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Who Has Better Top 5 Prospects, Astros or Rangers?
By Eric Huysman
Brett Phillips
Round 5: Brett Phillips versus Nick Williams
Brett Phillips-of (ETA 2016). Jim Callis on Phillips “Phillips still gets overshadowed in a deep Houston system, and his all-around tools and breakout 2014 season weren’t enough to get him on the Top 100. His skills, performance and relative anonymity made him an easy choice for this week’s Pipeline Perspective, where Jonathan Mayo and I identify the best sleeper who missed making the list.”
Phillips could develop into a 5-tool player, he caught my attention last year. By end of the year he should crack the top 100. The question is where will he play, he has people blocking him in the outfield.
2014 Stats (2 teams): 0.310/ 87 runs/ 17 home run/ 23 stolen bases.
From MLB Pipeline (Un-ranked),
Scouting grades: Hit: 50 | Power: 45 | Run: 60 | Arm: 60 | Field: 50 | Overall: 45
Mar 15, 2014; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Texas Rangers outfielder Nick Williams slaps hands with a bat boy after hitting a home run in the ninth inningagainst the Oakland Athletics at Phoenix Municipal Stadium. The Rangers won 16-15. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
Nick Williams-of (ETA 2017). From MLB Pipeline “Williams has a quick, easy stroke that allows him to repeatedly barrel balls and drive them to all fields. Though he needs to tighten his strike zone, he doesn’t swing and miss excessively. He profiles as a middle-of-the-order hitter who can produce for both power and average.”
2014 Stats (3 teams): 0.283/ 87 runs/ 13 home runs/ 6 stolen bases.
From MLB Pipeline (Un-ranked),
Scouting grades: Hit: 55 | Power: 50 | Run: 55 | Arm: 50 | Field: 55 | Overall: 55
According to Baseball Prospectus Top 101 Top Prospects, Phillips is un-ranked in Top-101 while Williams is 71st-overall.
Even though I’m a big Phillips guy, just rankings alone shows that Williams is better than Phillips for now. However, the player I’m most excited to watch play ball is Brett Phillips, and he will make his mark on the game. Phillips will have another good season in 2015 and will be inserted into the top-100 next year.
Advantage Rangers.
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- Always faithful Astros World Series champion Josh Reddick defends the title
- Michael Conforto declines Astros’ 2-year, $30 million offer
The results show that the Rangers won, because they have more prospects in the top 100 based on the Baseball America top-5 for each team. However, it must be pointed out that the Astros have 3 pitchers compared to the one Ranger pitcher. The Astros are built better in the pitching department than, but have two good hitters in Correa and Phillips. The Rangers have 4 hitters in their top-5 prospects. Experts still rank the Astros overall a better minor league organization based on the depth of the system.
Congrats Ranger fans, you won your only game of the year versus the Astros, 3-2. We will still win the boot.