Prospects Rankings circa 2006

Upon return from a two-week vacation, what does a man do?

Clean his closet, of course.

Only I would find an old BA mag jammed in between two shirts that needed to go to the Salvation Army long ago.

2006 Top Prospect? Delmon Young. 49 places ahead of Ryan Braun.

Without further ado, here are a few tidbits from the Top 100 issue of 2006.

Top Ten:

1. Delmon Young
2. Justin Upton
3. Brandon Wood
4. Jeremy Hermida
5. Stephen Drew
6. Francisco Liriano
7. Chad Billingsley
8. Justin Verlander
9. Lastings Milledge
10. Matt Cain

Nos. 91-100:

91. Glen Perkins
92. Ryan Sweeney
93. Anthony Lerew
94. Ronny Cedeno
95. Tom Gorzelanny
96. Matt Kemp
97. Chris Volstad
98. Chuck James
99. Nolan Reimold
100. Anthony Swarzak

Select Notables (bright side):

89. Andre Ethier
87. Rickey Romero
78. Kendry Morales
77. Dustin Pedroia
76. Jay Bruce
70. Jeff Neimann
63. Jon Broxton
61. Elvis Andrus
57. Jered Weaver
56. Edinson Volquez
42. Russell Martin
37. Jon Papelbon
30. Hanley Ramirez

Other Notables:

Prince Fielder ranked #11.
Nick Adenhardt ranked #90.

Alex Gordon and Andy Marte ranked nos. 13 & 14, respectively.

Carlos Quentin ranked #20.

Joel Guzman ranked #26 (23 spots ahead of Braun).

Craziest Ranking in History: #68 Cole Hamels

So a recent World Series MVP ranked #68 just three years ago. A recent AL MVP ranked #77 just three years ago. Andy Marte ranked 16 spots ahead of Hanley Ramirez, and all those studs ranked behind Delmon Young.

So don't get too upset about where your favorite prospects rank, or whether or not they make the hot sheet.

Apologize for any typos.

Chuck James!

It's amazing how much weight some people put on those lists, but it works well for short-term prospecting. It's hard to predict where someone will be 3+ years later. At the time, that was a fairly accurate list.

Jeremy Hermida. ::facepalm:: ::facepalm:: ::facepalm::

Ha I always like looking back at old rankings to see how things panned out.

I might be in the minority but I think Delmon Young could still be a player. He has no hope where he is now though, because you can't keep your power swing when you play 2-3 times a week and sit the rest of the time.

Number 77 is the best hitter on that list.

Yeah I understand, but isn't *all* prospecting short-term?

A_Pharis said:

It's amazing how much weight some people put on those lists, but it works well for short-term prospecting. It's hard to predict where someone will be 3+ years later. At the time, that was a fairly accurate list.

Click to expand...

#93-Anthony Lerew

KandKCards said:

I might be in the minority but I think Delmon Young could still be a player. He has no hope where he is now though, because you can't keep your power swing when you play 2-3 times a week and sit the rest of the time.

Click to expand...

He needs to go to the Rangers and have Jaramillo fix him like he's done to a ton of guys.

uniquebaseballcards said:

Yeah I understand, but isn't *all* prospecting short-term?

A_Pharis said:

It's amazing how much weight some people put on those lists, but it works well for short-term prospecting. It's hard to predict where someone will be 3+ years later. At the time, that was a fairly accurate list.

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Well, I guess... but who made more money?
People who invested REALLY early in Braun and sold right as he started getting better or people who invested REALLY early in Braun and sold last year?

People who paid less than $400 for a Pujols Bowman chrome auto and are selling them for what they sell for now or someone who sold them right when they hit $750 -$1000?

I guess it depends on your definition of prospecting.

WaxHeaven said:

Jeremy Hermida. ::facepalm:: ::facepalm:: ::facepalm::

Click to expand...

"Everything he does is so easy. He has a 70 arm and one of the sweetest swings from the left side I've ever seen." -anonymous scout.

Still have to make contact with that pretty swing. Good thing he remained anonymous.

I like this one best, about Joel Guzman: "I had scouted Chipper Jones and A-Rod before, and to me, Guzman's bat was better." -anonymous scout.

A few others:

"Moon shots. That's all I think of when I hear the name Nick Markakis. We couldn't find a way to get him out." -Salem Manager Ivan DeJesus

Nick ranked #21.

"You could find 10-year big league veterans who don't have an approach as good as he does." -anonymous scout (Daric Barton, ranked #28)

"He can do anything he wants to do on the field. You don't find too mny guys with the tools to play any position out there in the outfield." White Sox farm director David Wilder (in reference to Brian Anderson, who ranked #51)


Oh, and the real, true #1 starter in the big leagues that nobody mentions as such ranked #80. Josh Johnson.

imac220 said:

#93-Anthony Lerew

Click to expand...

"He's a power guy with a ton of potential he's just begun to tap into." -Richmond manager Pat Kelly

aw00d05 said:

KandKCards said:

I might be in the minority but I think Delmon Young could still be a player. He has no hope where he is now though, because you can't keep your power swing when you play 2-3 times a week and sit the rest of the time.

Click to expand...

He needs to go to the Rangers and have Jaramillo fix him like he's done to a ton of guys.

Click to expand...

Would be nice to see for his fans, but some of Delmon's problems are in his head and attitude, not just his swing. Nobody but Delmon can fix those problems.

A few of us on here have been getting the Prospect Handbook since BA first released it in book form in 2001...it's an amazing reference into the past...not specifically the future.

It's everything you'd expect...a few hits, a few misses...and a lot of never were type players.

My only bit of advice...Baseball America (and similar lists) is a better selling tool than it is a buying tool. Dumb luck with a bit of research is the best buying tool.

card-treasury said:

aw00d05 said:

KandKCards said:

I might be in the minority but I think Delmon Young could still be a player. He has no hope where he is now though, because you can't keep your power swing when you play 2-3 times a week and sit the rest of the time.

Click to expand...

He needs to go to the Rangers and have Jaramillo fix him like he's done to a ton of guys.

Click to expand...

Would be nice to see for his fans, but some of Delmon's problems are in his head and attitude, not just his swing. Nobody but Delmon can fix those problems.

Click to expand...

Somebody needs to bitch slap him then, maybe Ronny can do it.

A_Pharis said:

uniquebaseballcards said:

Yeah I understand, but isn't *all* prospecting short-term?

[quote="A_Pharis":2kyx53tx]It's amazing how much weight some people put on those lists, but it works well for short-term prospecting. It's hard to predict where someone will be 3+ years later. At the time, that was a fairly accurate list.

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Well, I guess... but who made more money?
People who invested REALLY early in Braun and sold right as he started getting better or people who invested REALLY early in Braun and sold last year?

People who paid less than $400 for a Pujols Bowman chrome auto and are selling them for what they sell for now or someone who sold them right when they hit $750 -$1000?

I guess it depends on your definition of prospecting.[/quote:2kyx53tx]

I see what you're saying but you also have to be accurate as to which prospector's made the most in that scenario, you'd need to take into account the amount of "shelf-time" that money sat there (as those who sold the Braun's/Pujols' were able to use the money they made & re-invest it into other prospect's & could have sold them off & then re-invested a percentage into more prospect's, etc... which in turn this cycle could have been done several times over while the prospector's who held onto the Braun's/Pujols' had that money still tied up in thier initial investment). So in the long run it is very likely & propable that the prospector's who made the quick flip made more than those who sat on the Braun's/Pujols', because thier money wasn't tied down in an investment for an extended period of time (even though it was a money-making investment, it still required time...& time is money)!

HoustonTeams4Me said:

A_Pharis said:

uniquebaseballcards said:

Yeah I understand, but isn't *all* prospecting short-term?

[quote="A_Pharis":2pse86jz]It's amazing how much weight some people put on those lists, but it works well for short-term prospecting. It's hard to predict where someone will be 3+ years later. At the time, that was a fairly accurate list.

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Well, I guess... but who made more money?
People who invested REALLY early in Braun and sold right as he started getting better or people who invested REALLY early in Braun and sold last year?

People who paid less than $400 for a Pujols Bowman chrome auto and are selling them for what they sell for now or someone who sold them right when they hit $750 -$1000?

I guess it depends on your definition of prospecting.

Click to expand...

I see what you're saying but you also have to be accurate as to which prospector's made the most in that scenario, you'd need to take into account the amount of "shelf-time" that money sat there (as those who sold the Braun's/Pujols' were able to use the money they made & re-invest it into other prospect's & could have sold them off & then re-invested a percentage into more prospect's, etc... which in turn this cycle could have been done several times over while the prospector's who held onto the Braun's/Pujols' had that money still tied up in thier initial investment). So in the long run it is very likely & propable that the prospector's who made the quick flip made more than those who sat on the Braun's/Pujols', because thier money wasn't tied down in an investment for an extended period of time (even though it was a money-making investment, it still required time...& time is money)! [/quote:2pse86jz]

True.

Yes, but my mind didn't immediately go to money when thinking of prospecting because I'm not a prospector

A_Pharis said:

uniquebaseballcards said:

Yeah I understand, but isn't *all* prospecting short-term?

[quote="A_Pharis":106yhjvm]It's amazing how much weight some people put on those lists, but it works well for short-term prospecting. It's hard to predict where someone will be 3+ years later. At the time, that was a fairly accurate list.

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Well, I guess... but who made more money?
People who invested REALLY early in Braun and sold right as he started getting better or people who invested REALLY early in Braun and sold last year?

People who paid less than $400 for a Pujols Bowman chrome auto and are selling them for what they sell for now or someone who sold them right when they hit $750 -$1000?

I guess it depends on your definition of prospecting.[/quote:106yhjvm]

i just use those lists on who not to buy. I will almost never buy a top 10-15 guy.