Baseball America 2006 top 100

[Providence A's]

Today 51 - 100 were announced and tomorrow 1 - 50 will be announced. The A's had 2 (3 if you count Ethier) in the bottom 50.

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today...22top100b.html

74. JAVIER HERRERA, of, Athletics

"His best tool is everything. He can run, he has a phenomenal arm, he has power and he can hit."
--Cedar Rapids manager Bobby Magallanes
ETA: 2008

He was #68 last year with this comment:

"He can do it all tools-wise. If he were American, he would have been a certain first-round pick."
--AL scout

2008 seems like forever, but considering he was only in low class A last year it's realistic I'd say. He'll be 21 this year.

83. CLIFF PENNINGTON, ss, Athletics

"He's a gamer with tools. He's as good a shortstop as I've seen for a while."
--anonymous scout
ETA: 2007

2007, huh? A lot would need to happen for him to be the A's SS next year...

Former A's spect Ethier came in at #89 for the Dodgers.

I think Barton will be the only Athletic in the top 50. Barton was #32 last year and I am sure he will be higher than that now.

[Providence A's]

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today...23top100c.html

28. DARIC BARTON, 1b, Athletics

"You could find 10-year big league veterans who don't have an approach as good as he does."
--anonymous scout
ETA: 2006

2006? Maybe a September call up...

[Providence A's]

Here is an article that appeared on the main page of the A's site today about my main man Javier Herrera.

http://oakland.athletics.mlb.com/NAS...=.jsp&c_id=oak

PHOENIX -- More than a few times, A's outfield prospect Javier Herrera has been told that he looks like Mets star Carlos Beltran. He's also heard that he resembles Braves star Andruw Jones.

According to Oakland super-sub Marco Scutaro, Herrera plays a little like the aforementioned All-Stars, too.

"He's got some big-time tools," says Scutaro, who played winter ball with Herrera in their native Venezuela and has become something of a mentor to the 20-year-old center fielder. "He's going to be a great player."

Like Beltran and Jones, Herrera is a center fielder and a five-tool player. His powerful right arm is the tool that wows everyone, but Herrera, now in his first big-league camp, has the whole package. When Andre Ethier was traded to the Dodgers in the offseason, Herrera essentially inherited Ethier's unofficial status as Oakland's top Minor League outfielder.

"He has an absolute cannon," says A's outfield coach Brad Fischer. "I've only seen him in drills, but he's pretty polished for a guy his age."

"He can do a lot of different things," says Keith Lieppman, Oakland's director of player development. "And he does them all pretty well."

Signed as a 16-year-old out of his hometown of Caracas in 2002, Herrera, who bats right-handed, posted pedestrian numbers in his first two years as a pro, but everything started to come together for him in 2004. He was named the Northwest League Most Valuable Player after batting .331 with 12 homers, 47 RBIs, a .392 on-base percentage, a .555 slugging percentage, and 23 stolen bases in 24 attempts over 65 games with Class A Vancouver.

His 2005 season got off to an ugly start when he was suspended for 15 games for testing positive for steroids (he blames a tainted medication), but he still made quite an impression. Playing the bulk of his 99 games at Class A Kane County, Herrera batted .280 with 14 homers and 65 RBIs, and he led the A's organization with 27 stolen bases in 32 tries. As an emergency callup to Triple-A Sacramento in May, he went 5-for-12 with a homer and three RBIs in five games.

"I haven't seen much of him, but I've heard he's a great prospect," A's manager Ken Macha says. "He's impressed a lot of people, I know that."

The person least impressed with Herrera, it seems, is Herrera himself.

"I was happy with my year, but you can never be too happy," he says. "I was excited to go back to Venezuela and work on my game."

Intent on improving his plate discipline, Herrera got plenty of help from Scutaro, who had the same agenda when he went back home after the 2004 season.

"It was great for me to play in Venezuela, because guys like Scutaro and [fellow Venezuelans] Alex Gonzalez and Henry Blanco, guys who have been in the big leagues, they talked to me a lot," Herrera says. "They showed me everything and gave me a lot of advice, and that's something that's going to help me a lot."

Herrera more than held his own in winter ball, batting .265 with three homers and 12 RBIs in 53 games, and he helped Venezuela to the Caribbean World Series crown.

"It's a big jump [competitively] from Class A to Venezuela," Herrera says. "The experience was really good for me."

Says Scutaro: "He's only 20, and to play in the Caribbean World Series, that's pretty good. For a 20-year-old, he's a really mature guy."

Herrera, who is listed at 5-foot-11 and 210 pounds, expects to start the season back at Kane County, but he's hoping to quickly earn a promotion to Double-A Midland. Asked if he has a timeline for reaching the Majors, he smiles and recites one of the many lessons passed on by Scutaro.

"I have to be patient," Herrera says. "With everything."

I didn't realize he was signed as 16 year old

Hopefully, he has improved his plate discipline because he struckout a lot, not Adam Dunn a lot, but more than the A's would care for. Unless he gets traded, he's our CF of the future and would be up just in time for Kotsay's deal to run out.

[Providence A's]

John Sickels and RotoWire have a top 100, too.

29. Daric Barton 1B: A combo of beautiful swing with superb plate discipline will enable him to hit at all levels.

39. Jairo Garcia...Santiago Casilla RP: Another hard-throwing relief candidate who is ready to help someone's bullpen.

59. Kevin Melillo 2B: Outstanding hitter who could make the majors sometime in 2006 if his glove improves quickly enough.

I'm really surprised to Casilla on there at all (let alone top 40) considering he's 25 or 26 (2 years older than we thought he was)...even if he was 23 I don't see him on the list. I can't see Melillo on the A's this year unless Ellis gets hurt or traded.