A's Top 20+ Prospects for 2009

[Providence A's]

As seen by one John Sickels:

Oakland Athletics Top 20+ Prospects for 2009 - Minor League Ball

All grades are EXTREMELY PRELIMINARY and subject to change. Don’t get too worried about exact rankings at this point, especially once you get out of the top 10. Grade C+/C guys are pretty interchangeable depending on what you are looking for.

1) Trevor Cahill, RHP, Grade B+: Borderline A-. I like him an awful lot. Just needs to cut down on the walks a bit. Rate him just a tad higher than Anderson due to a better ceiling.
2) Brett Anderson, LHP, Grade B+: Borderline A-. Very close to Cahill, stuff not quite as impressive but more polished.
3) Aaron Cunningham, OF, Grade B: A solid all-around player. Doesn’t have the ceiling of some of these other guys, but a surer bet to reach his.
4) Gio Gonzalez, LHP, Grade B. This may seem too high to some, but even in the majors he struck out a batter per inning. I still like him.
5) Adrian Cardenas, 2B, Grade B: I think he’s a second baseman. Equivalent to a college junior entering 2009.
6) Chris Carter, 1B, Grade B: Enormous power, but defensive questions and spike in strikeout rate prevent a B+.
7) Jemile Weeks, 2B, Grade B. I like him a lot due to across-the-board skills, but I worry that he may be injury-prone like his brother, hampering his development.
8) Sean Doolittle, 1B, Grade B: I think he’ll emerge as a .270-.290 hitter with a solid OBP, 15-20 homers, and excellent defense.
9) Michael Inoa, RHP, Grade B-: Very hard to grade. Terrific scouting reports, projection, and youth stand out, but no track record and high attrition rate of young pitchers are big dangers.
10) Vin Mazzaro, RHP, Grade B-: I don’t know what to make of him. Everyone seems to be focusing on what he did at Midland, ignoring what he did at Kane County, Stockton, and Sacramento. I want to see more.

The top 10 looks good and the rest of the list shows the improved depth of the system. DLS is 20th after TJ surgery, so we'll have to see how he rebounds.

[Providence A's]

And here is the Baseball America list by Ben Badler:

BaseballAmerica.com: Prospects: Rankings: Organization Top 10 Prospects: Oakland Athletics Top 10 Prospects

TOP TEN
PROSPECTS
1. Brett Anderson, lhp
2. Trevor Cahill, rhp
3. Michael Inoa, rhp
4. Aaron Cunningham, of
5. Adrian Cardenas, 2b/ss
6. Chris Carter, 1b/3b/of
7. Gio Gonzalez, lhp
8. Vin Mazzaro, rhp
9. Jemile Weeks, 2b
10. James Simmons, rhp

[hot_corner_gurl]

Yeah those probably are out best 10 guys in the minors. If these guys can perform in the majors as well as they (supposedly) do in the minors, then we'll have one helluva team.

[Providence A's]

I missed this from just before Christmas:

BaseballAmerica.com: Prospects: Ask BA

Now that all of the American League Top 10 Prospect lists are in, could you provide us with an overall AL Top 10 list?

Sean McAndrews
London

Ask and ye shall receive:

1. David Price, lhp, Rays
What he showed us in the postseason was just the beginning.
2. Matt Wieters, c, Orioles
He could be Mark Teixeira—as a catcher.
3. Brett Anderson, lhp, Athletics
The best player Oakland got in the package for Dan Haren.
4. Trevor Cahill, rhp, Athletics
It will be fun to watch his friendly rivalry with Anderson.
5. Neftali Feliz, rhp, Rangers
Just one reason the Braves wish they could undo their Teixeira trade.
6. Tim Beckham, ss, Rays
Yet another multitalented star-in-the-making for Tampa Bay.
7. Eric Hosmer, 1b, Royals
He could be the best of all the special hitters K.C. has drafted recently.
8. Lars Anderson, 1b, Red Sox
Even if Boston signs Teixeira, it will find room for Anderson in 2010.
9. Travis Snider, of, Blue Jays
Of these 10 guys, he might make the biggest 2009 impact in the majors.
10. Mike Moustakas, 3b, Royals
In a few years, he and Hosmer could combine for 70 homers annually.

It's nice to see that we've got 2 players on that list...and in the top 5 no less. I'm glad they're pitchers, but hopefully we can bring along some hitters through the system as well.