The breakout thread above turned my attention to one guy who has really been blowing up the last few weeks - Daryl Jones.  Jones is a lefthanded leftfielder currently playing  for the Cardinals' AA affiliate in Springfield.  He was drafted out of HS in 2005 in the third round.  At the time, here was the comment from MLB.com:

"COMMENT: Medium-small frame. Athletic build. Similar to Otis Nixon. Short, compact, line drive stroke. Uses hand quickness and wiry strength to drive the ball. Uses whole field. Speed to play short game. Playable arm w/ future plus defensive skills."

After being drafted, Jones really struggled for his first couple of seasons - failing to hit above .300, post an OBP over .400, or SLUG over .500 at any of his stops.  Not surprisingly, he failed to make John's STL top 20 this past offseason.

However, the light has apparently clicked on this season, as Jones was one of the better players in the FSL (as a 20 year old for most of that time) and has now been even better at AA.

Year  Age Tm  Lg  Lvl Aff   G    AB    R    H   2B  3B  HR  RBI  BB   SO    BA   OBP   SLG 
+----+----+---+---+---+---+----+-----+----+----+---+---+---+----+----+----+-----+-----
 2008   21 PBC FSL A+  STL   87   307   43  100  11   7   7   35   33   67  .326  .406  .476
           SPG TEX AA  STL   27    91   15   29   4   1   5   12   21   20  .319  .461  .549 

As you can see, he's been on fire for Springfield.  To make things even more impressive, he really struggled initially at Springfield.  However, since the calendar turned to August, he has been absolutely awesome - hitting .361/.513/.623/1.135 with 4HR, 4SB, and a really impressive 18BB/14K.  All this to say, I think Jones has turned himself into a very intriguing prospect.

I guess I'll finish by asking the obligatory questions; where does he rank on the STL Top 20?; do you think he makes the top 100?; does he profile as an MLB regular?; has anyone seen him in person?; etc.  Or, just discuss.

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?n=Daryl%20Jones&pos=RF&sid=milb&t=p_pbp&pid=457801

Well, I am sitting here watching the Reds/Cubs games and I swear I'm having deja vu.  Edinson Volquez, he of the overall MLB strikeout lead and currently #2 ERA (behind Cliff Lee) seems well on his way to DVB (Death Via Baker).  In today's game, Volquez has once again showed his great stuff (0ER, 10K in 7IP) and his inconsistent control (6BB).  That said, believe it or not, he threw 118 pitches in today's game.  Now I know what you are thinking, surely this was a 1-0 game - well guess again, the Reds are currently leading 9 to 0.  The thing that is bizarre is they sent him out there for the seventh with a pitch count already over 100 (and a 9 run lead mind you) and the Reds didn't even have anyone warming up in the bullpen.  Then, when Volquez issued a pair of walks, they were scrambling to get someone ready because he was clearly losing it. 

Please Dusty.  I tried to give you to give you the benefit of the doubt.  I figured with all we have learned about young players and injuries that you would not do this again.  Please do not destroy these young arms...

Just saw that Travis Snider got promoted to AA after 17 games in Hi-A.  This is a bit of a surprise since he wasn't just killing Hi-A (at least in terms of BB/K).  However, this is not totally unexpected as some folks thought he would start the year in AA but the Jays chose to send him to Hi-A instead.  My guess is that the Jays wanted him to stay in warm weather for the first few weeks since New Hampshire is probably not a great place to play baseball in early April.  That said, it is interesting to me how these major league teams coddle their top prospects...After all, Snider will eventually have to play in bad weather in April...

Anyways, here's a link to Snider's Hi-A stats...discuss...

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?n=Snider%20%20DH&pos=&sid=milb&t=p_pbp&pid=501983

So, we did this last year and I figured we might want to do it again this year. Some of yesterday's story lines: Matt Laporta hit a grand slam homerun in his AA debut; Rick Porcello suggested he wont be overmatched in Hi-A with 5 scoreless innings; FDLS had a decent start to the season - giving up 2ER in 6IP with 6K; and my favorite breakout prospect Gerardo Parra had a HR last night as well. So, what did you notice yesterday? / who are you watching tonight?

I just wanted to point out that Everyday Edinson is having himself a nice Spring.  For the most part, the majority of the hype so far has been on Johnny Cueto.  Some experts have even penciled Johnny Cueto into the Reds rotation - and for solid reasoning considering his strong spring.  Volquez, however, has been very good himself.  He threw 5 scoreless innings today against a Phillies lineup that included three of the best hitters in the NL (Utley, Rollins, and Howard).  His ERA is down to 3.46 and he has a very good 19/3 K/BB in 13 innings.  I'm curious if everyone thinks that the Reds will really start Volquez and Cueto over the vets and Bailey or will the kids get sent back to AAA.  Knowing Baker, it maybe hard to tell....

I was just wondering who this community thinks has the best lineup in baseball this year.  Also, I think that it is important to remember that the best lineup isn't necessarily the one that will score the most runs (because of park factors, etc.).  That said, I'm including the top five teams in terms of runs scored from last year - and of course you can write in your other vote.  Here are those team's projected lineups for 2008 (according to CBSSports):

NY Yankees (2007 Ranking: #1 - 968 Runs Scored):

1      Johnny Damon      LF
2     Derek Jeter     SS
3     Bobby Abreu     RF    
4     Alex Rodriguez     3B    
5     Hideki Matsui     DH    
6     Jorge Posada     C    
7     Jason Giambi     1B            
8     Robinson Cano     2B    
9     Melky Cabrera     CF

Philadelphia Phillies (2007 Ranking: #2 - 892 Runs Scored):

1      Jimmy Rollins   SS
2     Shane Victorino CF    
3     Chase Utley     2B    
4     Ryan Howard     1B    
5     Pat Burrell     LF    
6     Geoff Jenkins     RF    
7     Pedro Feliz     3B    
8     Carlos Ruiz     C

Detroit Tigers (2007 Ranking: #3 - 887 Runs Scored):

1      Curtis Granderson  CF
2     Placido Polanco 2B    
3     Miguel Cabrera     3B         
4     Magglio Ordonez RF    
5     Gary Sheffield     DH    
6     Carlos Guillen     1B    
7     Edgar Renteria     SS    
8     Jacque Jones     LF    
9     Ivan Rodriguez     C

Boston Red Sox (2007 Ranking: #4 - 867 Runs Scored):

1      Jacoby Ellsbury CF
2     Dustin Pedroia     2B    
3     David Ortiz     DH    
4     Manny Ramirez     LF    
5     Mike Lowell     3B    
6     Kevin Youkilis     1B    
7     J.D. Drew     RF            
8     Jason Varitek     C    
9     Julio Lugo     SS

Colorado Rockies (2007 Rank: #5 - 860 Runs Scored):

1      Willy Taveras      CF
2     Todd Helton     1B    
3     Matt Holliday     LF    
4     Garrett Atkins     3B    
5     Troy Tulowitzki SS
6     Brad Hawpe     RF    
7     Yorvit Torrealba C    
8     Ian Stewart     2B

If you haven't seen this, it's worth the time:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=SPB9IglzxG8

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Well it's that time of year again.  Here's my predictions:

LAA vs. BOS - Gotta pick the BoSox here.  Despite having similar pitching, the BoSox have the homefield advantage and a lineup that is significantly stronger.  

NYY vs. CLE - This one is a bit closer but I'm going to give it to Cleveland.  If they are able to run CC and Fausto out there 4 times in a 5 game series, they will be tough to beat.  I think the Yankees have a better lineup and a better bullpen, however, so this could go either way.  

CHC vs. ARZ - I'm picking the Cubs here.  They have a better lineup, and I think the pitching is better as well.  I'm impressed by the season the D-Backs have had but I just don't trust any pitcher on the team other than Brandon Webb.

COL vs. PHI - They have similar lineups with the slight advantage to Philadelphia.  However, I think I like the Colorado bullpen better.  The SP is pretty even - with Hamels being the best on either team - but I like Jimenez and Morales better than Moyer and Kendrick (?not sure about which pitchers PHI will use).  I'm going to pick the Rocks based on the fact that they have been on fire lately - I think the emotion of the young guys will keep them going.

BOS vs. CLE (not sure who is home in this situation since they had the same record) - I'm picking Cleveland again on the strength of their big 2.  I like Beckett but I'm not sure that I trust Matsuzaka and Schilling right now.  Carmona and CC have been great, especially down the stretch.  I expect the dominance to continue.

COL vs. CHC - I'll take the Cubs here.  I think the Cubs lefties (Hill and Lilly) will be particularly effective against the many lefties in the Rocks lineup and the magical run will end just short of the WS.  

CHC vs. CLE - I'm going to make the nicest guy on this website very happy and pick the Cleveland Indians to win the WS this year.  Cleveland has a nice lineup, dominant starting pitching, and a decent bullpen.  I would be more comfortable with Betancourt closing games - but I'm not sure Dempster is any better.  Indians in 5.  WS MVP - Victor Martinez....

Let's hear your picks

He's pitching a gem against the Dodgers and (I believe) he has just set the Rockies team record for consecutive scoreless innings.  And, he's still a prospect.  Where does he rank for you on a top 100?

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To the Washington Nationals - just reported live by the Red Sox announcers.  I can't find any details.

Also, they said that Ellsbury is going to be called up today.

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