The good news is that things can change quickly in prospectdom. It's my belief that Benge and Williams can be stars and who knows - maybe 2025 is when they announce their arrival.
Time for the "I fought the Law and Law won" pun but there are some notable missing names that I have in my Top 20 the Keith does not and others that Keith has that I do not.
Keith Law is very high on Nolan McLean and I am very high on Jonah Tong. While we don't exactly swap these two in the rankings, it's close. He ranks Tong 8th and I rank him 4th. I rank McLean 12th and he ranks him 4th. Nobody is saying either pitcher is bad... we'll move on.
Boston Baro is not a Top 10 player. I have him 19th overall and even that seems too high. I don't see Baro having a ceiling as an everyday player and that means he should never rank in the Top 10.
Most of the world is higher on Luisangel Acuna than Brian and I. I rank him 22nd overall. I don't know where Brian would rank him.
I will also note that I rank Elian Pena as the #11 prospect and Law doesn't have our shiny new IFA at all.
Guys I think he missed:
Jeremy Rodriguez
Simon Juan
Yovanny Rodriguez
Guys who don't belong:
Nick Morabito (he's top 50 but not Top 20)
Nate Dohm (he was a 3rd round pick)
Eli Seranno (a 4th round pick who also has a mediocre ceiling)
I can never remember if you have a subscription to The Athletic. Regardless, here's what he said about Baro:
"Baro still needs to get a lot stronger, but in his first full year in pro ball he showed a ton of athleticism and more baseball skills than scouts expected to see when he was drafted in the eighth round in 2023. He plays excellent defense already with an above-average to plus arm. His pitch and ball/strike recognition were both very advanced for a teenager, with an overall whiff rate of 19.9 percent in Low A and a chase rate of just 24.8 percent. Baro has the foundation to be the best prospect in the system in a year if he adds some strength and holds all of those other skills."
This is the year Alex Ramirez makes his comeback and becomes a real prospect again! (wait, how many years have I said that?) Actually, that should have happened last year. Unfortunately, I don't think he is going to cut that K rate and bump the average. I liked the guy a lot and April 2023 gave us a glimmer of hope. The rest has been pretty much darkness.
Random thoughts:
I'd love to know what happens in Syracuse that causes guys to forget how to pitch.
I wonder how long it will take Elian Diaz to make this list.
To restate the obvious, the organization certainly needs some better health and performance fortunes than they got out of the system in 2024.
I would love to see a 'slam-dunk' star hit this system sometime. Perhaps it will be Diaz.
My bad .. brain fade there . .meant Pena, not Diaz. Old age is a bitch.
The good news is that things can change quickly in prospectdom. It's my belief that Benge and Williams can be stars and who knows - maybe 2025 is when they announce their arrival.
Time for the "I fought the Law and Law won" pun but there are some notable missing names that I have in my Top 20 the Keith does not and others that Keith has that I do not.
Keith Law is very high on Nolan McLean and I am very high on Jonah Tong. While we don't exactly swap these two in the rankings, it's close. He ranks Tong 8th and I rank him 4th. I rank McLean 12th and he ranks him 4th. Nobody is saying either pitcher is bad... we'll move on.
Boston Baro is not a Top 10 player. I have him 19th overall and even that seems too high. I don't see Baro having a ceiling as an everyday player and that means he should never rank in the Top 10.
Most of the world is higher on Luisangel Acuna than Brian and I. I rank him 22nd overall. I don't know where Brian would rank him.
I will also note that I rank Elian Pena as the #11 prospect and Law doesn't have our shiny new IFA at all.
Guys I think he missed:
Jeremy Rodriguez
Simon Juan
Yovanny Rodriguez
Guys who don't belong:
Nick Morabito (he's top 50 but not Top 20)
Nate Dohm (he was a 3rd round pick)
Eli Seranno (a 4th round pick who also has a mediocre ceiling)
Everything else is close enough.
I can never remember if you have a subscription to The Athletic. Regardless, here's what he said about Baro:
"Baro still needs to get a lot stronger, but in his first full year in pro ball he showed a ton of athleticism and more baseball skills than scouts expected to see when he was drafted in the eighth round in 2023. He plays excellent defense already with an above-average to plus arm. His pitch and ball/strike recognition were both very advanced for a teenager, with an overall whiff rate of 19.9 percent in Low A and a chase rate of just 24.8 percent. Baro has the foundation to be the best prospect in the system in a year if he adds some strength and holds all of those other skills."
Amazing how Alex Ramirez and Kevin Parada both didn't make the cut. Two former Top 10 Prospects that have fallen.
This is the year Alex Ramirez makes his comeback and becomes a real prospect again! (wait, how many years have I said that?) Actually, that should have happened last year. Unfortunately, I don't think he is going to cut that K rate and bump the average. I liked the guy a lot and April 2023 gave us a glimmer of hope. The rest has been pretty much darkness.
Kevin Parada last seeing trying to get on a pickleball team! I think hes headed out of the game.