Baseball America 2023 Top 100 Prospects

[Sports Guy]

Everyone moved up after graduations. Still surprised that Hall moved up though. 

[Pickles]

51 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

Everyone moved up after graduations. Still surprised that Hall moved up though. 

I'm surprised Kjerstad doesn't have a rocket up his ass.

[Frobby]

8 minutes ago, Pickles said:

I'm surprised Kjerstad doesn't have a rocket up his ass.

He’s a bit limited defensively.  That hurts him.  And, 5 weeks of stats are only going to move a player so far.   It’s a long season, plenty of time to move up a lot further. 

[Pickles]

4 minutes ago, Frobby said:

He’s a bit limited defensively.  That hurts him.  And, 5 weeks of stats are only going to move a player so far.   It’s a long season, plenty of time to move up a lot further. 

I try not to put too much weight in these lists as is, so I'm not adamant that he should be higher or anything.

But he's shown himself very well since the end of last season, both in the AFL and this current season.  You would think with his draft pedigree and upside, now that he's begun to answer the questions surrounding him- health, plate discipline, hit tool- that would be reflected on these lists.

As you said though, he's got plenty of time to climb much higher this year if he keeps up this performance.

[RZNJ]

1 hour ago, waroriole said:

Cowser 34 spots ahead of Westburg makes no sense. 

One year younger and better plate discipline.   Also, the offensive output is pretty similar overall.

Edited May 8, 2023 by RZNJ

[sportsfan8703]

2 hours ago, Sports Guy said:

 

The next time they overhaul the list, we'll lose Grayson, but Mayo, Povich and Basallo, are all on the cusp.  

[AnythingO's]

39 minutes ago, Frobby said:

He’s a bit limited defensively.  That hurts him.  And, 5 weeks of stats are only going to move a player so far.   It’s a long season, plenty of time to move up a lot further. 

I know that is the take on him but looking at the highlights from college when he was drafted he looked smooth and covered a lot of ground. Now, that was several years of inactivity ago and he looks much bigger now but on those 2 triples he moved surprisingly well, speed wise. Now maybe his reads and routes aren't good but he sure looks like he can still run.

[RZNJ]

My gut feeling is that Kjerstad will make a great DH who won't be a liability in RF but is probably below average out there.   The 1B experiment would be nice if it worked out but I won't hold my breath.

I expect Basallo to be top 100 by end of year and Willems deserves a mention as a possibility as well.     It's possible that Cowser and/or Westburg are not eligible by the end of the year as well as Hall.

[MurphDogg]

1 hour ago, RZNJ said:

One year younger and better plate discipline.   Also, the offensive output is pretty similar overall.

Also, Cowser taken a step forward defensively this year and supposedly looks like a legitimate option at centerfield, while Westburg is probably not an everyday shortstop.

[Tony-OH]

2 hours ago, waroriole said:

Cowser 34 spots ahead of Westburg makes no sense. 

I have Westburg over Cowser, but I could have built a case to put Cowser over him because of his defensive abilities and the fact that he's hit left-handers a little bit so far. 

I almost jumped Cowser but decided Westburg has done nothing to fall in the rankings. Honestly, Cowser, Westburg, Ortiz can all be moved around as you like based on your own personal preferences. You may be able to add Kjerstad into this list as well, but I want to see him against AAA pitching first. 

[btdart20]

25 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

I have Westburg over Cowser, but I could have built a case to put Cowser over him because of his defensive abilities and the fact that he's hit left-handers a little bit so far. 

I almost jumped Cowser but decided Westburg has done nothing to fall in the rankings. Honestly, Cowser, Westburg, Ortiz can all be moved around as you like based on your own personal preferences. You may be able to add Kjerstad into this list as well, but I want to see him against AAA pitching first. 

That’s my take too.  I tend to go Cowser, Ortiz, then Westburg.  Because I do think Cowser has the highest ceiling all-around, but especially offensively.  No matter how you slice, that’s a strong trio though!

[waroriole]

3 hours ago, RZNJ said:

One year younger and better plate discipline.   Also, the offensive output is pretty similar overall.

Corner OF, less power, high K rates. 
 

I can justify placing Cowser higher, but that much difference seems unwarranted. 

Edited May 8, 2023 by waroriole

[Can_of_corn]

2 minutes ago, waroriole said:

Corner OF, less power, high K rates. 
 

I can justify placing Cowser higher, but that much difference seems unwarranted. 

Might not be much of a difference, just a tight grouping of players.

You get that a lot in these lists.

Now if you are talking #1 and #34, that's a big difference.

[RZNJ]

2 minutes ago, waroriole said:

Corner OF, less power, high K rates. 
 

I can justify placing Cowser higher, but that much difference seems unwarranted. 

Huh?   This year at Norfolk.  Cowser 21.6% K rate.  Westburg 24.3% K rate.

Cowser is not relegated to corner OF.   He probably plays LF if he gets promoted.    Even Elias says we need two CF's and specifically mentioned Cowser.    If you dismiss his ability to play CF entirely that's only to fit into your argument.

Less power?   I think I agree but it's not a huge difference, IMO.  

 

[waroriole]

1 hour ago, RZNJ said:

Huh?   This year at Norfolk.  Cowser 21.6% K rate.  Westburg 24.3% K rate.

Cowser is not relegated to corner OF.   He probably plays LF if he gets promoted.    Even Elias says we need two CF's and specifically mentioned Cowser.    If you dismiss his ability to play CF entirely that's only to fit into your argument.

Less power?   I think I agree but it's not a huge difference, IMO.  

 

You’re confused about the K rate comment because Cowser’s came down slightly this year? And the next paragraph you say I’m constructing narratives to fit my argument?