Heaney, Newcomb listed in top 10 of Best LHP Prospects

[Jim]

People that rank farm systems are hilarious.  For all we know, the worst farm system could turn out to be the best farm system.  Im pretty sure nobody looked at Matt Shoemaker in our farm system and thought hey maybe this guy could go 16-4 in his first season in the big leagues.

 

We have a lot of great prospects, and who knows maybe some more Shoemaker's waiting in the wings.  All this farm system rankings stuff is hogwash.  

 

And theres my rant for the day.

I view minor league rankings like handicapping the ponies. By accumulating past performances, pedigree, track conditions, trainers, distances, etc., they are ranked as to the likelihood of winning the race, or in this case, becoming a major league player. I don’t view them as a sure bet but more of an informed guideline. During an outing, most of the top ranked horses for that day come in or near the top along with a few long shots’ nobody saw coming.

 

I view the prospect rankings the same way. Many of the top 100 will make it to the show, a percentage of them will stick for a while and maybe a few of them will have had a decent career by the end. Now and then we get a stand out player, a Man o’ War (Trout). It helps to view the rankings as a guideline, not an absolute. 

[Stradling]

I thought it was funny when they use to say the Angels farm system was awful but it seemed like each year the minor leagues provided us with a talented player or two. Last year we would not have been nearly as good if our minor leagues didn't provide us with Shoemaker, Navarro and Morin, as well as having the emergence of Richards.

[Stradling]

Last years team had plenty of players that came up from our own system, and that is awesome to see. Our starting CFer, RFer, 2nd baseman, SS, and back up catcher, as well as our DH. The top three guys in our rotation for most of the year were also home grown. Then you have Morin and Bedrosian, who struggled, but should have a very good future. Outside of KC, I wonder how that would compare with the other play off teams.

[ukyah]

as long as we continue to bring in new talent with promise both into the system pipeline and also up to the major league team, then i give very little regard to our ranking. i just want to see cost controlled young players playing useful and valuable roles within the organization and specifically the mlb team, that is my only concern.

[RallyMo]

One of those guys had TJ surgery and the other has consistently lost velocity since then.

Was that supposed to allay my concerns?

WEAVER HAS LOST VELOCITY IN THE LAST DECADE? NOOOO WAY! FEARS JUSTIFIED!