Project Prospect's Top 5 SS Prospects

[Jordan Tuwiner]

http://projectprospect.com/article/2010 ... -prospects

1 Jose Iglesias
2 Danny Espinosa
3 Manny Machado
4 Darwin Barney
5 Hak-Ju Lee

I like Project Prospect, and usually agree with their approach (safer prospects get ranked higher). They have Machado at #3 because he is still fairly far away from the majors. But someone with his upside, who is an elite, talent belongs higher on a top SS list.

[Don]

2-3 is the correct placement for Manny. Danny had one impressive season at the plate and everyone already knew his range and glove were more than respectable for major league right now.

I am not as high on Iglesias because the bat may not make the strides of either Danny or Manny. Manny should have the best blend of contact and power out of the three, most likely have better than both.

In all honesty, I bet 29 other teams would gladly like to have any of the three in thier system.


Looking over other lists: Yonder Alonso, Brandon Belt may be a winter targets this off-season. Both are or will be blocked by young productive players.

[Jordan Tuwiner]

2-3 is the correct placement for Manny. Danny had one impressive season at the plate and everyone already knew his range and glove were more than respectable for major league right now.

I am not as high on Iglesias because the bat may not make the strides of either Danny or Manny. Manny should have the best blend of contact and power out of the three, most likely have better than both.

In all honesty, I bet 29 other teams would gladly like to have any of the three in thier system.


Looking over other lists: Yonder Alonso, Brandon Belt may be a winter targets this off-season. Both are or will be blocked by young productive players.

I know Jose Iglesias was young for his league, but an 8/49 BB/K doesn't look like "potential" to me. In their own scouting report they say "Iglesias doesn't profile as a big time bat".

I'm taking the guy who should be a pretty solid defender with an extremely high upside over a guy where most of the value is coming form his defense.

[allstar1579]

2-3 is the correct placement for Manny. Danny had one impressive season at the plate and everyone already knew his range and glove were more than respectable for major league right now.

I am not as high on Iglesias because the bat may not make the strides of either Danny or Manny. Manny should have the best blend of contact and power out of the three, most likely have better than both.

In all honesty, I bet 29 other teams would gladly like to have any of the three in thier system.


Looking over other lists: Yonder Alonso, Brandon Belt may be a winter targets this off-season. Both are or will be blocked by young productive players.

I know Jose Iglesias was young for his league, but an 8/49 BB/K doesn't look like "potential" to me. In their own scouting report they say "Iglesias doesn't profile as a big time bat".

I'm taking the guy who should be a pretty solid defender with an extremely high upside over a guy where most of the value is coming form his defense.

Some guys I talked to were RAVING about Iglesias a couple months ago, said his bat was better than they had thought, and he's going to be a big-time player.

[Jordan Tuwiner]

I'd still have a hard time taking him over Machado right now.

[allstar1579]

I'd still have a hard time taking him over Machado right now.

Not 100% I would either, but if I was drafting a fantasy team for 2012, I like Iglesias over Manny.

[Don]

I find him in the mold of Izturis, and Vizquel. This is not a slap in the face because both have solid, long major league careers. I just do not have faith in his bat as other tend to see. Small frame, but he does not have that wirey action that Ramirez had in the minor league system. I would like to see his cage work again because the last time I witnessed it, it simply sounded like a bat from the Cape Cod league. I saw Machado a few weeks back in the cage. You could just hear the difference with the ball off the bat. It will not project to contact or power in games, but the potential is thier already with Machado.

I can be totally wrong and it would not be the first nor last time, but I just did not think major league hitter while watching the kid.

I still would rank them as follows, but in all honesty it is really spltting hairs.

1. Danny Espinosa
2. Manny Machado
3. Jose Iglesias

[Esskay]

Iglesias is an interesting comp to Xavier Avery. Both play premium defensive positions, they're the same age, and both put up mediocre offensive stats at advanced leagues. Avery spent most of the year at A+, while Iglesias was at AA. I wouldn't take Avery over Machado right now.

I do think Espinosa has to be the top SS prospect. He's been very good through his MiL career, and appears to be a potential power hitting shortstop who doesn't get on base. He could end up as a .270/.310/.500 SS, which is pretty unusual and pretty good - like an Andre Dawson at SS - and he's close to getting there.

[allstar1579]

I was told by a scout that saw him in ST last year that he could have been the starting SS for the Sox this year if they REALLY needed someone, and that he will be the next big thing at short.

When I asked him to choose between him and Machado he really had to stop and think for a while and still didn't have a real answer, different kinds of players, but both could be stars.