BA Top 100

[hoosiers]

Lingo is already backtracking and saying most folks had him underrated.

Some prospects might turn out to be better than expected after signing and BA will readily admit as much, but this is a bit different.

BA is admitting their draft board was off. I would assume this is because some teams may have been laying low for Hobgood or perhaps BA was not listening as well regarding the praise for Hobgood. Either way, this is not the first time BA has indicated Hobgood was rated incorrectly on their draft board.

So, what could that mean? Should Hobgood have been considered a top 10 talent entering the draft? Even if this is admitted, Hobgood probably would have been rated below HSers Matzek, Wheeler and possibly Turner in which case we are back to hoping that Joe Jordan chose properly when evaluating these guys.

[hoosiers]

Jim Callis: The five guys I liked the best who didn't make it were: Diamondbacks 3B Bobby Borchering, Royals 1B Eric Hosmer, Marlins 3B Matt Dominguez, Orioles 1B Brandon Snyder and Twins OF Ben Revere.

This is the biggest praise for Snyder from BA and Callis in several years, IMO. Nice to hear. Snyder has made up lots of ground on 1B considered ahead of him in the past 18 months.

[tvz1997]

This is the biggest praise for Snyder from BA and Callis in several years, IMO. Nice to hear. Snyder has made up lots of ground on 1B considered ahead of him in the past 18 months.

The guy definitely has some room to fill out.

[LookinUp]

So, what could that mean? Should Hobgood have been considered a top 10 talent entering the draft? Even if this is admitted, Hobgood probably would have been rated below HSers Matzek, Wheeler and possibly Turner in which case we are back to assuming we know better than Jordan and O's scouts based almost entirely on online prognisticators.

Fixed that for you.

[jerios55]

I'm a little surprised there was no mention of Erbe. Depending on how things fall this year, there is a chance that Matusz is the only one to lose eligibility next year. It's really nice to see that our system is improving.

I'd love to see Hobgood, Erbe and a few others find their way on to the list next year.

[Arthur_Bryant]

I'm a little surprised there was no mention of Erbe. Depending on how things fall this year, there is a chance that Matusz is the only one to lose eligibility next year. It's really nice to see that our system is improving.

Yes we sometimes forget that prospect rankings are in part a reflection of the major league team's situation on the field. Strong teams tend to keep good prospects in the minors longer, which makes the MiL system appear to be stronger than it would be if it were feeding those good young players to the majors.

Tillman wouldn't have been called up so early last year if the O's rotation hadn't been in shambles. He would still have rookie status, most likely a top 10 or Top 15, and the system would appear to be that much stronger. If AM hadn't signed Millwood, we'd probably be talking about how soon Arrieta can be called up. Instead, there's a chance that he won't see Baltimore until September, regardless of how well he pitches. The same can be said of Bell and Snyder. Same players, same system, but potentially a much different prospect list next winter depending on how the major league team holds together.

That's why I don't fret over year-to-year incremental fluctuations in where the system ranks overall. Those rankings are just an artificial snapshot of a situation that is in near-constant fluctuation.