MLB.com posts Top 30 Reds Prospects for 2015

[redsfanman]

m.mlb.com/prospects/2015?list=cin

1.  Robert Stephenson, RHP
2.  Jesse Winker, OF
3.  Nick Howard, RHP
4.  Mike Lorenzen, RHP
5.  Anthony DeSclafani, RHP
6.  Amir Garrett, LHP
7.  Nick Travieso, RHP
8.  Alex Blandino, SS
9.  Jonathan Crawford, RHP
10.  Phil Ervin, OF
11.  Yorman Rodriguez, OF
12.  Aristides Aquino, OF
13.  Sal Romano, RHP
14.  Kyle Waldrop, OF
15.  Tucker Barnhart, C
16.  Jon Moscot, RHP
17.  Jackson Stephens, RHP
18.  Taylor Sparks, 3b
19.  Gavin LaValley, 3b
20.  Jeremy Kivel, RHP
21.  Wyatt Strahan, RHP
22.  Chad Wallach, C
23.  David Holmberg, LHP
24.  Daniel Corcino, RHP
25.  Ismael Guilllon, LHP
26.  Carlton Daal, SS
27.  Seth Mejias-Brean, 3b
28.  Junior Arias, OF
29.  Sebastian Elizalde, OF/1b
30.  Tejay Antone, RHP

I prefer the format of the website from last year, now the only option seems to be this cell phone (MLB mobile) version...
Last year:  cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/mlb/prospects/watch/y2014/#list=cin


Raciel Iglesias is notably left out, even though he seems to qualify.

Poor Taylor Sparks, clicking on his name brings up a copy of the report on Jackson Stephens, the guy listed right before him.

The review of Sal Romano is worth reading, since he's a pretty interesting and young prospect who is largely unknown.  21 year old ground ball machine throwing 97mph?  Fine with me for a #13 prospect, even if he has to eventually give up on starting.

They only dropped Phil Ervin from 7th to 10th.

I'm surprised that Nick Howard was ranked ahead of Lorenzen.  It's a flip flop from last year, even though Lorenzen pitched very well...

The review of Seth Mejias-Brean is worth reading... "In a blowout Arizona Fall League game this past fall, Mejias-Brean rolled over on a pitch and hit a routine groundball. He then proceeded to run full tilt to first. That, in a nutshell, is what the third baseman is all about.... The University of Arizona product may not be the most tooled up player in the Minors, but you'll be hard-pressed to find a guy who gets more out of what he does have than Mejias-Brean... He's the type of player who might will himself to the big leagues, then force his way into the lineup because of his bat."  That reminds me of Ryan Freel, who wouldn't give up when people told him he didn't belong in MLB.

[redskoolaiddrinker]

Questions:
1. Suarez not considered a prospect or did I overlook his name?
2. Anyone else think Waldrop should be rated better than 14?
3. Anyone else out there like Holmberg? He looked horrible starting out but showed later why they traded for him.

[redsfanman]

Mar 14, 2015 18:27:06 GMT -5 redskoolaiddrinker said:

Questions:
1. Suarez not considered a prospect or did I overlook his name?
2. Anyone else think Waldrop should be rated better than 14?
3. Anyone else out there like Holmberg? He looked horrible starting out but showed later why they traded for him.

1.  Suarez doesn't qualify, with 85 games and 277 plate appearances with the Tigers last year he's no longer a rookie.

2.  No.  #14 was already a huge improvement, and probably made him one of the higher-climbing prospects on the list.  Assuming he even made the top 30 last year.  He had a great 2014, but doesn't have the highest ceiling.

3.  'Like Holmberg', as in players like him?  Or fans who like him?  There are lots of players like him, three or four are competing for rotation spots at the moment.  I like him far more than most, but he had a really rough 2014 season, dealing with injuries and stuff.  Later in the season he seemed to make a recovery, and he pitched pretty well for the Reds in September.  Holmberg doesn't throw hard (unpopular), was acquired for then-popular Ryan Hanigan (unpopular move), two major marks against him before he even took the field.  Giving up 11 runs in 2 starts during July and August meant that despite only giving up 5 runs in 14.2 innings in September it was too late to put up a good season.  First impressions can be important for new players, and in first impressions Holmberg really failed.  I look forward to seeing how he does in Louisville's rotation this year, I think he'll do well.  He came to camp in better shape, you can see in photos that he lost a lot of weight.  I think #23 was pretty appropriate, though.  Anywhere from 15-30 seems justifiable to me, as he's one of the few guys on the list who is basically MLB ready.

[redskoolaiddrinker]

Mar 14, 2015 19:48:41 GMT -5 redsfanman said:

Mar 14, 2015 18:27:06 GMT -5 redskoolaiddrinker said:

Questions:
1. Suarez not considered a prospect or did I overlook his name?
2. Anyone else think Waldrop should be rated better than 14?
3. Anyone else out there like Holmberg? He looked horrible starting out but showed later why they traded for him.

1.  Suarez doesn't qualify, with 85 games and 277 plate appearances with the Tigers last year he's no longer a rookie.

2.  No.  #14 was already a huge improvement, and probably made him one of the higher-climbing prospects on the list.  Assuming he even made the top 30 last year.  He had a great 2014, but doesn't have the highest ceiling.

3.  'Like Holmberg', as in players like him?  Or fans who like him?  There are lots of players like him, three or four are competing for rotation spots at the moment.  I like him far more than most, but he had a really rough 2014 season, dealing with injuries and stuff.  Later in the season he seemed to make a recovery, and he pitched pretty well for the Reds in September.  Holmberg doesn't throw hard (unpopular), was acquired for then-popular Ryan Hanigan (unpopular move), two major marks against him before he even took the field.  Giving up 11 runs in 2 starts during July and August meant that despite only giving up 5 runs in 14.2 innings in September it was too late to put up a good season.  First impressions can be important for new players, and in first impressions Holmberg really failed.  I look forward to seeing how he does in Louisville's rotation this year, I think he'll do well.  He came to camp in better shape, you can see in photos that he lost a lot of weight.  I think #23 was pretty appropriate, though.  Anywhere from 15-30 seems justifiable to me, as he's one of the few guys on the list who is basically MLB ready.

Regarding Holmberg, I mean posters not liking him much. I think he might have the "it" factor and be a pleasant surprise.. I'm not predicting this, but it's been a long, long time so can someone please refresh my memory about Tom Browning's style compared to the style of Holmberg. I know Browning was a bulldog. Wasn't he more placement than power? How does his velocity compare w Tom?