McCovey Chronicles Community Prospect List

Please do not rec these, we don't want to have them cluttering up the recommended fanposts.  Thanks

It's that time of year again, when you just can't take another Stupid Rosterbation Fanpost and you need something a little different.  That's (hopefully) where this comes in.  Over the coming weeks we'll be putting together a community prospect list.  For those that don't know, the way this works is we'll create fanposts/polls for everyone to vote on for each spot in the poll.  We'll start at the number 1 prospect and go down to at least 20 or 30.  If you have any questions/suggestions, please let me know.

I'm going to do this a little differently than last year.  Last year, I tried to put together little blurbs on each prospect, but that won't be happening this year.  Instead, I'll just link to their stat pages.  Reasons:

1. My own biases go into those blurbs and I don't want to influence the vote that way
   
2. It's not always easy to find the info
3. I don't want to look like a jackass/idiot when some of them are inevitably wrong
4. I'm busy (lazy)

wilriv had a great suggestion, which is a review of last years list (which, I guess, is actually going to put my biases right back in).  I'll write my thoughts on them, feel free to chime in in the comments.

Last year's list:

1. SP Madison Bumgarner - Aesthetically, had a fantastic followup season to his breakout 2008.  However, he lost some strikeouts and velocity, which hopefully are due to fatigue from adjusting to the professional seasons.  2010 is a very important year for him.
2. C Buster Posey - Batted .118/.118/.118 in the majors.  Stock has dropped considerably as his ceiling is bullpen catcher.
3. SP Tim Alderson - Solid followup season, although his prospect stock has dropped due to velocity questions.  Traded to Pittsburgh for Mole.
4. 1B Angel Villalona - Angel had about the worst year you could possibly imagine.  He struggled in San Jose, at an admittedly very young age for the league.  Then he got hurt in early July, ending his season.  Then, in September, he was charged with murder in his home city.  The charges have been dropped, but his visa has been revoked and his future is unclear.
5. 2B Nick Noonan - Had a confusing year.  At first glance not much changed, except he doubled his walk rate, but his 2nd half was strong.  Another guy for whom 2010 is huge.
6. 3B Conor Gillaspie - Not a great first full season, as the only thing he did was walk.  His defense and power are both question marks.
7. SP Henry Sosa - Strikeouts and velocity disappeared as injuries have apparently taken their toll.  Hm, I'm not even trying to be impartial here.  Sorry.
8. OF Rafael Rodriguez - Showed great plate discipline in rookie ball, especially for someone so young.  Power isn't there yet, but again, he's extremely young.
9. OF Roger Kieschnick - Solid first season in San Jose.  Showed great power, but he needs to improve his control of the strikezone.
10. SP Kevin Pucetas - Was aggressively promoted two levels to AAA.  He survived it as well as could be expected until August happened.  He'll likely compete for the 5th spot in the rotation if no FA is signed.
11. 1B Travis Ishikawa - Fuck Bochy.  His deployment of Garkawa is one of those things that didn't truly matter, but nonetheless makes it painfully clear that he's a fucking idiot.  Also, Ishikawa was way too high on our list.
12. OF Wendell Fairley - One of those guys I truly know nothing about.  I guess he's toolsy.  He better be, because his numbers aren't good.
13. SP Scott Barnes - Had a great year and vaulted himself up to our 3rd best pitching prospect.  Then he got traded for Garko.  Some people lost their shit.
14. SS Brandon Crawford - Was on fire at SJ to start the year and was aggressively promoted to AA after 100 ABs.  Predictably struggled against the tougher competition.  He's fantastic defensively and it appears the Giants are lining him up to be the starting SS in 2011.
15. SS Ehire Adrianza - Another fantastic defensive SS who had a solid first season considering his age.
16. SP Clayton Tanner - Repeated A+ for some reason and improved on his numbers from last season.  HR rate skyrocketed from absurdly low to a bit high though.
17. SP Jesse English - Didn't hear much about him this year, but looking at his decreased strikeout rate and increased walk rate, I'm going to assume injury.  Claimed off waivers by the Nats.
18. SP Joseph Martinez - Took a scary liner off the head early in the year that gave him 3 hair line fractures.  Outside of that, he pitched like a fifth starter.  He'll likely compete for the 5th spot in the rotation if no FA is signed.
19. OF/1B Thomas Neal - Well hello Mr. Neal.  Apparently you are real.  He shit all over the Cal League.  Being healthy certainly helped him put all his tools together on the field.  If you aren't incredibly excited for his 2010 season, you're not a Giants fan.
20. 3B Jesus Guzman - Had a solid year at the plate, although it was in Fresno and the PCL so his numbers need to be discounted some.  Defensively, he's limited to 1B.
21. SP Aaron King - Had a tough year in A ball.  He needs to sharpen his control if he's going to be successful.
22. UT Matt Downs - One of the answers to the "who plays 2B and isn't Kevin Frandsen" question.  Ramon Martinez with a bit more power?
23. SP Waldis Joaquin - Spits hot fire, doesn't exactly know where it's going.  Should be fighting for a bullpen spot in 2010.
24. OF Eddy Martinez-Esteve - Got some of his power back, but lost a bit of his plate discipline.  Should be in AAA next year and he's going to have to do something special there to get a real chance.
25. P Jose Casilla - I don't know what to make of him.  He's always talked about really highly by the prospecting crowds, but he's only got 50 IP in 2 seasons.  50 spectacular innings.
26. C Hector Sanchez - A catching prospect with on base skills?  Two please.  Oh, you mean we do have two of those?  Ok then.  Also, this is good news.
27. RP Edwin Quirarte - Honestly, I don't know much about him.  I know many here are a fan, but it looks like he had a pretty tough year.
28. RP Luis Perdomo - Rule 5 guy, was claimed off waivers by San Diego and did ok there in the least leveraged role in baseball.
29. SP Ben Snyder - Put together a great year in AA, split between relieving and starting.  Not sure what his future is.
30. RP Osiris Matos - Couldn't win a spot in one of the best bullpens in baseball but had a very nice year in AAA.  He's been taken off the 40 man roster by the Giants.

The first poll will just be Posey vs. Bumgarner, with the loser taking the 2nd spot in our list.  The poll will close Tuesday at noon, so don't doddle if you want your vote to be heard.  It's pretty obvious how it will turn out, but whatever.  Please let me know who should be on the list for the 3rd spot.  I'm thinking of having the following options: Neal, Wheeler, Crawford, Rafael Rodriguez, Noonan, Kieschnick, Joseph, Hector Sanchez, Peguero.

VOTE OR DIE MOTHERFUCKERS