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Group 1 - Where it all starts

Grants Pass Brewers

   It is fitting that the Brewers #1 prospect is a Pint.  Riley Pint is not simply a nice play on words though.  He has an overpowering high 90’s fastball that often touches triple digits late in games.  The pitch bores in on lefty’s and runs away from righty’s, making it very difficult to square up even if a hitter can CATCH up to it.  Pint has both a slider and a curve, but both are still wildly inconsistent.  Pint is inconsistent with all his pitches due to a failure in being able to repeat his delivery.  The organization has taken a very cautious approach with him, but they are reworking his mechanics to help him gain consistency.  He does have a very clean delivery, hinting at the likelihood of continued health, and as soon as he irons out his mechanics, the sky should be the limit.  Pint has ace potential.  Also in the system are power arms Erick Fedde, Touki Toussaint, Sandy Alcantara; all who are able to dial their fastballs up to the upper 90’s.  Control shouthpaw Eric Lauer could be an effective counter to the power arms once they all reach Grants Pass.  Lauer may not have elite stuff, but he has a varied four pitch mix, knows how to use them all, has excellent control, and is not afraid to come inside and challenge hitters.  Blake Rutherford was seen as one of the most polished high school hitters in some time before the 2016 draft, but he has been unable to deliver on that promise over his first two years.  He fell out of favor to the extent that he was made available and drafted during the Rookie Expansion draft.  That may have lit a fire under him, as he has been every bit the hitter he was once thought to be so far this season.  He has yet to produce the over the fence power many predicted, but he has been hitting screaming liners all over the field in the early going and hitting well over .300 so far.  If he regains the luster he once had, he could leap up the prospect rankings in short order.  The Brewers also have a bevy of young, talented shortstops in the system; any one of which could deliver on their vast potential and secure shortstop in GP for years to come.

Top Prospects: 1. Riley Pint (SP), 2. Sandy Alcantara (SP), 3. Erick Fedde (SP), 4. Touki Toussaint (SP), 5. Eric Lauer (SP), 6. Rowdy Tellez (1B), 7. Blake Rutherford (OF), 8. Kevin Newman (SS)


Roxbury Robots

   One Rookie Expansion draft in, the Robots have built an intriguing base to start their new farm system from.  Outfielders Brett Phillips, Daz Cameron, and Dylan Cozens all have potential to be regular producers at the major league level.  Phillips is the most advanced, but he must learn to curtail the swing and miss in his game.  The same can be said of Cozens who has light tower power.  Cameron has the pedigree, but has yet to show the refinement to his game he will need.  Up and comers Bryse Wilson and Shane Bieber lead a deep pool of starting prospects.  Two sport star Wilson was offered football scholarships to several prominent Division I programs, but he chose baseball instead.  The quarterback intelligence has followed him to the mound, where he shows a rather innate ability to work hitters with his 92-94 fastball and change up.  He also throws a curve, but the pitch has fallen behind his newly refined change in his arsenal.  Bieber, known primarily as a control artist previously, has seen his fastball tick up and his curve tighten considerably and he now throws above average stuff with consistency and command.  Yohander Mendez is the rare pitcher who pitches off his change.  The pitch is a devastating pitch that continually gets hitters out front for swings and misses or weak contact.  Mendez was asked to become a little more aggressive with his low to mid 90’s fastball last year and the adjustment paid immediate dividends.  Unable to focus on the change up, hitters became overmatched as Mendez’ fastball became even more reliable with the extra work and he saw his strikeout rate jump.  This is a young system, but Roxbury is on the right track to grow it into a quality product.

Top Prospects: 1. Brett Phillips (OF), 2. Dylan Cozens (OF), 3. Bryse Wilson (SP), 4. Shane Bieber (SP), 5. Yohander Mendez (SP), 6. Fernando Romero (SP), 7. Daz Cameron (OF), 8. Domingo Acevedo (SP)


Seattle Rainiers

   The Rainiers front office chose to focus this winter on assembling a respectable major league team to show the Seattle faithful in their first season in the league.  The plan seems to be paying off so far as the Rainiers are not only far outpacing the other three expansion teams on the field and in the standings, but have been sitting at or near the top of their own division.  The farm system is not completely empty however.  Starting pitchers Max Fried, Nick Neidert, Dillon Peters, and Ryan Merritt all show some promise and are close to contributing at the big league level.  Tyler Austin is very close to making his debut as well, and the long time outfielder has added some versatility to his defensive game, spending time at 1B this season.  This years Amateur Draft promises to be a busy one for the Seattle front office as they begin to populate their young farm system.

Top Prospects: 1. Max Fried (SP), 2. Nick Neidert (SP), 3. Ryan Merritt (SP), 4. Tyler Austin (OF/1B), 5. Dillon Peters (SP)
Brendt Crews
Bako Bums


World Series Champions
SCRUBS Modern Baseball League
Bums - 2007, 2009, 2012, 2016

Mutiny Simulation Baseball League
Spits - 2007, 2009

Re: Group 1 - Where it all starts

Reply #1
As a part of this series of articles, I would like to not only have discussion but also compile a consensus list ranking the leagues farm systems.  Please rank the teams of each grouping within a reply so I can tabulate the consensus rankings.
Brendt Crews
Bako Bums


World Series Champions
SCRUBS Modern Baseball League
Bums - 2007, 2009, 2012, 2016

Mutiny Simulation Baseball League
Spits - 2007, 2009

Re: Group 1 - Where it all starts

Reply #2
Simply based upon what I already know of these players and their recent play on the field, this is the order I would tank the systems.

Rockets
Rainiers
Brewers
Brent A. Brown
Chicago Rum Runners
President of Baseball Operations

World Series Champions
CJWL - 2017 (Grinders)

LCS
NABL-AL 2018 (Louisville Bats)

Re: Group 1 - Where it all starts

Reply #3
Simply based upon what I already know of these players and their recent play on the field, this is the order I would tank the systems.

Rockets
Rainiers
Brewers

Is the top one the worst or the best?
David
Phoenix Miners

Re: Group 1 - Where it all starts

Reply #4
1 Brewers
2 Rockets
3 Rainiers
Kyle - 2008, 2015, 2019 MSB Champion

Re: Group 1 - Where it all starts

Reply #5
Is the top one the worst or the best?

Top would be the best, further I'll include the numbers to eliminate confusion.
Brent A. Brown
Chicago Rum Runners
President of Baseball Operations

World Series Champions
CJWL - 2017 (Grinders)

LCS
NABL-AL 2018 (Louisville Bats)

Re: Group 1 - Where it all starts

Reply #6
I've got them ranked:

Brewers
Rainiers
Rockets

I also think I need to get used to my former prospects appearing this this list (Newman and Austin).

David
Phoenix Miners

Re: Group 1 - Where it all starts

Reply #7
1. Brewers
2. Rockets
3. Rainers
Dan
Brooklyn Kraken

Re: Group 1 - Where it all starts

Reply #8
 Love the write-ups.

If this were last year, I would say the Brewers, but I think Pint ends up in the pen, provided he doesn't go the Tyler Kolek route. I wouldn't be surprised if Alcantara and Toussaint end up there as well. Not that this would be a bad thing, given how the bullpens are used in MLB these days.

Young pitching is always so difficult to gauge, but I like the trio of Romero, Wilson and Bieber. I also think Brett Phillips is a starter on a 2nd division team, has the speed and defense, and I think he will end up getting his act together at the plate as well.

Rockerts
Brewers
Rainiers
Chris
Data City Cache Hogs

Re: Group 1 - Where it all starts

Reply #9
Ouch!  Each one of these teams picked up a Nomad in the Expansion Draft.  I went back and forth on Pint and with the same bullpen bound thoughts as Chris, I left him open.  I was very high on Wilson as well.

I think the Brewers have the highest upside of these teams, but I think the Rockets wind up with the most major leaguers so I'll pick them.

1.Rockets
2.Brewers
3.Rainers
Matt
Mother Lode Argonauts

Re: Group 1 - Where it all starts

Reply #10
Hey, we are the ROBOTS, not the "Rockets".  Rockets play some dumb sport in Houston. But thanks for the analysis anyway...
bob h
ROBOTS

Re: Group 1 - Where it all starts

Reply #11
Hey, we are the ROBOTS, not the "Rockets".  Rockets play some dumb sport in Houston. But thanks for the analysis anyway...
bob h
ROBOTS


And none of us GOOFS even caught it!
Brent A. Brown
Chicago Rum Runners
President of Baseball Operations

World Series Champions
CJWL - 2017 (Grinders)

LCS
NABL-AL 2018 (Louisville Bats)

Re: Group 1 - Where it all starts

Reply #12
Hey, we are the ROBOTS, not the "Rockets".  Rockets play some dumb sport in Houston. But thanks for the analysis anyway...
bob h
ROBOTS
Oh, man!  Do I feel dumb!

My sincerest apologies Rob.  No idea where I got the Rockets from...

Edit: I notice as I fixed the write up that I did use the correct Robots in the actual body of the write up.  But the Excel spreadsheet is still labeled incorrectly.
Brendt Crews
Bako Bums


World Series Champions
SCRUBS Modern Baseball League
Bums - 2007, 2009, 2012, 2016

Mutiny Simulation Baseball League
Spits - 2007, 2009

Re: Group 1 - Where it all starts

Reply #13
Ha ha! No worries. Its all good...especially since we just beat the Bums in a tight game.
bob h
Robots

Re: Group 1 - Where it all starts

Reply #14
The one who got away. For me personally of all the players I lost in expansion (minor league and MLB) the one I wish I could have a do over on is Shane Bieber. In my opinion he's ranked too low (although he did kind of get roughed up in his 1st MLB start the other day).

My ranking:
Robots (aka Rockets)
Brewers
Rainiers
Rod
Scurvy Dogs