Mariner Minors
The Mariner's MLB.com site put up an article on
3B Greg Dobbs. It's a good piece to see what kind of player he is and his attitude. Some aren't too high on him because of his age compared to other prospects, but I think he's a good enough prospect and should probably be able to make an impact on the team this season or next. An interesting note in the article was that the M's drafted him twice, in the 52nd round in high school and in the 10th round in college (for some reason I thought the Astros had drafted him too, but I might be wrong). The M's scouting department has been known to do this; they'll draft one player again and again over the course of a few years. LHP Miguel Martinez was one of them. Another was C Aaron Juchti (Justin's little brother), who never signed. I've also seen a lefty named Dane Iwana (from Hawaii, I think) drafted twice in the past two years, but he hasn't signed either. Persistance can pay off.
The article also mentions Leone, Mateo, Nageotte, Putz, Snelling, and Taylor have all signed. That leaves Soriano and Bloomquist.
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BA had two chats recently, one
at ESPN and one from
their own site.
There weren't a lot of Mariners-related questions in the ESPN chat, but there were a few indirect ones...
Joe (Cedar Falls, IA): Do you think it is better to build a system with great pitching or great hitting? It seems like pitchers are harder to predict (except for the studs), while hitters still have value. Thoughts?
Jim Callis: You need both to win in the majors, so you have to try to find both. That may not be answering your question . . . I will say that when I'm trying to rank organizations, I give extra credit for hitting depth compared to pitching depth, because the hitters are more likely to pan out.
Mike (Salem): Jim, the Baseball America list seems to heavily favor unproven over proven talent. For example, Jeff Allison ranks ahead of Clint Nageotte, Delmon Young ranks #3 overall (despite just 48 pro at-bats in the AFL) and Chris Lubanski ranks ahead of guys like Chris Snelling (who is not even ranked among the top 100.) This seems to be a drastic departure from previous BBA lists, and I'm wondering why.
Jim Callis: Mike, I think that's consistent with what we've done in the past. We ranked A-Rod No. 6 on the list in 1994 before he even played in his first game. We do balance performance and tools (and I'd favor performance), but we also don't knock premier talents just because their careers are just starting. Allison had the best fastball and the best curveball in last year's draft. I still want to see more out of Lubanski and I like Snelling, but Snelling projects as a corner OF who may not top 15-20 HR.
Scooter, Toronto: Jim, thanks for the outstanding chat session. Which player ranked 51-100 this year can you see making the biggest jump over the next 12 months?
Jim Callis: Cubs LHP Justin Jones, Orioles RHP John Maine, White Sox RHP Kris Honel, Mariners LHP Travis Blackley, Marlins LHP Scott Olsen, Indians 1B Michael Aubrey, Cubs OF Ryan Harvey.
Steve, Seattle: Will Chris Snelling ever become what the Mariners are expecting him to be? It seems that no matter what he does he injures something. This year it's his wrist.
Jim Callis: I've gotten a lot of mileage out of calling Snelling the Australian Pete Reiser, and I won't stop now. He'd be established in their starting lineup by now if he hadn't kept getting hurt. It looks like the plan now is to get him a lot of AB in Triple-A this year, and then he could take over at DH when Edgar Martinez retires. The signing of Raul Ibanez and the re-signing of Randy Winn indicates that Seattle didn't think Snelling was ready. I like him, he'll hit for average with line-drive power, but would profile better if he could play CF.
As for the chat at their place, it went like this for Mariners (and other interesting) questions.
Q: JB from WL, CT asks:
Thanks for taking the time to answer all of these questions. I was wondering your thoughts on Felix Hernandez. He was already ranked at number 30 and he is only 17 years old. Is his stuff that good, and is there anyone you can compare him to? Thanks!
A: Jim Callis: Hernandez, as I mentioned in my recent Mariners prospect chat, seems almost too good to be true. His fastball and curveball are both potential plus-plus pitches, and he just needs a little more consistency and command as he moves up the ladder. I tend to shy away from comparisons, as they're rarely fair to either player. But if you're looking for a guy with a power fastball and curve in the minors, I think of guys like Kerry Wood.
Q: Ian from NJ asks:
Is Wladimir Balentien the Felix Hernandez of position players or does he have even more questions that need to be answered?
A: Jim Callis: That's a bit much for Balentien. He has big-time power, but his grip-it-and-rip-it approach may be exposed at higher levels. Too early to put him on the Top 100, even after he decimated the Arizona League.
Q: Ted from Brooklyn asks:
it seems like what could be a landmark class of pitchers is under-represented in the top 10. what are the chances that 5 years from now you will regret ranking Rios or Sizemore over some of the high upside pitchers?
A: Jim Callis: To paraphrase Paul DePodesta: It's an art, not a science. We're not going to get every guy right. But we feel we've done the best possible job putting together this list. And hitting prospects are going to succeed more often than pitching prospects. I'm looking at the hitters in our Top 10: Joe Mauer, B.J. Upton, Delmon Young, Rickie Weeks, Alexis Rios, Kazuo Matsui, Grady Sizemore and Prince Fielder. I'll be very surprised if at least 5-6 of those guys aren't perennial all-stars.
Q: Chris from Huntsville, AL asks:
Would you say that the success of the two drafting styles (college vs. high school) is more dependent on WHO the players are than the styles themselves? For instance, Oakland was successful using the college drafting style, picking up Mark Mulder, Barry Zito, and Tim Hudson, while organizations such as the Dodgers have enjoyed drafting success picking high school players such as Greg Miller and James Loney. Both schools of thought are sure that theirs is the best and it doesn't really seem that one is better than the other to me.
A: Jim Callis: Definitely, Chris. You can think you have the best philosophy in the world, but you still have to draft the right guys (and be fortunate as they make their way to the majors). As for the Dodgers, they don't think high school guys are the best. But with so many teams taking college players, that's leaving high school guys on the top of LA's draft board when it's their turn to pick. Personally, I think you have to blend college and high school players. If you ignore one group, you're limiting your choices.
Q: Steve from Burien, WA asks:
Hi, Jim! Thanks for sharing your wisdom with us twice over. I'll try my question here, too: is there any hope left for Ryan Anderson, or is he nothing more than a cautionary tale on evaluating pitching prospects now?
A: Jim Callis: I can't bank on him after he has torn his labrum three times. Just another example of the attrition rate of pitchers, though no regrets ranking him. He had performed well all the way up to Triple-A before he got hurt.
Q: Marc from Tracy, CA asks:
How do you think BA would have graded Jamie Moyer as a prospect?
A: Jim Callis: He didn't miss many bats above Class A, so he wouldn't have been a Top 100 guy. I don't think anyone could have looked at his stuff or statistics and projected anywhere close to this kind of career. I think he holds some kind of arcane record like most wins after age 30 compared to before age 30, or something like that, a tribute to his ability to adapt.
Personally, I've never seen the comparison to Kerry Wood for Felix. We'll have to wait and see before we can really tell what we have with him, but I think he might crack the top 10 next season, provided he stays healthy. He was the youngest player in the top 100, and he should be in high-A this year. As for the comparison to Balentien, that's kind of tough on Balentien. He is two years older and started a level lower, after all. But his batting style is pretty well explain by Jim both here and in the other chat; Balentien's swing is all or nothing. Give him a mistake pitch and he'll send it to the parking lot, but he sometimes struggles with breaking and offspeed pitches. It's the type of swing that could have a lot of holes in it. If he can find a way to adjust and make some sort of contact on those kind of pitches, while still being able to rip the other ones into next week, then he'll be a pretty solid prospect. And to think, if he is around the age he says he is, his power should still be developing. Yikes.
Update: Ian, who had asked the Balentien question originally, said it was misinterpretted. He meant something along the lines of whether the stories were similar and if anyone had known about him considering both came seemingly out of nowhere to dominate a league. This is true to a point, not many people had heard of Balentien coming into his Peoria campaign, but he still had two seasons under his belt in the VSL. He was a major power threat for the Aguirre in 2002 and I expected him to do some damage in Arizona, though nothing of the caliber he accomplished. Hernandez, on the other hand, had no prior experience in either an affiliated Latin American team or the US. While more avid prospect watchers had heard of Hernandez, no one had seen him pitch, and no one necessarily expected him to do what he did.
I've also discovered that I can get 10+ hits from baseballblogs.org every time I mention BA near the top of any piece. BA! BA! BA!
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BA now has their Top 100 Prospects up, which means the American League West Notebook on the prospects won't be up until Monday, I should think.
30. Felix Hernandez, RHP
45. Clint Nageotte, RHP
63. Travis Blackley, LHP
70. Jose Lopez, SS
Not much more to tell other than that, though Felix ranked just ahead of Bobby Crosby and Dallas McPherson. Interesting.
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Guess I shouldn't go and say that there's not much news quite yet. Corey over at Mariner Optimist found an updated review of
Aaron Gleeman's Top 50 Prospects from last year. The link goes back to the article as it was posted in the M.O. blog.
Gleeman is debating whether he should start up a "Free Rafael Soriano" campaign like he did with Johan Santana. Hard to say, but I think that it's Soriano's choice and he seems to want to close. I'm also disagreeing with the statement about Nageotte being a pain to those who try to help him with the change-up, for reasons I've gone over before. It's not that he isn't receptive, it's that he won't throw it in tight situations.
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Over at the Minor League Baseball main site, there are now affiliate schedules for the
Arizona and
Florida-based clubs.
The Mariners affiliate schedule runs like this, if you're heading down there and want to see the clubs face off.
Seattle Mariners Affiliates Spring Training Schedules
(Tacoma, San Antonio, Inland Empire, Wisconsin)
home games in Peoria, AZ
DATE Triple-A & Double-A Single-A
March 21 @San Diego San Diego
March 22 Kansas City @Kansas City
March 23 Texas @Texas
March 24 @San Diego San Diego
March 25 Texas @Texas
March 26 @Anaheim Anaheim
March 27 San Diego @San Diego
March 28 CAMP DAY CAMP DAY
March 29 @Kansas City Kansas City
March 30 @Texas Texas
March 31 Kansas City @Kansas City
April 1 San Diego @San Diego
April 2 @San Francisco San Francisco
April 3 San Diego @San Diego
Other than that, there hasn't been any significant prospect news of late. Aside from the
invention of a new statistic. I'm now debating whether or not I want to go through the minor leagues and find out who was above and who was below league average Suck Ass (SA).
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The MLB.com decided to put up
their own prospect ranking, which was apparenlty accomplished by asking various scouting execs for their opinion. The end scores are in parenthesis next to the name, higher numbers are better. The rankings are pretty tame by content standards, but I suppose they might have some substance considering how they were done.
Three Mariners made the rankings...
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30 Clint Nageotte, RHP, Mariners (52)
2003 stats: [AA] 11-7, 3.10 ERA, 154 IP, 67 BB, 157 K
ETA in Majors: 2005
Nageotte has been great at making hitters miss throughout his career, primarily with a killer slider and plus fastball. If he can develop a change this year, he's a future starter. If not, he's still got a great future in the pen.
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34 Travis Blackley, LHP, Mariners (37)
2003 stats: [AA] 17-3, 2.61 ERA, 162.1 IP, 62 BB, 144 K
ETA in Majors: 2005
Blackley was the Texas League Pitcher of the Year at age 20, and for good reason. He'll bring his deadly changeup to Triple-A this season, with the M's rotation just a year away.
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41 Jose Lopez, SS, Mariners (26)
2003 stats: [AA] .258 AVG, .303 OBP, .403 SLG
ETA in Majors: 2005
A 20-year-old who'll play every day for Triple-A Tacoma, Lopez can do a little bit of everything, offensively and defensively. Rich Aurilia is merely keeping the position warm for this kid.
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The Mariners tied for second most behind the Halos, who had five total. These are interesting in that they don't mention Snelling or Hernandez, who both tend to get a lot of attention. Take them as you will.
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The chat transcript with
Aquasox radioman Pat Dillon is now up at ITP. The questions were half-Felix and half-rest-of-the-Aquasox. Some other good questions were asked about guys like Ruchti, Womack, and Moorhead. I wanted to ask about Randy Frye and why he dropped off after starting out so well, but I came in just as they were wrapping up.
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Becoming the second Mariner to be represented, Chris Snelling has come in at number 32 on
Fox Sports Top Prospects List, joining Clint Nageotte who came in as
number 58.
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32. Chris Snelling, OF, Mariners, Age: 22
Snelling, an Aussie, was signed by the M's as a non-drafted free agent in 1999. He's already earned plaudits for his hard-nosed, all-out playing style, but some have also blamed that for his penchant for injury. Prior to last season, he'd put up very impressive numbers in parts of four minor league seasons. After a late-season call-up to Seattle in 2002, Snelling tore his ACL and missed several months. His numbers weren't impressive last season in the PCL, but it was in some ways a lost year because of his mending knee. When healthy, Snelling hits for average, shows good power to the gaps, runs the bases well and plays strong defense at the corners. The only question at this point is whether he can stay healthy. If he does, he's a good one. ETA: Mid 2004.
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This covers a point made before; not to worry about Snelling's SBs, 2Bs, etc, from last year as he was being careful coming back from his injury.
Considering the list is all the way to 31 now in the count-up (so to speak), I don't know how likely it is that we'll see Blackley make the list. But, you never know.
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The Mariners MLB site has put up an
article on Travis Blackley.
The article is better than a lot of articles put together at that site, but they talk about Blackley coming up and filling a spot in the rotation if need be and I'm not so sure about that (thinking that Rett Johnson has a better chance). If trying to get a second lefty on the roster is still a priority, then Blackley shouldn't have a chance to make the 40-man out of spring training, particularly considering his repetoire and avg vs LHB, both of which I've made a point of discussing before. I wouldn't bank on him making his major league debut this season.
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The Tacoma News Tribune put up an
excellent article on the minors today. Seriously, this isn't the kind of coverage one can normally get from a local paper...
*Sherrill and Dobbs are Looper's dark horse candidates (to make a big impression, not necessarily the club), scouting reports on them as well.
*Jongewaard talks about Lopez and how despite the fact that he should be overmatched at each level he's placed at, he rises above.
*Mattox is high on Johnson, Nageotte, Blackley.
*Melvin wants to see Lopez play, Price wants to see Craig Anderson pitch.
Of course, beyond those main parts, there isn't a lot of substance to it that we haven't already heard (plus someone will inevitably coming in moaning about organizational spin). But it's nice to see one of the bigger papers paying some attention to the minors.
Check it out.
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A heads up to all minor league fans out there... Pat Dillon, broadcaster for the Everett Aquasox, will be in
The ITP Chat Room, tomorrow at 4 pm for about an hour. Sadly, I'm not sure if I'll be there, but come prepared with all your Aquasox questions.
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John Sickels ran his
"Down on the Farm" chat yesterday. I missed it, but the transcript is up, so here is the Mariners-related content (and some other things I found interesting)...
John (Seattle): Ryan "space needle" Anderson. Any chance he will EVER be healthy enough to even throw a single "Randy Johnson-type" inning?
John Sickels: I'd write him off.
Scott (A's Nation): I hear a lot about pitching prospects, much more than rising offensive stars. Does it seem like we are heading toward a period where pitching will dominate? This must not make the folks who watch the tv ratings happy.
John Sickels: I think we are seeing a cyclical shift in favor of pitching. The last few drafts have been pitching-heavy, and 2004 is supposed to be as well. There is a larger group of impressive minor league pitchers compared to the hitters right now. These cycles take time to manifest themselves, so I don't expect any quick changes in the short term or even the medium term. But 10 years from now, I think Major League pitching will be stronger than it currently is.
Josh (Oregon): In response to Scott. We are in a power generation. Power hitters, and power pitchers are taking over. This means lots of K's, while lots of Homers as well. This is what the public wants to see, the bling bling.
John Sickels: I agree with this. Power.
Pat Commerce Twp: When is the arrival time for Felix Hernandez. Is he a possible #1 starter
John Sickels: If what everyone says about him is true, then he could be the best RHP prospect in the game by the end of the season. Excellent combo of stuff and command and youth, though we need to see him against more advanced hitters. Number One potential, yes, if he stays healthy.
Chad Tacoma: What are your thoughts on Clint Nageotte, the local buzz is that he'll be in the M's bullpen by midseason
John Sickels: Nageotte has a KILLER slider, and his fastball is very good when he bothers to throw it. His high-stress delivery, stubborn streak, and unwillingness to use his changeup make him better-suited for relief in all liklihood. So a mid-season trial seems plausable to me.
Quick Notes:
*The drafts recently have seemed more pitcher inclined, which makes me wonder if the M's shouldn't alter their draft strategy to get more hitters, considering the number of pitching prospects we have already. How many tall high school lefties before you have too much?
*Level of competition is imoprtant, and considering Hernandez has this kind of attention after having a short stint in Everett and a cup of coffee in Wisconsin, he could be the next big pitcher. Provided he stays healthy, and is the age he says he is, again.
*I'll admit it; I have heard reports concerning Nageotte being somewhat stubborn in utilizing non-slider pitches. But to label him as a relief prospect now would be jumping the gun a bit. He vastly improved the use and location of his fastball over the course of last season, and he probably should continue to improve over the course of this season. For that reason, I am STRONGLY opposed to him being used out of the bullpen to start this season. He needs time to work on his change-up down in Tacoma, while continuing to improve the rest of his pitch selection. Jim Slaton (Rainiers pitching coach) and the catchers down there will make him work on those aspects of the game. This would reduce his pitch counts, ease the stress on his arm (and particularly, his elbow), and make his slider and fastball look all the more unhittable. He NEEDS the additional time to develop.
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Hey guys, we made the news...
Seattle PI ran a
story on the Mariners blognation and blogging in general. I was one of the sites to get free advertisment, oddly enough. I've got to admit though, there are a number of people who work blogging harder than I do; Peter over at
Mariner Musings deserved to make the list before I did because he contributed in large part to my starting this, and a lot of bloggers would probably tell you the same thing. I also have to give the props to multi-poster blogs like
The Sons of Buhner,
At Least the Red Sox Have 1918, and
The Safe. I'm a big fan of multiple authors, there is no progress without some sort of dialectic anyway. Not to knock on anyone else either by not mentioning; please look around, there are gems throughout the blogosphere.
For those of you who are just joining me, I apologize for the recent lack of content; there haven't been any major signings or transactions for a week or so. I invite you to flip through the archives if you feel like it, I have some sabermetric calculations around here too if that's your thing.
There hasn't been much prospect news of note tonight. The Seattle Times is running a
story on George Sherrill. I had heard a little before about Sherrill losing weight compared to his time in Winnipeg, but I didn't hear about it continuing on through the rest of the year. Those interested can find his statistics for all of his stops
here at BA. As I've stated before, Sherrill is my choice for second lefty. He's tough on both sides of the plate (.174 vs LHB, .210 vs RHB), he can go longer than an inning if need be, and he induced ground-outs, flyouts, and strike outs all near equally, which would indicate to me that he does whatever it takes to get a batter out.
There was an article in the News Tribune yesterday on
Jeff Heaverlo. For those who haven't yet signed up for the TNT site, don't worry, I've found it's not nearly as painful as you would think.
Heaverlo is apparently writing a sort of autobiography on his experiences in the minor league; a sort of effort to bring the experience to life and show what really goes on down there. This isn't anything new to Heaverlo, whose father (former Mariners reliever Dave) kept a log of his experiences, as his grandfather kept a pitch by pitch log of every situation Dave faced. An interesting idea, I don't know if the minor leagues have been used as book material quite as much.
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CBS Sportsline has put up a list of
top AL West prospects...
SEATTLE MARINERS
1. CLINT NAGEOTTE, SP
Age: 23, Throws: R, Ht: 6-3, Wt: 200, Acquired: SEA fifth round, 1999.
The minor-league leader in strikeouts in 2002 (214), Nageotte followed that up with a decent season in Double-A, leading the Texas League with 157. He has a nasty slider and low-to-mid-90s heat, and could be a candidate for relief work in Seattle in 2004. Nageotte's lack of faith in his changeup might make him a better closer prospect long-term, but his performance in Triple-A this year should prove the true test of his future role. ETA: September 2004.
2. TRAVIS BLACKLEY, SP
Age: 21, Throws: L, Ht: 6-3, Wt: 190, Acquired: Undrafted F.A., 2000.
He's a finesse pitcher who changes speeds as well as anyone in the minors. Blackley's 17 wins tied him for the minor-league lead in 2003, and it's inevitable he'll be compared to Jamie Moyer, whom he might replace in the Seattle rotation in a year. Blackley's walk rate is a little high right now, but if he improves it in 2004, he could quietly emerge as a solid big-league starter down the road. ETA: opening day 2005.
3. JOSE LOPEZ, SS
Age: 20, Bats: R, Ht: 6-2, Wt: 170, Acquired: Undrafted F.A., 2000.
The youngest player in the Double-A Texas League in 2003, Lopez's numbers might seem disappointing. However, he seemed to adjust well to the competition late in the year, and even batted .391 with two homers during San Antonio's postseason championship run. Lopez still needs to learn to work the count, but he's young enough to improve in that area. He'll take time to adjust in the majors but could be an eventual five-category star. ETA: Mid-2005.
4. RETT JOHNSON, SP
Age: 24, Throws: R, Ht: 6-2, Wt: 210, Acquired: SEA eighth round, 2000.
He's not a hard thrower but has a strong slider-sinker combination that translated into success in 2003 after a slight adjustment to his delivery. Johnson might never be a staff ace, but he has the makings of a solid big-league starter, perhaps even by this year. ETA: September 2004.
5. FELIX HERNANDEZ, SP
Age: 17, Throws: R, Ht: 6-3, Wt: 170, Acquired: Undrafted F.A., 2002.
The youngest player in the short-season Northwest League in 2003, Hernandez simply pitches well beyond his 17 years. He has perhaps the best arm in the Seattle minor-league system, hitting the mid-to-high 90s with his fastball, and would perhaps rank atop this list if he were just a little older or more advanced in his development. With a strong year in Class A ball in 2004, Hernandez would join the upper echelon of prospects. ETA: Mid-2006.
Others to watch: OF Shin-Soo Choo missed some time last year with a broken right foot, but when healthy he still displayed the skills that should make him an eventual batting average-stolen base contributor at the major-league level. He's a few years away. ... 3B Justin Leone, the Double-A Texas League MVP in 2003, led the circuit with 92 walks, 103 runs and a .405 on-base percentage. At 27, he's fairly old for a prospect at that level, so he'll need to reach the majors this year if he's ever going to amount to anything. ... OF Chris Snelling continued to battle injuries in 2003, this time a knee problem that appeared to rob him of some of his speed. He has the offensive potential to be a useful big-league regular, but any further setbacks might limit him to a designated-hitter role long-term.
Quick Notes:
*Blackley utilizes his pitches in the same way Moyer does, they are both finesse lefties, but in terms of stuff, it's not as easy to compare them. Blackley won't replace Moyer in 2005 because Moyer is still under contract for 2005 (duh). Though they are right about his walk rate; his K/BB in this first two seasons was about 3.32, last season it was 2.32.
*The assessment of Lopez' ability to take a walk is also correct, but this poses less problems than it would for most players as Lopez has only struck out in about 9.5% of his AB since his initial Everett campaign. Factor in total PA and it's more like 9%. Lopez, quite simply, puts the ball in play.
*Signs seem to indicate that Hernandez will begin in Inland Empire. If he does damage there, he should be near the top of just about every list.
*From what I've heard, the knee issue didn't rob Snelling of speed so much as he was a little hesistant to go all out on the basepaths following his injury in 2002. Nothing confirmed on that, but just a little additional insight into what might be going on.
I took the stats out of the rankings because I didn't want to spend the time to align them properly.
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Here's an
article on Dave Brundage, who has now managed the Missions to two consecutive titles. One of the more interesting things about Brundage is that he started managing when he was 29, after playing in the minors for nine years, eight of them with Seattle. I listened to a number of San Antonio games broadcasted over the 'net last season, and everyone seems to say good things about him. Brundage was a pitcher and an outfielder in his minor league days, so it seems like he would (and does) have a good grasp on both aspects of the game. It seems like he'll get his chance as a big league manager someday, and when he does, I'll be cheering him on.
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For those interested parties, there is a
yahoo! archive of Mariners photos, where you can now find spring training pictures as they are added. There's one of Rivera, Wilson, and Davis doing a warm-up excercise which
may or may not be the hokey pokey.
I've found an article on recent Australian signing
Kent Dixon, who will be joining the M's minor league camp for spring training come March 7th with the other catchers. The article indicates his signing bonus was in six figures, among other things. Dixon should join fellow Aussie RHP Matthew Sundstrom in Peoria this season.
An article on former Mariners top 10 prospect RHP Jeff Heaverlo made it to the
Seattle Times today. Chances are, you've already seen it, but it is somewhat interesting; I've never heard of a pitcher throwing two different sliders.
There's also an article I found that questions the Yankees ability to win in the playoffs after the 1997 Mariners broke the HR record and
lost the ALDS, among other things. Good for at least a laugh, and maybe to lower your blood pressure if it's been spiking since the A-Rod debacle.
There's a prospect file on Rett Johnson up at ITP, but it requires premium access. Similarly, Baseball Prospectus is going over their top 50 prospects and I don't have a subscription to that.
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