Who are our most underrated prospects, nationally?

[byrdz]

Send Rowell down one level that will help with the ego problems.

[Frobby]

Not necessarily, especially given his age. Some people are just learning what it means to be an adult. I know I did.

I have a 19-year old daughter at home (actually, away in college). Sometimes she cops an attitude when my wife and I try to give her advice, or ask her to do things. Sometimes she says things is a tone that is hurtful. She does less of it now han she did when she was 17, and I expect I'll see even less of it when she's 21. It's all part of growing up, and not everyone matures at the same exact pace.

Maybe Rowell will always be an egotistical, self-centered jerk who won't listen to anyone and thinks he's God's gift. Plenty of adults are that way. But I'm not going to assume that he won't grow out of it, because in my experience most kids do.

[Scrat1]

I fully expect Rowell to have a bounceback season. I'm more worried about whether he can stay at third.

[bluedog]

I think one of our most underrated prospects nationally is also underrated on OH. I really believe Brad Bergesen is going to be something special for the O's.

For a franchise that's struggled with people who can't avoid walks and can't go deep into games, Bergesen's control will make him invaluable to the O's.

His numbers compare favorably to Roy Halladay's minor league numbers. I'm very hopeful he can be as successful at Norfolk this season as he was at Bowie last year.

[Big Mac]

Send Rowell down one level that will help with the ego problems.

And hurt his development as a baseball player.

[RedDevil00]

And hurt his development as a baseball player.

Agreed. I don't really think sending him down would do anything for him. If anything, I think that if next season the rosters turn out the way people think they will (with Rowell and Henson at Frederick and Kolodny at Delmarva, and then putting this new guy from the Hernandez trade wherever he needs to be), Rowell will have plenty of incentive to get his head in the game and out of...well, wherever it's been. He'll see that there are plenty of capable guys at his position in the system and that he's got work to do if he wants to stay on track.

[Lucky Jim]

Agreed. I don't really think sending him down would do anything for him. If anything, I think that if next season the rosters turn out the way people think they will (with Rowell and Henson at Frederick and Kolodny at Delmarva, and then putting this new guy from the Hernandez trade wherever he needs to be), Rowell will have plenty of incentive to get his head in the game and out of...well, wherever it's been. He'll see that there are plenty of capable guys at his position in the system and that he's got work to do if he wants to stay on track.

Not so sure about that.

[Ruzious]

Actually, the new guy might be our nationally most underrated prospect - Justin Turner. He's regarded as a good defensive 2nd baseman - great instincts, ok range; very good minor league numbers for a 2nd baseman - lifetime .310 batting average and .822 OPS through age 23 in AA, and he started for an NCAA Championship team. Yet, I haven't seen his name prominently on any prospects list. It'd be better if he was a year younger, but he's not too old, and it wouldn't be shocking to see him in the majors this season.

[PapaRick]

Actually, the new guy might be our nationally most underrated prospect - Justin Turner. He's regarded as a good defensive 2nd baseman - great instincts, ok range; very good minor league numbers for a 2nd baseman - lifetime .310 batting average and .822 OPS through age 23 in AA, and he started for an NCAA Championship team. Yet, I haven't seen his name prominently on any prospects list. It'd be better if he was a year younger, but he's not too old, and it wouldn't be shocking to see him in the majors this season.

Baseball America has him as #29 on their top 30 for the Reds in 2008. The write-up is the same as we have seen since the trade. He and Miclat appear to be cut from the same cloth, except that Miclat - pre-surgery - had a plus arm, while Turner's arm is considered he weakness. Both appear to be the type of player that fit the brand of baseball that Trembley prefers. I expect that he will be the 2B at Norfolk and is insurance in case we are unable to extend BRob.

[Ruzious]

Baseball America has him as #29 on their top 30 for the Reds in 2008. The write-up is the same as we have seen since the trade. He and Miclat appear to be cut from the same cloth, except that Miclat - pre-surgery - had a plus arm, while Turner's arm is considered he weakness. Both appear to be the type of player that fit the brand of baseball that Trembley prefers. I expect that he will be the 2B at Norfolk and is insurance in case we are unable to extend BRob.

Except that Miclat has shown absolutely no power in his bat - so far. Until we see that change, I wouldn't call him more than a good 5th round pick. Hopefully, it will.

[Stotle]

Except that Miclat has shown absolutely no power in his bat - so far. Until we see that change, I wouldn't call him more than a good 5th round pick. Hopefully, it will.

It depends on whether you value defensive versatility and strikezone command/contact skills more than power. I think Miclat is a better prospect, but Turner is certainly a surer bet to contribute "something" at the ML-level, even if it's below-AVG productionat 2B.

[bluedog]

It depends on whether you value defensive versatility and strikezone command/contact skills more than power. I think Miclat is a better prospect, but Turner is certainly a surer bet to contribute "something" at the ML-level, even if it's below-AVG productionat 2B.

I'm not convinced that Turner isn't going to become a solid major league hitter. He's produced at every level thus far and been very consistent and he's still young and learning.

His minor league numbers are arguably, significantly superior to Brian Robert's numbers at similar ages and levels. We know BRob wasn't exactly considered a sure fire prospect when he came up, so I think Turner can overcome the same lack of confidence in his abilities that BRob overcame.

I'd sure love to have him start at Norfolk and just tear up AAA. It would be great to have a middle infielder actually pushing the O's for a callup, wouldn't it?

[nobdyweird]

Zach Britton. Young lefty who throws 88-90, but should, as he continues to progress throw in the lower 90's much more. Has a plus 2-seamer, above average change, and slider is a work in progress. He once had a curve, but that was ditched, but if he really gets a handle on his 3 pitches, that might be something to bring back. He also has a great work ethic.

His K-rate will soon rise as he fully gets a hold of his slider, which has progressed a lot from Aberdeen in 2007 to Delmarva in 2008. Britton is a guy who has a ceiling, according to some, as a front-line starter, yet he struggles to get much mention because of how loaded the top 5 prospects are in our system. Some even leave him out of the top 10 prospects in the organization.

With all the pitchers leaving Bowie, and not too many proving they deserve a promotion in Frederick this past season, if Britton continues to improve, he may be brought up to Bowie by mid-season as there will be room in that rotation. Right now I see something like Zach Clark (if he doesn't go up to Norfolk), Jake Arrieta and Brandon Erbe with guaranteed spots there, and Chorye Spoone will not be back until mid-season.

Watch for Britton, now that he's a lot closer, geographically, to Baltimore, his name should get some more buzz on the forums.

[wildcard]

Bergesen is underated. He had a great year at AA and everyone is rating him low. National media ignores him. Tony, rates him as the O's 18th.

Bergesen went 15-6 with a 3.22 ERA at 22 year old at AA. For that excellent effort he moved from 18th on Tony's 2007 list to 18th on Tony's 2008 list. I think you will have to agree that is quite a jump.

[glenn__davis]

Bergesen is underated. He had a great year at AA and everyone is rating him low. National media ignores him. Tony, rates him as the O's 18th.

Bergesen went 15-6 with a 3.22 ERA at 22 year old at AA. For that excellent effort he moved from 18th on Tony's 2007 list to 18th on Tony's 2008 list. I think you will have to agree that is quite a jump.

Is that snarkiness I detect, WC? I don't know that I've seen that from you before!

Bergesen is certainly an interesting one to watch. There have been a lot of good posts about how his peripherals will make it difficult to succeed as he climbs up the ladder, and I think Tony defended his choice at 18 quite well. But ultimately it's about results. Let's hope Bergesen can continue to overperform.

I'd personally probably go with Snyder.