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MLB dot com has gotten into the whole prospect-ranking business. After years of letting Baseball America and John Sickels brag about his great-grandchildren, Bud Selig's site is using spiffy graphics to highlight a Top 100 Prospects List on its heavy traffic main website. There is even an archived link to their 2011 selections... Oooo they've been at this a while.
Three Angels lead the list, with outfielder Mike Trout ranked #3 in all of the sport, infielder Jean Segura #55 and pitcher Garrett Richards at #67. Pretty good - not the best showing by any team, not the worst.
But there are two that got away... Tony Reagins traded Left Handed Starting Pitcher Tyler Skaggs to the Diamondbacks in the summer of 2010 as part of the Dan Haren deal. Of course, Jerry Dipoto had a hand in that as the then-acting General Manager of Arizona's National League team. MLB's #38 selection is Matt Harvey, a 3rd round selection in the 2007 draft who had big bonus money demands that Arte Moreno did not meet. Harvey went in the first round of the 2010 draft, the 7th overall pick by the Mets after a distinguished stint on the college mound. Harvey struck out 156 batters in 125 IP last year split equally between High-A and AA.
Blame Tony, Jerry and Arte that the Angels have 3 and not 5 players in MLB's current Top 100 Prospects.
Skaggs, Trout and Richards was part of the 2009 motherlode draft with 5 picks in the first 48 picks as compensation for losing John Lackey and Francisco Rodriguez and even Jon Garland. One lost aside from that is the Rockies got the 32nd and 34th picks in the first round as compensation for losing Brian Fuentes to the Angels as a free agent signing. One of the picks was Rex Brothers, he of the 13 K/9 in 40 major league innings pitched last season. The two draftees of those first five not on the big radars are the oft-injured but still mashing Randal Grichuk and pitcher Tyler Kehrer who repeated Low-A Cedar Rapids in 2011 and has yet to post an ERA under 4.
0 recs | 22 comments
shouldve signed Harvey
but we can really complain about not having Skaggs. Ill take Haren every single time.
mathisrocks5 - January 26, 2012
Complain if....
Haren leaves and we still don’t have another ring.
BryanHarvey'sMoustache - January 26, 2012
no complaints on this trade.
Dono Romantico - January 26, 2012
I'll take that trade all day
nselbe7 - January 26, 2012
Can I be the first too declare they were all gonna be stars?
How dare Reagins and JEDI conspire to rob us of these future HOFAs! MLB draft picks = penny stocks. I hate to make you all hate now. And i don’t believe this. But DEVIL Rays fans felt the same about Rico Brogna as we we do about Trout. Prospects = a discount + hope.
Stop fussing over Skaggs. we may never even see him in the real MLB. God bless us all. Good March.
gitchogritchoffmypetis - January 26, 2012
Wish we could've had Harvey, but I'd take Haren over Skaggs still. Bird in the hand and whatnot.
TheKingfish - January 26, 2012
No regrets
Even if Skaggs becomes the goyim Koufax, it is inescapable that he has not pitched 60 innings as high as AA, while we have had the pleasure of Mr Haren’s company for the past season and a half.
More importantly, I think a certain amount of Weaver’s effectiveness in 2012 can be traced to the friendly rivalry between Weaver and Haren. I do believe Haren’s presence has contributed to Weaver’s elevation to the top ranks of pitchers in the game. I don’t think Joe Saunders would have had the same effect.
I wish a long and happy career for Skaggs, but it is worth remembering that as recently as a two seasons ago, Trevor Reckling was our lefty-in-waiting, nearly ready to make the jump to the pros. Sometimes, guys can’t make that transition. Maybe Skaggs will, maybe he won’t, but the thing we know for certain is that Haren made it and has provided elite-level starting pitching for the team.
George Kaplan - January 26, 2012
I havent looked but I imagine the Padres have the most Top 100 prospects....
Farm is stacked.
BryanHarvey'sMoustache - January 26, 2012
They have six, along with the Rays and the A's.
5thStarter - January 26, 2012
don't worry
beane will trade them for more prospects when they start to become something
the king of CERA - January 26, 2012
I wonder if Billy is more invested in the AAA team than the A's.
5thStarter - January 27, 2012
Whatever happened to the Oxford comma?
5thStarter - January 26, 2012
a nun slapped it out of me in 1975
true story. Good Catholics don’t use protestant punctuation.
Rev Halofan - January 26, 2012
HA!
Damn nuns.
5thStarter - January 26, 2012
Who gives a fuck about an Oxford comma?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n43LduK2Yq8
My girlfriend is an English teacher, and the Oxford comma is one of her most contentious issues. I have been using it faithfully ever since we’ve been together.
Halowitz - January 26, 2012
Love that song so much.
And good for your girlfriend. With my wife, it’s the opposite. I insist on using it, she hates it.
Of course, at work, I’m required to use it, so that might make me biased.
5thStarter - January 26, 2012
At work, I'm required to not use it (unless ambiguity, blah blah)
and that definitely makes me biased.
cath619 - January 30, 2012
serial
hauldog - January 26, 2012
Oxford.
5thStarter - January 26, 2012
I am not blaming anyone for Skaggs
I would rather have Haren today then the what could be Skaggs tomorrow.
hauldog - January 26, 2012
Not really concerned with this
because it happens to every team, especially one that has been perennial contender, and made 6 playoff appearances in an 8 year period, mostly with a payroll over $100 million dollars.
One of the prices for long term success with a high payroll is low draft picks. If the Angels were up and down like they were 25 years ago, we might see more prospects on that top 100 list.
Losing out on Teixeira is what got us Trout, but I wouldn’t expect that to happen very often from now on; I don’t really expect us to draft the Erstads, or the Glaus’ anymore either.
Every team has a list like that of Dave Kingman, Andy Messersmith, Carney Lansford, Tom Brunansky, Bo Jackson, Roberto Hernandez, Paul Sorrento, Dante Bichette, Alexi Casilla, and Buster Posey, all of which are player the Angels either failed to sign after drafting, or might have benefitted long term by not trading at all.
The Cleveland Indians of the 1990’s might even be a better example. They could be a dynasty right now.
It happens all the time, which is one of the things that makes this game so great. =-)
RyÅn Krol - January 26, 2012
I really wanted to keep Skaggs
He was the PTBNL in the trade, but you can’t get something good without trading something good in return
mannye - January 27, 2012
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