux.png

 

Highest on Richard Urena: Jonn, #2

Lowest on Richard Urena: Jimcanuck, #13

 

What The People Are Saying

Bobthe4th: if Gurriel sticks at SS, Urena takes a hit as he's no longer the top prospect in that position

 

Pendleton: I very easily could have placed Urena a couple spots higher on this list, and likely would have if he had more success at the plate in his first short taste of AA ball. If he succeeds in New Hampshire this season it would seem safe to call him our SS of the future, or perhaps a successor to Travis at 2B.

 

Grant77: He has arm and range to be an above average shorstop, but makes far too many sloppy errors and mental mistakes. A more consistent defensive effort would do wonders for his prospect status because the bat is very promising.

 

Jimcanuck: numbers do not support high ranking by others and defense is reportedly average at best, overrated despite young age

 

LetTheBallFly: SS of the future

 

43211234: There's a lot to like about the idea of a 20 year-old shortstop in AA. Urena continued to show strong power, hitting 24 doubles and 12 triples to go along with the 8 homeruns he hit between his time in Dunedin and New Hampshire. Promisingly, Richard lowered his K% on the season to under 15% but it seems like he might be a player who rarely takes a walk, as his over-aggressiveness shows up in scouting reports and his BB%. If the defence and hit tool can play at the major league level he has the chance to be a very solid player.

 

z3r0s: I ranked him at 7, which is probably lower than others will have him. I don't really know what to make of Urena. Scouts continue to have lots of postitive things to say about his bat, but the red flags are real. On the positive side, he got his first taste of AA in his age 20 season, and he managed to reduce his K% which had crept up in 2015. He improved his BB% in his stint at high-A, but was unable to replicate that success when called up. Its hard to get excited about a player who looks like he will need to carry a high BABIP to crack a .300 OBP. Many of these warts would be easier to accept on a plus defensive SS, but Richard doesn't seem to have drastically improved his reliability at short. I think an impending position change really hurts his prospect capital.

 

P2F: Entering his age 21 season next year, Urena will begin the season in AA. He gets high praise for his defense, which will likely be his calling card. At the plate, he hits for average power and doesn't draw a lot of walks. Couple that with his propensity to strike out, and he has a fair bit to iron out yet.

 

Krylian: Slick fielding SS, with a bat that could be very good if he can improve the plate discipline.

 

Maahfaace: His play after his promotions this year really surprised me, he looks like he could turn into a solid 2/3 WAR SS

 

King: It is difficult to put a lock on Richard Urena. His bat has been great at times (137 wRC+ in 2013 DSL, 129 wRC+ in 2014 Bluefield, 107 wRC+ in 2015 Lansing, 132 wRC+ in 2016 Dunedin) and bad at times (76 wRC+ in 2015 Dunedin, 81 wRC+ in 2016 New Hampshire). Looking at the splits, he has historically hit very well vs RHP and struggled vs lefties. Hit 290/310/430 against RHP in AA, and 194/194/290 against LHP which dragged down his overall numbers. He'll need to improve his bat vs LHP, as well as improve his approach/aggressiveness at the plate in 2017. On defense, it is impossible to say anything unless you have seen enough sample of games yourself, as the reports vary from great defense to poor defense in any given report. He's a wildcard, and a player that I will be watching closely in 2017. At least I will try to, as the broadcast in New Hampshire is terrible.

 

TheHurl: Solid, likely to be to traded though

 

KingKat: This is the second season in a row where Urena didn’t perform well after a late call-up but in both cases, the larger samples were quite good. He’s never really felt like a high percentage guy but a strong showing in AA could go a long way to changing that perception.

Jonn MVP

Jonn

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I felt I put Urena to high but it was hard to take him out of top 3 when so many other sites have him ranked that high and even first on some.
TheHurl Toronto Blue Jays

TheHurl

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Alford 1

Vlad 2

SRF 3

Tellez 4

Gourriel Jr 5

 

no way Alford is ahead of Vlad.

 

With King and I doing some Twitter promotion we have went from 140 guests to 285. Lets try and dress up and pretend we are adults on this thread. (this is not at JH for the record)

John_Havok MVP

John_Havok

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no way Alford is ahead of Vlad.

 

With King and I doing some Twitter promotion we have went from 140 guests to 285. Lets try and dress up and pretend we are adults on this thread. (this is not at JH for the record)

 

I think it's completely defensible to have alford over Vlad given the latter is still super raw and young. Everything on vlad is still really hype with 1 season of numbers in rookie ball at a really good age.

 

It's damn impressive, but alfords age level and stats are damn fine also, and doing very well in the AFL which is arguably better than the level he just played during the season.

 

That and the CF position vs vlad Jr's still positional uncertainty (does he stay at 3b or end up in LF or 1B as he .. thickens?) Is more than enough to at least defend an Alford #1 ranking

THANOS FCL Blue Jays

THANOS

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Thanks King. This is great!

 

I think the final five is this:

 

1) Vlad Jr

2) Alford

3) SRF

4) Tellez

5) Gurriel Jr

Jonn MVP

Jonn

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I was way to conservative with this outside of my #1 guy. Didn't know this many people would be agressive in the rankings but I like it.
King All-Star

King

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Sorry King but Clinton Hollon

has no business being in the top

30 or 40.

2 drug suspensions is a cheater

in may eyes.

Has to work his way back and

doing it cleanly.

 

Spankys vote was the one who got him on the list, sir.

TheHurl Toronto Blue Jays

TheHurl

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I think it's completely defensible to have alford over Vlad given the latter is still super raw and young. Everything on vlad is still really hype with 1 season of numbers in rookie ball at a really good age.

 

It's damn impressive, but alfords age level and stats are damn fine also, and doing very well in the AFL which is arguably better than the level he just played during the season.

 

That and the CF position vs vlad Jr's still positional uncertainty (does he stay at 3b or end up in LF or 1B as he .. thickens?) Is more than enough to at least defend an Alford #1 ranking

 

I alone would likely push Alford behind him.

L54 Vancouver Canadians

L54

Old-Timey Member
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Sorry King but Clinton Hollon

has no business being in the top

30 or 40.

2 drug suspensions is a cheater

in may eyes.

Has to work his way back and

doing it cleanly.

 

If you want to dress this thread up Hurl here is problem number one.

 

Good job King and to everyone who took the time to rank. Prospects outside top 200 really aren't my thing so this is very enjoyable.

TheHurl Toronto Blue Jays

TheHurl

Site Manager
Posted
Posted
Sorry King but Clinton Hollon

has no business being in the top

30 or 40.

2 drug suspensions is a cheater

in may eyes.

Has to work his way back and

doing it cleanly.

 

It's a group vote (in that case one 15th place voter). King did a great job accumulating and putting this together.

King All-Star

King

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#5. Lourdes Gurriel Jr., SS, Industriales de La Habana (Dec. 2015 Rank: N/A)

 

http://i.imgur.com/Mcpnk6w.png

http://i.imgur.com/ACXku3h.png

 

Highest on Lourdes Gurriel Jr: NJH, #1

Lowest on Lourdes Gurriel Jr: Spats, #10

 

What The People Are Saying

Bobthe4th: only player in our system I'd put money on having a MLB career (as prospects are such a lottery)

 

LetTheBallFly: I think will be better than his brother. Worked on his game and swing over the last year and should make the Majors quickly, most likely in the OF.

 

43211234: A member of Cuban baseball royalty. Doesn't have a position locked down but is said to possess the athleticism to maybe serve time in the infield and outfield. Had a strong final season in Cuba before defecting with his brother earlier this year.

 

P2F: The scouting reports range wildly for the younger Gurriel, but most scouts that have seen him seem to think he isn't an elite prospect at this point. He could be an above-average hitting, super-utility player in the majors when he gets there.

 

Krylian: Super utility player in the making. Tall and lanky. 20HR potential. Good strike zone discipline.

 

Maahfaace: Great signing by Shatkins, looks to be a solid utility type of guy that could play all over the diamond.

 

NJH: He's the shiny new thing, but that's not why he's first for me. While scouting reports on Gurriel are limited, what is clear is that he has a very broad skill-set. In Cuba he's played nearly every position; he worked out at SS and CF for the Blue Jays. He posted good slash-lines in Cuba, especially relative to his age. He hit some homers and stole some bases. The numbers hold up well when compared to other Cubans that either did or did not transition their skills to the majors. He looks good on video - thin but strong, not unlike young star shortstops like Seager and Bogaerts. There are other prospects in the system with similar packages of tools and skills (Alford) and greater offensive upside (Guerrero), but the Blue Jays just invested $22M in this guy. And he might be in the Majors before anyone else on this list.

 

TheHurl: Shake off the rust and he's 2017 major league ready and able to play multiple positions.

 

KingKat: There’s not much to say about him at this point. The fact that he didn’t command crazy money should temper expectations but he’s a versatile player and should be close enough to the majors to contribute something fairly soon.

 

Jonn: Difficult to place but once he entered the organization he was a top 5 prospect. Looks like he will start in AA playing SS not sure how that will work with Urena but I'm sure he will alternative positions and play a lot of CF as well. People think he can be a super utility guy and have even drawn comparisons to Ben Zobrist. If he taps into that power potential and his walk numbers transfer over hes an exciting player to follow. Versatility is becoming more and more important in Baseball. And it would be nice to have someone with his bat and defensive versatility on the roster later in the 2017 season preparing for a potential playoff run.

Edited by KingKat

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