Snyder and his 1% (and King with 2%) stay in the poll? It seems like we could get in some other testers to see if they’d get more support (even though I do like King). Didn’t Rohlinger get removed for low support?

And I’d definitely put Downs, Neal, and probably Rohlinger ahead of Copeland.

voted for English.

i’d like to suggest edwin quirarte for the next poll.

On the runoff poll I said I’d probably vote for someone other than Crawford

I LIED

He hasn’t had any large amount of at-bats at any professional level, and his senior year is best described as a “disappointment”.

and the five (OK maybe four) tools.

Hey Marcello,
If the poll gets to a runoff then is there really a need for a poll for the next spot? Can’t you just take the loser from the runoff and put him in the spot after the winner?

Is it possible the organizations top two prospect hitters are Florida State Seminoles?

He career was derailed early on by injuries but is back on track now. He throws a good fastball, plus changeup, and probably something else that I couldn’t find.

gyroball?

What’s not to like about a guy that continues to get it done. He’s steadily, if a little slowly, moving up a level at a year.

I’m on the Adrianza bandwagon. I’d like to see McBryde on the list. I predict a breakout year.

Here’s where I have a difficult time weighing proximity vs. potential. I tend to favor proximity, and with that in mind I’d vote for Matt Downs or Joe Martinez, both of whom I believe will have ML careers of some sort.

And yet, just as I voted Villalona for #1, I changed my philosophy here and went with the young catcher Hector Sanchez. A 19-y-o slugging catcher who walks more than he strikes out? Yes, please. Sure, it’s a long way from the Dominican to AT&T Park, but his upside, to me, is just too hard to ignore….when compared to the iffy choices left. And I say that as a huge fan of Matt Downs; I’ve just got to put Sanchez ahead of him. But then, I wouldn’t have Wendell Fairley in my Top 20, so what do I know?

accumulated from online resources about 30 minutes ago.

Thomas Neal
Born: August 17,1987 in Inglewood, California
Height: 6-1 Weight: 205
Bats: Right Throws: Right
High School: Poway (Poway, California) Titans
College: Riverside Community College

He was drafted as an outfielder in the 36th round of the 2005 draft from Riverside CC. He was considered one of the best hitters in the California juco ranks. A draft and follow, he was signed prior to the 2006 draft to a $220,000 bonus and assigned to Salem-Keizer.

At SK, he batted .250/.289/.375 in 176 at bats before tearing a labrum in his left shoulder, which required surgery. 2007 was a lost season for the most part as he only got into 10 games for the AZL Giants, accumulating 39 at bats. In 2008, he played for Augusta as a 20 year old for most of the season, hitting .276/.359/.444 with 15 homers, 25 doubles and 81 RBI as a DH/1b (splitting time at 1st base with Angel Villalona).

He’s considered a "toolsy" outfielder with good power, but he does strike out quite a bit. At Augusta, he struck out 103 times in 428 at bats. He showed an ability to draw walks in 2008, with 48 BBs.

Baggs says he is "just a really nice kid."

some prospect hounds make separate lists for pitchers and hitters, I find it is easier to focus that way. I like looking at offensive stats, but so few of those guys will have an impact at the majors while several of these pitchers will.
Martinez could be decent, he has always had success—maybe like Sergio Romo, not great velocity, but pitching smarts. Voting for Tanner now, young and lefty and effective.

Ehire Adrianza #4 top prospect in AZL
Wendell Fairley #20 top prospect in AZL
(also Jose Casilla #9 and Kyle Nicholson #17)

About Adrianza: “I really like this kid. He completely won me over during the AZL championship game when he made one great play after another. Even mistakes from him turn into outs because of his quick reactions. Just between us, I briefly considered rolling the dice on Adrianza and making him the #1 prospect in the league —- that’s how high I am on him. Let’s see how his body matures over the next couple years before projecting his arrival date in the big leagues. The reason he played in AAA was because the Fresno team was short an infielder (I think it was when Ivan Ochoa got called up); since they were already in Arizona, they brought in Adrianza to fill the void until a more experienced infielder could get there.” He also noted that he thinks Adrianza is better than Burriss.

About the pitching in AZL: “Nicholson and Casilla both made the top 20 list, Aaron King was not far off the list, and a couple of sleepers from that staff are Kelvin Marte and Javier Hernandez.”

About Fairley: “I used the word enigma in describing Wendell Fairley. But he started to grow on me towards the end of the year when, as you stated, he made some nice adjustments at the plate. If he continues improving in Instructs and next spring, I could see him moving up to Augusta, especially since he’ll be 21 next year. If you’re wondering what the future holds for Fairley, a comp that I’ll credit to Jason Grey of ESPN is Freddie Lewis —- a talented athlete who developed later in his 20s.”

About Culberson: “Culberson seemed to struggle with the expectations, but he showed the ability to play the game. I agree with you that he made some strides prior to having to depart. His defense is not that bad and he could hit. I think he’ll look more like the player he was supposed to be this year in 2009. If not, the future does not bode well.”

Bonus on Noonan: “I don’t remember any specific comparisons regarding Noonan, but he was mentioned by nearly every manager. His bat has excellent potential and he has the glove and other defensive skills to stay at second base without a problem. I look at the San Francisco roster and see the Giants considering Ivan Ochoa, Eugenio Velez and Kevin Frandsen for the keystone sack next year…wow. Noonan is twice the prospect of those three guys.” Also, “Q: Is Nick Noonan still comparable to Utley w/o the huge power potential? A: That’s not a bad comparison at all. He can definitely handle the bat, a la Utley.”

About SJ pitchers: “Lots of pitchers came through San Jose this year. Alderson of course was in the top 10, and Henry Sosa we sort of threw out his season because he was hurt, even though he technically had enough innings to qualify for the list. The next guy on the staff who got the most interest was Kevin Pucetas, who can locate his fastball and has a good curveball but is seen as a No. 4 starter. Clayton Tanner’s also pretty good, 86-91 but doesn’t repeat his mechanics well enough. So several other decent guys, but definitely no one else on the level of Alderson.”

About Mike McBryde: “If you’re looking for something out of that next level of Cal League outfielders, can I interest you in Mike McBryde of San Jose? He’s like Jason Place only better. Great speed—a reported 3.85 seconds down the line—a great arm, outstanding defense, shows power. If he gets more consistent with the bat he’ll be a big leaguer.”

About EME: “[Expect] Not much; he’s 25, injury-prone and not a good defender. Not a fan.”

Bonus on Sandoval:

From their Cal League description: “He looks considerably less comfortable on defense. Though he has arm strength and threw out 46 percent of basestealers with San Jose, his hands and lack of agility work against him at catcher. San Francisco also played him at both infield corners, but his squat body and limited athleticism don’t profile well there either.”

From their Eastern League description, “He has a strong arm, but the scouts contacted for this list who had seen Sandoval catch didn’t believe he could play there regularly in the major leagues. Two managers said Sandoval had problems just physically squatting behind the plate, while two AL scouts both used the same cliché: "He can’t catch a cold.”

However, John Manuel notes, “He just hits. If I were the Giants, I’d stick him at first base next year and leave him in the middle of the lineup. I doubt he can play third base or catcher well enough to be a big league regular, so maybe he should try throwing lefthanded more often to help him be a better defender at 1B. … Dude can hit.” Scouts also think he can hit too.

When does Jesus Guzman fit in?