Post by ex-marinersgm on Jan 1, 2014 7:19:50 GMT -6
Taijuan Walker, RHP, Grade A-: Some slippage in his numbers, but that's forgivable for the youngest pitcher in the Double-A Southern League. Still has premium combination of fastball, breaking stuff, developing changeup, high upside.
Carlos Correa (Astros), SS, Grade A-: I'm not worried about the blah performance in rookie ball and I felt he was the best overall position player in the draft. Should hit for power and average, should stick at shortstop (at least in the short and medium run), outstanding makeup, and one of the youngest guys in the class to boot. Getting him to sign below slot was a masterstroke that set up the rest of the draft.
Danny Hultzen, LHP, Grade B+: I will be honest, I am not comfortable with Hultzen's grade or his placement here and may revise it significantly before the book goes to press. I think it is a mistake to dismiss his Triple-A struggles too cavalierly. His command was just too poor at that level for us to ignore, especially given his past reputation and track record. I'm nosing around about this one and gathering more info and opinion, so stand by.
Nick Franklin SS, Grade B+: I trust my eyes on this one, good tools across the board and the skills are in there. Is he a second baseman or a shortstop? I'd give him a chance at short. Needs another half-season in Triple-A following .243/.310/.416 line at Tacoma.
Brad Miller, SS, Grade B+: I am actually more confident in his bat than I am in Franklin's, but he's a year and a half older and that matters. Still, if anything Miller is underrated nationally. He can really hit (.320/.406/.476 in Double-A) and he has the range/arm for shortstop if he can cut down on routine errors.
Jesse Winker (Cin), OF, Grade B: Borderline B+. Led the Pioneer League in OBP at age 18/19. More power should come too. If he slows down too much he might wind up at first base, but the bat should play there.
Brandon Maurer, RHP, Grade B: Finally healthy and showed what he could do with four-pitch arsenal and mid-90s fastball, 3.20 ERA with 117/48 K/BB in 138 innings. Next stop, Triple-A. If he stays healthy, he's a number three starter.
Victor Sanchez, RHP, Grade B: Youngest pitcher in Northwest League held his own against older hitters at age 17 (3.18 ERA, 69/27 K/BB in 85 innings). Lacks physical projection at 6-0, 255, but already throws hard. Will truly dominate when breaking stuff improves.
Stefen Romero, 2B, Grade B: Not a tools guy, but just hits and hits and hits including .347/.392/.620 in Double-A. He's not bad at second base, but with other middle infield options around in this organization he may shift to a corner.
Carter Capps, RHP, Grade B-: Always tough to know how to grade relievers. Former catcher hits 99 MPH and reached the majors within a year of being drafted. Needs command refinements, but definite closer upside.
Stephen Pryor, RHP, Grade C+: Borderline B-. Like Capps, tough to grade. Stuff is almost as good as Capps, and he's another guy with closer potential if the command sharpens up a bit more.
Luis Gohara, LHP, Grade C+: At this point the C+ guys are interchangeable depending on what you want to emphasize, so please no whining about "you should have ranked #12 at #16 and #20 at #13." Gohara is a 16-year-old Brazilian lefty signed for $800,000 this past summer. He's enormously projectable and generated loud buzz in instructional league. He could turn into anything from a number one starter to an injured A-ball washout, but keep his name in mind. You might hear a lot about it next summer.
Gabriel Guerrero, OF, Grade C+: Vlad Guerrero's nephew tore up the Dominican Summer League, looked good in three weeks of rookie ball, and offers a similar package of tools to his uncle. That doesn't mean he will become his uncle, of course; bloodlines only take you so far (ask Preston Mattingly), but his upside clearly bears watching.
Leon Landry, OF, Grade C+: Toolsy LSU product acquired from Dodgers in Brandon League trade, runs well, gap power, good glove, hit well in California League. Profiles as fourth outfielder or platoon partner.
Julio Morban, OF, Grade C+: Cal League "breakouts" can't be fully trusted, especially at High Desert, but Morban looks like the best of the batch of power-hitting Latin American outfielders with bad plate discipline that the Mariners spent a lot of money on over the last few years.
Adrian Houser (Astros), RHP, Grade C+: Power arm with good sinker flashed plus stuff in Appalachian League. Mid-rotation upside but will need time to refine command.
Carson Smith, RHP, Grade C+: Dominated Arizona Fall League (2.40 ERA, 18/4 K/BB in 15 innings). Great slider, could follow Pryor and Capps into Mariners bullpen soon. Posted 2.90 ERA with 77/28 K/BB in 62 innings at High Desert, 54 hits, 2.34 GO/AO. Do you know how hard that is?
Anthony Fernandez, LHP, Grade C+: Four-pitch lefty posted 3.68 ERA with 79/14 K/BB in 88 innings at High Desert. Do you know how hard that is? He looked good in Double-A too (3.32 ERA with 55/24 K/BB in 76 innings). Not overpowering but knows how to pitch.
John Hicks, C, Grade C+: Very athletic catcher hit .312/.351/.472. It was at High Desert though, so don't assume that will hold. Stole 22 bases, threw out 54% of runners. Has strike zone issues and needs to improve blocking, but an intriguing player.
Brady Rodgers, RHP, Grade C+: Gets more press than West and had higher profile in college at Arizona State. Stuff isn't as good but he knows how to pitch, could come quickly as inning-eater.
James Ramsey (Cards), OF, C+
Jake Buchanan (Astros)
Carlos Correa (Astros), SS, Grade A-: I'm not worried about the blah performance in rookie ball and I felt he was the best overall position player in the draft. Should hit for power and average, should stick at shortstop (at least in the short and medium run), outstanding makeup, and one of the youngest guys in the class to boot. Getting him to sign below slot was a masterstroke that set up the rest of the draft.
Danny Hultzen, LHP, Grade B+: I will be honest, I am not comfortable with Hultzen's grade or his placement here and may revise it significantly before the book goes to press. I think it is a mistake to dismiss his Triple-A struggles too cavalierly. His command was just too poor at that level for us to ignore, especially given his past reputation and track record. I'm nosing around about this one and gathering more info and opinion, so stand by.
Nick Franklin SS, Grade B+: I trust my eyes on this one, good tools across the board and the skills are in there. Is he a second baseman or a shortstop? I'd give him a chance at short. Needs another half-season in Triple-A following .243/.310/.416 line at Tacoma.
Brad Miller, SS, Grade B+: I am actually more confident in his bat than I am in Franklin's, but he's a year and a half older and that matters. Still, if anything Miller is underrated nationally. He can really hit (.320/.406/.476 in Double-A) and he has the range/arm for shortstop if he can cut down on routine errors.
Jesse Winker (Cin), OF, Grade B: Borderline B+. Led the Pioneer League in OBP at age 18/19. More power should come too. If he slows down too much he might wind up at first base, but the bat should play there.
Brandon Maurer, RHP, Grade B: Finally healthy and showed what he could do with four-pitch arsenal and mid-90s fastball, 3.20 ERA with 117/48 K/BB in 138 innings. Next stop, Triple-A. If he stays healthy, he's a number three starter.
Victor Sanchez, RHP, Grade B: Youngest pitcher in Northwest League held his own against older hitters at age 17 (3.18 ERA, 69/27 K/BB in 85 innings). Lacks physical projection at 6-0, 255, but already throws hard. Will truly dominate when breaking stuff improves.
Stefen Romero, 2B, Grade B: Not a tools guy, but just hits and hits and hits including .347/.392/.620 in Double-A. He's not bad at second base, but with other middle infield options around in this organization he may shift to a corner.
Carter Capps, RHP, Grade B-: Always tough to know how to grade relievers. Former catcher hits 99 MPH and reached the majors within a year of being drafted. Needs command refinements, but definite closer upside.
Stephen Pryor, RHP, Grade C+: Borderline B-. Like Capps, tough to grade. Stuff is almost as good as Capps, and he's another guy with closer potential if the command sharpens up a bit more.
Luis Gohara, LHP, Grade C+: At this point the C+ guys are interchangeable depending on what you want to emphasize, so please no whining about "you should have ranked #12 at #16 and #20 at #13." Gohara is a 16-year-old Brazilian lefty signed for $800,000 this past summer. He's enormously projectable and generated loud buzz in instructional league. He could turn into anything from a number one starter to an injured A-ball washout, but keep his name in mind. You might hear a lot about it next summer.
Gabriel Guerrero, OF, Grade C+: Vlad Guerrero's nephew tore up the Dominican Summer League, looked good in three weeks of rookie ball, and offers a similar package of tools to his uncle. That doesn't mean he will become his uncle, of course; bloodlines only take you so far (ask Preston Mattingly), but his upside clearly bears watching.
Leon Landry, OF, Grade C+: Toolsy LSU product acquired from Dodgers in Brandon League trade, runs well, gap power, good glove, hit well in California League. Profiles as fourth outfielder or platoon partner.
Julio Morban, OF, Grade C+: Cal League "breakouts" can't be fully trusted, especially at High Desert, but Morban looks like the best of the batch of power-hitting Latin American outfielders with bad plate discipline that the Mariners spent a lot of money on over the last few years.
Adrian Houser (Astros), RHP, Grade C+: Power arm with good sinker flashed plus stuff in Appalachian League. Mid-rotation upside but will need time to refine command.
Carson Smith, RHP, Grade C+: Dominated Arizona Fall League (2.40 ERA, 18/4 K/BB in 15 innings). Great slider, could follow Pryor and Capps into Mariners bullpen soon. Posted 2.90 ERA with 77/28 K/BB in 62 innings at High Desert, 54 hits, 2.34 GO/AO. Do you know how hard that is?
Anthony Fernandez, LHP, Grade C+: Four-pitch lefty posted 3.68 ERA with 79/14 K/BB in 88 innings at High Desert. Do you know how hard that is? He looked good in Double-A too (3.32 ERA with 55/24 K/BB in 76 innings). Not overpowering but knows how to pitch.
John Hicks, C, Grade C+: Very athletic catcher hit .312/.351/.472. It was at High Desert though, so don't assume that will hold. Stole 22 bases, threw out 54% of runners. Has strike zone issues and needs to improve blocking, but an intriguing player.
Brady Rodgers, RHP, Grade C+: Gets more press than West and had higher profile in college at Arizona State. Stuff isn't as good but he knows how to pitch, could come quickly as inning-eater.
James Ramsey (Cards), OF, C+
Jake Buchanan (Astros)