Is Vlad Jr the best prospect ever?

[Krylian]

People have quickly forgotten Brett Lawrie and Travis Snider. There was legit discussion whether Lawrie would be better than Trout.

 

I don't think those two were in the same league prospect-wise. Very highly regarded, but a notch below imo.

[Olerud363]

People have quickly forgotten Brett Lawrie and Travis Snider. There was legit discussion whether Lawrie would be better than Trout.

 

This was a legitimate discussion at the all-star break of 2012. Trout was born in 1991, Lawrie in 1990, there was about 18 months differences in real age (which was 2 years on their baseball cards). Both came up in 2011. Trout struggled, Lawrie was awesome. In the first half of 2012 Trout was awesome. Lawrie was good.

 

All star break 2012 their career numbers through 100ish games were almost the same.

 

That was about the high point of Lawrie's career.

[Brownie19]

This was a legitimate discussion at the all-star break of 2012. Trout was born in 1991, Lawrie in 1990, there was about 18 months differences in real age (which was 2 years on their baseball cards). Both came up in 2011. Trout struggled, Lawrie was awesome. In the first half of 2012 Trout was awesome. Lawrie was good.

 

All star break 2012 their career numbers through 100ish games were almost the same.

 

That was about the high point of Lawrie's career.

 

Lawrie went on to promote ketchup chips throughout Canada. I'm not sure how THAT can't be considered the high point of his career.

[jaysblue]

Alex Rios, Delgado, and Halladay would be the closest contenders. Vlad wins.

 

Don't forget Travis Snider.

[jaysblue]

I don't think those two were in the same league prospect-wise. Very highly regarded, but a notch below imo.

 

Not really. Travis Snider I think was ranked as a Top-10 prospect in baseball at some point and there was a lot of hype surrounding him on the message board in 2008. Not as much as Vlad obviously.

 

Lawrie was maybe considered a Top 20-25ish prospect in all of baseball, but with him being Canadian there was a lot more hype around his callup.

[Spanky99]

Not really. Travis Snider I think was ranked as a Top-10 prospect in baseball at some point and there was a lot of hype surrounding him on the message board in 2008. Not as much as Vlad obviously.

 

Lawrie was maybe considered a Top 20-25ish prospect in all of baseball, but with him being Canadian there was a lot more hype around his callup.

 

I think Snider ranked as high as 4th.

[jaysblue]

I think Snider ranked as high as 4th.

 

He was ahead of Joey Votto as well lol.

[Olerud363]

Not really. Travis Snider I think was ranked as a Top-10 prospect in baseball at some point and there was a lot of hype surrounding him on the message board in 2008. Not as much as Vlad obviously.

 

Lawrie was maybe considered a Top 20-25ish prospect in all of baseball, but with him being Canadian there was a lot more hype around his callup.

 

Just so people really remember this... In 2011 - Lawrie would of been top 3, except he got called up and lost his rookie status.

 

His WAR for his first 100 games was off the charts. Part of it was because WAR didn't know how to handle shifts but I believe at the All Star Break 2012 Brett Lawrie had more WAR than Mike Trout in about the same number of games.

 

Then that was it. Shows you how fast a things can go bad.

 

Brett Lawrie - .350 hitter in aaa (OK I know it was Vegas but still...), STUD prospect. 100 major league games 5 WAR (like 10 bref WAR with old formula that didn't realize he wasn't ranging from third to right field, but still...)

 

Sorry good bye that's it, no more.

 

You have to remember Brett Lawrie was once a top 4 property in baseball in a discussion with

 

Mike Trout

Manny Machado

Bryce Harper

Brett Lawrie

[Captain Adama]

 

You have to remember brett lawrie was once a top 4 property in baseball in a discussion with

 

mike trout

matt moore

bryce harper

brett lawrie

 

ftfy

[TheHurl]

Lawrie was never in the conversation with those players outside of Blue Jays fans. I found two 2012 top 25 under 25. Lawrie hit 23rd with names like Kipnis and Brandon Beachy. The other didn't rank him.

[Key22]

We will wait and see - personally I could give a crap about defense from a Vlad who is likely going to wind up a first baseman as soon as ext year when Smoak is traded. If he plays a decent first base and hits like Pujols in his prime - I will be very happy with that.

 

I have seen people touting him to be a can't miss hall of fame talent - but jeez that's a lot of hype to live up to. But at first base, to be considered an elite talent - you simply must mash. I am sort of expecting to see an 1.100 OPS kind of bat if he is going to live up to the massive hype. .850 OPS first baseman - meh - dime a dozen. If he can actually play a league average third base - that would be cool.

[glory]

Your memories are playing tricks on you guys. Snider was definitely a legit top prospect, but Lawrie was hyped by Jays fans more than anyone else. He was like a top 50 prospect in baseball at his peak, unless you're talking about mid season 2011 rankings or something. Definitely not before 2011.

[Spanky99]

Your memories are playing tricks on you guys. Snider was definitely a legit top prospect, but Lawrie was hyped by Jays fans more than anyone else. He was like a top 50 prospect in baseball at his peak, unless you're talking about mid season 2011 rankings or something. Definitely not before 2011.

 

Yeah, he reached the mid 20's prior to his call up and raked. Then kaput...

[The Cats Ass]

Yeah, he reached the mid 20's prior to his call up and raked. Then kaput...

 

Mid 20's on a prospect list? I seem to remember him going early 20's overall in a dynasty league startup draft.

[Laika]

Your memories are playing tricks on you guys. Snider was definitely a legit top prospect, but Lawrie was hyped by Jays fans more than anyone else. He was like a top 50 prospect in baseball at his peak, unless you're talking about mid season 2011 rankings or something. Definitely not before 2011.

 

Lawrie was top 10 on some mid-season 2011 lists. He had so much helium in 2011. And then he had a .953 OPS in the majors to finish the year.

 

There was a point where people probably considered him a top 5 prospect in baseball, somewhere behind Harper and Trout but arguably ahead of anybody else (Moore, Bundy, Teheran, Profar, Machado, Jesus, Shelby Miller etc.)

[Spanky99]

Mid 20's on a prospect list? I seem to remember him going early 20's overall in a dynasty league startup draft.

 

lol

[TheHurl]

BA's mid-season 2011. Damn they always loved pitchers.

 

 

1) Bryce Harper, OF, Washington Nationals

 

Like Matt Wieters before him, Bryce Harper has blown away all the expectations about his first season. He tore through the South Atlantic League, hitting at a .318/.423/.554 clip, crushing 14 home runs and racking up 46 RBI.

 

Those numbers were good enough to warrant a promotion, straight past High-A ball to Double-A Harrisburg, where Harper racked up five hits in his first 10 at-bats.

The right fielder has shown five tools during his debut season, including great speed (20 steals) and a cannon arm that was introduced to the baseball world at the Futures Game (where he fired a 330-foot rocket from the warning track in left field to home plate on one bounce).

 

2) Mike Trout, OF, Los Angeles Angels

 

The Angels rewarded Trout for a year-and-a-half's worth of stellar play with a promotion to the Majors just before the All-Star break. Whether or not he sticks around Anaheim for the remainder of the big-league season is still up in the air, but without a doubt, Trout assured fans and experts alike that his dream season of 2010 was no fluke. He hit .324 with 12 doubles, 11 triples and nine homers in 290 at-bats for the Angels' Double-A affiliate, swiping 28 bases in the process.

 

3) Matt Moore, LHP, Tampa Bay Rays

 

Moore has led the Minor Leagues in strikeouts each of the past two seasons. And with 125 more this year, in just 96.2 innings, he's well within striking distance of the top spot once again.

This year has been more about pitching to contact for Moore, and he's improved his off-speed stuff dramatically. His stuff is so wicked that he's only allowed 61 hits all season long; his ERA of 2.14 is one of the best anywhere. Moore further showcased his talents at the Futures Game, showing easy 94-98 mph heat and quality breaking stuff.

 

4) Julio Teheran, RHP, Atlanta Braves

 

Teheran exploded onto the scene last year, jumping from Low-A to Double-A in just 17 starts. He finished the season with a 9-8 record, a 2.59 ERA and 159 strikeouts in 142.2 innings.

This year, as hard as it is to believe, he's gotten better. His ERA of 1.79 ranks fourth in all of Minor League Baseball, and his .900 winning percentage (9-1) is the best in the International League.

 

Teheran has produced less strikeouts this season, which has allowed him to go deeper into games. His last two outings of just five innings a piece were his shortest since early May. He also made two big-league outings (the first of his career) earlier in the year, although the results were much worse than his minor league domination.

 

5) Manny Machado, SS, Baltimore Orioles

 

Machado tore the cover off the ball for Low-A Delmarva, although a rough finish after his return from the DL dropped his average down to a pedestrian .276. He's only hitting .222 with Frederick, but he does have more walks (nine) than strikeouts (eight).

 

He's also coming off of his two best performances since his promotion. On July 7th, he was walked four times after doubling in his only official at-bat. The next night he earned two more walks, but not before hitting a solo home run—his eighth of the season.

 

6) Martin Perez, LHP, Texas Rangers

 

Despite his mediocre performances over the past two seasons, Perez has maintained his place among the top prospects in the game, thanks to his incredible stuff. This year he's starting to put forth some better results, including a 3.16 ERA and an 83:36 K:BB ratio. Perez was especially strong during May, posting an ERA under 1.50 and striking out a batter an inning.

 

7) Shelby Miller, RHP, St. Louis Cardinals

 

Miller is frequently mentioned in the discussion for top right-handed pitcher in the Minor Leagues. He not only has the stuff, but the stats to back that assertion up.

 

Ever since taking a month-long sabbatical last summer, Miller has been nonstop awesome. He finished the 2010 campaign on a tear and has carried that momentum over into the 2011 season. He's already jumped from High-A to Double-A and seems to have gotten stronger.

 

In seven Double-A starts, he's 4-1 with a 1.90 ERA and 43 strikeouts in 42.2 innings. He's only surrendered three home runs all season long. For the season, he's 6-4 with a 2.45 ERA and a 124:30 K:BB ratio.

 

8) Jesus Montero, C, New York Yankees

 

It seems like Montero has been waiting for his chance to break in with the Yankees for years now, but while a little something called "prospect fatigue" seems to have set in with him, he's still an incredibly talented minor leaguer who has little left to prove.

 

He spent the entire season with the Yankees' Triple-A club, where he hit .289 with seven homers and 33 RBI in 70 games. It looks like he's finally starting to heat up, as he hit .357 during the month of July.

 

9) Jameson Taillon, RHP, Pittsburgh Pirates

 

Since he didn't make his debut as early as Bryce Harper or Manny Machado, very little attention has been paid to the No. 2 overall pick from last year's draft. That hasn't stopped Taillon from looking incredibly sharp in his first 13 starts with Low-A West Virginia. He hasn't gone past the fourth inning in many starts, but he's still managed to post a 49:8 K:BB ratio in 51.2 innings, while posting a 3.66 ERA. During four starts in June, Taillon posted a 2.70 ERA, struck out 18 batters and walked none.

 

10) Brett Lawrie, 3B, Toronto Blue Jays

 

It's hard to envision a world where Lawrie isn't manning third base for the Blue Jays come September. In fact, if it hadn't been for a fracture in his left hand, he might be playing for them right now. Instead, he'll have to settle for working his way back, logging some more at-bats in Triple-A and waiting for his turn. It's clear that he's too advanced a hitter for Triple-A, as he hit .354 with 15 home runs and 49 RBI in 52 PCL contests.

[Dr. Dinger]

I’m gonna say it: Lawrie was for sure on PEDs that season.

[Brownie19]

I’m gonna say it: Lawrie was for sure on PEDs that season.

 

Odd - he doesn't strike me as the type.

[TRM]

I’m gonna say it: Lawrie was for sure on PEDs that season.

 

I have some friends/contacts in Canada Baseball who have basically said the same thing.

 

Without actually saying it, of course.

[Laika]

And now Brett Lawrie's recent absence from baseball makes sense.

 

He needed to reload. Cycle up yet again. One final explosion onto the scene.

[Dr. Dinger]

He was jacked AF when he first came up then gradually got weirdly skinny and lost all his power. Open and shut case.

[Olerud363]

ftfy

 

Yup. Machado came on the scene about 1 year after Lawrie, so mid 2012 wouldn't been in a discussion about most valuable "properties" (ie young mlb players with performance and control)

[Olerud363]

Lawrie was never in the conversation with those players outside of Blue Jays fans. I found two 2012 top 25 under 25. Lawrie hit 23rd with names like Kipnis and Brandon Beachy. The other didn't rank him.

 

Were these after 2012 or before the season? My point wasn't that Lawrie was consistently ranked as a top 5 property. It was that there was a brief Window in the middle of the 2012 season where he the hype went crazy. I remember several articles (outside of Toronto) comparing Lawrie, Harper and Trout.

 

If you remember Lawrie started off hot with the bat in 2011, after starting 2012 slow he got hot again leading up to the all star break, there was also a flaw in some of the defensive stats and WAR measures that didn't account for the shift properly and all of a sudden Lawrie had a ridiculous WAR after his first 100-120 games.

 

They corrected the formulas and he lost it with the bat. So overnight he lost most of his career WAR. He went from being a great hitter and historic defensive player, to a mediocre hitter and slightly above average defensive player in like a few weeks.

 

This was written before 2012 -- the hype got even crazier leading to the all star break. Buck Martinez is quoted as saying Lawrie has more ability than George Brett... shortly after the allstar break Lawrie dove into a camera bay in NY and that was it...

 

http://www.espn.com/mlb/spring2012/story/_/id/7729121/toronto-blue-jays-third-baseman-brett-lawrie-bound-greatness

[rookiefuzz]

I just made a bet with a friend that Vladdy hits 25 homers or more. I’m starting to think I should have taken the under.

[Krylian]

I just made a bet with a friend that Vladdy hits 25 homers or more. I’m starting to think I should have taken the under.

 

Why? He's gonna miss 2 weeks then be called up. Unless he gets hurt he'll have a good shot at 25.

[bones10]

Why? He's gonna miss 2 weeks then be called up. Unless he gets hurt he'll have a good shot at 25.

 

Cuz he struck out twice today

[Krylian]

Cuz he struck out twice today

 

Oh really? f***. I guess he's not major league ready.

[bones10]

Oh really? f***. I guess he's not major league ready.

 

I know you're joking but wouldn't a bad spring for Vlad actually allow Atkins to save face a bit, and in the long run could be beneficial for the Jays?

[L54]

I know you're joking but wouldn't a bad spring for Vlad actually allow Atkins to save face a bit, and in the long run could be beneficial for the Jays?

 

It would definitely save face for the franchise, but there’s nothing to be gained long term. He will be up April 2__ even if he’s hitting two fifty in AAA. They’d be crazy not to call him up as soon as the threshold has passed.