Prospect guru John Sickels (buy his book!) has issued his list of the Reds Top 20 Prospects.
1. Homer Bailey, RHP, Grade B+
2. Travis Wood, LHP, Grade B
3. Jay Bruce, OF, Grade B
4. B.J. Szymanski, OF, B-
5. Phil Dumatrait, LHP, B-
The good news is the top 3 guys are all recent high picks. O’Brien may have been on to something. The bad news is the top 3 guys are all recent high picks. That means they’re still a long way from contributing, have to pass the “injury nexus,” and are to great extent, still living on pre-draft reputation and scouting reports.
Prospects 6-20 are all graded C+ or worse, who are “more or less interchangeable,” and most likely destined to be roster-filler, at best.
As Sickels says, “Not exactly a top system by any means.”
Depressing.