Page 1 of 1
AFL Top 20
Posted: Fri Dec 05, 2008 9:02 pm
by Rangers
Matt Wieters being #1 wasn't really a surprise, but Bud Norris' ranking was:
1. Matt Wieters, c
2. Tommy Hanson, rhp
3. Brian Matusz, lhp
4. Logan Morrison, 1b
5. Carlos Triunfel, ss/2b
6. Bud Norris, rhp
7. Gordon Beckham, ss
8. J.P. Arencibia, c
9. Justin Smoak, 1b
10. Brett Wallace, 3b
11. Dan Cortes, rhp
Every other player on that list, and Norris is smack in the middle, will be on BA's top 100. And I count 6-8 (3-4 after him) who will probably be in the top 50.
6. Bud Norris, rhp
Scottsdale Scorpions (Astros)
Norris was sort of lost in the shuffle early this season at Double-A Corpus Christi as the righthander missed two months due to an elbow strain in mid-May. But he's been outstanding since returning despite an extremely limited pitch count, and opened eyes again in the AFL as scouts project him as a set-up man, even as closer. He'll have to throw more strikes in the future to close, but the 23-year-old showed off his power arm in the AFL with his fastball touching 98 mph.
Listed at 6-foot, 195 pounds, Norris doesn't have great downward plane but compensates with both fastball velocity and hard slider. In the regular-season, he was tinkering with a changeup, a pitch that could keep him in the rotation.
http://www.baseballamerica.com/online/p ... 67286.html
Also, nice picture Brett Wallace.
Posted: Fri Dec 05, 2008 10:25 pm
by Athletics
wow...well that sucks that i recently dropped him. Merry Christmas Brett
Posted: Fri Dec 05, 2008 10:30 pm
by Royals
Don't feel too bad Dave, it's the AFL. Chris Nelson had a hell of a season up there not too long ago as I recall.
Posted: Fri Dec 05, 2008 10:55 pm
by Rangers
RedSox wrote:Don't feel too bad Dave, it's the AFL. Chris Nelson had a hell of a season up there not too long ago as I recall.
Very not too long ago...like this last month: .321/.392/.595
Posted: Fri Dec 05, 2008 10:56 pm
by Rangers
Angels wrote:wow...well that sucks that i recently dropped him. Merry Christmas Brett
Just a small interest payment on Jon Lester
Posted: Fri Dec 05, 2008 11:21 pm
by Royals
Tigers wrote:RedSox wrote:Don't feel too bad Dave, it's the AFL. Chris Nelson had a hell of a season up there not too long ago as I recall.
Very not too long ago...like this last month: .321/.392/.595
Yup, so there ya go.
Posted: Fri Dec 05, 2008 11:55 pm
by Rangers
RedSox wrote:Tigers wrote:RedSox wrote:Don't feel too bad Dave, it's the AFL. Chris Nelson had a hell of a season up there not too long ago as I recall.
Very not too long ago...like this last month: .321/.392/.595
Yup, so there ya go.
To be fair, having good stats in the AFL is different from being ranked among the top prospects. Everyone knows that stats in the AFL are nothing to go by, but when you're ranked against the top prospects, you're basically just being judged against other guys, not slanted, silly stats. If you'll recall, your old guy Russell Martin first came to mainstream prominence after being ranked in the AFL.
Nelson, despite those numbers, wasn't in their top 20. My guy Tyler Flowers hit .387/.460/.973 with 12 HR in 75 AB for gosh sakes and was only #15. And he might be a top 100 prospect this spring himself.
Posted: Sat Dec 06, 2008 12:05 am
by Royals
It's one month, anyone can have a hot month. Norris is an SP who was pitching in relief, an SP with elbow problems.
Posted: Sat Dec 06, 2008 12:44 am
by Rangers
RedSox wrote:It's one month, anyone can have a hot month.
Duh.
Like you would if it were a player on your team, I was just pleasantly surprised to see that the "one of these things doesn't belong" guy on a ranking comprised of elite prospects is someone from my roster. It just means that he looked good to scouts there, nothing more sweeping than that.
Posted: Sat Dec 06, 2008 1:10 am
by Royals
If it was the AFL? Absolutely not. I've been burned on getting excited about AFL performances before, I don't hype AFL performances, they're meaningless.