BP's Future Shock: Top 11 Prospects...

[Dreamscape]

As part of their ongoing series, Baseball Prospectus's Kevin Goldstein released another top 11 prospects, this time focusing on our Braves (http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=9968). While the article requires a subscription to read the entire article, I see no harm in giving you the top 11 with their grades based on a five star system.

Five-Star Prospects
1. Jason Heyward, OF
2. Julio Teheran, RHP
3. Arodys Vizcaino, RHP
Four-Star Prospects
4. Freddie Freeman, 1B
Three-Star Prospects
5. Randall Delgado, RHP
6. Christian Bethancourt, C
7. Mike Minor, LHP
8. Craig Kimbrell, RHP
9. Adam Milligan, OF
10. Robinson Lopez, RHP
Two-Star Prospects
11. Cody Johnson, OF

Four More:
12. J.J. Hoover, RHP: An over-slot 10th-round pick from 2008, Hoover showed excellent control and an impressive sinker/slider mix in his full-season debut.
13. Zeke Spruill, RHP: Spruill’s a tall, angular righty who pounds the strike zone with a plus sinker, but his secondary offerings need work.
14. Tyler Stovall, LHP: The lefty showed two plus pitches in Appy League, but a messy delivery and no clue of the strike zone keep him down.
15. Mycal Jones, SS: Jones has impressive tools and upside, but he’s quite raw for his age.

Added: While avoiding the scouting reports, here is another taste.

Top 10 Talents 25 And Under (Born 4/1/84 or later)

1. Jason Heyward, OF
2. Tommy Hanson, RHP
3. Jair Jurrjens, RHP
4. Julio Teheran, RHP
5. Arodys Vizcaino, RHP
6. Kris Medlen, RHP
7. Jordan Schafer, CF
8. Melky Cabrera, OF
9. Freddie Freeman, 1B
10. Randall Delgado, RHP

[Gman]

Nice post. Hard to argue with the placement. The only one I think is questionable is putting Cody Johnson at only 2 stars. I think what he did power-wise at the Beach was pretty impressive.

I think much of the criticism leveled at him comes from the fact that so many "experts" raked the Braves over the coals for making that pick, they tend to have blinders on when it comes to objectively looking at his performance. His 09 performance as a 20yr old in high A-ball saw him keep his excellent power numbers while improving his plate discipline. That to me says he's better than the guy that most ranked in the Braves top 10 after 08. He did whiff a ton again, but it's hard to not see some very good potential in his power and the fact that he's still a really young guy. I figure it might take at least 2 years in AA for him to improve upon last year's contact rates and further improve his plate discipline. If he does that in his first year of AA instead, than he's going to jump way up this ranking chart.

The other interesting thing about Cody is that there hasn't been a lot of counter-hype to offset the critics. That tells me there's some people in the organization who are happy to keep him off other teams "Must Have Throw-in" list when it comes to trade talks. There was enough positives there last year that they could easily have started the hype machine preparing Cody as an enticing trade throw-in. 32 hrs in 422 at bats at myrtle beach is a pretty big deal.

[Dreamscape]

Well, as someone who has watched Cody Johnson, I thought it was almost an over-reach. While he has immense power, Johnson has a monster whole in his swing and for such a big guy, he has a Johnny Damon-esk arm in left. I think he will have to sacrifice some power for contact and then, he loses his one noteworthy trait.

I was very hopeful the Braves could have traded Johnson this offseason. The fact that he wasn't traded could mean that the Braves valued him highly or other organizations didn't value him at all. I'm likely to believe it's the latter.

[The Rap]

Well I don't see that great a future for him because the larger the whole the tougher it is to learn how to correct that. If he has any future it should be at 1B because his arm sucks.

[jamminHANES]

I'm not that big on strikeouts- I usually don't think they matter or tell much of a story. In this case, that strikeout rate is seriously alarming, you just cannot rely on Johnson to produce unless he starts to seriously limit his strikeouts.

[HaRdCoReBrAvEsFaN]

I don't know what to expect out of CJ, but for some reason Pat Burrell has always popped into my head since pre-draft scouting reports...