TBG Top Prospects 81-90

Prospects 91-100 can be found here:

http://thebaseballgods.blogspot.com/2009/01/tbg-top-prospects-91-100.html

The entire Top 100 can be found (in list form only, no reports) here:

http://thebaseballgods.blogspot.com/2008/12/2009-top-100-prospects-rankings-only.html


The Baseball Gods Top 100 Prospects (81-90)

90. Jake McGee, LHP (Rays – b: 8/6/86)

This is a bit of a strange selection, I admit, because McGee will probably miss 2009 while recovering from Tommy John surgery. Given the success rate with Tommy John guys and given McGee’s upside I think it would be a mistake to write him off. He’s a big, hard throwing lefty who had 553 strikeouts in 485 minor league innings before having surgery. At worst he’ll be a power lefty out of the pen along the lines of Matt Thornton or maybe even B.J. Ryan.

89. Eric Hosmer, 1B (Royals – b: 10/24/89)

With a little more time to develop Hosmer should be a Top 10-20 prospect in the not-too-distant future. The 6’4” left handed hitter has a ton of power and projects as a strong defensive player as well, I just have a little trouble rating 19 year-old with 3 pro games under his belt in the Top 50. He’s a good athlete with a strong arm – wonder why he’s not an OF instead of a 1B? – and the Royals are certainly looking forward to watching him develop.

88. Dellin Betances, RHP (Yankees – b: 3/23/88)

With some improvements in his command, Betances will start to move up the ranks in leaps and bounds. The 6’8” 245 pound right hander has a dominant fastball that reaches the upper-90’s and his breaking ball is solid as well. If he can develop a third quality pitch he’ll have a career as a starter, if not he’s got enough heat to be a lights-out closer. Getting a good read on pitchers this tall who throw hard isn’t easy – when you think about how much closer their release point is to home plate compared to someone 6-8 inches shorter you begin to get the idea. The ball just explodes on hitters.

87. Greg Halman, OF (Mariners – b: 8/26/87)

Halman had a strong season in ’08, showing both power and speed while splitting the season between High-A and Double-A despite not turning 21 years-old until the end of August. In fact, Halman was nearly a 30-30 guy (29 HR, 31 SB) and his .854 OPS was more than respectable. With the Mariners seriously lacking in big time production in their outfield a guy like Halman could arrive at any time as long as he gets off to a good start to the season.

86. Michael Inoa, RHP (A’s – b: 9/24/91)

Yep, that’s a “91” in his birth date. Inoa is still just 17 years-old and has event come close to a pro diamond yet but guys with his measurables get ranked anyway. He’s an athletic 6’7” who is not at all awkward, according to reports, and his fastball already reaches the mid-90’s. Word on the street is that Inoa also has a nasty split-finger fastball as well. Eventually we’ll find out about his command and endurance but in terms of raw pitching ability very few prospects are even in his league. May be the #1 overall prospect in the game in couple of years.

85. Nick Adenhart, RHP (Angels – b: 8/24/86)

His reputation took a big dent in ’08 after he got knocked around both at Triple-A and in the Majors but it should be pointed out that he reached the Majors before his 22nd birthday. Adenhart isn’t a strikeout pitcher – and never will be – but he’s still a guy that should be a successful big league starter. Don’t give up on him yet, he’s not done developing.

84. Jeremy Jeffress, RHP (Brewers – b: 9/21/87)

Personally, I think Jeffress projects as a closer. Walks are a problem at this point in his career but he’s got a fastball that has reportedly touched 100 MPH and he didn’t turn 21 until the end of September ’08. He needs some work for sure but his upside is tremendous. Jeffress has a curve and a change that could develop into very good pitches. In fact, the development of those pitches will probably determine what his future role is – if those pitches are strong, he’s a starter.

83. Gaby Sanchez, 1B (Marlins – b: 9/2/83)

I really like Sanchez as an offensive player and there’s a chance he could be the Marlins’ starting first baseman this season. He hasn’t shown a ton of HR power but I think there are 20-25 HR’s in that bat going forward, plus he’s a patient guy who walked as often as he struck out last season. As an added bonus, Sanchez also swiped 17 bags in ’08. Now 25 years-old, his status as a “prospect” is pretty much limited to this season. He’s either a big leaguer or a tweener at this time next year.

82. Jemile Weeks, 2B (A’s – b: 1/26/87)

Jemile is the switch-hitting little brother of Rickie Weeks. He’s not a power guy like Rickie but he is a very good offensive player who projects as a leadoff man. Jemile does have some gap power and does a good job of working the count, something the A’s certainly value in his game. Right now he’s a 2B but if he has defensive problems going forward he could easily handle CF with his speed. I suspect he’ll advance quickly as long as he doesn’t have injury problems.

81. Engel Beltre, OF (Rangers – b: 11/1/89)

Beltre is still raw and needs refinement but the tools are certainly there. Spent the entire ’08 season playing in the Low-A Midwest League as an 18 year-old and while his numbers aren’t all that exciting at first glance (.283/.308/.403) they’re not bad when you consider a lot of guys his age were playing Short Season or Rookie ball. He has plenty of speed already and looks like he’ll develop power as his body fills out but he will need to work on his pitch selection (105 K/15 BB w/ 566 AB in ‘08) to maximize his offensive ability.

KW