April 1, 20560
by Banjo Jackson
Nashville, TN
We are back at the top, baby! After being disrespected by OSA farm rankings, the Nashville Bluebirds went on to solidify the undisputed #1 farm system in the BBA with a couple of bold moves to bring in top prospects. Of the Bluebirds’ top 10 prospects from last season, only Akeem ‘Prince’ Joffer saw time in the BBA in 2059 and he played superbly, slashing .346/.427/.586 with 26 SB in just 49 G. Brought in for his speed, the hitting prowess was a welcome addition to the Bluebirds roster that allowed normal rest for Bluebirds starters. He will remain in the BBA to start 2060, along with 1B De-shi Kuo and RHP Walt Thomas, who will also graduate off this list. The trades of bin Nawaf and Cano allow a more robust look at the top 10.
| Banjo's Rank | Position | Player | OSA Rank | ETA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CF | Zee-loo Tsao | 1 | 2062 |
| 2 | SS | Luke Cage | 20 | 2063 |
| 3 | CF | Carter ‘Fortnite’ Cramer | 79 | 2063 |
| 4 | LF | Ra'id Usamah | 28 | 2060 |
| 5 | C | Michael Cantu | 58 | 2061 |
| 6 | RHP | Bin-ying ‘Bye Bye’ Yen | 23 | 2062 |
| 7 | RHP | Brent ‘Black Jack’ Chappel | 42 | 2063 |
| 8 | RHP | Harry Spurlock | 90 | 2060 |
| 9 | 1B | Raymond ‘Big Cat’ Docking | 107 | 2065 |
| 10 | CF | Adolf Dragota | 109 | 2063 |
Nashville’s farm system is a good mix of prospects throughout various levels of the minors, which is ideal so the machine continues to produce talents year after year and replace aging veterans or pricey players needing extensions, a la bin Nawaf and Cano. How could Tsao not be #1 in our system? Yes, he's #1 in the OSA rankings, and while he may not ever develop, it's possible and he will be a beast if he turns up. Plus, he improved his defense in CF through the development lab. Usamah could see time as early as this season, depending on Juan Rivera’s health. Even then, Rivera is limited to DH duties, so Usamah’s glove isn’t as needed this season. Spurlock was nearly unhittable last season and is off to another amazing start in 2060. He is a candidate for the fifth starter position if Bob Loblaw can’t hang with the big boys. Other candidates for the job include Armando Ortíz and Javier Basanta, who fell off this top 10 list, but are worthy honorable mentions. With 13 top-100 rated prospects, not everyone could make the list, inlcuding Jesús Romero and Francisco Calderón, the latter of whom will be the starting 3B in Nashville after trading away Cano. RHP Alfredo Anaya was also omitted off the list after being a top-10 prospect in 2059, but I believe the game severely underrates the righty. Ranked #376 by OSA despite 9/5/7 ratings with five pitches and 8 stamina. Confusing. Anyway, this list will change throughout the course of the year and with 21 players in the top-200 and 47 in the top-500, the farm is extremely deep and players will leapfrog each other until they hop into Nashville at some point.
All of these players are expected to contribute at the BBA level at some point in the near future. Surely, this list is likely to change over time and several youngsters may have been snubbed, but these are the ten candidates most likely to contribute in the future. Hopefully we see many of these faces with the Bluebirds, but surely some will fall victim to a trades to help improve the team. Either way, they are all valued commodities for the organization and will help lead the way to more titles.
