Tough decision. A valid case can be made for any of these guys. I went with Donaldson because I like what he did with Midland this year and I love his OBP. I saw him live in Spring Training and he absolutely murdered a ball over to center field that looked like it was higher than the batter’s eye, just to the right of it. Any one of these guys would be an excellent choice. Should get interesting from here on out.

Corey Brown, CF.

He may be a bit of a head case but I look at him and see improving performance. His BB% is coming back up at a higher level and his K rate is coming down.

5 tools, improving strike zone judgment, reasonable defense in center, plus defense in the corners, good power potential.

But the real reason I picked Brown…..I keep on thinking Corey Brown=Nick Swisher. And I can’t shake it off.

Someone convince me.

Weeks: I love him but I worry about his injuries and didn’t do that well in AA.

Green: Hasn’t done anything yet, but he’s a polished college hitter with major upside (average defensive SS, above average hitter is extremely good).

Leon: Love his numbers, but can someone give me a scouting report?

I’m leaning Green at the moment because I think he’s got the biggest upside, but I’m very swayable.

(And no, DFA, no Donaldson yet. Sorry. He’ll be up soon though.)

I went with Jemile Weeks on this one, I considered a few guys here but I eventually ended up going with my gut as I really believe in Weeks.

His numbers in AA are going to cause a lot of people to pause, rightfully, but I think it’s worth noting that Weeks did not have a lot of professional exprience at lower levels and making the jump to AA is considered one of the toughest jumps even under normal circumstances. While his numbers suffered Weeks still managed to show decent plate discipline. The drop in BB-rate is a concern but it was paired with an equal drop in K-rate which suggests to me that he might have been pressing a bit and swinging more in his new environment.

Weeks doesn’t have as good a professional record as some of the choices but I think he has shown enough progress that we can project a lot of the skills that he showed before the draft to play in pro ball. I see a good defensive second baseman who has the ability to hit for a good average, will take a good number of walks, and has good speed on the basepaths. Injuries are a concern, but all the guys I considered here had concerns so I went with the guy who I believe will be an ideal lead-off hitter with good defensive value.

On Desme from ESPN:

Jim Callis:

“He’s a legitimate prospect. He just got hurt right before the A’s drafted him in 2007 and hasn’t been healthy until this year. Potential solid regular.”

Jason Grey:

“The final name is one you may have heard about because of the crazy numbers he’s put up in Class A this year.

Grant Desme is an outfielder in the A’s system who split the season between low Class A and high Class A. In 486 at-bats, Desme hit .288 with 31 homers and went 40-for-45 on the base paths. I’ll let those numbers sink in for a moment. Yes, he did indeed put up a 30/40 campaign.

At 23, Desme was not young for his level, but he was a second-round pick in 2007 out of Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo (two slots before the Marlins drafted Mike Stanton). He was viewed as a proverbial five-tool player, but this has basically been his first season as a pro due to injuries. He broke his wrist his senior year, and it flared up again after he was drafted, requiring surgery and limiting his pro time. He lasted just three at-bats last season after separating a shoulder trying to make a catch. However, the stats show he’s made up for lost time with a vengeance.

Desme’s bat does have the potential to hit for average along with plus power as he moves up the ladder, thanks to his great bat speed, the leverage he gets in his swing and ability to make adjustments at the plate. The book on him is that he can crush fastballs and changeups, but still swings through too many sliders and curves. Reports are that he handled them better than expected this year, but he still struck out 148 times. The stolen bases were a bit surprising, because he’s not blessed with great speed, but he has a great first step, excellent quickness and acceleration, and good instincts. He won’t keep up this pace as he moves up the ladder, but he’ll continue to get his share of bags. Power and speed combinations are always in demand, and Desme is definitely a sleeper to watch. He’ll be tested against better competition at the Arizona Fall League."

Not saying he should be 4th, but just that we can’t ignore him.

What I could find:

“I’ve been pretty impressed.”

“On Thursday, the Minor League Update alerted you of the impending 30/30 season from Desme, and instead of making us check the daily box scores waiting for the big blast, Desme just took care of it immediately, blasting a pair of bombs to give him 31 home runs to go with 40 stolen bases on the season, when you combine his stats from Stockton and Kane County. With 18 home runs and a .325 batting average in his past 52 games, he’s only getting better as the season rolls on. "

Again, not saying it means anything, just putting what little feedback on Desme thats available out there for all to see.

Couldn’t find much thats more recent:

http://athletics.scout.com/2/844664.html

I’m ultimately going with Weeks because of the favorable impressions of his ability that I’ve gotten from people like Melissa Lockard. I really like Doolittle for non-statistical reasons, I really like Leon for mostly statistical reasons, and Green has draft pedigree. Brown probably has ultimately the highest upside of anyone on this crew other than Ynoa, but he also has high flameout potential. Donaldson is a complete mystery to me skill-wise, but that doesn’t mean he’s not valuable, just that he could end up anywhere from star to complete bust and I wouldn’t be surprised.

Im not sure where it came from though.

How about if we drop the last place vote getter from the next poll every round. That way there would always be 2 new players. The dropped player should have to sit out at least one round as punishment for not being very good.