Twins outfield prospect Eddie Rosario headed the Baseball America Hot Sheet list this week as he hit .538-.625-.962 with 2 HRs, 7 RBI, 12 runs and 2 SBs after going 14-26 on the week.
Here are some excerpts from the Hot Sheet chat:
Mike (Valpo): Could you give us an "ALL-Surprise" team for 2011? Guys who really made a name for themselves in the prospect community...and aren't just one-year wonders. That would be fun!Matthew Eddy: We published an All-Surprise team in our Midseason Prospect Update issue, No. 1116, Bryce Harper cover. On that team were Lavarnway, Matt Adams, Jose Altuve, Jermaine Mitchell, Collin Cowgill, Edwar Cabrera, Brad Peacock and Joe Wieland, among others.
Keith Law discussed Cardinals first base prospect Matt Adams in his chat yesterday. Lavarnway is blocked in Boston and could prove to be a trade candidate at some point. Altuve is the starting second baseman for Houston, and should be a consistent .300 hitter in the big leagues.
rob (St. Joseph): Speaking from an AL perspective and a pitcher and position player outlook, who will be 2012's Mike Moore and Mike Trout? Thank YouJ.J. Cooper: If you mean the best AL pitching and hitting prospects in the game next year? I'll say Jurickson Profar as the position player. The top pitching prospect is a little tougher, Hultzen and Bundy from this year's draft will be in the discussion, but I don't think either of them will be No. 1 a year from now, but I don't have a better answer then them. Amazing how much of the top pitching talent in the minors right now is concentrated in the NL.
The last sentence really caught my eye as it is true when you consider the NL pitching prospects include the following: Julio Teheran, Randall Delgado, Arodys Vizcaino, Jared Cosart, Matt Harvey, Zack Wheeler, Shelby Miller, Carlos Martinez, Jameson Taillon, Gerrit Cole, and Trevor Bauer.
More Hot Sheet chat excerpts after the jump:
Sox of SM (Los Angeles): Why has Addison Reed of the White Sox gotten so little (any?) attention in the prospect reports this season?J.J. Cooper: Tough for a reliever to crack the Hot Sheet because they get so few innings in a normal week, but he will rank very highly on our White Sox Top 30, I can promise you that.
Reed was just called up by the White Sox yesterday. Reed is a future closer as he closed at all 4 levels of the minors this season. In 78.1 innings pitched, he struck out 111 and walked just 14 batters, with a 1.26 ERA and 0.728 ERA. He might be one of the reasons why the White Sox have decided to move Chris Sale to the starting rotation.
Paul (Fall River, MA): Is Shawn Tolleson the next Craig Kimbrel? Tolleson's minor league stats suggest he will be.J.J. Cooper: His stuff isn't that good, but you are talking to a serious Tolleson fan. Enjoyed doing a story on him back when he was just dominating low Class A http://www.baseballamerica.com/online/prospects/prospect-bulletin/2011/2611711.html (for subscribers).
I read an article on Baseball Nation earlier in the week where a reader commented that the Dodgers will be in a serious rebuild situation through the year 2020, which made me laugh. With arms like Rubby de la Rosa (yes, I know he had Tommy John), Zach Lee, Nathan Eovaldi, Allen Webster and Tolleson, their rebuild may only last a few years, especially in the NL West. Tolleson was drafted in the 30th round of the 2010 draft, so he probably will never get much love from the prospect experts (see Jerry Sands), but he dominated at 3 levels this season. In 67.1 innings, he saved 24 gamesm with a 104-17 K/BB rate, a 1.20 ERA, and a 1.01 WHIP. He could end up in the Dodgers bullpen in the second half of 2012 and join Javy Guerra, Kenley Janson and Scott Elbert to form a young and dominating back end of the bullpen.