Finally someone, well I guess Mitch Brown too, who disappointed in 2015:

Dave (Brooklyn): Mike Papi: On the Upswing, Treading Water, Headed Down? Did he make the Top 30?

Teddy Cahill: I suppose this kind of depends on where the previous data point was. It's definitely down from where he was this time last year, but he also started to bounce back in the second half for Lynchburg. He was tough to figure out where to rank. But you will see him in the top 30. He struggled to get his strength back after suffering a thumb injury at the end of the 2014 season. But he did get better as the season went on and he maintained his discipline at the plate. He needs to build some positive momentum, but he has the tools to get back on track

[Let's go for some positive momentum Mike!]

signing off:

This is a good place to end. The handbook has tool grades for the No. 1 prospects (Zimmer) and overall BA grades for the other 29 prospects, plus full tools breakdowns in the writeups. We have sent the book to the publisher and it will be out soon. Remember you get it fastest if you order directly from BA (https://www.baseballamerica.com/store/store.cgi) and we throw in a supplement with a No. 31 prospect for every team. So it's a pretty good deal.

Thanks for all the info

Really enjoyed the update

The annual BA prospects chat is the highlight of my baseball year and nearly makes the BA subscription worth it by itself.

Time consuming but worth posting Civ.

Thank you from me too

Not much time; just copy the questions as they come in.

One of the miscellany of "other young players" that Teddy Cahill referred to who meant nothing to me was Todd Isaacs. I can why he hadn't made my radar:

debut in the Arizona League was much less than stellar: 214/225/282 Add in his 27/1 K/BB ratio and he didn't look much.
He's a 5-11 175 pounder who played Rookie Ball at age 19. Drafted in the 19th round, signed for $100,000. BA didn't give him a pre-draft writeup do I can't any more than the stats. He did steal 5 in 6 tries.

I was interested in 2013 sort of similar pick Silento Sayles who stole some phenomenal number of bases in high school in Mississippi. He's moved slowly and not terribly impressive up the Tribe ladder. After his 3 seasons he's also 19. His line last summer in Mahoning Valley: 242/313/297 6/9 in steals. in Lake County: 283/344/377 0/1 stealing.

Another stranger he listed was Justin Garza, an 8th round pick, signed for $169,000. One of the injured kids the Tribe scooped up. Has not debuted professionally yet.

Garza burst on the scene as a freshman, hitting 95-96 mph at times as the fire to Thomas Eshelman's ice in Cal State Fullerton's 50-win 2013 club. Listed at 5-foot-11, 170 pounds, Garza kept showing a quick arm last year despite missing time with a shoulder injury and finished strong, no-hitting Cal State Northridge and pitching well for USA Baseball's Collegiate National Team. At his best, Garza pitches off a 91-93 mph fastball that touches higher and has late life up in the zone. His upper 70s slider and tumbling changeup have both flashed above-average as well, but Garza wasn't at his best much of this spring. He wound up requiring Tommy John surgery in late May to repair a damaged elbow. He likely lacks the durability and size to start but his power repertoire could be a bullpen fit as a pro.

BA's Teddy Cahill reply to a followup question on the Many-Talented Mejias:

The Indians have been pushing Francisco Mejia aggressively, and he should be in Lynchburg as a 20-year old next year. If he stays on that kind of timeline, yes you would be seeing him in Cleveland by about 2019. As for Gabriel Mejia, his game is all about speed. He's a top-of-the-scale runner, but doesn't provide much impact with his bat. So it's going to be up to his speed to get him to the big leagues. This year, which should be his first in full-season ball, could be very telling.

Q: Yandy Diaz: Do you seem developing enough power to be an MLB Thirdbaseman? How close to the top 10 is he?

Teddy Cahill: Diaz is a tough player to figure out because he doesn't fit the typical third base profile. It seems unlikely that he ever turns into a big power threat, but there should be a bit more pop in there. It will be interesting to see what he does this season when he gets out of pitcher friendly Akron and into a more offensive home ballpark in Columbus.






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Baseball Prospectus just released their Top 10 Prospect List, and they had Aiken #2.

1.Bradley Zimmer, OF
2.Brady Aiken, LHP
3.Clint Frazier, OF
4.Justus Sheffield, LHP
5.Bobby Bradley, 1B
6.Rob Kaminsky, LHP
7.Triston McKenzie, RHP
8.Juan Hillman, LHP
9.Francisco Mejia, C
10.Mike Papi, OF

Some comments about Greg Allen

While it’s clear that Allen learned more than just on-the-field skills from Gwynn, the baseball skills he took from Mr. Padre are evident. Allen hit .273 in Lake County last season and earned a promotion to the Lynchburg Hillcats. In his three High-A games, Allen had two hits and one double and stole three bases.

His speed is one of his biggest assets on the base path. He stole 43 bases in Lake County in 2015 and scored 83 runs. With runners in scoring position, Allen hit .333 and had a .500 average during late, close games. His ability to perform under pressure is certainly a welcome addition to the Indians organization, as getting timely hits has been something the squad has struggled with in the recent past.

Allen had nine assists in the outfield last season with only four errors, a testament to his abilities despite it being only his second year of professional ball.

2015 was certainly a breakout year for Allen, who gave the appearance that his performance wasn’t a fluke. Watching him continue to excel at higher levels will be the true test of Allen’s abilities. However, if he continues to take Gwynn’s lessons to heart, there’s a strong chance that Indians fans will have a truly great player to watch in the coming years.

“The biggest lesson I learned from Coach Gwynn is to slow the game down,” Allen said. “I think so much of baseball is about what goes on in your head, your approach, your confidence. He taught me that it’s important just to be able to slow the game down in big spots, be able to relax and breathe, and put your best effort out there.”

Baseball Prospectus must base their ratings more on projection than production than BA does.

No Clevinger, despite a terrific 2015, and pretty good stuff, too.
No Naquin, which doesn't stun me, but his replacement with Papi who was just plain awful in his first full season is a bit hard to justify.

I'd trade Sheffield for a bat in a heartbeat. 5'10" pitchers with behavior problems don't look like prospects to me.

I'm still pissed (and JR too I think) that we didn't put together a package for Frazier.

Agreed, Civ.