Rate these four NL prospects

[Purple Haze]

Chris Nelson SS Rockies??? Isn't he available???

Chris Nelson has better tools at this point, than BJ Upton did...(Nelson will be VERY special )

Hard to believe since he was just drafted last year, that he wouldn't be available in your minor league draft...

I would rank Chris Nelson 1st above those 4...

Than it would go:


Guzman
Encarcion
Quentin
Jackson

Guzman, LA SS; Jackson, ARI OF/1B; Quentin, ARI OF; Encarnacion, CIN 3B

These are the top four prospects to draft in my league this year (excluding pitchers, whom I don't waste a draft pick on). Pretty thin, huh? Anyway, all the "can't-miss"es were taken last year (with yours truly having the distinction of drafting Franklin Gutierrez in an NL-only league, only to have him traded to Cleveland a week later). If anyone has seen these guys, please toss in your two cents worth. Thanks.

[hybrid]

Chris Nelson has better tools at this point, than BJ Upton did...

Actually I wouldn't really agree to that. Nelson's bat profiles as better then Upton's when each were drafted, then again most scouts thought Upton's bat was his only questionable area (he pretty easily disproved that theory though). Other then that, Upton rates the same or better then Nelson.

Another thing to keep in mind, Upton started his pro career a year younger. Upton was in AA/AAA/MLB at 19, Nelson will start in A at 19.

[GarnerPhils]

Yes, Nelson is available. He ranks 6th among those yet undrafted (7th if Chris Burke falls back to AAA to start the season), just ahead of Brian Dopirak and just behind Brian McCann.

I use a compilation of several Top 100s, then average them out to reach my rankings. Baseball America is very high on Nelson (as well as Dopirak), but some other lists have him discounted for some reason.

I have the 4th overall pick, and if Guzman, Quentin and Encarnacion were all gone (which they won't be), I would strongly consider Nelson over Jackson. Thanks for all the great info. You guys are way smarter and a lot less insulting than the blokes on RotoTimes.com.

[hybrid]

Chris Nelson either won't be on other lists or is low for the reason of, most people rating prospects don't like to give them a high ranking before their first year in the minors. Nelson has only spent some time in Rookie ball, so while he has the great bat and good tools ... he hasn't shown it in the minors at Low A or above. BA tends to overlook stats if they really like the young prospects tools a lot, for ex. Upton was ranked 21st & Delmon Young was ranked 3rd (only played breifly in the AFL) w/ out a single minor league AB. I would seriously consider taking Nelson over Encarnacion, since SS is harder then 3B, and that Coors thing doesn't hurt.

If the 2004 draft prospects are avaiable in the draft you might want to take a quick glance at the thread "2004 Draft Top 10" on that in the minor league forum.

[mrider]

agreed

[GarnerPhils]

What if Chris Burke goes back to Triple-A to start the season and ends up in the mix with these four? Our farm system draft immediately follows our ML player auction, so I guess I'll know from how the auction goes whether or not I think I need Burke this year. But who couldn't use some cheap steals?