John Sickels' O's Top 20

[hammer310]

Just throws Spoone in there on the same level of a guy like McCrory yet he puts the injured Patton the top 10?

That makes zero sense.

Yea I didnt even realize that Spoone wasn't even on the list, wow.

[Moose Milligan]

Gotta love some of the descriptions of our guys:

1) Matt Wieters, C, Grade A: Best prospect in baseball. Mutant cross between Mauer and Piazza.

11) Kam "The Almighty" Mickolio, RHP, Grade C+: I am Mickolio. I need control for my fastball. Waahhooo…arrruuddicacacaa

[hoosiers]

Seemed like a pretty competent list to me.

I thought he was a bit hard on Rowell, but I believe this is the second source we heard that is very high on Mickolio.

[TakebackOPACY]

Just throws Spoone in there on the same level of a guy like McCrory yet he puts the injured Patton the top 10?

That makes zero sense.

In my first read, there were three things that jumped out at me:

• Spoone being lumped in with guys who aren't nearly his equal.
• No mention of Tyler Kolodny. This isn't a big deal at all except when you see some of the names that did get a mention.
• There's quite a scattering of names that I wouldn't have considered as honorable mentions.

Some other minor observations:

• Adams' defense would prevent me from considering him at #13 already.
• Beato still being in the Top 20 surprises me.
• Drake and Joseph surprised me.
• Concerning Colin Allen and Jose Barajas, I've heard their names but I have no idea who they are. And I think I know our minor leaguers pretty well. (Don't bother responding. I'll be looking them up in a second.
• The more I look at the names behind Mickolio, the less out of whack his ranking looks. I wouldn't have him in my Top 15 (and I'm guessing that if I had done a Top 30, he'd been between 18-25. I'm not changing my view yet, Tony ) My point is that Sickels' puts it in perspective. A bunch of guys have C+'s; Sickels preaches "get over the ranking" and puts the AAA guy first amongst the C+'s. To each his own.

So... lots of little things with which I disagree, but no big deal. I think Sickels' rankings are usually amongst the most questionable. But his ranking system is amongst my favorite. And he's usually a good read.

[BaltimoreFan]

I don't see how Adams can possibly be top 15 with his defense that doesn't look to dramatically improve. Then again, it can't possibly get worse, right?

[Lucky Jim]

Frankly, this is the short-side of those who don't live with out system. Spoone had a very good year last year. But he got hurt this year - which SHOULD have been his coming-out party.

Not surprising that Patton's higher and that Spoone's a C. They're obviously not a match. But, really, in the end, Spoone hasn't functioned at a high enough level (with his injury) to merit an inclusion from such a distance, perhaps.

[TakebackOPACY]

Frankly, this is the short-side of those who don't live with out system. Spoone had a very good year last year. But he got hurt this year - which SHOULD have been his coming-out party.

Not surprising that Patton's higher and that Spoone's a C. They're obviously not a match. But, really, in the end, Spoone hasn't functioned at a high enough level (with his injury) to merit an inclusion from such a distance, perhaps.

He's interchangeable with Nathan Moreau. Spoone is a 'C' and Beato is a 'C', but when push comes to shove, Sickels takes Beato.

I know you're not agreeing with Sickels'; you're just saying, "I can see it from his point of view." I can't see it.

Of course Spoone's injury downgrades him. And of course he hasn't proven himself yet at the 'AA' proving grounds. But even considering that, his potential impact puts him in a substantially higher class than the other 'prospects' with a 'C' rating. The other 'C' rated players whom I'm hopeful may prove to be in his class are the guys who haven't gotten past the GCL or the NYPL.

[BaltimoreFan]

He's interchangeable with Nathan Moreau. Spoone is a 'C' and Beato is a 'C', but when push comes to shove, Sickels takes Beato.

I know you're not agreeing with Sickels'; you're just saying, "I can see it from his point of view." I can't see it.

Of course Spoone's injury downgrades him. And of course he hasn't proven himself yet at the 'AA' proving grounds. But even considering that, his potential impact puts him in a substantially higher class than the other 'prospects' with a 'C' rating. The other 'C' rated players whom I'm hopeful may prove to be in his class are the guys who haven't gotten past the GCL or the NYPL.

Again, I don't agree with Sickels' decision, but it's somewhat understandable. Spoone is now 23, he has suffered a major shoulder injury and still hasn't put all the pieces together. As fans we see the ceiling, but from an objective standpoint, his numbers do not make a strong case for him at all.

[skipshot26]

So when you read that report and compare it to what Tony and the guys do on this board, Sickels work just seems superficial. It hits me as a quick, shoot-from-the-hip, pull-it-out-of your-a## kind of overview that any of us who read the OH regularly could do. No substance.

[Gurgi]

So when you read that report and compare it to what Tony and the guys do on this board, Sickels work just seems superficial. It hits me as a quick, shoot-from-the-hip, pull-it-out-of your-a## kind of overview that any of us who read the OH regularly could do. No substance.

Honestly I like Sickels but I got the same feeling. I think he is overworked right now. Imagine trying to make a list of all the minor league players in America. The guy just cant get that much time and detail about the Oriole players. I would have to say Tony beats him this year. Time will tell but I not sure of Sickels stuff this year.

[Mackus]

I agree the inconsistency on the Patton/Spoone injuries is a bit confusing. I would think you're either high on both or low on both. Other than that, I agree with almost everything.

Its kinda weird that before the start of 2008 none of our top 4 prospects, which is considered one of, if not the, strongest top 4 in baseball, had played a single inning in our system.

[Frobby]

Now adding the Diamondbacks and Orioles:

KCR -- 2 A-, 6 B, 2 B-, 9 C+, 1 C ---- Top 10: 3.07 Top 20: 2.68

MIN -- 2 B+, 2 B, 5 B-, 11 C+ ------- Top 10: 2.83 Top 20: 2.58

ATL -- 1 A-, 3 B+, 3 B, 6 B-, 7 C+ --- Top 10: 3.07 Top 20: 2.75

PHI -- 3 B, 5 B-, 9 C+, 3 C ----------- Top 10: 2.70 Top 20: 2.47

TAM -- 1 A, 3 B+, 1 B, 4 B-, 11 C+ --- Top 10: 3.00 Top 20: 2.67

ARI -- 1 B+, 1 B, 5 B-, 3 C+, 10 C ---- Top 10: 2.80 Top 20: 2.40

BAL -- 1 A, 3 B+, 1 B, 4 B-, 7 C+, 4 C Top 10: 3.00 Top 20: 2.60

We're middle-of-the-pack so far.

[Gurgi]

I agree the inconsistency on the Patton/Spoone injuries is a bit confusing. I would think you're either high on both or low on both. Other than that, I agree with almost everything.

Its kinda weird that before the start of 2008 none of our top 4 prospects, which is considered one of, if not the, strongest top 4 in baseball, had played a single inning in our system.

More freaking money to the system? Does seem quite dramatic. Still would love for some of Flannagan's and Jordan's last drafts to produce some guys. Mainly Snyder, Rowell, Berken and the ilk.

[Ruzious]

2 difference in Sickles' list vs. Tony's that I agreed with - Sickles has Erbe a lot higher (5 vs. 10) and Rowell a lot lower (12 vs. 5).

[Frobby]

I like his overall comment:

This organization has rapidly improved over the last couple of years. Drafting early has helped that, but willingness to actually spend money on good players (Wieters, Arrrieta, Matusz) is a key factor that some other early-drafting teams have missed. Trades have helped bring additional depth, and they’ve shown some ability to develop sleeper types. High school bats such as Snyder and Rowell have brought mixed results, but overall the level of talent in the farm system is something that Baltimore fans should be happy about.

I could certainly quibble with some of his grades and rankings, but mainly I just use Sickels to get a somewhat objective (though not fully informed) view of how our list stacks up against other teams. So far:

O's Top 10: 3.00, tied for 3rd among 7 teams Sickels has graded.

O's Top 20: 2.60, 4th among 7 teams Sickels has graded.

The teams he's ranked ahead of ours are the Braves, Royals and Rays.