Adam Foster's Monthly Top 25

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Can't believe where he put Pineda, maybe he check him out live, he's remarkable.

I've seen Pineda live. I was actually REALLY high on him after seeing him pitch in the 2009 Cal League playoffs.

My biggest hesitation with Pineda is durability. He does have an arm injury history and I don't like the way his upper body lags behind his lower body when he throws a baseball. That said, if I had to pick a pitcher from this list to start a playoff game tomorrow, he'd be my guy. He's an undeniable talent. I just don't see his arm holding up over the long haul.

Yeah having any of those pitchers above Pineda at this point is pure stupidity.

He's dominating the majors and hitting 101 on the guns. Most pitchers who throw high 90's to 100's struggle with command. Pineda is #3 in baseball in strikes/balls ratio behind Halladay and Cliff Lee.

This list is meant to cover the next 10-15 years, not just tomorrow frzg.

Great list and interesting comments. Thanks for posting.

Thanks for posting Chris and for compiling the report, Adam. Big help to me since I don't have the time to do any of the research or watch tape.

Glad to help.

I should be as active as ever this minor league season. I'm heading to San Jose tomorrow to see Zack Wheeler -- so long as he isn't a late scratch -- and Gary Brown. Another AFL trip is in my future. And I'm going to be hitting up the video room (MiLB.tv ) hard for guys I haven't had a chance to see recently. Plus I have a number of anonymous scouts who will be submitting detailed scouting report this season, and maybe even some scouting philosophy articles.

Things are on the up and up. And I may have a very exciting announcement later this summer.

AdamF said:

This list is meant to cover the next 10-15 years, not just tomorrow frzg.

Click to expand...

Yes I know, I don't know why that changes Pineda's skill set unless hes ranked lower because you assume hes going to get hurt or something? Based off of 'stuff', hes at the top of the list.

Any reason why hes listed as low as he is?

Even before he was called up in the off season he was still listed as a top 10-15 prospect by most in the scouting industry and after coming up and doing what hes been doing I'd have to imagine that would only go up.

It is still somewhat amazing to me how cheap Rosarios stuff is:

[phil:v9i69c4m]260778001985[/phil:v9i69c4m]

Awesome stuff. Wilin Rosario is a beast, but he seems to get no pub for some reason....

Adam,
What happened to Randall Delgado and Mike Minor that Julio Teheran is now ranked above them for you? You were pretty adamant during the Top 100 ranking season that Teheran was really the Braves #3 pitching prospect behind those 2.

good read thanks

frzg said:

AdamF said:

This list is meant to cover the next 10-15 years, not just tomorrow frzg.

Click to expand...

Yes I know, I don't know why that changes Pineda's skill set unless hes ranked lower because you assume hes going to get hurt or something? Based off of 'stuff', hes at the top of the list.

Any reason why hes listed as low as he is?

Even before he was called up in the off season he was still listed as a top 10-15 prospect by most in the scouting industry and after coming up and doing what hes been doing I'd have to imagine that would only go up.

Click to expand...

Answered above:

My biggest hesitation with Pineda is durability. He does have an arm injury history and I don't like the way his upper body lags behind his lower body when he throws a baseball. That said, if I had to pick a pitcher from this list to start a playoff game tomorrow, he'd be my guy. He's an undeniable talent. I just don't see his arm holding up over the long haul.

No Betances

ballerskrip said:

Awesome stuff. Wilin Rosario is a beast, but he seems to get no pub for some reason....

Click to expand...

It is a little interesting. The injuries haven't helped him. And he is a free swinging. I had some concerns with his approach when I first saw him, and I know some people still do. There's just a lot of upside there.

BowmanChromeAddict said:

Adam,
What happened to Randall Delgado and Mike Minor that Julio Teheran is now ranked above them for you? You were pretty adamant during the Top 100 ranking season that Teheran was really the Braves #3 pitching prospect behind those 2.

Click to expand...

A scout recently confirmed my concerns that Delgado is trying to be too sharp and giving up walks instead of challenging hitters in the zone. His fastball is better than Teheran's -- better movement and command -- even though Teheran throws harder. But Delgado is going to be a bit more of a project than I initially thought. Teheran gets the edge for a changeup that's already an effective pitch in the big leagues.

I need to go back and watch some of Minor's 2011 Triple-A starts. I think his stuff ranks third among the Braves big three. Teheran has the tempo, deception and velocity to be a No. 3 starter in the big leagues now. With some refinement, he could become a good No. 2. I don't think he'll be able to make the improvements to become and ace, but I know I'm in the minority there. Right now, Teheran's stuff is a bit above Delgado's overall. I was giving Delgado the edge before because he has a better fastball, though Teheran closes the gap a bit with his arm speed, tempo and deception -- Delgado offers very little deception.

Wow - the Wilin Rosario? Keep it up buddy.


On a sour note: I sold my Ramirez BS Red 1/1 for under thirty; should have waited.
I still have this, though. And I have no plans of ever moving it:

Jurickson Profar is "crushing"? Is this some sort of Disney-tv slang or is this referring to his .161/.304/.321 line vs RHP this year? I guess it could reflect his .353 avg in 17 ABs vs lefties. I'm confused.

chompsmcgee said:

Jurickson Profar is "crushing"? Is this some sort of Disney-tv slang or is this referring to his .161/.304/.321 line vs RHP this year? I guess it could reflect his .353 avg in 17 ABs vs lefties. I'm confused.

Click to expand...

Yeah, sorry about that. I may go an change my words there, as it is confusing.

I was referring to his power. I don't look at batting average or triple-slash lines at all. But I know a lot of people do and I can definitely see where the confusion lies. The comment was meant to be in reference to his big jump in power from last year, and relative to other good defensive shortstops.