Oh, Neal. I can't believe you're such a troublemaker. How dare you trade away #18 prospect Alex Dickerson in the middle of the DBS 30?
I'm not a huge fan of Jaff Decker (starting with the ridiculous first name), but in order to keep my sanity, I'm just going to slot him in to Dickerson's spot at #18 and keep on truckin'. To get the recap on the methodology and eligibility cutoffs, check out the first post.
#20 Barrett Barnes, OF (22), A+ -- A large part of the way I rank prospects is based on the question 'How likely are they to reach their potential' which factors in distance from the majors and injury history. This is why the supremely talented, yet injury-prone, Barnes is situated at #20. He missed time in his 2012 draft year and then missed the majority of the 2013 season with different leg ailments. Along the way he put up a .268/.338/.399 (732 OPS) line with 5 HR and 10 SB in just 46 games. Barnes should be in the discussion of the great wave of talented OF in the system, but not until he plays a full season for me.
#19 Max Moroff, SS (21), A+ -- Once you factor in the potentially excellent rotation coupled with the number of interesting positional prospects scattered about, it seems as if Bradenton will be the team to watch in the 2014 season. Moroff is one of them for me as a young shortstop prospect. Moroff has shown in his short time since being drafted in 2012 that he has a good ability to judge the strike zone. In 2013 his line of .233/.335/.345 (680 OPS) seems pedestrian, but he did draw 65 walks in nearly 500 plate appearances. Lot to work on, but if his judgment gets refined there could be something here.
#18 Jaff Decker, OF (24), AAA/MLB -- Decker is a little fireplug of a player at 5'-10" and 200 lbs. He's basically Travis Snider without the ability to do an awesome job of grilling, right down to the unfulfilled potential. Decker doesn't have enough power to be a full-time starter at the corner OF and doesn't have enough speed to compensate for it. In 2013, he hit .286/.381/.443 (824 OPS) with just 10 HR in the hitter-friendly PCL. With Snider in his first year of arbitration and a less-than-glowing endorsement from Huntington, Snider could be on his way out and Decker on his way in.
#17 Blake Taylor, LHP (18), SS -- Warning! Warning! DBS Blind Spot Alert! Yes, lefties that can gas it are my Achilles heel. Couple that with a draftee at age 17 who will be younger by a year each level and I'm definitely going to be nuts. Taylor, in his pre-draft videos, looked like Justin Wilson but with even less control. Once he gets put in the fastball command machine of the Pirates' developmental system, I'm thinking he has the potential to be a power lefty starter. Or Justin Wilson's replacement in the pen as a power setup guy. Definitely a guy to watch this season at Jamestown or the new Bristol affiliate (most likely).
#16 Andrew Lambo, OF/1B (25), MLB -- Lambo debuted in 2013 with Pittsburgh and was on the roster quite a bit, but only accrued 30 at-bats. In Indy, he had an amazing line of .282/.347/.574 (922 OPS) with 32 HR. He's been working at 1B in the winter leagues, so he may be the platoon partner of Gaby Sanchez. His defense in the OF is less than awesome, so it may be 1B or bust for him.
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