First Inning Midseason Top 100

[bigken117]

http://firstinning.com/?p=362

Rank Player POS
1 Matt Wieters C
2 Tommy Hanson P
3 Jason Heyward OF
4 Madison Bumgarner P
5 Buster Posey C
6 Brian Matusz P
7 Justin Smoak 1B
8 Chris Tillman P
9 Gordon Beckham 3B
10 Carlos Santana C
11 Jesus Montero C/1B
12 Desmond Jennings OF
13 Jarrod Parker P
14 Mike Stanton OF
15 Neftali Feliz P
cont

Firstinning's daily user report is usually the site I look at after I check my fantasy teams. As with every list there are some surprises, but it's a solid one

[KCollins1304]

Are you enjoying giving me Jennings for $35 Sheets yet?

[Omaha Red Sox]

Lars has really fallen hasn't he? I like where they got Chacin, but I think Bumgarner's a bit high for me now... Like Revere breaking the top 50 too. Wish Duffy would have made the list.

[FouLLine]

http://firstinning.com/?p=362

Rank Player POS
1 Matt Wieters C
2 Tommy Hanson P
3 Jason Heyward OF
4 Madison Bumgarner P
5 Buster Posey C
6 Brian Matusz P
7 Justin Smoak 1B
8 Chris Tillman P
9 Gordon Beckham 3B
10 Carlos Santana C
11 Jesus Montero C/1B
12 Desmond Jennings OF
13 Jarrod Parker P
14 Mike Stanton OF
15 Neftali Feliz P
cont

Firstinning's daily user report is usually the site I look at after I check my fantasy teams. As with every list there are some surprises, but it's a solid one

The first thing that comes to mind when I see these rankings is.... Are they purely based on fantasy value?... Because if they are they are horrible rankings.

I do realize that no ranking or rating list/system is perfect but here are my main gripes with this one.

Matt Wieters at #1???! Wieters could have only lost value as the season went on. These are supposed to be mid season rankings. Wieters hit well in AAA but he by no means killed the ball. He is struggling to be an average MLB hitter right now. Which isn't a knock on Wieters at all it is really expected for how young and inexperienced he is.


How is Gordon Beckham ranked lower than Justin Smoak?... Beckham is not only putting up better MLB numbers than Smoak is in AAA but Beckham is at a premium position with SS/3B eligibility. I'm not sure how Smoak could crack the top 15 when he's been as bad as he's been in AAA. Drawing walks is great but the guy didn't even slug .500 in AA. Sure he had good numbers but top 15 mid season prospect numbers?... Maybe top 25 but his recent AAA struggles have got to drop him down the rankings.


Chris Tillman should really be ranked higher than Brian Matusz. Tillman is more than a year younger yet he's pitching a whole level higher than Matusz and he's dominating. He's at least a month closer to the O's rotation as well at this point.


I also realize that this list is probably more based off of pure MLB cieling rather than how close a player is to the MLB with guys like Mike Stanton and Jesus Montero making the list. Which would maybe explain why guys like Alcides Escobar were left off of the list, who should really be ranked higher than Desmond Jennings in just about any ranking system. Much like the Smoak to Beckham comparison. Escobar (same age as Jennings) is putting up similar numbers in a higher level at a more premium position...

This being the case though I would have liked to see guys like Alex Liddi, Derek Norris, and Micheal Taylor... They are probably more top 25 guys though than top 15.

I also don't know why Justin Smoak gets so much more attention than guys like Chris Carter (Oakland 1B prospect). Not saying he's a top 15 prospect, but he has better AA numbers than Smoak had and he's the same age. Not only that but Chris Carter has a much better track record than Smoak considering last year Carter lead all of advanced A ball in HRs.