Who is the #1 and #2 prospects?

[Tony-OH]

Is it Britton, Machado or Machado, Britton?

[Arthur_Bryant]

Chose Britton #1.

I'm swimming against the tide on this one, I'm sure. He still has rough edges, but I have to like a guy who could be in the rotation next season.

[QBsILLEST1]

I'll be very interested to see what you say about Britton. I am getting the feeling people are beginning to slightly underrate him...again. Not everyone, but I am seeing a lot of talk of folks saying his ceiling is a mid rotation starter. You could PROJECT him as a mid rotation starter, but his upside is very high. You have to think, even if you took away the fact he gets elite GB rates, he would have a plus FB and an above average to plus slider, changeup probably projects to be average. Even if he was a flyball pitcher, you could argue him to be a mid rotation arm with higher upside, but the fact that he gets a 3:1 GO/AO rate really makes it hard to project him. You cannot look at his stuff in a vacuum and automatically pigeon hole him into "mid rotational arm at BEST" territory.....

I am not saying I expect him to be an ace, because I don't, BUT, I will say it wouldn't be a surprise to me if he did become one......His GB-ability really makes his profile hard to judge.......I am probably least sure about his projection/upside as any arm we have graduated......

[BaltimoreTerp]

Uh...Pat Buchanan?

(The ballot confuses me)

[Moose Milligan]

I'm picking Machado #1.

[LookinUp]

Machado is the easy choice. I went with Britton though.

[adamwolff11]

Tony has always spoken very highly of Britton. I'm thinking he gets the nod as #1.

[McNulty]

Tony said "uber top prospect" in the Hoes write up in reference to Machado. He's number 1.

[wildcard]

Machado is easily #1. He has unlimited potential. Britton ceiling is probably as a #3 starter.

[RVAbird]

Machado is easily #1. He has unlimited potential. Britton ceiling is probably as a #3 starter.

Really?

What is going on here?

[wildcard]

Really?

What is going on here?

From what I have heard so far his potential is to be a plus hitter for average and power, plus fielder, has a plus arm, and has plus speed. If he is a five tool player then what he can accomplish if he reaches his potential is unlimited.

[Stotle]

From what I have heard so far his potential is to be a plus hitter for average and power, plus fielder, has a plus arm, and has plus speed. If he is a five tool player then what he can accomplish if he reaches his potential is unlimited.

I have never seen plus runner. 6.8-6.9 60 times, generally.

Defense TBD as he fills in. Good hands; decent range.

[eb45]

Does Derek Jeter sound like a good top-end comp for Machado? Career average slash line of .314/.385/.452, average of 17 HR per season, 6'3 195 SS with good hands but below average range.

[Stotle]

Does Derek Jeter sound like a good top-end comp for Machado? Career average slash line of .314/.385/.452, average of 17 HR per season, 6'3 195 SS with good hands but below average range.

I think it's tough to really know until you start to see to what extent he's filling-in the broad frame.

[Frobby]

Since we are predicting what Tony will say, I went Machado 1st, Britton 2nd. Tony always says the question is who would you rather have in your organziation, and by that measure, I have to go with Machado.

But I kind of look at it like this -- you have two runners running 440 hurdles. One of them is a little faster, but he is just starting the race. He's got to clear all the hurdles and could trip on any one of them. The other guy is slightly slower, but he's just in mid-stride clearing the last hurdle and sure doesn't look like he's about to trip. So, who do you bet on to record the faster time?