January 28, 2004
It ain’t easy winnowing a list of 75 prospects down into a top ten list (as those of you who participated in the contest readily know). However, when the two authors compared lists back in late November, it was interesting to note that they agreed on nine of the ten players on the following list (we won’t say which player was the subject of disagreement).The Minor Opinions Top Ten Prospect List:
1. Jason Lane
With Hidalgo almost a given at this point to remain in a mud n’ blood uni for this season, Lane’s career again appears to be stymied. However, even as a backup we think performance by this Trojan in 2004 will be…stimulating.2. Taylor Buchholz
With Rajah and Andy onboard, a mid or late-season callup for the former Phillie prospect doesn’t appear to be in the cards. Instead, he’ll head up for a full season a very strong Zephyr pitching staff.
3. Hector Gimenez
A strong offensive campaign with Salem in the first half hopefully translates into a promotion so that those of us in the greater Austin area can check him out at the Dell Diamond over the latter half of 2004.4. Chris Burke
Our prediction is that he will lead the PCL in OBP in 2004 while socking a few more longballs (shortened fences at the Shrine on Airline will help in that regard). Okay, maybe that’s not so much as a prediction as a fervent hope.
5. Chad Qualls
We believe that the latter portion of 2003 marks Qualls’ transition from thrower to pitcher. However, like Buchholz, 2005 now looks to be the year for Chad’s big league debut.
6. Fernando Nieve
Looks to be one of the few stars on what again may be a pretty mediocre Express squad.
7. John Buck
Impressive defense still makes Buck the catcher of the near future. Hope still remains that his bat will force him into the Houston dugout sometime in 2004.
8. Ezequiel Astacio
Late bloomer whose star probably rides on his ability to find a strikeout pitch. If he does so, people just might look back at the Billy Wagner trade in a few years and see it as a rip-off of the Phils.
9. Charlton Jimerson
Mark it down. This is Chewy’s breakout season.
10. Jared Gothreaux
The man skipped a level and went from the bullpen to the top of the rotation by the end of the season. Give him his due.
As in past years, our top ten list tends to be biased towards those players who have demonstrated a certain level of performance in the upper levels of the system (high A ball and above). Thus, the reason for not finding Jason Hirsh, Matt Albers, Mitch Talbot, and Jimmy Barthmaier in our top ten (though all were very near misses). The only exception here was Nieve, whose phenomenal finish at Lexington and his winter ball performance down in Venezuela bodes well for a successful jump this season to Round Rock.
As far as the contest results, Spiers for Hall of Fame is again the winner for the second year in a row. You can check out all the contest scores at:
http://www.orangewhoopass.com/topten.php Congrats to SfHoF and our sincere appreciation to all who participated in the contest.