Breaking Down Baseball America's "Sally" Top 20 for 2009 Part 2

To build on part one of breaking down Baseball America's "Sally" rankings, part two will focus on prospects eleven through twenty.

While I did not see Rudy Owens in person, a 21-year old lefty with a plus change is going to have success in the "Sally". Kudos to Owens on a great season, but there were too many successful teen arms in the league this year who were not included for me to rank Owens on the cusp of the top ten.

Tony Sanchez being ranked outside of the top 10 is beyond me. At a premium position, his slugging dwarfed that of fellow 2009 draft pick Jared Mitchell and he did it with a much lower BABIP. I would place him in the top eight.

No argument on Anthony Gose's ranking. I'm just not sure how Gose can be ranked so high and other premium outfield athletes such as Xavier Avery, Robbie Grossman, and Jay Austin can completely be ignored. It was a great year for "toolsy" outfielders.

Tim Federowicz was a personal favorite and I'm still kicking myself for waiting so long to complete a write up on him. I really liked his all-around game, and could see a ranking between 18-20. However, his being ranked ahead of fellow catching prospect Travis D'Arnaud is a bit of a "head scratcher". Yes, Fed put up gaudy offensive totals before his promotion, but he is a year and a half older than D'Arnaud and I'm not sure that was considered.

Speaking of Travis D'Arnaud, he was the most impressive offensive player I saw this season. He's a plus defender with 20-25 home run potential and could be a perennial all-star type catcher. Numbers be damned, he was a surefire top ten player to me.

At 15, Dexter Carter became a family favorite the minute he threw my son his warm up ball before shutting out the Savannah Sand Gnats for eight innings. On a night I should have been blown away, I saw a fringe starter who could very well wind up in the bullpen. He's a tall righty with some projection left even as a college draftee, but his current repertoire is almost identical to Red Sox prospect Stolmy Pimentel who his a full three years his junior.

I'm fine with Barnese at number 16, but his numbers are virtually identical to Mets prospects Jeurys Familia and Kyle Allen. I missed Barnese this season due to a rain out, but Familia's 92-94 heater with plus movement was the best fastball I saw this season.

By peripherals alone, Alexander Perez of the Indians seems a few spots too low. A lefty with those numbers and room to fill out sounds as exciting as ninth ranked Manuel Banuelos.

Unfortunately, Trevor May's start added to my list of missed prospects due to rain out (Friedrich, Barnese). I did see him in the pen though and he was impressive. He has the build and repertoire of a workhorse. Speaking of workhorse, Knapp and May seem similar in many ways. However, one is seventh and the other nineteenth.

Last, and maybe most controversial, Melky Mesa and his .225/.309/.423 line completed Baseball America's top twenty. When playing back my notes from my first time watching him play, my first thought was, "Who is this guy? Look him up when you get home". If I remember correctly, he homered, hit a single to the right side, showed off a plus arm, and made a diving catch in right field. I left the game thoroughly impressed, but returned home to learn he was 22. In "Sally" years, that's pretty ancient for a prospect. Would I argue if he was named a sleeper? No! However, I can run off a number other worthy names who are two to three years younger whose numbers were more impressive.