Mound Talk

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Steve asks: I was just wondering if you would be willing to share any info on a couple of college prospects. I am interested in how you think they will project towards an MLB career and which player might have higher upside. The players are Matt Mangini, 3B, Ok. St. & Jared Prince, OF, Wash St.

Moundtalk.com: I am much more familiar with Matt Mangini than Jared Prince, but I do know enough to talk a little about Prince.

Mangini has shown the ability to handle a wood bat. Two years ago, in the Northwoods League, Mangini raked and first became a big time prospect. He carried that success over to the Cape Cod League last summer and again, raked. At 6-foot-4 with a great frame, he’s got a good body. He has a nice swing and he looks to hit for contact. His swing is very good for wood bats. He can drive the ball all over the field and has a great arm at third.
Prince is a draft eligible sophomore who could present a signability issue. He has good tools but isn’t overly toolsy. He has a lot more developing to do but could become a 20/20 guy in the major leagues.

Mangini is a more developed bat and will make an impact on the major leagues earlier than Prince. Both could be nice players but Mangini has the better upside.

Sean writes: MLB.com recently came out with their list of top 5 starting rotations in baseball. I was wondering your opinion on the matter.

MoundTalk.com: This is always a fun discussion. And while I don’t want my email flooded with angry fans next week, I will attempt to answer this and am prepared for the emails.

5. Los Angeles Dodgers. Schmidt, Lowe, Penny, Wolf and Billingsley are a weak #5 but in todays game, there simply isn’t enough pitching to go around.
4. San Diego Padres. David Wells and Greg Maddux are great compliments to Jake Peavy and Chris Young. The only concern is with the #5 slot and with age. Regardless, these are good pitchers who have been effective for a long time.

3. Milwaukee Brewers. The Padres and Brewers are really the cream of the National League pitching and are incredibly close. A healthy Ben Sheets, Chris Capuano, Jeff Suppan, Dave Bush and Claudio Vargas gives the Brewers an incredible rotation in a day of watered down pitchers.

2.  Detroit Tigers. I just can’t deny the potential everyone has. They are pretty solid and pretty young. For those two reasons, they both excite and scare me.

1. Boston Red Sox. I initially thought the Sox would have a weak rotation, but I expect a good season out of Diasuke Matsuzaka. The combination of Schilling, Matsuzaka and Josh Beckett is a nice 1-2-3. Throw in Jonathan Papelbon and Tim Wakefield (and possibly Jon Lester) and the Red Sox could have an incredible rotation.