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July 7, 2016 BP Top 50Honorable Mentions
It's common knowledge that no matter how big your list is the first question one will ask was "who was the next guy?" In an anticipatory effort, we bring you 10 additional names that received consideration but ultimately did not make the BP Top 50. They are not presented in order of "just missed-ness," nor do they necessarily represent the next 10 names on the board. Given the prospect landscape mentioned in the preface to the list though, it is reasonable to consider each of the following names in the same zip code as those on the back portion of the Top 50. —Craig Goldstein Ronald Acuna, OF, Atlanta Braves
Why He Might Fail: The likely three-plus years of development time could reduce him down to merely a defense- and speed-based center fielder whose hit and power tools leave those who remembered his near-breakout in 2016 forever disappointed.
Christian Arroyo, SS, San Francisco Giants
Why He Might Fail: His range is questionable enough that a move off short seems likely, and if the ability to hit for average isn’t as advertised, he’ll have to embrace a utility role.
Javier Guerra, SS, San Diego Padres
Why He Might Fail: The bat might never reach even a 40, and the sporadic pop might not be enough to save the day, leaving him at the ceiling of a glove-only shortstop with occasional bouts of second-division starting.
Grant Holmes, RHP, Los Angeles Dodgers
Why He Might Fail: He might never quite master the physicality of his higher-maintenance body and struggle to repeat the delivery consistently enough that the fine command to fulfill his mid-rotation ceiling never develops.
Ryan McMahon, 3B/1B, Colorado Rockies
Joe Musgrove, RHP, Houston Astros
Why He Might Fail: He hasn’t pitched much, and there are a few durability concerns baked into the profile. Some question whether he throws too many strikes; the guess here though is that time and experience will teach him when to pound the zone and when to try to lure hitters into chasing something off the plate.
Tyler O’Neill, OF, Seattle Mariners
Why He Might Fail: The power is the carrying tool and a backslide toward a 30 percent whiff rate would compromise his best quality, and given the corner outfield profile, that could push him to a reserve role.
Braden Shipley, RHP, Arizona Diamondbacks
Why He Might Fail: Expectations are perhaps a bit higher for Shipley than his present stuff warrants. His velocity this year is down a few ticks from previous norms, and he might turn into a back-of-the-rotation guy instead of the no. 2 the Diamondbacks envisioned over the past few years.
Robert Stephenson, RHP, Cincinnati Reds
Why He Might Fail: He continues to walk batters at an alarming rate, which could render the potency of his stuff feckless, and his chances of remaining in the rotation—much less atop it—rather dim.
Jesse Winker, OF, Cincinnati Reds
Why He Might Fail: His swing path could prohibit him from providing the requisite over-the-fence power for left field, causing him to end up as a tweener who invokes Jeremy Reed name drops for as long as he hangs around.
Craig Goldstein is an author of Baseball Prospectus. Follow @cdgoldstein
17 comments have been left for this article.
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No Amir Garrett even on the honorable mentions?!
Scratch that. Missed him in the actual list.