Baseball America held it's weekly Hot Sheet chat yesterday and here are some excerpts. Reds prospect Todd Frazier headed the list and the rest of the list looked like a who's who amongst 2011 top prospects, as it included Mike Trout, Bryce Harper, and Dustin Ackley.
Here are some excerpts:
Noah Starkey Jr. (Bald, CT): Who is more likely to be called up first ? Trout, Harper or Ackley?
Ben Badler: Ackley, but I'll stick by what I said before the season, which is that you shouldn't be surprised if Trout is in the big leagues by September.
Kenny wrote an excellent piece on Ackley a few days ago, and Seattle could bring him up by June. BA's Ben Badler said he is struggling with the glove at second base, but owns one of the best batting eye's in the minors.
Joel (KCK): Danny Duffy has had good numbers everywhere he's been since turning pro. Has he put himself on the Royal's speed dial ahead of guys like Montgomery and Lamb as far as getting the first call? Thanks!!!
Ben Badler: If the Royals need an arm, it should be Duffy. His command is more advanced than Montgomery's, and Lamb's velocity isn't where it's been in the past.
I haven't read that about John Lamb, and Duffy has pitched better than Montgomery this season, but Montgomery has the most potential of the 3.
More chat excerpts after the jump:
Desmond Jennings (Durham, NC): When are the Rays going to make me the starting LF? Sam Fuld - Really? 0.389/0.488/0.667 line the last 10 games. Is the Super Two guidelines the only thing holding me back?
Ben Badler: Pretty much. If you want to put your best 25-man roster on the field, there's no argument for going with Fuld over Jennings.
Sam Fuld owner's beware, June is right around the corner.
Jay (Tampa): Is Harper capable of a A-Rod type ascent? He seems to be "Just that good."
Ben Badler: I think he has the TALENT to make that kind of leap, but I'm not sure the Nationals will have him skip High-A and push him to the big leagues at 18 like the Mariners did with A-Rod. Then again, Harper's such a rare bird that he could blow up any timetable that we're expecting or that the team has internally.
Lots of A-Rod comps lately. I predicted he would see AA before the end of the 2011 season, so it's still possible he can reach there, as long as he is promoted to High A in the next few weeks, which appears very likely.
David (Tempe): Paul Goldschmidt—are you a believer?
Ben Badler: Honestly, I'm stunned at what he's doing. He'll still chase out of the zone and you can beat him if you can elevate your fastball well, but he's closed up some holes in his swing and really cut down on the strikeouts. I want to see him do it for more than a month, but man, it's hard not to be impressed with what he's doing right now.
Goldschmidt is a player who could be the Diamondbacks first baseman at the end of the season. He is hitting .333-.466-.718 with 13 HRs and 33 RBIs with a 22-33 K/BB rate in AA this season.
Big Bird (Mannywood): De La Rosa the real deal? What's his eta to the big show? Thanks for the chat.
Ben Badler: I see him as a potential shutdown reliever. His breaking ball isn't there yet and he still slows his arm speed on his changeup, so I'm not sold on him as a starter, but if he comes out of the bullpen he's going to be pumping 97-101 mph gas every time he throws his fastball.
The Dodgers may need a closer if Kenley Jansen doesn't pan out.