Is again for Aaron Hicks… I had him at #1 in my ranking. Huge upside in terms of power, speed, defense, arm, and he could be a great one… In my mind, prospect rankings are as much about ceiling as it is about likelihood of achieving it.

…so he got my vote for the third time. Hicks and Morales to AA or AAA in 2009. Well, maybe if they were with the Mets. Fortunately, the Twins take very good care of these young players and don’t push them to far, to fast.

I will definitely put him back on the next vote… Sorry everyone!

BA put Blackburn as their #1 prospect last year and most people were aghast. Span was panned. Meanwhile, a young player by the name of Deolis Guerra was rated quite highly by many and the lynchpin of the Santana trade. So, for now, I am sticking with higher level guys, in this case Swarzak. I am probably in way over my head, but this is fun, and thanks for setting this up Seth and thanks to everyone else for humoring my comments.

I just look at the list and think if I was the Seattle Mariners and I was trading Beltre away, who would I absolutely have to have? Swarzak may not have the huge upside Hicks and Morales appear to have, but he seems to be projectable as a #3 starter type, and maybe a big game pitcher who thrives under increased pressure.

If (and he will) loses this round, I’m changing my strategy. (Another fun thing about this is I don’t have my own top ten or fifty list, so I don’t feel obligated to keep voting for my personal #1 until that player makes the list. I am easily swayed by others knowledge/insight/opinions, and I hope people keep commenting. I’d really like to hear more comments on stats, personal observations, etc. I am stuck in Idaho and have never seen or heard these guys play—well, I’ve heard Mijares pitch—almost all my knowledge comes from Seth and Roger’s write ups.)

(Sorry for the length) I lived in Seattle for three years…would anyone enjoy a wintertime chat discussing ways to turn the Mariners into the Marliners, starting with Beltre to the Twins?

I love following this stuff and have been doing this for about 5 years. I try to pick up trends and stuff, but when it comes to this, in the end, we’re all just guess. Blackburn and Span are great examples. Although Guerra dropped from #2 on my list to the 12-13 range due to control. But in saying that, I also point out that at 19, he could easily jump back up to #1 at some point… or, if he does happen to not find his control, he could keep falling.

But in my mind, it is fun to talk about all the prospects, and give them their due.

I’d think that the Mariners will ask for one of the five Twins starters. In my mind, Liriano, Baker and Slowey are untouchable, and I’d rather not deal Blackburn or Perkins. If it were one of those two, they could be packaged with a mid-tier prospect. I think they would want Swarzak and Mulvey and maybe Pridie or Martin and probably Delaney. I’m not saying the Twins should give up that much, but Seattle is going to want probably two near-ready starting pitchers, a near-ready position player and probably another player. If that’s what they are asking, the Twins should just say no.

As much as I like the upsides of Hicks/Morales, and like Swarzak as well, Ramos’ position and upside are pretty damn amazing himself.

And at a REALLY premium position. Plus he dominated at a higher level (not than Swarzak, of course).

And I’ll second the addition of Mijares. I could have voted for him here as well.