Top 25 A's Prospects: (Sickles Style)

Ranking the prospects in our system may be a little premature, at this time- given that Billy Beane is most-likely not done trading and Green, Dyson, Stassi, and Krol have yet to be signed. However, I wanted to get a mental snapshot of what the A’s system currently looks like now- and just worry about inserting whatever other prospects are imported into the A’s system via trade, later.

I went, pretty much, off the John Sickels “template” for ranking minor league systems and individual prospects. However, I included a little more description involving each prospect than Sickels tends to do- especially towards the end of the rankings. I ranked the best 25 prospects, as I see them, but also included a list of other A’s prospects who should be considered-  at the end-  with the intent to inspire debate about who should be included and who should not make the cut.

I am very confident in my judgment of where these respective prospects should be ranked. However, the A’s system is so rich and deep in talent right now that I fully welcome differing opinions and/or criticism. Anyways, I hope you all enjoy- and let the debating begin!  

Prospect Rankings:

1)      Brett Wallace 3B-1B, GRADE A-: Defensive concerns preclude him from receiving an A.  His walk rate, at the triple A level, is slightly down relative to expectations; but overall he has done nothing to suggest he is not one of the elite bats in the minors. I personally believe he will be able to be at least passable at 3B for a 3-4 year period- then have to make the switch to first. Regardless, He was ranked the 21st best prospect in the Minors midseason and I am legitimately excited about the A’s plugging him, somewhere, in the lineup for 2010 and beyond.

2)      Adrian Cardenas 2B-3B, GRADE B+: Borderline A-. Not hitting many home runs in Double A, but batting around .350 with solid patience while hitting tons of doubles. If he begins to hit more homeruns he could really turn into a scary offensive player.

3)      CHRIS CARTER 1B, GRADE B+: Borderline A-. There are some reports that he has a couple of holes in his swing and he probably will continue to strikeout a lot, in the majors. However, Carter has hit .300+ this season, while drawing tons of walks and being one of the HR leaders in the Texas league, with 16. If he can continue to cut down on his K’s he will be very deserving of an A- grade.

4)      JEMILE WEEKS 2B, GRADE B+: Started the year injured, but then proceeded to tear up CAL league pitching; he got at least one hit in each of his first 23 games while also hitting for power and drawing tons of walks. He has come down to earth since then, but he still looks like a potential impact bat who can be slotted into 2B or CF. Has not stole many bases this year, but that is probably due to the fact that he has been battling hamstring issues.

5)      AARON CUNNINGHAM OF, GRADE B: Borderline B+: Continues to hit as expected. May be under-selling his ceiling. However, if he can show a little more power he will be very deserving of a B+ grade.

6)      SEAN DOOLITTLE 1B-OF, GRADE B: Has been hampered by injuries for a good portion of this year. Still projects as a .270-.290 player with solid patience and 15-20 home run power. Given the 1B logjam in Oakland he will probably be playing corner outfield exclusively upon his return.

7)      JOSH DONALDSON C-3B, GRADE B-: Borderline B: If Donaldson can slightly improve his hitting tool and begin to show some more HR power he should grade out as a solid B-level prospect. Love the plate discipline and the gap power he is currently displaying- 30+ doubles. Questionable whether he will remain behind the plate. However, his bat could be very playable at third.

8)      TYSON ROSS SP, GRADE B-: Borderline B: Mechanics are still reportedly somewhat out-of-whack. However, after a rough initial start in the CAL league, he has really started to come on by striking out nearly a batter an inning and inducing tons of groundballs. Recently promoted to Double AA, where he could really begin to take off ala Vin Mazzaro last year.

9)      GRANT GREEN SS, GRADE B-: Has yet to officially sign with Oakland. Somewhat disappointing junior year (in college)-at least compared to expections coming into the year. Still, if he can show power and the ability to stay at SS defensively, he should quickly become one of the top SS prospects in the minor leagues.

10)   MICHAEL YNOA SP, GRADE B-: Has yet to make an official minor league appearance. The lottery ticket of the A’s organization projects to become one of the top pitching prospects in the minor leagues. However, given his age, a lot could happen during his minor league career- i.e. injuries (knock on wood)- to prevent him from ever reaching his ridiculous potential.

11)   JAMES SIMMONS SP, GRADE B-: Has been somewhat disappointing at triple A so far. However, he is still young, for triple A, and his projection as a prospect that has a good chance of reaching his potential as a back of the rotation innings-eater still remains the same.

12)   GRANT DESME OF, GRADE B-: His negatives are age, relative to level, and a horrendous strikeout rate. However, it is hard to ignore a guy who already has 20 hrs and 30 sb’s- between Low A and High A. He can’t afford any more injuries that will further set back his development. However, if he can cut down on his strikeouts he has the potential to turn into a very strong hitting prospect.

13)   HENRY RODRIGUEZ RP, GRADE B-: Up and down year so far at triple. Still possesses outstanding stuff and if he could just improve the consistency of his control he should be a deadly late-innings option for Oakland.

14)   MAX STASSI C, GRADE B-: Has yet to officially sign with Oakland. Would have been a likely first round pick if not for signability issues. A catcher who projects to be an above-average hitter, for his position, is always a valuable commodity in a team’s minor league system.

15)   SAM DEMEL RP, GRADE B-: Rated a C+ by sickels previously. Sickels noted that his command could wobble in Double A which I imagine is the reason he went with a C+ instead of a B-. Regardless, his 1.04 ERA with 40 SO’s in 43+ innings- between AA and AAA- warrants a bump up to a B- grade. However, it is important to note that he still walks a fair amount of hitters- 18 BB’s in those 43+ innings which suggests that Sickles’ concerns were not completely unwarranted.

16)   MATT SPENCER OF, GRADE C+: Borderline B-. He has had an excellent season between high A and double A, and continues to prove that he was more than just a throw-in prospect in the Blanton deal. If he continues to hit for a solid average- currently batting .293- he could develop enough power to have a future as a corner outfielder in Oakland.

17)   ANTHONY CAPRA SP, GRADE C+: Borderline B-. Capra has been pitching excellently this season, striking out 103 batters in 100 innings while boasting a 3.24 ERA. Recently promoted to Stockton- if he can continue to post similar numbers for the rest of the season, he will probably be well –deserving of a B- grade at the end of the year.

18)   SHANE PETERSON OF, GRADE C+: Borderline B-. He was given a C+ grade coming into the year by Sickels. The A’s look like they are going to put him in CF and see if he can stick, defensively. If he does, and he continues to hit well- and possibly show a little more HR power- he should be worthy of a B- grade by year’s-end.

19)   BRETT HUNTER P, GRADE C+: Borderline B-. Sickels gave him a B- coming into the year. It was probably expected that this year would very up and down as Hunter tinkers with a few mechanical things to help him avoid injury. It is important to note that- for a guy like Hunter- grades are relatively meaningless because a year from now he could become a B+ level prospect or completely fall off the map, depending on how his arm holds up.

20)   COREY BROWN OF, GRADE C+: I am inclined to think that Brown would be much higher on this list- and established as at least a B- level prospect- had he not been battling injuries throughout this year. I am not sure whether he’s had various small-nagging injuries or one major injury. The lost development time mainly hurts because he is a player who needs to improve his strikeout rate- something that is helped by getting more and more used to higher-level pitching. If he can learn to cut down on his K’s, he should emerge into a very exciting option; someone that can play all three OF spots for the A’s in the future. He rivals Desme and Dixon for the best power/speed combination in the A’s system.

21)   FAUTINO DE LOS SANTOS SP, GRADE C+: Beginning to make his come back from TJS. He pitched a couple of innings earlier this month- but has not pitched in 15+ days since then. Hopefully they are just being cautious, but it would be nice to get an update on what’s going on. It will be interesting to see whether the A’s continue to try to develop him as a starter or attempt to speed up his development by using him as a RP. He is a pitcher who- like Hunter- could reclaim his pre-injury top prospect status a year from now, or never recover and completely fall off the map.

22)   RASHUN DIXON OF, GRADE C+: Given his age, I am somewhat willing to say that we should not be too concerned with his OVERALL performance so far this season- hell, Aaron Hicks is only batting .218 at the same age and level, and he is considered a top 50 prospect midseason. However, his strikeout rate- and overall lack of plate discipline- is something to watch because if, at some point in the near future, he doesn’t begin to improve them; He will begin to get lost in the shuffle of the plethora of outfield prospects, the A’s have, making their way through the system. As mentioned above though, he possesses possibly the top power/speed combination in the A’s system and is too damn young to start to get soured on his future potential just yet.  

23)   CLAYTON MORTENSON SP, GRADE C+: Given a C+ by Sickels coming into the year; His performance this year has not warranted a bump up to a B-. However, he still projects to be a back of the rotation starter and could be someone the A’s could use in multiple spots as both a reliever and starter. Since he is a sinkerballer, his stuff could play up in Oakland.

24)   KENNY SMALLEY SP, GRADE C+: Hard for me to judge his true value at this point because- to my knowledge- there have been no scouting reports or evaluation pieces, put out on the internet, by prospect prognosticators. However, judging from his stats- he currently leads the A’s system with the best SP ERA at 1.99 while striking out 86 in 90+ innings- I think he should be in the top 25 and may be a very promising pitching prospect to watch depending on what future scouting reports indicate about his stuff.

25)   ARNOLD LEON P, GRADE C+: A young interesting arm who has already made his way to Double A. His performance, this season, has been generally disappointing. However, he is still very young, relative to AA, and projects to become a very promising late-innings power arm down the road. He may be converted, at some point, to a starter and it would be interesting to see what his ceiling would be-as a starter. However, I haven’t seen much of an indication that that will happen; so right now he should be judged mainly as a RP.

OTHERS: Petey Paramore C, Josh Leyland C, Josh Horton SS, Nino Leyja 2B, Cliff Pennington SS, Jason Christian SS/3B, Corey Wimberly SS/OF, Dusty Coleman SS, Matt Sulentic OF, Jeremy Barfield OF, Ben Hornbeck SP, Carlos Hernandez SP, Sam Dyson SP (if he signs), Ian Krol SP (if he signs), Andrew Carignan RP (should he be in the top 25?, Sickels gave him a B-), Travis Banwart SP, Mickey Storey RP, Jared Lansford RP, Graham Godfrey SP.