Just a reminder that John Sickels is publishing his first ever Top 100 Prospects Rankings this morning at 11am EST. Make sure you check it out over at Minor League Ball.
Here are more excerpts from the Baseball America Top 100 chat on Tuesday:
Ben (Leland Grove): Do you believe Arenado's CAL and AFL numbers were inflated at all, and is that what led to ranking him where you did?John Manuel: I think we're trying to be more aware of Cal League numbers in general. We're always a bit circumspect on AFL numbers. More impressive to me was his defensive improvement. We thought he could hit last year at Asheville. See this blog post from July 2010: http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/prospects/2010/06/thursday-dish-young-rockie-arenado-emerging/
I have read several prospect experts say the same about Arenado, that that his glove could be special in the big leagues.
Alex (Mass): Arenado so low? Seriously?
Jim Callis: Is 42 really that low? I had him 35th on my personal list.
Keith Law had him at 26 in his Top 100 rankings a few weeks ago.
More excerpts after the jump:
Matt (Scranton): Are there any real concerns that you have heard on Mike Trout after a disappointing end to his season and a weak showing in the AFL? Or was this just him being worn down after a long year?John Manuel: Not from me or the scouts we've talked to; Jim had one scout's note in one of the sidebar pieces he did that talked about Trout's hand-eye coordination being fairly ordinary, which is the first I've heard of it. I do not have any concerns that stem from his AFL stint though.
I guess no prospect is without their flaws, but this is the first negative comment I have read on Trout. I still think he will see big league time as early as May in 2012.
Marcos (NY): Can Xander Bogearts play CF in the future? Can you give me a scouting report on Blake Swihart. Is he the next Buster Posey?J.J. Cooper: I wouldn't see him making it as center fielder. Xander is more likely to move to a corner, as he's got a chance to end up being pretty good sized. As far as the Swihart scouting report, we've broken him down for subscribers here: http://www.baseballamerica.com/online/prospects/rankings/organization-top-10-prospects/2012/2612768.html In the scouting report we said he had the Posey starter kit. Long way to go to get there though.
A Buster Posey starter kit? Who has the Matt Kemp starter kit? Here is the excerpt on Swihart:
"He has a long way to go, but Swihart has the Buster Posey starter kit. There's no reason to think Swihart can't catch, but if Boston wants to expedite his bat, he's athletic enough to play on the infield and outfield corners. After seeing time in the Florida and Dominican instructional leagues, he could jump to low Class A in his first full pro season."
Bob (KC): Cuthbert seems to be getting pretty big (hype wise) but the numbers seem lacking. 3B demands a pretty good hit and power tool right? What can he do in the future?J.J. Cooper: Cuthbert is a great example of how you have to go deeper than a cursory look at the numbers. He was dominant in May-July and then simply ran out of gas in his first full pro season (he was one of the youngest players in the league). The bat speed that was apparent in June was gone by August. Long-term he's a potential impact bat and I believe he can stick at third base.
Keith Law has stated that he thinks Cuthbert will be a star. He's just another in a long line of excellent Royals prospects.