Top 40 Little Heroes

This is the final prospect list for the spring, the Kelly's Little Heroes top 40

1) Yoan Moncada, INF, Boston Red Sox,
2) Lucas Giolito, RHP, Washington Nationals,
3) Noah Syndergaard, RHP, New York Mets,
4) Robert Stephenson, RHP, Cincinnati Reds,
5) Archie Bradley, RHP, Arizona Diamondbacks,
6) Mark Appel, RHP, Houston Astros,
7) Sean Manaea, LHP, Kansas City Royals,
8) Rafael Devers, 3B, Boston Red Sox,
9) Tyler Kolek, RHP, Miami Marlins,
10) Jameson Taillon, RHP, Pittsburgh Pirates,
11) Tim Anderson, SS, Chicago White Sox,
12) Michael Conforto, OF, New York Mets,
13) Bradley Zimmer, OF, Cleveland Indians,
14) Alex Gonzalez, RHP, Texas Rangers,
15) Manuel Margot, OF, Boston Red Sox,
16) Stephen Piscotty, OF, St. Louis Cardinals,
17) Dilson Herrera, 2B, New York Mets,
18) Kyle Freeland, LHP, Colorado Rockies,
19) Reynaldo Lopez, RHP, Washington Nationals,
20) Mike Foltynewicz, RHP, Atlanta Braves,
21) Kyle Crick, RHP, San Francisco Giants,
22) Raimel Tapia, OF, Colorado Rockies,
23) Forrest Wall, 2B, Colorado Rockies,
24) Gilbert Lara 3B, Milwaukee Brewers,
25) Jack Flaherty, RHP, St. Louis Cardinals,
26) Willy Adames, SS, Tampa Bay Rays,
27) Derek Fisher, OF, Houston Astros,
28) Aristides Aquino OF, Cincinnati Reds,
29) Amed Rosario, SS, New York Mets,
30) Miguel Almonte, RHP, Kansas City Royals,
31) Lance McCullers, RHP, Houston Astros,
32) Christian Bethancourt, C, Atlanta Braves,
33) Pierce Johnson, RHP, Chicago Cubs,
34) Garin Cecchini, 3B, Boston Red Sox,
35) A.J. Reed, 1B, Houston Astros,
36)Matt Smoral, LHP, Toronto Blue
37) Luis Torrens, C, New York Yankees,
38) Ryan Brett, 2B, Tamba Bay Rays
39) Harold Ramirez, OF, Pittsburgh Pirates,
40) Franchy Cordero, SS/3B, San Deigo Padres

Ring of Honor Derek Jeter

SS Derek Jeter has been named to the Heroes Ring of Honor

Jeter spent parts of 4 season with the Heroes
2008
2012 (Lead the AL in hits)
2013
2014

Minor League Ball top 175 Hero Edition

http://www.minorleagueball.com/2015/3/16/8215045/top-175-mlb-prospects-for-2015-john-sickels

3) Lucas Giolito, RHP, Washington Nationals, Grade A
13) Noah Syndergaard, RHP, New York Mets, Grade A-
16) Yoan Moncada, INF, Boston Red Sox, Grade A-
21) Robert Stephenson, RHP, Cincinnati Reds, Grade A-
33) Mark Appel, RHP, Houston Astros, Grade B+
34) Sean Manaea, LHP, Kansas City Royals, Grade B+
36) Archie Bradley, RHP, Arizona Diamondbacks, Grade B+
41) Dilson Herrera, 2B, New York Mets, Grade B+
46) Tyler Kolek, RHP, Miami Marlins, Grade B+
57) Willy Adames, SS, Tampa Bay Rays, Grade B+
59) Bradley Zimmer, OF, Cleveland Indians, Grade B+
60) Alex Gonzalez, RHP, Texas Rangers, Grade B+
64) Rafael Devers, 3B, Boston Red Sox, Grade B+
67) Kyle Crick, RHP, San Francisco Giants, Grade B+
72) Kyle Freeland, LHP, Colorado Rockies, Grade B+
78) Michael Conforto, OF, New York Mets, Grade B
80) Jameson Taillon, RHP, Pittsburgh Pirates, Grade B
87) Mike Foltynewicz, RHP, Atlanta Braves, Grade B
98) Jack Flaherty, RHP, St. Louis Cardinals, Grade B
101) Raimel Tapia, OF, Colorado Rockies, Grade B
102) Manuel Margot, OF, Boston Red Sox, Grade B
113) Lance McCullers, RHP, Houston Astros, Grade B
115) Tim Anderson, SS, Chicago White Sox, Grade B
126) Pierce Johnson, RHP, Chicago Cubs, Grade B
129) Derek Fisher, OF, Houston Astros, Grade B
145) Miguel Almonte, RHP, Kansas City Royals, Grade B
150) Reynaldo Lopez, RHP, Washington Nationals, Grade B-
156) Garin Cecchini, 3B, Boston Red Sox, Grade B-
157) Stephen Piscotty, OF, St. Louis Cardinals, Grade B-
160) A.J. Reed, 1B, Houston Astros, Grade B-
165) Christian Bethancourt, C, Atlanta Braves, Grade B-
172) Forrest Wall, 2B, Colorado Rockies, Grade B-
174) Luis Torrens, C, New York Yankees, Grade B-
HM Ryan Brett, 2B, Rays
HM Amed Rosario, SS, Mets
HM Matt Smoral, LHP, Blue

2015 CPL Draft Hero Edition

Here is the 2015 Kelly's Heroes draft

(where they were at on my board)

1st rd #2 2B Yoan Moncada (#1)
1st rd #10 SP Tyler Kolek (#7) made me very happy to get him
1st rd  #11 OF Michael Conforto (#9)
1st rd #13 OF Bradley Zimmer (#10)
1st rd #14 2B Forrest Wall (#13)
2nd rd #18 3B gilbert Lara (#16)
2nd rd #30 SP Reyneldo Lopez (#19)
2nd rd #31 SP Kyle Freeland (#23)
3rd rd #34 OF Derek Fisher (#29) a lot of arms a liked at this point
4th rd #50 SP Jack Flaherty (#26) was the next highest guy on my board at #34 pick
5th rd #65 1B AJ Reed (#40)
8th rd #125 3B Alex Rodriguez (nope he does well and I can trade him for more then a 8th rd)
9th rd #130 SP Zach Davies (#81)
9th rd #139 SP Scott Blewett (#93)
9th rd #141 SP Justin Steele (#96)
10th rd #155 C James McCann (#99)

Sup1 OF Ichiro Suzuki (fill out something on the MLB team, trade chip)
Sup2 2B Alex Yarbrough (may not make the team, depends if he makes LAA's team)
Sup3 SP Anderson Espinoza (Top J2 arm in 2014)
Sup4 RP Tommy Hunter (was the top set up guy in the draft)
Sup5 OF Delmon Young  (fill out something on the MLB team, trade chip)

11 to 5

So to start the off season I had 11 1st rd picks in the 2015 draft.  In the aftermath of the deepest draft in CPL history n Saturday I had only picked 5 time in the 1st rd.  So I had someone ask me "where did all those picks go to?  To that I had this answer:

Started with
#2, #4, #6, #7, #8, #11, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16

Ended with
2B Yoan Mocada (#2 pick in the draft, had I not gotten the #1 at one point I would have got Moncada at #2 thanks to a pretrade deal that secured him for me at #2)

SP Noal Synderguard (traded #1* overall to get this two players)
*traded #4, #6, #7 for #1 and #10

2B Dilson Herrera (traded #1* overall to get this two players)
*traded #4, #6, #7 for #1 and #10

SP Tyler Kolek (took with the 10th pick gotten from the trade with Brian of #4, #6, #7 for #1 and #10.

**so picks #4, #6, #7 turned into Kolek, Synderguard, Herrera and it is what allowed me to to take Moncada at #2, without that series of trades Moncada is not mine at #2 I feel.

SP Archie Bradley (traded the #8 in the draft for him)

OF Michael Conforto (drafted with the #11 pick, picked him here wasn't sure if Tommy liked him or not from the #12 spot, but he has power so I thought there was a chance)

OF Bradley Zimmer (drafted at #13)

2B Forrest Wall (drafted at #14)

***picks #12 and #16 were traded in the three team draft day deal which the Heroes got Brian's 2016 1st rounder (guessing it will be top 3) and a 5th rd thins year in which Heroes drafted 1B AJ Reed.

OF Manual Margot and a 1st rd pick of Cale's in 2017 (for pick #15, a very mixed reviewed trade, had some people tell me they loved it for Cale and others said they loved it for me, I look at it like this I gave #15 for a future 1st rounder and really nice prospect, ranked #72BA, #35 fangraphs, #61BP, #70Klaw to name a few)

So that is where 11 first round picks turned into 10 player and 2 future 1st rounders.

2015 Minor League Ball Community Prospect Hero edition

8. Lucas Giolito, RHP, Washington Nationals (thread here)
9. Noah Syndergaard, RHP, New York Mets (thread here)
23. Archie Bradley, RHP, Arizona Diamondbacks (thread here)
26. Manuel Margot, OF, Boston Red Sox (thread here)
31. Jameson Taillon, RHP, Pittsburgh Pirates (thread here)
32. Robert Stephenson, RHP, Cincinnati Reds (thread here)
34. Tim Anderson, SS, Chicago Whites Sox (thread here)
35. Dilson Herrera, 2B, New York Mets (thread here)
41. Sean Manaea, LHP, Kansas City Royals (thread here)
49. Mark Appel, RHP, Houston Astros (thread here)
78. Rafael Devers, 3B, Boston Red Sox (thread here)
84. Raimel Tapia, OF, Colorado Rockies (thread here)
90. Alex Gonzalez, RHP, Texas Rangers (thread here)
96. Kyle Crick, RHP, San Francisco Giants (thread here)
98. Willy Adames, SS, Tampa Bay Rays (thread here, run-off here)
100. Amed Rosario, SS, New York Mets (thread here)

look for 101-125 to come out in the future

Fantasy 101 Hero Edition

8. Noah Syndergaard, RHP, New York Mets
9. Lucas Giolito, RHP, Washington Nationals
13. Archie Bradley, RHP, Arizona Diamondbacks
18. Tim Anderson, SS, Chicago White Sox
23. Robert Stephenson, RHP, Cincinnati Reds
28. Raimel Tapia, OF, Colorado Rockies
32. Chi Chi Gonzalez, RHP, Texas Rangers
34. Jameson Taillon, RHP, Pittsburgh Pirates
41. Mark Appel, RHP, Houston Astros
55. Sean Manaea, LHP, Kansas City Royals
66. Dilson Herrera, 2B, New York Mets
67. Stephen Piscotty, OF, St Louis Cardinals
69. Manuel Margot, OF, Boston Red Sox
77. Rafael Devers, 3B, Boston Red Sox
99. Miguel Almonte, RHP, Kansas City Royals
HM Pierce Johnson, RHP, Chicago Cubs
HM Garin Cecchini, 3B, Boston Red Sox
HM Mike Foltynewicz, RHP, Atlanta Braves
HMWilly Adames, SS, Tampa Bay Rays

BaseBall America Top 100 Heroes Edition

7. Lucas Giolito rhp Nationals
11. Noah Syndergaard rhp Mets
23. Robert Stephenson rhp Reds
25. Archie Bradley rhp Diamondbacks
29. Jameson Taillon rhp Pirates
31. Mark Appel rhp Astros
46. Dilson Herrera 2b Mets
72. Manuel Margot of Red Sox
79. Stephen Piscotty of Cardinals
81. Sean Manaea lhp Royals
84. Willy Adames ss Rays
89. Alex Gonzalez rhp Rangers
92. Tim Anderson ss White Sox
98. Amed Rosario ss Mets
99. Rafael Devers of/1b Red Sox

Fan Graph's Top 200 Heroes Edition

Here are the Heroes on Fan Graphs Top 200

7. Lucas Giolito, RHP, Washington Nationals
18. Mark Appel, RHP, Houston Astros
19. Noah Syndergaard, RHP, New York Mets
25. Robert Stephenson, RHP, Cincinnati Reds
27. Alex Gonzalez, RHP, Texas Rangers
32. Archie Bradley, RHP, Arizona Diamondbacks
35. Manuel Margot, CF, Boston Red Sox
37. Sean Manaea, LHP, Kansas City Royals
45. Tim Anderson, SS, Chicago White Sox
48. Rafael Devers, 3B, Boston Red Sox
60. Amed Rosario, SS, New York Mets
66. Jameson Taillon, RHP, Pittsburgh Pirates
69. Mike Foltynewicz, RHP, Atlanta Braves
90. Willy Adames, SS, Tampa Bay Rays
91. Raimel Tapia, CF, Colorado Rockies
105. Miguel Almonte, RHP, Kansas City Royals
106. Christian Bethancourt, C, Atlanta Braves
109. Dilson Herrera, 2B, New York Mets
125. Pierce Johnson, RHP, Chicago Cubs
126. Lance McCullers, RHP, Houston Astros
138. Ricardo Sanchez, LHP, Atlanta Braves
140. Kyle Crick, RHP, San Francisco Giants
(143-200)
Garin Cecchini 3B, Boston Red Sox
Aristides Aquino OF, Cin Reds

The Top 500 Overall Dynasty League Rankings Hero Edition

http://thedynastyguru.com/2015/02/13/the-top-500-overall-dynasty-league-rankings-february-2015/#more-3604

105

Noah Syndergaard

SP

106

Lucas Giolito

SP

118

Yordano Ventura

SP

130

Archie Bradley

SP

153

Tim Anderson

SS

208

Robert Stephenson

SP

223

Raimel Tapia

OF

237

Alex Gonzalez

SP

240

Jameson Taillon

SP

253

Mark Appel

SP

287

Sean Manaea

SP

322

Dilson Herrera

2B

330

Stephen Piscotty

OF

335

Manuel Margot

OF

351

Rafael Devers

3B

392

Joe Kelly

SP

407

Drew Pomeranz

SP

416

Miguel Almonte

SP

445

Garin Cecchini

3B

456

Willy Adames

SS

467

Aaron Hicks

OF

469

Kevin Kiermaier

OF

472

Mike Foltynewicz

SP

487

Amed Rosario

SS

493

Kris Medlen

SP

Hero edition BP 101 chat

Tyler (Boise): How would you rank the pure hit tools of Dahl, Winker, and Piscotty?

Top 101 Chat: Dahl/Piscotty 6+ potential hit, Winker 6 potential hit. All three have impressive feel.


JK (Spring Valley, MN): How close was Mike Foltynewicz to making the list and do you see him as a SP or RP?

Top 101 Chat: He was very close. Relief arm for me, but a good one.


Peter Gabriel (In Your Eyes): Assuming Sanchez, Norris, and Pompey all graduate in 2015, can you give us your rough guess as to their top 5 prospects by year's end? Matt Smoral made some progress towards the end of 2014, could he be a guy that could really put it together and explode on the prospect scene this season?

Top 101 Chat: Smoral was tabbed as an On The Rise guy in this year's Top 10 so we definitely see it possible that he's a player who could bump up into the 10 best prospects within the system at this time next year. It's going to come down to the continued progress keeping the delivery in check and maintaining the arm slot. Some evaluators are more bullish on him as a reliever in the long-run, but an Andrew Miller type if fairly valuable at the end of the day.


Shane (Tacoma): Who in the last 50 do you think has the best chance of moving into the top 20 next year?

Top 101 Chat: That's a huge leap in one year, but Clint Frazier, Alexander Reyes, and Manuel Margot are three who come to mind right off the bat with chances to do so for me.


James (Tampa): Glad to see that Willy Adames is on the list. I'm very torn on his upside. Does he possess the elite upside of some of the other SS in the low minors (Rosario, etc)?

Top 101 Chat: I had him as a 6/5 in the Ray's Top 10 so I see him a bit below. It's good upside as a first-division regular though. There are some thoughts he's going to slide off the position down the line as he isn't the most natural at shortstop, but he has shown to be able to handle it for now.


Manuel (Boston): Tim Anderson is substantially higher on the BP list than in other lists. Law had him at 67. I believe MLB.com had him somewhere in the 70s or 80s. What's your reasoning behind his top 40 ranking?

Top 101 Chat: He's on the raw side for sure, but the tools are extremely loud and there's a certain look to the way he effortlessly creates plus bat speed. His hands are extremely loose as well, which enables him to control the head of the bat well and stay inside of offerings. The more crude present pitch selection offers concerns, along with whether the instincts are there to stick at shortstop, but the athleticism points to sticking up the middle (CF) or rounding into a solid second baseman. Its a more risky profile and requires some belief the gaps are going to close, but we as a team have that belief in happening.


gatz75 (Tampa): Does Rafael Devers have the type of talent to bat in the middle of a good lineup? Does he have the chance to jump into the top 20 of a list like this?

Top 101 Chat: Yes, without question. It takes a lot for a rookie-level corner bat (without defensive certainty) to break into the 101. He has "best in the minors" upside with the stick.


Harvey (Queens): What would you like to see Amed Rosario work on most this year? What is the most impressive part of his game? Biggest weakness?

Top 101 Chat: Toning things down at the plate. Or, at least showing that he's starting to make strides in that department during his full-season assignment. Rosario's feel for the game at a young age is probably the most impressive part. That's what leads me to believe he's going to learn how to slow things down on both sides of the ball. Biggest weakness would be the aforementioned aggressiveness and immature pitch recognition.

For what it is worth, one front office type (outside the org) I spoke to when putting the Mets Top 10 together expressed his thoughts that Rosario is the talent with the most upside in the system.


teddywklein (Queens): why Mondesi over Rosario?

Top 101 Chat: Mondesi is a bit more natural at the position, and profiles as the better defender. He's also 4 months older than Rosario and played the year two full levels above him. That's pretty advanced. At the end of the day, they could both end up the same player (first-division regulars), but Mondesi is more advanced developmentally at the moment.

BP 101 Hero 2015 Edition

6. Lucas Giolito, RHP, Washington Nationals
9. Noah Syndergaard, RHP, New York Mets
11. Archie Bradley, RHP, Arizona Diamondbacks
16. Robert Stephenson, RHP, Cincinnati Reds
26. Jameson Taillon, RHP, Pittsburgh Pirates
29. Chi Chi Gonzalez, RHP, Texas Rangers
32. Stephen Piscotty, OF, St. Louis Cardinals
35. Mark Appel, RHP, Houston Astros
39. Tim Anderson, SS, Chicago White Sox
45. Raimel Tapia, OF, Colorado Rockies
56. Miguel Almonte, RHP, Kansas City Royals
61. Manuel Margot, OF, Boston Red Sox
78. Amed Rosario, SS, New York Mets
82. Dilson Herrera, 2B, New York Mets
83. Pierce Johnson, RHP, Chicago Cubs
85. Sean Manaea, LHP, Kansas City Royals
88. Kyle Crick, RHP, San Francisco Giants
90. Rafael Devers, 3B, Boston Red Sox
94. Willy Adames, SS, Tampa Bay Rays

19 Heroes made BP's top 101

KLaw Top 100 Hero Edtion

Pre Draft

8. Lucas Giolito, RHP
17. Noah Syndergaard, RHP
21. Archie Bradley, RHP
36. Jameson Taillon, RHP
44. Mark Appel, RHP
47. Mike Foltynewicz, RHP
49. Robert Stephenson, RHP
55. Rafael Devers, 3B
62. Stephen Piscotty, OF
67. Tim Anderson, SS
68. Raimel Tapia, OF
69. Amed Rosario, SS
70. Manuel Margot, CF
86. Alex "Chi Chi" Gonzalez, RH

Of the Next 10 or 10 that just missed the Heroes had 4:

HM 2B Dilson Herrera
HM OF Aristides Aquino
HM SP Sean Manaea
HM SP Miguel Almonte

Heroes post 14 top 100 players on KLaw's list. With 21 unowned player the heroes could project to have 20 or more after the draft!