From the Desk of the Commish

Now that all the experts have released their top prospect lists for the 2001 season, it is time once again to look at our own BDBL farm systems and see how we rate. I have taken the prospect lists from Baseball Prospectus, Top Prospect Alert, Team One Baseball, John Sickels and Baseball America's three main editors Alan Simpson, Will Lingo and Jim Callis and formed one giant list. I give 100 points to the top player on each list, 99 points to the second player and continue giving each player one less point down to the bottom of the list.

Now, this isn't the most scientific method, since some of these lists contain 100 players (Team One and Top Prospect), some contain 50 (all three Baseball America lists) and one contains 40 (Baseball Prospectus.) Also, there seems to be different criteria for each list. For example, since Ichiro Suzuki is not a minor leaguer, he doesn't appear on some of these lists. Ryan Anderson is listed lower on some lists than others due to the timing of the list publication and Anderson's season-ending surgery. Also, these lists don't include rankings for college players like Mark Teixeira or Mark Prior. So this method is not perfect, but it gives us at least a rough idea of where we stand (and it gives us something to brag about.)

That said, last year was a tough year for prospects. #3 prospect Nick Johnson was out for the entire year with mysterious ailments. It was a bad year for prospects named Wells, too, as both Kip (#10) and Vernon (#5) had off-years. Dee Brown (#7), Mike Cuddyer (#11), Matt Riley (#12), Chin-Feng Chen (#14), Mike Restovich (#22), Matt LeCroy (#24) and Chad Hermanson (#25) rounded out an ugly top 25.

At the bottom of the list, guys like Kats Sasaki (#100), Wade Miller (#93), Brett Myers (#91), Mitch Meluskey (#89), Ken Harvey (#89), Adam Eaton (#88), Dan Reichert (#87) and Mark Quinn (#86) all had fine years.

So you see, the experts aren't always right. Just to give you an idea of what the experts are saying this year, here is a list of the top twenty players as determined by a compilation of these seven lists:

Rank	Team	Total Points	2000 Rank
1	New Milford	2,636	3
2	Akron	2,565	9
3	Los Altos	2,536	7
4	Allentown	2,501	18
5	Phoenix	1,905	13
6	Stamford	1,714	2
7	Salem	1,701	1
8	Chicago	1,602	12
9	Massillon	1,325	23
10	South Carolina	1,244	17
11	Kansas	1,226	4
12	Kentucky	933	19
13	Southern Cal	854	15
14	Madison	761	5
15	Marlboro	603	10
16	Manchester	378	22
17	Litchfield	362	11
18	Villanova	348	8
19	Bowling Green	291	14
20	Atlanta	258	24
21	Perth	162	6
22	Gillette	153	16
23	Bear Country	61	21
24	Cleveland	28	20

Below, I've listed a short paragraph or two for each team. The number in the parentheses beside each player indicates the player's overall ranking.

Akron Ryche
Farm team: Bobby Bradley (11), Alex Escobar (15), Jose Ortiz (17), Adam Dunn (21), Pat Strange (60), Matt McClendon (64), Ben Broussard (78), Colby Lewis (86), David Espinosa (N/R) and Mark Prior (N/R)

From the time they picked Pedro Martinez as their first pick of the Inaugural Draft, the Akron Ryche have made a commitment to building around pitching. It's no surprise, then, that in addition to having three pitching prospects in the top 100, Akron also has the top college pitcher (Prior) and several young pitchers like Mark Mulder, Jason Marquis, Tomo Ohka, Ramon Ortiz, Sidney Ponson and Jeff Weaver on their 35-man roster. Offensively, Akron has three hitters in the top 25, including Ortiz, who was acquired during the Chapter Five transaction period (along with McClendon) last year. Despite a disappointing season by Chin-Feng Chen (who is no longer on the team), and the graduations of two top-70 prospects (Mulder and Ramon Hernandez), Akron still managed to gain five places in the rankings.

Allentown Ridgebacks
Farm team: Roy Oswalt (6), Vernon Wells (10), Jerome Williams (28), Jimmy Rollins (34), Brad Wilkerson (38), Abraham Nunez (69), Matt Kinney (76), Justin Miller (89), Derrick Turnbow (105), Elpidio Guzman (N/R), Bobby Kielty (N/R), Seung Song (N/R), Andy Morales (N/R) and John Stephens (N/R)

With a new scouting director in place, the Ridgebacks gained a remarkable EIGHTEEN places in the rankings in just one year thanks to several shrewed pick-ups. How bad was the Allentown farm system before Tom DiStefano took over? Last year's farm system, which included the likes of Buddy Yen, Carlos Mendez, Carlos Paredes, Corey Thurman and Joseph Delgado, didn't have one player who ranked in the top 100. In fact, the team didn't even get one point from any of the lists I compiled. Oswalt (who shot up from off the charts to #6 in one year) was by far the highest-ranked player available in this year's farm draft, and Allentown nabbed him with the third overall pick. Kinney was also chosen in the draft, in the 23rd round of the free agent draft. Wells, Williams, Rollins, Nunez, Kielty and Stephens all came to the team via trade. Thanks to DiStefano's maneuvering, the Allentown farm system has been taken off life suport and now has more players in the top 40 (five) and more ranked players (nine) than any other team in the league.

Atlanta Fire Ants
Farm Team: Nick Neugebauer (48), Keith Reed (93), Xavier Nady (N/R), Wily Mo Pena (N/R), Ben Diggins (N/R), Casey Fossum (N/R), Ted Lilly (N/R) and Alan Webb (N/R)

Neugebauer has walked 214 batters in 209 innings in his minor league career, but he is ranked as high as #14 (Team One) because he has struck out 299 over that same span. He also throws upwards of 100 mph, so if he ever gets his act together he could be a good one. Reed was ranked 64th on that same Team One list, accounting for his 37 total points. Diggins is rated the top prospect for the Dodgers by Baseball America, but has yet to throw a professional pitch and Nady was one of the top players in the draft. Because neither player is rated, the overall Atlanta ranking is artificially low.

Bear Country Jamboree
Farm Team: Pablo Ozuna (80), Aaron McNeal (N/R), Mike Tonis (N/R), Andy Beal (N/R), Boof Bonser (N/R), Eric Cammack (N/R), Bob File (N/R), Matt Smith (N/R), John Sneed (N/R) and Scott Sobkowiak (N/R)

Of the ten players on the Jamboree farm, eight were inherited from the old Queensboro Kings regime, which was the 21st-ranked farm system in the league last year. Because none of them really made any great strides within the past year, the Jamboree farm has fallen in the rankings. The one player who is ranked, Ozuna, has the greatest value as a leadoff hitter, but he doesn't get on base often enough to be all that valuable. The two players added since last year, Tonis and Bonser (the greatest name in baseball, by the way), are both 2000 draftees with limited experience so far. Bonser is ranked the #11 prospect in the Giants system, and Tonis is ranked #14 in KC's.

Bowling Green Spoilers
Farm team: Mike Bynum (50), Jon Garland (66), Jason Jennings (109), Brad Baisley (114), Alex Cabrera (N/R), Jeff Austin (N/R), Ryan Mills (N/R), Christian Parra (N/R), Ricardo Rodriguez (N/R), John Trujillo (N/R) and Greg Wooten

For an organization that has traditionally been among the league leaders in pitching and among the worst in offense, it's no surprise that ten of the eleven players listed above are pitchers. Unfortunately for the Bowling Green offense, the only hitter (Cabrera) is now playing in Japan. Since Garland pitched 69 innings last year, he technically doesn't qualify as a prospect anymore. But since he appeared on one list (#11 on the TPA list), he gets some points. It's safe to assume that if he were on every list, he would have finished in the top 15 overall. All of the pitchers on the Spoilers farm are quality prospects. Six of the pitchers listed were first round draft picks, most of them out of college. Wooten is an intriguing pitcher who walked just 15 batters in 179 innings last year.

Chicago Black Sox
Farm team: Josh Hamilton (3), Josh Beckett (13), Aubrey Huff (41), Ryan Ludwick (90), Luis Montanez (104), Francisco Rodriguez (112), David Kelton (N/R), Ryan Ludwick (N/R), Jackson Melian (N/R), Chad Meyers (N/R), Jason Repko (N/R), Corey Smith (N/R) and Ty Howington (N/R)

While there is some disagreement as to how good a prospect Hamilton is, as evidenced by his ranking from #1 (Simpson) to #14 (BBP), there is no doubt that he is one of the top prospects in the game. The biggest knock on him is his plate discipline (41 BB, 128 K's in 699 career AB's.) There is also a wide disparity of opinion about Beckett, who was ranked as high as #3 (Callis), but was left off entirely on the BBP top-40 list. (Note: you think there is a bias against the Black Sox at Baseball Prospectus?) Huff was also left off the BBP list, though the person who put that list together later said it was an error (he thought Huff no longer qualified for rookie status.) Perhaps Simpson and Lingo made the same mistake, because both left Huff off of their top-50 lists as well. Montanez, Rodriguez and Howington should shoot up the list within the next year, giving Chicago an impressive farm to go along with their impressive big club.

Cleveland Rocks
Farm team: Matt White (99), Morgan Burkhart (N/R), Nathan Haynes (N/R), Gerald Laird (N/R), Tsuyoshi Shinjo (N/R), Chase Utley (N/R), Josh Girdley (N/R), Billy Traber (N/R) and Andy VanHekken (N/R)

White, the Rocks' only ranked player, was looking a lot like the Second Coming of Todd Van Poppel until he turned it around somewhat last year. He still has a lot of work to do, but at least he's on the right track now. The other players in the Cleveland farm are all ranked in the top 20 for their Major League teams: Burkhart (16), Haynes (8), Laird (11), Shinjo (9), Utley (5), Girdley (4), Traber (8) and VanHekken (7). At this point, though, it doesn't appear as though the Rocks have any future impact players here. The Rocks ranked 20th out of 24 teams last year in this listing, and now own the worst farm team in the league according to this ranking system. It's time for the Rocks to fire Tommy Lasorda as their talent scout and start reading BaseballAmerica.com.

Gillette Swamp Rats
Farm team: Luke Prokopec (68), Adrian Hernandez (73), Toe Nash (N/R), Tom Wilson (N/R), Nelson Figueroa (N/R), Brandon Kolb (N/R), Ben Norris (N/R), Brian Reith (N/R) and Chris Reitsma (N/R)

Now that Rafael Furcal has graduated to the big club, there isn't much left on the Gillette farm these days. Prokopec and Hernandez are both solid prospects who had fine seasons last year, and both have a remote chance of breaking into their team's starting rotation this season. Of the remainder, only Reitsma cracked the BBA top ten list for his Major League club (at #10 for Cincinnati.)

Kansas Law Dogs
Farm team: Antonio Perez (14), Matt Belisle (29), Carl Crawford (51), Ramon Santiago (78), Mike MacDougal (87), Angel Berroa (N/R), Darrell Einertson (N/R), Junior Guerrero (N/R), Brian Sanches (N/R) and Kyle Snyder (N/R)

Ten prospects - half of which belong to the Kansas City Royals franchise. This must be either the Boise Bastards or the Kansas Law Dogs. In both cases, our rating system hasn't been kind to them. Fortunately, the Dogs have some non-Royals in the top 80 to pump up the point total. With A-Rod gone, Perez may be rushed to the big league team this spring. That would probably be a mistake, as he could use another year (at least) in the minors. Belisle has gone from an unknown to the best pitching prospect (and there are plenty of them) in the vaunted Braves farm system. Crawford is your typical toolsy Tampa Bay prospect, and Santiago is a (very) young shortstop with good speed but not a lot of lumber. Most pitching prospects seem to either emerge out of nowhere or vanish into thin air, and a prime example of the latter is Guerrero. A year ago, he was being touted as one of the finest pitching prospects in the game. Today, he is ranked #18 in the Royals' system.

Kentucky Fox
Farm team: Bud Smith (24), Albert Pujols (26), John Lackey (108), Jason Conti (N/R), Joaquin Benoit (N/R), Jimmy Gobble (N/R), Eric Ireland (N/R), Andy Pratt (N/R), Matt Riley (N/R) and Billy Sylvester (N/R)

Smith is probably the most wanted pitcher in all of the BDBL, because his evil twin "Robert" has been mistakingly added to at least two other rosters in the past year. Robert, Bud, whatever you want to call him, it doesn't matter. A pitcher by any other name would throw as sweet. Smith had an incredible year last year, capped off by two seven-inning no-hitters that earned him national attention (in addition to overwhelming BDBL attention.) Like I said in the Kansas paragraph above, some pitchers just seem to come out of nowhere, and Smith is definitely one of those guys. Riley, on the other hand, is definitely that other type of pitching prospect I described. He began the year by irritating his manager and teammates by showing up late for practice (note: good thing he doesn't pitch for the Royals or he would have been released), and ended the year on the surgical table of Dr. Frank Jobe. Pujols is apparently the reason why the Cardinals thought they could trade Fernando Tatis. The rest of the guys on the Kentucky farm I had to look up because I have no idea who they are. The Kentucky scouting department really digs deep for some of these guys!

Los Altos Undertakers
Farm team: Ben Sheets (2), Jon Rauch (4), Carlos Pena (9), Donnie Bridges (30), Brett Myers (49), Richard Stahl (113), Mario Encarnacion (N/R), Lyle Overbay (N/R), Juan Silvestra (N/R) and Shawn Sonnier (N/R)

Talk about pitching prospects that have come out of nowhere! The Undertakers are full of them. We'll start with Sheets, everyone's choice for top pitching prospect in baseball since Ryan "Don't Call Me Little Unit" Anderson went down for the year. Sheets was listed no lower than 8th on any of the seven lists this year, one year after he was listed 65th by BBA and was not included at all on either the BBP list or the Sickels list. But after racking up a 1.88 ERA in 72 A-ball innings, a 2.87 ERA in 82 Double-A innings and helping the U.S. win a gold medal in the Olympics, Sheets has become the #2 overall prospect in baseball. Like Kip Wells, however, I am "standing alone on an island" when it comes to my optimism for Sheets' future stardom. If you thought Sheets came out of nowhere, Rauch seems to have been delivered to this planet from the mother ship. At 6-foot-10, you'd think it would be tough to miss him. Yet that's just what Sickels did in last year's edition of the "STATS Minor League Notebook." Look for Rauch's name among the 1,400 prospects listed in that book and you won't find him. Like Sheets, though, Rauch pitched in the Olympics, made a name for himself with an unbelievable season, and he now ranks #4 overall. How did the Undertakers end up with this hidden gem? With the last pick of the last free agent pick-up period last year, Undertakers GM Jeff Paulson named Rauch as the THIRTY-FOURTH free agent on his list. The rest is history. Pena gives the Undertakers three players in the top ten - an extraordinary feat unmatched by any other team. Within the next year, Bridges, Myers and Stahl could all "come out of nowhere" too to give Los Altos a full five-man rotation of outstanding pitching prospects.

Litchfield Lightning
Farm team: Kurt Ainsworth (40), Jesus Colome (73), Jody Gerut (N/R), Pascual Matos (N/R), Jorge Toca (N/R), Luke Wilcox (N/R), Bret Evert (N/R), Saul Rivera (N/R), Jay Tessmer (N/R) and T.J. Tucker (N/R)

Pascual Matos? Jorge Toca? Luke Wilcox? Saul Rivera? What is this? A farm team or a Menudo reunion?? Taking into account Phil Geisel's affection for the Backstreet Boys, don't rule out the Menudo reunion theory. Now that Lance Berkman and Adam Piatt have gone to greener pastures (MUCH greener), the Lightning are left with several hold-overs from last year's farm that have now gone two years as unrated prospects. Ainsworth and Colome are still solid pitching prospects who should contribute to the Lightning some time within the next couple of years. Of the rest, only Gerut has a good shot at wearing a Lightning bolt across his forehead. The others will have to settle for the Harry Potter Fan Club.

Madison Fighting Mimes
Farm team: Joe Crede (22), Felipe Lopez (44), Brent Abernathy (N/R), John Buck (N/R), Jose Castillo (N/R), Adam Everett (N/R) and Ben Johnson (N/R)

The Mimes made a lot of noise during last year's farm draft, selecting nine players including Vernon Wells, A.J. Burnett, Abraham Nunez, Jayson Werth, Danys Baez, Jason Romano and Kats Sasaki - all top-100 players. One year later, all but Sasaki have moved on, casualties of the tragic 2000 season that was stolen by the evil Zoots. The team's top prospect, Crede, was acquired in the pre-season in exchange for Baez (#77 overall.) Lopez, who took a big step back last year yet gained eleven points in the overall ranking (telling you what kind of year if was for prospects last year), was acquired in exchange for the Legendary Mark Johnson.

Manchester Irish Rebels
Farm team: Joe Borchard (35), Mike Nannini (91), Tyrell Godwin (N/R), Daylan Holt (N/R), Darnell McDonald (N/R), Dernell Stenson (N/R), Chris Bootcheck (N/R), Dicky Gonzalez (N/R), Aaron Heilman (N/R) and Josh Towers (N/R)

Of the ten players on the Rebels farm, half of them were college players selected in the 2000 MLB amateur draft. Borchard has made waves already, and is listed as the second-best player in the (very) deep White Sox farm system by BBA. Both Godwin and Heilman failed to come to terms with the teams that chose them, so both have returned for their senior year. Holt had an off year as a junior and slipped to the third round. He is now listed at #25 in the A's system, but is expected to move quickly. The fifth 2000 draftee, Bootcheck, held out all summer and has yet to throw a professional pitch. (Can you guess who his agent is?)

Marlboro Hammerheads
Farm team: Ichiro Suzuki (30), Carlos Zambrano (63), Milton Bradley (82), Alex Cintron (94), Jason Romano (101), J.J. Davis (N/R), Jeff Goldbach (N/R), Pat Manning (N/R), Bill Ortega (N/R), Julio Ramirez (N/R) and Josh Karp (N/R)

When the Salem Cowtippers shocked the BDBL establishment by taking Adam Johnson with the first pick of the Farm Draft, Marlboro inherited the player everyone thought Salem would pick: Ichiro. There are two schools of thought when it comes to Ichiro. There are those who look at his seven consecutive batting titles in Japan, his career .353 average, .408 OBP and .522 SLG and think he will be an instant Johnny Damon-like star in the U.S.. Obviously, the Mariners, who rejected a trade of Ichiro for Gary Sheffield straight-up, fall into this group. Then, there are those who look at the overwhelming success of former MLB rejects like Bobby Rose and Warren Cromartie in Japan and wonder how good the competition really is overseas. I think I fall in the middle of those two groups and believe Ichiro will be a decent player, but not a star. A Japanese version of Doug Glanville, perhaps. Since Glanville is carrying a $4 million salary for the Spoilers this year, you could make an argument that the Hammerheads saved $3.9 million with that pick (...I say with tongue planted firmly in cheek.) Of the rest of the Hammerheads farm, only Bradley is talked about as a future all-star. But given his history of emotional problems, that is no given. Karp is rated as the third best college player in the draft by BBA and Cintron is rated the Diamondbacks' top prospect (for whatever that's worth.)

Massillon Tigerstrikes
Farm draft: Wilson Betemit (23), Joe Torres (46), Brian Cole (47), Tim Redding (53), Keith Ginter (55), Jason Hart (88), Willie Bloomquist (N/R), Marlon Byrd (N/R), Chin-Feng Chen (N/R) and Calvin Chipperfield (N/R)

Like the Madison Fighting Mimes last year, the Tigerstrikes had to make a ton of picks this year. But unlike the Mimes, the Tigerstrikes didn't have a lot of early picks in the draft, and the pool of available talent was a bit more shallow. All things considered, Massillon GM Mike Ries did an excellent job, nabbing five top 100 picks. With the exceptions of Cole, Ginter and possibly Redding, all of these prospects are probably at least three years away from seeing any Major League ballpark without a ticket. Betemit and Torres have the biggest upside of the group, but are probably the furthest away.

New Milford Blazers
Farm team: Corey Patterson (1), C.C. Sabathia (8), Austin Kearns (18), Alfonso Soriano (39), Dee Brown (54), Luis Rivas (55), Mike Cuddyer (59), John Barnes (N/R), Alex Fernandez (N/R), Kenny Kelly (N/R), Eric Valent (N/R), Aaron Myette (N/R) and Ed Yarnall (N/R)

The one benefit to losing 222 games over a two year span is having a kick-ass farm team. Every player on the Blazers farm, with the exceptions of Rivas, Barnes, Fernandez and Kelly, came as a result of dumping big-name players and/or valuable draft picks. Patterson was listed no lower than third on any of the seven lists I tallied. Sabathia ranged from 7 to 18 and Kearns ranged from 14 to 30. All three should be big league stars within the next four years. Brown dropped from #7 on last year's list to #54 due to an ugly adjustment to Triple-A breaking balls. If he can regain the plate discipline he showed in 1999, he'll be back at the top of the prospect lists in no time (unless he loses his rookie eligibility this year now that Damon is gone.) Cuddyer fell from 11th to 59th after a disappointing year in Double-A. Like most Twins prospects, he suddenly lost the ability to hit for power last year. But he is young enough, and talented enough, to rebound. Soriano may or may not be young enough (depending on which of his birth certificates you believe), but he is certainly talented enough (though he is far more valuable as an infielder than an outfielder.) And Valent is quietly becoming a very solid prospect, maintaining power and patience as he moves up a level per year. The Blazers now own the best farm system in the league. And that system could be much better if they just trade one more player...

Perth Breeze
Farm team: Wes Anderson (62), Brad Baker (97), Ross Gload (N/R), Joe Lawrence (N/R), Justin Morneau (N/R), Lance Niekro (N/R), Ed Rogers (N/R), Chad Harville (N/R), Shane Loux (N/R) and Adam Wainwright (N/R)

The Breeze have just two ranked players this year, though that number could rise significantly in the next year as Lawrence, Morneau, Niekro, Rogers and Wainwright gain more professional experience. Anderson (who was acquired for Mark Teixeira a year ago in one of my proudest trades of all time) missed time last year due to shoulder troubles, but is still considered a front-line pitching prospect. Like Anderson, Baker is listed as the #2 prospect in his big league club's system by BBA. He posted some impressive numbers last year - especially for a New Englander.

Phoenix Predators
Farm team: Chris George (16), Chin-Hui Tsao (25), Ben Christensen (36), Jack Cust (42), Marcus Giles (43), Tony Blanco (107), Javier Cardona (N/R), Ryan Gripp (N/R), Josh Paul (N/R), Chad Hutchinson (N/R), John Patterson (N/R) and Mike Stodolka (N/R)

The Predators graduated one of their star pitching prospects last year (Barry Zito), and will probably do so again next year. George, Tsao and Christensen give the Predators three top-40 pitching prospects (a number matched by only the Los Altos Undertakers), and Hutchinson, Patterson (when healthy) and Stodolka aren't far behind. Offensively, Cust and Giles give the Predators two big bats, but neither player is well-regarded defensively. Blanco, a controversial pick this year, posted impressive numbers in fewer than 200 AB's in the rookie leagues this year, but he's a long way from The Show.

Salem Cowtippers
Farm team: Sean Burroughs (5), Hee Seop Choi (11), Adam Johnson (45), Chris Snelling (67), Randy Keisler (72), Eric Munson (96), Hiram Bocachica (N/R), Brad Cresse (N/R), Gookie Dawkins (N/R), Ken Harvey (N/R), Bobby Hill (N/R), Elvis Pena (N/R), Mike Restovich (N/R) and Mark Teixeira

The Cowtippers completely dominated this ranking last year, scoring 539 points higher than the next best team in the league, even after #15 prospect Alfonso Soriano was dealt away just prior to the ranking. But it was a bad year for Salem prospects. Dee Brown (#7 last year) had an awful year in Triple-A, then was dealt away. Restovich (#22) regressed completely off of everyone's prospect list. Matt LeCroy (#24) posted the lowest batting average of any Major League hitter with as many at-bats in the past 60 years. Wes Anderson (#43) had shoulder problems and was also dealt away. B.J. Garbe also had an off year and became a casualty of last year's senseless run toward another first round defeat. Snelling and Harvey both missed half the year due to injuries. Even Xavier Nady, the "sure thing" college superstar, had an off-year and fell to the second round of the draft (albeit mostly due to money issues.) And Bobby Hill wasted another year of development thanks to his agent and ended up playing in Newark, the nation's armpit. Yet despite all this misery, Salem's farm still ranks seventh in the overall ranking. And that doesn't include Teixeira, who would likely rank in the top ten if he were eligible for these lists. If Snelling and Harvey finally enjoy full, healthy seasons, and Teixeira signs with some big league team instead of holding out an entire year, Salem could be back atop of these standings next year.

Southern California Slyme
Farm team: Ryan Anderson (7), Jacob Peavy (58), Danys Baez (77), Christian Guerrero (N/R), Jason Tyner (N/R), Ricardo Aramboles (N/R), Jung Bong (N/R), Chris Cervantes (N/R), Junior Herndon (N/R) and Dennis Tankersley (N/R)

The season-ending surgery for the Little Unit is almost as devastating to the Slyme as it is to the Mariners. Anderson will return, but the question is whether his future is still as bright. Peavy is an impressive sleeper prospect who could be the Roy Oswalt of 2001. Baez looked very sharp in the AFL and could shoot up this list as well. Tankersley just needs to replace the "Tank" in his name with an "Eck" to become a BDBL legend.

South Carolina Sea Cats
Farm team: J.R. House (20), Kevin Mench (36), Jovanny Cedeno (51), Brian Lawrence (80), Hank Blalock (85), Wilfredo Rodriguez (92), Lorenzo Barcelo (95), Rocky Biddle (98), B.J. Garbe (N/R), Brandon Duckworth (N/R), Mike Meyers (N/R) and Jose Mieses (N/R)

The Sea Cats have eight ranked players, tying them with Akron and Stamford, and trailing only Allentown. House is a tremendous hitter who is blocked by Jason Kendall for at least the next six years. Mench is also apparently blocked by the recent three-year deal signed by Rusty Greer (though he can always DH.) Cedeno is a tremendous pitching prospect who is compared to Pedro Martinez because he is skinny, right-handed and hails from the Dominican. Blalock is another gem from the Texas Rangers farm system who has done very well as a pro and should shoot up this list in the next year. Rodriguez dropped from #32 to #92 after an injury-plagued debut at Double-A.

Stamford Zoots
Farm team: Nick Johnson (19), Juan Cruz (27), D'Angelo Jiminez (32), Matt Ginter (57), Tony Torcato (61), Wascar Serrano (70), Michael Young (100), Ryan Christianson (111), Alex Graman (115), Chip Ambres (N/R) and Aaron Rowand (N/R)

After losing the entire season to injury, "Nick the Stick" went from the third-best prospect in baseball to being ranked anywhere from 8th (Simpson) to 26th (Sickels) to entirely off the charts (TPA). He is clearly the jewel of the Zoots farm system, and a healthy season from Johnson would go a long way toward securing the next John Smoltz for this season's championship drive. Cruz posted a 6.10 ERA in his first pro season, a 5.94 in his second season and was 0-5 with a 9.99 ERA through his first six starts in 2000. But he finished up strong, going 8-0 with a 1.86 ERA the rest of the way. All of a sudden, he is being gushed over by all the pundits. Cruz is skinny, right-handed and hails from the Dominican. Guess who he's now being compared to? Like Johnson, Jiminez was also injured for most of last season, but miraculously managed to snag 124 AB's before the year was over. He should take over the old Luis Sojo role for the Yankees this season. Ambres (#52 last year) is another guy who dropped completely off the charts after suffering through a miserable, injury-plagued season. Ginter and Graman are college pitchers who will move quickly up the ladder. And Serrano is skinny, right-handed and hails from the Dominican.

Villanova Mustangs
Farm team: Drew Henson (33), Rod Barajas (N/R), Cesar Izturis (N/R), Josh Phelps (N/R), Tim Drew (N/R), Horacio Estrada (N/R), Kevin Hodges (N/R), Joey Nation (N/R), Fernando Rodney (N/R), Everett Stull (N/R), Clint Weibl (N/R) and Matt Wise (N/R)

To quote Paul Newman in "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid": Who are these guys?? Drew Henson we all know as the quarterback for Michigan State. But the rest of these guys are somewhat mysterious. Drew you may know as the younger, less greedy brother of J.D.. He was rushed to the big leagues last year and it probably cost him some development time. Izturis is a short, athletic shortstop from Venezuela, so naturally he is being compared to Omar Vizquel. Barajas posted a .253 OBP in the PCL last year. The rest of the guys you'll have to figure out on your own.

How Does Your Farm Rate?