Florida State League Top Prospects

Back online. What a crazy week! I had a deadline at work that pushed everything else back, including the blog I do for fun.

Ok, on to the Florida State League!

First of all, Scott Cousins (Harrisonburg 05) made the top ten of J.J. Cooper's list! The writeup on Scott looks like this (subscription only):

"A two-way player in college at San Francisco, Cousins didn't focus on hitting full-time until signing as a third-round pick in 2006. He emerged with a solid season in 2007, then played his way out of the FSL with a dominating two months. He has natural loft in his swing, which is more conducive to hitting for power than for a high average. He did bat .304 at Jupiter, however, and his solid batting eye should allow him to maintain a healthy on-base percentage.

His speed, range and arm are all plus tools, and he could be a 20-20 player in the majors. The Marlins have deployed him mainly in right field, though he takes good enough routes and covers enough ground to play center."

Cousins hit 304/370/513 in 191 at-bats, with a 20/47 BB/K ratio. Scott will be playing in the Arizona Fall League. Cooper then answered a question about Scott in his chat:

"Q:  TJ from Miami asks: If Scott Cousins does not almost kill self by running into a wall at the start of the season,how much higher than #9 would he be ranked??

A: J.J. Cooper: It's hard to see him ranking much higher than No. 9, which was probably a pretty aggressive ranking for a guy who had 288 at-bats this year. Cousins has outstanding tools and has been thought of as a guy who could figure it all out some day. In his time in the FSL, it looked like everything finally clicked for him."

Whoa. Does anyone know the story behind this? Cousins ran into a wall? Did he make the catch? What was his injury?

Tony Thomas (Harrisonburg 05- quite a talented team there!) also showed up in the chat:

"Q: Jeff from NoCal asks: Ceda's ranking (14) seems quite lowfor a future closer with his 2 plus  pitches....is this due to his lack of performance with Daytona as a SP or is this league loaded with top prospects? Also, how close were Tony Thomas and Lalli to the list?

A: J.J. Cooper: I can't see ranking Ceda any higher than that. He does have two plus pitches, but he still has some issues with keeping in shape and some minor issues with his mechanics. Guys liked Thomas at the plate, but weren't as thrilled with his work at second base. He would be in the 30-40 range if the list had gone that deep. Lalli did have an impressive year at the plate, but as a 25-year-old in the FSL, he was too old for the league."

Thomas hit 266/320/400 in 443 at-bats for Daytona. He's currently playing in the Hawaiian Winter League, where he's off to a 2-17 start.