re: MLB: CHISOX MOVES > PADRES MOVES
Trea Turner is one of the most polarizing prospects in all of baseball. I was praying that the Giants would not draft him and was relieved when the Padres drafted him ahead of San Francisco. He's exactly the kind of ultra-toolsy (+power and +speed together), extremely raw (low hit tool, a bit unwieldy all around but profiles as a superior defender) player that the Giants swing and miss on. The Nationals feel like a better fit for him for a plethora of reasons but I like him better as a Nat than a Padre. It should be noted: he's struggled quite a bit from his draft year and since being drafted but he has also sustained a couple of fairly bothersome leg injuries and the like. One of those guys who could either pan out and become a star or never reach the bigs. Which I suppose is true of almost all prospects, actually.
Steven Souza: Oh, man. I love this for the Rays. This guy has been on the short list of "Deso's Major Prospect White Whales" for a while now. This guy potentially has it all, but scouts are not certain because he was old for each level of the minors. However, as a fan of an organization which cannot produce quality homegrown outfielders, this guy stands out like a flashing neon sign reflected off of a tranquil puddle on an abandoned nighttime city street. Souza swings and misses a great deal but the power is definitely there. Could be Tampa Bay's right fielder of the future but who knows? Perhaps the swing and miss issue becomes problematical at the big league level. And there is the age concern; not so much "boo hoo he's old," just that it may have been distorting his minor league numbers all along to some degree. Nevertheless, I'm obviously willing to bet on him and of all of these prospects in this trade he's by far my favorite.
Joe Ross: His fastball is excellent but secondary pitches are lacking. He's very much an unfinished project who could arguably be in the right organization to develop more profoundly. The control is there, as he rarely walks anybody, but the command is suspect, as evidenced in the anemic K/BB numbers. He profiles as a backend-of-the-rotation guy. Having said that (should be noted that Joe is Tyson Ross's younger brother), he's big, tall, athletic and his fastball has a great deal of life. Changeup is reportedly becoming a better pitch, slowly but surely but I have not seen that yet. Clearly, the Nats needed Turner from the Padres to make this deal work because Ross would never have been enough on his own. Even then, it could easily be argued that the Nats are taking the biggest risk out of the three teams here because both Turner and Ross could easily bust.
Jake Bauers: Not a fan, but the Rays keep looking for a solution to first base. His power is quite limited which is a problem but he's a smooth defender and walks at a steady clip with an advanced feel for the strike zone. It's fitting that he's now a Ray because he reminds me and many others I'm sure of James Loney. Perhaps an unwarrantedly rosy comparison.
Rene Rivera: Like this move for the Rays and the Padres both because Rivera is certainly blocked in San Diego's system as long as Austin Hedges is roaming in their minor leagues, but Rivera's a solid catching prospect in his own right, honestly. Solid move from both clubs as the Padres addressed their minor league pitching situation a bit by dealing Rivera, I imagine.
Jose Castillo: Who knows? He's 18 or 19. So young and he's coming off a shortened campaign from arm tenderness. Who knows? Profiles as middle relief for the Padres, maybe.
Gerardo Reyes: A lot like Castillo. Who knows? He's smallish and has a solid fastball from what I remember seeing in clips, ha. Possibly another reliever for the Padres one day. Possibly.
Travis Ott: As an afterthought you could do worse. Big, 6'4" lefty with funky delivery and good fastball with life on it and he keeps developing fringy secondary pitches.
Who won the deal? Well, because of Wil Myers the Padres made the biggest immediate impact but I frankly like the deal from Tampa Bay's perspective a great deal in terms of the prospect haul. Souza is a guy to dream on. Ott is highly interesting. Bauers reminds me a little bit of too much of Daric Barton on the A's but the James Loney comp might serve if he improves. The Nationals are betting on Turner and Ross, who are, as Brandon notes above, generally considered the two "best" prospects in the deal but I'm personally not too high on them (though I'd say Ross is probably major league-bound, I'm just not seeing him as anything but backend-of-the-rotation material, which is not an insult or anything!) the odds are at least one them could be a productive major leaguer one day in the not-too-distant future. Padres grab Myers and some intriguing arms for the future. I'm probably scratching my head just a little bit if I'm a Nationals fan, but nobody was fleeced and everyone seems to have received what they wanted. Also as much as it's incumbent on organizations to never draft for need for a panoply of reasons, trading for need is just dandy and one can see the need in San Diego and the other need in Washington, D.C. The Rays, meanwhile, refueled their prospect pipeline a bit, which was a desperate need for that organization. Well done, everybody!