Anyone a ESPN Insider that could put up the rankings released today concerning top 100 farm players etc.?
You should post the link you are interested in. Anways, Astros related: Keith Law Sleeper: [rquoter]Houston Astros Vincent Velasquez blew his elbow out shortly after signing, but he used the time off to work on strength and conditioning and was hitting 95 mph again in instructional league last year with the same plus changeup and average curveball. The Astros also might have a steal in right-hander Ruben Alaniz, signed out of a Texas high school in 2009 as an undrafted free agent, who was 93-97 with some sink last summer but doesn't have a consistent breaking ball.[/rquoter] [rquoter]Rank Player 78 Jarred Cosart Age: 21 (DOB: May 25, 1990) Bats: Right Throws: Right Position: Pitcher Organization: Houston Astros Top '11 Level: AA (Corpus Christi) 2011 ranking: 34 2011 MINORS STATS GM 27IP 144.1W 10L 10ERA 4.12 SO 101BB 56H 131HR 11BAA .241 Cosart, whom the Astros acquired from the Phillies in the Hunter Pence trade, actually had a good year, but drops in the rankings because more exposure has raised skepticism about his ability to stay healthy as a starter. His fastball and breaking ball are no-doubters that, in a vacuum, give him a No. 1 starter ceiling; he's 95-98 as a starter with a very hard, 11-to-5 curveball in the mid-70s that can miss bats, as well as a solid-average changeup that might be a little slow relative to the fastball. Cosart's problem stems from a strongly cross-body delivery that gives him some deception but puts stress on his arm, typically the shoulder. Cosart did miss time with a sore shoulder in 2009, and elbow trouble knocked him out for half of 2010 but never required surgery. The Astros' new regime hasn't had a chance to get their hands on him yet, but I'd expect them to work with him on staying online to the plate and reducing or eliminating that cross-body issue, since he has already had arm trouble. Power reliever isn't a bad downside if Houston can't clean up his delivery, but I'd expect them to exhaust the possibility he's a front-line starter first. 60 George Springer Age: 22 (DOB: Sept. 19, 1989) Bats: Right Throws: Right Position: Outfield Organization: Houston Astros Top '11 Level: A (Tri-City) 2011 ranking: UR 2011 MINORS STATS GM 8AB 28HR 1RBI 3SB 4 SO 2BB 2AVG .179OBP .303SLG .393 Springer -- whom the Astros took with the 11th pick last June -- was one of the toolsiest college position players I've ever come across, with a solid idea of what he was doing at the plate, sliding out of the top 10 only because of questions about his swing mechanics. The UConn product is an outstanding athlete, an above-average runner with a plus arm and plus raw power. He has tremendous bat speed and can turn on good velocity, with a history of running deep counts although without much of a two-strike approach. For some reason, he started swinging uphill this spring, collapsing his back side in the process and reducing the quality of his contact and leading to concerns that he'll swing and miss too much in pro ball. Perhaps it was "draftitis," trying to hit more home runs to improve his stock, but it's a bad habit and not an easy one to break. If he gets back to where he was a year ago, Houston got a steal, an impact hitter who hits for power, gets on base, and adds value through right-field defense. 46 Jonathan Singleton Age: 20 (DOB: Sept. 18, 1991) Bats: Left Throws: Left Position: First Base Organization: Houston Astros Top '11 Level: A (Lancaster) 2011 ranking: 27 2011 MINORS STATS GM 128AB 449HR 13RBI 63SB 3 SO 123BB 70AVG .298OBP .392SLG .441 Singleton was the main piece Philadelphia sent to Houston in July's Hunter Pence trade; he's a first baseman with a beautiful swing but a long way to go before he has real impact in the big leagues. He has great balance and plate coverage, excellent ball-strike recognition, and good hip rotation and extension through the zone that could lead to 30-homer power. The Phillies tried him in left field, but it didn't take, so his future is back at first base, and their attempt to change his stance by having him hit more off his toes resulted in a long funk early in the year. He's also had issues with left-handed pitching, which reduces him right now to a singles hitter. Singleton is still just also 20 years old and, if the Astros so choose, ready for Double-A, where he'd be among the youngest regulars.[/rquoter] http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/stor...84&_slug_=mlb-top-100-prospects-2012-nos-1-25
Top 10: Houston Astros 1. Jonathan Singleton, 1B (46) 2. George Springer, OF (60) 3. Jarred Cosart, RHP (78) 4. Jonathan Villar, SS 5. Domingo Santana, OF 6. Brett Oberholtzer, LHP 7. Paul Clemens, RHP 8. Adrian Houser, RHP 9. Telvin Nash, 1B/OF 10. Delino DeShields, OF/2B http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/stor...551540&_slug_=top-10-players-organization-mlb
It's always sad to see a prospect list dominated by trade-acquired prospects. Really emphasizes the ****ty drafting Houston did. I suppose having some decent prospects is better than none.
Remember that a lot of recent homegrown talent lost prospect status: Martinez, Lyles, Castro, Altuve, Shuck.
It is, though, nice to see some pitching prospects in the list. Clemens seems like he has the skills to really be a solid Norris type pitcher. Won't make it or break it for ya, but having him in a 3-5 spot is great.
