Top 10 Prospects - Cannons

One of the things I hate is my 1-year old grinding his teeth...yes he was doing it like crazy today and it therefore was not a great day. Well this evening did not get any better as I decided to do another top 10, and the Cannons are not that good.

The Cannons are currently ownerless, and the previous ownership loved to spend money, build a team for the now and pick up other teams "soon to be released garbage".

1. Adam Lind - OF/1B - Toronto Blue Jays

Lind's calling card to the majors is his bat. He has very good bat control which can provide power to all parts of the field. He is an intelligent hitter that should consistently hit around .300 with a good number of doubles and homeruns. He is slowly improving his patience at the plate as well and should be a solid on base guy. What Lind does not provide is either speed or defense. He will probably start his career as a left fielder, but will eventually move to 1B or DH.

2. Humberto Sanchez - RP - New York Yankees

Sanchez is a very interesting prospect that has a plus mid-90's fastball and a plus hard sinking slider. After those first two pitches he follows that up with 2 average pitches: curve and change. Sanchez tends to struggle with his mechanics, command and health as he is yet to toss over 130 innings in a season. Currently he is fighting for a rotation spot, but I see Sanchez as a setup man and eventual replacement for Mariano Rivera.

3. Carlos Gomez - OF - New York Mets

Gomez is a raw multi-tool prospect who I try to stay away from. He has great speed, a great arm, has a lighting quick bat, and has the potential to hit for homeruns. I currently see two issues with him. The first is that we always here about the potential to hit homeruns, but he still has not hit double digits in homeruns. The later is the bigger concern, he does not walk much at all which always hurts the strat card. Could he be the next Jeff Francouer?

4. Matt Walker - P - Tampa Bay Devilrays

Walker is my favorite prospect in the Cannons system. Walker's hard sinking fastball and 12-6 curveball are already plus pitches, and he also has a change up that has plus potential. The main concern right now with Walker is his ability to repeat his delivery and therefore his command is inconsistent. If corrected, Walker has the chance to be a top of the rotation starter.

5. Rafael Perez - P - Cleveland Indians

Perez is actually kind of an interesting prospect. He throws extremely hard with a 2 seem and 4 seem fastball that are in the low-mid 90's. He also throws a really hard late breaking slider that is in the upper 80's. He tends to keep the ball down in the zone, which is very good for a hard throwing pitcher. He has consistently had good numbers in the minors as he flip flops from starter to reliever. I believe he will end up a reliever one day, but his numbers look nice and he will be given a shot as a starter.

6. Chase Headley - 3B - San Diego Padres

Headley is a perfect example of a moneyball player, and seems to be consistent with the type of prospect that San Diego likes to draft. He has amazing patience and pitch recognition which allows him to be a strong on base machine, which is great for strat. Unfortunately, he has very little power for the hot corner, does not have great range (though he does have a strong arm), and will clog up the bases. He kind of reminds me of Kevin Youkilis and will find himself in the majors as a utility corner guy that will get in his 400 PA a year.

7. David Murphy - OF - Boston Red Sox

When I first joined the league I was a co-owner of the Prickly Pear Dealers and when we decided to part ways I took over the ownership of the Pittsburgh Crawfords. The Crawfords manager liked to draft college players, of which I tended to dump almost all of them when I got the team. Ones of those guys was David Murphy. Murphy has average tools across the board with the ability to have plus power, which he never shows in a game. I believe the best Murphy will ever achieve is a utility outfielder.

8. Chris Mason - P - Tampa Bay Devilrays

Mason is an ex-college pitcher that was drafted by the Devilrays in the 2nd round. He has a heavy plus fastball that is supported by a series of average secondary offerings. He is currently in the rotation but has the mentality and pitches to be a late inning reliever. With Tampa's need for rotation pitchers he may continue to get a chance to become that inning eating #4 starter.

9. Chad Spann - OF - Boston Red Sox

I personally do not even consider Spann much of a prospect, but I was dying to find guys to put on this list. It is probably easier to discuss the negatives...he has horrible defense getting poor reads on balls, lacks speed to get to balls and has very little of an arm. He is not a danger on the basepaths because he is not a fast runner. Spann has the potential to be a solid average hitter with decent patience, but due to the fact that he is poor defensively he is being forced by Boston to hit for more power as a left fielder or first baseman....it's not working!

10. Anthony Webster - OF - Texas Rangers

Webster's tools are average across the board with the exception of his arm which is below average. So far Webster has shown an ability to consistently hit for a decent average and profiles out as either a center or left fielder. Which position he plays will depend on the amount of power he can generate and how well he can cover centerfield. Right now he is a tweaner and he could end up becoming a utility outfielder.

Next Best: Jeff Keppinger - Kansas City

Sleeper: Ismael Castro - Seattle

Up Next: Connecticut Charter Oaks