Sickels Midseason Top 75

LondonSox

Robert the Deuce
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Jul 15, 2005
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I'm a bit surprised Ranaudo (ranked 104 pre season) given his recent run (and of coruse a number of graduations) isn't there.
And Vasquez not even a mention.
 
Also worth noting Red Sox graduates include
Xander, JBJ and Workman
 
No Marrero I think is a mistake too.
 

Quintanariffic

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Apr 23, 2002
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LondonSox said:
I'm a bit surprised Ranaudo (ranked 104 pre season) given his recent run (and of coruse a number of graduations) isn't there.
And Vasquez not even a mention.
 
Also worth noting Red Sox graduates include
Xander, JBJ and Workman
 
No Marrero I think is a mistake too.
Couldn't agree more.  Elite defense at SS means he has a high floor - Marrero is going to have a decade long career in MLB at a minimum.  Only questions have been around his bat, and it seems he's come a long way in answering those this year.  I'd guess his floor is now Adam Everett with a ceiling of a poor man's Omar Vizquel.
 

mabrowndog

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Other pre-season grades included Owens (#33), Cecchini (#69), Betts (#74), Swihart (#81), Ranaudo (#104), Barnes (#131) and Ball (#133).
 
So Betts jumped 65 spots, Swihart moved up 58, and Owens improved 16. Also, Webster (who Sickels says would be "in the low 100s" now) wasn't in the Top 150 nor the "In The Picture" addendum, so it's safe to say Sickels considers him having made progress. Cecchini is the only one we can say for sure dropped in the rankings (at least 7 spots).
 
Additional comments & responses by Sickels on other prospects:
 
A: [Travis] Shaw I’m lukewarm about at this point. Interesting bat but not sure how he fits there.
Q: What would a guy like Rafael Devers (feel free to answer about that “type”, meaning young and raw, in low/rookie level ball) have to do the rest of the year to get serious consideration for a top 100 nod?
 
A: Well he's on the right path that is for sure. However, I would never put a DSL guy on this list, and one week in the GCL isn’t enough to override that. If he remains this hot, and the end-of-season reports are good, then he would be under consideration for the list going into 2015.
Q: Did you really not even consider [Allen Webster] for the list? Has his stock fallen that far while pitching in AAA?

A: I should have put him in the “also considered” section because I did look at him. The reports indicate that he’s stagnated in terms of not showing as much command improvement as expected. But his overall performance has been good, if very similar to last year. I wouldn’t put him in a 75 but he would be in the low 100s probably
 
A couple of commenters mentioned Manuel Margot and Wendell Rijo, but Sickels hasn't responded yet.
 
Nothing on Sean Coyle, which is mildly surprising.
 
Bottom line: Plenty of perceived improvement and very little perceived regression.
 

Paradigm

juju all over his tits
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Dec 5, 2003
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Touche?
Under Jason Parks, BP has added quite a handful of prospect evaluators that were previously unknown but seem well informed, which I'm concluding based on the quality and quantity of work that they now publish (scouting reports and writeups). BA has, of course, done this for years and remains the gold standard in my eyes -- their depth of coverage is incredible and you sense that their sources are very good. 
 
Sickels doesn't represent any of these in his work, so I'm finding it harder to take his rankings seriously in light of the above. Also, his analysis always seems more superficial and less insightful than BP and BA. And he's just one guy -- how can he see and evaluate all these guys? BA and BP have guys all across the country filing reports. Keith Law gets around this by writing really detailed reports on his ranked players that suggests either (1) he knows a lot about evaluating, (2) he's seen them or (3) he has really great sources giving him reports, which would make sense because he's published on the biggest sports website.
 
Any thoughts?