Quick Hits

I went out and got the rookie card edition Beckett today and spent some time looking it over, and while I think it's a decent read, I also think Beckett should seriously consider leaving prospect analysis to the big boys like Pecota and Baseball America. They had some decent breakdowns on some players, but completely embarrassed themselves with others. Here's just a few of the ones I liked, as well as some of the ones that left me scratching my head.

Joe Savery
"Analysis:...projects as a mid-rotation starter."
"Best compared to: (the early pitching version of) Rick Ankiel"

Say what? Beckett compares Savery to the early pitching version of Rick Ankiel, while also saying that he projects as a mid-rotation starter? Ankiel was a #1 starter by the age of 19, so how does Joe Savery even come close to Ankiel if he's only got middle-of-the-rotation stuff? C'mon Beckett, get it together. The whole thing makes absolutely no sense.

Brett Sinkbeil
"Analysis: Mid-rotation starter."

While they blew the Savery analysis, I think they were pretty close with Sinkbeil. He's got decent stuff and would make a nice mid-rotation guy.

Travis Snider
"Best Compared to: Matt Holliday"

I really don't get this one. I've already spent some time looking at Snider and I think he's a promising young hitter, but I could think of a lot of guys to compare Snider to before I would even think of putting him and Matt Holliday in the same paragraph. Unless maybe I were to say something like, "Snider and Holliday both play baseball" or "Snider and Holliday are nothing alike."

Fernando Martinez
"Analysis: Reserve outfielder"

I hadn't really thought of it, but Martinez does profile as a typical reserve outfielder, at least until he gets closer to 25 years old. His speed might help him see more playing time, especially with Carlos Gomez going to the Twins in the Santana trade, but then again, he might waste the first half of his career in a ridiculous platoon job set up by the almighty Mets think tank.

Cory Luebke
"Best Compared to: Scott Kazmir"

Kazmir was born in 1984, while Luebke was born in 1985. Kazmir just finished the year as the AL strikeout leader, and would have led both leagues had he not been held to strict pitch counts. Luebke just finished the year with 61 strikeouts in 59 innings pitched in three levels of A ball. If Luebke was anywhere near as talented as Kazmir, he'd have been in the majors for two years already. Another ridiculous comparison.

Chris Marrero
"Analysis: Legitimate power, and an All-Star in the making; we don't take our comparison lightly."
"Best compared to: Albert Pujols"

I've already covered the Marrero comparisons to Pujols, but in case anybody forget what I said, let me repeat myself. Marrero is NOT the next Albert Pujols. Period. Beckett will lose a lot of it's credibility with prospectors if it continues to throw out these types of comparisons.

Evan Longoria
"Best Compared to: Joe Crede"

Where did Crede come from? Did they just spin a wheel and go with whoever it stopped on? At 21 years old, Longoria hit 21 home runs with an OPS of .931 in 432 plate appearances at AA ball. Crede had 4 home runs with an OPS of .650 in 313 plate appearances as a 21 year old in AA ball. Even if we consider Crede's AA ball stats as a 22 year old, he still only had an OPS of .874 with 21 home runs in 589 plate appearances, which places him about 2 years behind Longoria in terms of development. What a horrible comparison. If I had to pick one player to compare Longoria to, it would be Mark Teixeira, not Joe Crede. Maybe Beckett thought that since they both played third base then it wouldn't matter if they didn't bothered looking at the numbers, or maybe they just want to hoard tons of Longoria cards and they felt like devaluing him in the eyes of collectors. Either way, they really messed this one up.


Well, those are just a few of the players that caught my attention in the Beckett prospect section. Tomorrow I'll try and post a few more.