April 1, 2059
by Banjo Jackson
Nashville, TN
OSA scouts ranked Nashville’s2058 farm system in the middle of the pack after several top prospects graduated to the BBA during the previous season. While OSA was less than optimistic, good ol’ Banjo believed in the you crop remaining in the minors. Sure, there wasn’t the star power like former top prospects, Alfonso Gonzales, Jorge Cano, and Mark Lolololo, but where the Bluebirds lacked in quality, they make up in quantity. They still have some of the game’s brightest stars, too. Giustino Modica was the only graduation from last year’s list and he excelled out of the Bluebirds bullpen, but could certainly be an effective started if a member of the rotation succumbs to injury. We’re trying a new ratings approach this season, so expect drastic changes in my ratings.
| Banjo's Rank | Position | Player | OSA Rank | ETA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | LF | Ra'id Usamah | 14 | 2060 |
| 2 | SS | Luke Cage | 60 | 2061 |
| 3 | C | Michael Cantu | 114 | 2061 |
| 4 | RF | Akeem ‘Prince’ Joffer | 25 | 2059 |
| 5 | 1B | De-shi Kuo | 44 | 2059 |
| 6 | RHP | Harry Spurlock | 86 | 2060 |
| 7 | RHP | Alfredo Anaya | 313 | 2060 |
| 8 | RHP | Armando Ortíz | 52 | 2060 |
| 9 | RHP | Javier Basanta | 111 | 2060 |
| 10 | RHP | Walt Thomas | 89 | 2059 |
Nashville’s farm system is better respected by OSA this season with a ranking of 5. Like I said, the farm is deep with seven top-100 prospects and thirteen in the top 156. Thirty six players rank in the top-500. I expect at least a couple of those players to take a leap into the top-100 within the next couple seasons as they continue to develop. It’s interesting that the top half of my list are all hitters, while the bottom half are all pitchers. I feel the hitters are pretty solid, but the pitchers are all a bump or two away from becoming useful in the Bluebird’s rotation and could really be rearranged in spots 6-10 without much argument. As it stands, they’re all mid to bottom of the rotation starters, at least by Nashville standards. As usual, several players just missed the cut. Most notably, CF Adolf Dragota and Jesús Romero. It was difficult to leave them off the list, but I feel the pitchers ranked above them are less risky picks. Dragota was ranked in the top-10 by OSA and is the only player in their rankings that didn’t make mine, but that’s because they think so lowly on Anaya and he had to be included in the list.
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.
