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The Times has kindly given us a concise listing of the minor league rosters down to Clinton...so it's time to do a bit of depth chart prospecting. Doc, G et al, this is my best crack at it...would welcome your opinions...(first letter grade is current MLB value, second is potential for development, will leave off the letter grade for guys with no experience)
CATCHERS:
1) Miguel Olivo (C / C)
2) Jesus Montero (B / A+)
3) John Jaso (C- / C+)
4) Adam Moore (D+ / C+)
5) Guillermo Quiroz (F / F)
6) Jesus Sucre ( - / C-)
7) Brandon Bantz ( - / D)
8) John Hicks ( - / D+)
9) Steve Baron ( - / D)
10) Ralph Henriquez ( - / D-)
11) Jack Marder ( - / F)
12) Michael Dowd ( - / F)
POSITION GRADE: B (this will heavily depend on how much PT Montero sees behind the plate in future seasons - if he sticks there, the grade goes up)
FIRST BASEMEN:
1) Justin Smoak (B- / A-)
2) Alex Liddi (C- / B)
3) Mike Carp (B / B)
4) Rich Poythress ( - / C)
5) Johan Limonta ( - / D)
6) Dennis Raben ( - C+)
7) Steven Proscia ( - / B)
8) Joe Dunigan ( - / C)
9) Mickey Wiswall ( - / D+)
10) Jharmidy De Jesus ( - / D)
POSITION GRADE: B (Smoak has a lot to prove this year...behind him there are two or three solid options but after that...a lot of ugly mush...this position needs more depth)
SECOND BASEMEN:
1) Dustin Ackley (A- / A+)
2) Kyle Seager (C+ / B)
3) Munenori Kawasaki (C / C)
4) Luis Rodriguez (D / D)
5) Carlos Triunfel ( - / C)
6) Stefen Romero ( - / C+)
7) Brad Miller ( - / B-)
8) Gabriel Noriega ( - / C)
9) Daniel Paolini ( - / B-)
POSITION GRADE: B+ (if we're scoring just Ackley, the grade is higher, but the problem is that we don't have prospect depth behind him and filling his shoes with Seager just opens up a hole at another position)
THIRD BASEMEN:
1) Kyle Seager (C+ / B)
2) Alex Liddi (C- / B)
3) Chone Figgins (D / D)
4) Vinny Catricala ( - / A-)
5) Francisco Martinez ( - / B+)
6) Leury Bonilla ( - / F)
7) Ramon Morla ( - / B+)
8) Mario Martinez ( - / D+)
POSITION GRADE: B (the major leaguers aren't quite B-caliber yet...all of them save Figgins have that upside and the two guys right below them have even higher upside. Long term, this position is covered nicely)
SHORTSTOPS:
1) Brendan Ryan (C+ / C+)
2) Munenoria Kawasaki (C / C+)
3) Kyle Seager (D+ / B-)
4) Luis Rodriguez (D+ / D+)
5) Nick Franklin ( - / B+)
6) Carlos Triunfel ( - / C)
7) Brad Miller ( - / B-)
8) Anthony Phillips ( - / F)
POSITION GRADE: C+ (we love to talk about Nick Franklin and Brad Miller, but last season ought to give pause before assumptions are made about imminent stardom...until Franklin solidifies his prospect status with a top season in the high minors, this position looks a bit wobbly, especially given Ryan's health questions)
CENTER FIELDERS:
1) Franklin Gutierrez (B- / B-)
2) Michael Saunders (B- / B+)
3) Chone Figgins (F / F)
4) Trayvon Robinson (D- / B)
5) Darren Ford (D / D+)
6) Daniel Carroll ( - / B-)
7) Denny Almonte ( - / D)
8) James Jones ( - / B)
9) Jabari Blash ( - / C)
POSITION GRADE: B- (I love the work Saunders has done to improve his game but I need to see it over the course of a season and see how he responds to slumps - beyond him, the ranks are a bit mushy if you don't like Robinson's K rate)
CORNER OUTFIELDERS:
1) Ichiro! (B- / B)
2) Mike Carp (B- / B)
3) Michael Saunders (C+ / B-)
4) Casper Wells (C- / C)
5) Chone Figgins (F / F)
6) Carlos Peguero (D / B-)
7) Johermyn Chavez ( - / C)
8) Chih-Hsien Chiang ( - / B)
9) Mike Wilson ( D / D)
10) Julio Morban ( - / B)
11) Michael McGee ( - / C-)
12) Guillermo Pimentel ( - / B+)
13) Kevin Rivers ( - / F)
14) Jamal Austin ( - / D)
POSITION GRADE: C- (once Ichiro departs, the club has little to fill his shoes in RF...Saunders and Robinson are not ideal there, and neither is Casper Wells...they should think seriously about trading volume for star power and acquiring a right fielder with pop)
START PITCHING:
1) King Felix Hernandez (A+ / A+)
2) Jason Vargas (B- / B)
3) Hector Noesi (C- / C+)
4) Blake Beavan (D+ / B-)
5) Kevin Millwood (D+ / D+)
6) Erasmo Ramirez ( - / B)
7) Hisashi Iwakuma (D / B-)
8) Charlie Furbush (D+ / C+)
9) Forrest Snow ( - / C+)
10) Taijuan Walker ( - / A)
11) Danny Hultzen ( - / A-)
12) James Paxton ( - / A-)
13) Andrew Carraway ( - / B)
POSITION GRADE: A- (I didn't want to go further down the depth chart for the starters because I think most of the rest are going to get traded or converted to relievers...there's no way anyone else is getting through that brick wall of awesome unless a catastrophe injury plague descends on AA Jackson - we are well WELL covered here with even the secondary prospects all showing signs of improvement)
RELIEVERS:
1) Brandon League (B+ / B+)
2) Tom Wilhelmson (B- / A-)
3) George Sherrill (F / D)
4) Steve Delabar (C / B)
5) Erasmo Ramirez ( - / B)
6) Hisashi Iwakuma (D / B)
7) Lucas Luetge (C / B-)
8) Charlie Furbush (C / B-)
9) Shawn Kelley (C+ / B-)
10) Chance Ruffin (D+ / B)
11) Forrest Snow ( - / B+)
12) Carter Capps ( - / A)
13) Stephen Pryon ( - / A-)
14) Mauricio Robles ( - / B)
15) Matt Fox ( - / C)
16) Cesar Jimenez ( C- / C)
17) Steven Hensley ( - / B-)
18) Brandon Maurer ( - / B)
19) Carson Smith ( - / A-)
POSITION GRADE: B- (The big league pen is frighteningly bad...but immediately below that group is a large cluster of fast-moving power arms that has the potential to make us all feel much safer with a lead late in games)
Overall, the depth chart is much MUCH more promising than it has been in a decade...thoughts from the peanut gallery?