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Only 1 Marlin farmhand made the list. It wasnt Jeff Allison (see below for reason why)

 

 

 

2005 Top 20 Prospects: South Atlantic League

 

By John Manuel

September 27, 2005

 

 

 

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TOP 20 PROSPECTS

1. Scott Elbert, lhp, Columbus

2. Neil Walker, c, Hickory

3. Marcus Sanders, ss, Augusta

4. Troy Patton, lhp, Lexington

5. Ryan Braun, 3b, West Virginia

6. Philip Hughes, rhp, Charleston

7. Blake DeWitt, 3b, Columbus

8. Matt Harrison, lhp, Rome

9. Yunel Escobar, ss, Rome

10. Brandon Jones, of, Rome

11. Jimmy Barthmaier, rhp, Lexington

12. Gio Gonzalez, lhp, Kannapolis

13. Mark Rogers, rhp, West Virginia

14. Greg Golson, of, Lakewood

15. Hunter Pence, of, Lexington

16. Collin Balester, rhp, Savannah

17. J.T. Restko, of, Greensboro

18. Gaby Hernandez, rhp, Hagerstown

19. Ian Desmond, ss, Savannah

20. Chris Nelson, ss, Asheville

The South Atlantic League was stacked in 2004. Not only were a plethora of high-profile prospects on hand, but talents such as Delmon Young and Ian Stewart stayed in the low Class A league all season.

 

The SAL wasn't quite the same this year. Managers said the players seemed older and had fewer standout tools. The hitters who dominated the league were mostly college products rather than high schoolers like Young and Stewart were. And few of the top players spent the entire season in the Sally League.

 

If the SAL had a player to rival its Class of '95 (Andruw Jones and Vladimir Guerrero) or '04 (Young and Stewart), it wasn't obvious to managers and scouts. It had talent, though, particularly depth among pitchers and especially among lefthanders. It also had excellent finishes to pro debuts by 2005 draftees such as Ryan Braun (Brewers) and Yunel Escobar (Braves), who helped shore up the crop of position-player talent.

 

 

and it wasnt Chris Mobley -

 

A: John Manuel: Not much, though I'm a Mobley fan. He has average to fringe-average stuff but he competes and throws strikes. I was glad to see him on the World Cup team but shocked that Davey Johnson used a low Class A pitcher to try to close games against Japan, which used veteran industrial league guys. That didn't work out so well.

 

 

 

Q: evan from Cincinnati (OH) asks:

Hi, John. I've been following Jimmy Barthmaier since BA tabbed him as a HOU sleeper a couple of years ago. His numbers look solid and the Astros are typically advancing him one level at a time. Not that it's a crime to be #11 behind these ten guys, but what's holding him back from being a Phillip Hughes-caliber player to you? Since you're not Jim Callis, can I also ask for a comp?

 

 

 

and it wasnt Jeff Allison

 

Q: Jon from Peoria asks:

Did Jeff Allison get much support to be on the list? How was his stuff compared to when he was drafted?

 

A: John Manuel: He didn't get a lot of support, and people were kind of mum about him, it was weird. Best I could get on Allison was that he showed flashes of a low 90s fastball and flashes of a plus breaking ball, but that the rust of not having pitched much since 2003 really showed, and that he just wasn't consistent from inning to inning or game to game. Getting through the season, getting back on the field, all that stuff is a huge positive for him, but it sounds like his command wasn't there much and that's going to be a factor. Plus, you'll excuse me for being wary of his makeup.

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