The Brewster

7/10/2062


I’m gonna shake up my format a little bit to mimic what Ron’s been up to with his “Prospect Watch” series. I still want to assign letter grades but listing some ratings on the screen and limiting myself to a top 5 should make it more readable.

Here is a link to the last time I analyzed my middle infield prospects. There’s a couple new names at the bottom of this list but little change overall.


#1 Jason Steward (C) | Age: 23 | AAA

OVR/POT	CON	BABIP	AVK	GAP	POW	EYE
40/40	4/4	5/5	4/4	4/4	5/5	5/5

Steward looks fully developed but we must hope there is still some room to grow within the ratings bands because he’s only hitting .220/.297/.317 in AAA. He hit better during his first try at Brooks last year so there is reason for optimism. He’ll be a gold glove caliber shortstop if his bat gets him to the Brewster and he’s got a reputation as a captain amongst his teammates. Steward is on his last option year so expect the 2055 3rd round pick to be a bench glove in 2063.

#2 José Barrón (C) | Age: 20 | SA

OVR/POT	CON	BABIP	AVK	GAP	POW	EYE
30/40	4/5	4/4	5/6	4/4	2/3	5/5

Barron is a similar prospect to where Steward was a few seasons ago, albeit with a little less home run power. He was a 2nd round pick in 2061 who also has elite range and arm defensively. He entered our system as more of a final product and is probably ready for A ball considering he’s hitting .341/.405/.500 in SA. Barron’s ETA is around 2065.

#3 Luis Hernández (C-) | Age: 20 | SA

OVR/POT	CON	BABIP	AVK	GAP	POW	EYE
30/40	3/4	3/4	3/5	5/5	5/5	5/5

Not much separates these top three prospects as here’s another glove guy drafted in the first couple of rounds who isn’t a massive project offensively but could use a bump. Hernandez possesses merely typical range and arm for a shortstop and looks like he’ll be a little more BA challenged. On the bright side, his power and eye tools are already fully formed. Expect his timeline to be a few months behind Barron’s.

#4 Tokichiro Yamamoto (C-) | Age: 18 | R

OVR/POT	CON	BABIP	AVK	GAP	POW	EYE
30/40	4/5	5/5	4/5	5/5	4/6	4/4

This year’s draft netted us Yamamoto. He’s a little more advanced for his age than the others were but still he starts in rookie ball. He’s actually got a rock-solid offensive tool in his home run power, but defensively he has second baseman tools and needs a bump to play shortstop. Weak intangibles don’t help his stock.

#5
Cyrille Ricciardi (D+) | Age: 19 | R
Yazid bin Rabi (D+) | Age: 17 | INT

The last spot is a battle between a couple of scouting discoveries. These teenagers have a ton of development ahead of them and their defensive tools are more good second baseman than legit shortstop, but they have the offensive tools to play somewhere in a BBA middle infield if they fully develop. Ricciardi is struggling in his second tour of rookie ball while bin Rabi sits in the international complex.

I like the commitment to defense. Even if all of these players bust, they are still valuable in helping develop your pitching prospects.

ae37jr wrote: ↑

Fri Mar 14, 2025 5:31 pm

I like the commitment to defense. Even if all of these players bust, they are still valuable in helping develop your pitching prospects.

I’ve been taking the opposite strategy as you and ignoring most of the corner guys in the drafts. Have to admit when you posted about that it made me nervous about my approach. I just figure I’ll be able to trade for them for pennies on the dollar.

BaseClogger wrote: ↑

Fri Mar 14, 2025 5:45 pm

ae37jr wrote: ↑

Fri Mar 14, 2025 5:31 pm

I like the commitment to defense. Even if all of these players bust, they are still valuable in helping develop your pitching prospects.

I’ve been taking the opposite strategy as you and ignoring most of the corner guys in the drafts. Have to admit when you posted about that it made me nervous about my approach. I just figure I’ll be able to trade for them for pennies on the dollar.

That is usually my philosophy. In recent drafts everyone has been going hard for pitching and defense so I zagged. Aguilar and Malone were too good to pass up from where I was drafting. Now I'm stuck in corner hell with the rest of the league. I'll have to tighten up next year.

At the very least having guys you can pay 500k to start once a week and perhaps be a defensive replacement 2 other nights is a valuable skill so you don't have to pay a free agent.