Rockies Wanted Carlos Carrasco For Atkins

Colorado is making things way too difficult in their way of trying to get Atkins. Asking for just too much. I just don't see them ending up moving him if this type of thing continues.

Thats fine if they can't move him though. He puts up huge numbers for them and is still under control for a few more years. Better to ask for too much than too little.

T-W-I-N-S

Not the Twins... Especially since the asking price is way to high and Atkins is overrated to begin with.

Not worth it for Philadelphia. Atkins catches a lot of crap since people think that he won't be able to hit outside of Coors Field, so the Rockies might as well reap the benefits of having him be a productive hitter there.

As another poster said, he'll bring back two picks. Why trade him for less when he continues to put up big numbers in your park?

I hardly think it's overvaluing.

He's better than Morgan by far but what if he wasn't playing at Coors?

"How often do you see a team trade their top prospect for a slightly above average third baseman?"

"their top prospect" is very, very subjective.

The Orioles' top prospect is Wieters.

The Phillies' top prospect is Carrasco.

The Astros' top prospect is Jason Castro.

Huge difference.

In this 3B market, asking for Carrasco for Atkins is a fair price.

You get 2 years of Atkins + the draft picks, because barring major injury or major falloff in performance, he's Type A.

True lol Jason Castro

Colorado's lineup without Matt Holliday will take a hit this season, so getting Atkins out of there before seeing any stat regression would be wise. Granted he's a decent player and a so-so defensive player at best, but the Rockies won't benefit from trying to swap Atkins out if he starts the season hitting in the .250s or lower to start the season.

Ruck859 is definitely right.

Atkins no longer has Holliday hitting with him in the lineup, so the Rockies should sell him at his highest value, which is now.

Carrasco breaking into AAA at age 21 is impressive, but he hit a considerable wall when he hit AA. He has average control for a starter and looks like a 6.7 to 7.0 K/9 type of guy at best. Six impressive starts in the International League just aren't enough to peg this guy as the Phillies' next SP2, you know?

yes and look at him in AAA and the Venezuelan Winter League. He's one of if not the top pitcher there. He has an ERA at 2. And had an ERA below 2 in AAA.

No way Atkins is worth it even if he was best buds with Chase. Sorry, TOP pitching is a priority everywhere, especially here when we have so little to go around.

"yes and look at him in AAA and the Venezuelan Winter League. He's one of if not the top pitcher there. He has an ERA at 2. And had an ERA below 2 in AAA."

How do you even have the nerve to type that last part when the guy you quoted said that Carrasco only tossed six starts in AAA?

And what in the world do stats in the Venezuelan Winter League have to do with anything?

Carrasco needs to drastically improve his control over a full season in the minors before he can even be considered for a callup.

I think its a bit of a stretch to call Carrasco one of the best minor league pitchers is a gigantic stretch. He's definitely a solid pitching prospect that might be able to contribute to the Phils rotation sometime this season or possibly by the start of 2010. I definitely think that he's more valuable than Atkins and I would never consider that trade. Still, he has some pretty big question marks surrounding him.

Carrasco is the 28th ranked player on milb.com, so obviously i'm not the only one who thinks he's one of the top minor leaguers.

That list isn't exactly the most respected one out there. They're definitely way higher on Carrasco (actually with their procedure only a few guys need to be real high on him) than many other, including myself. Sickels ranks him as a B- prospect (lower than Rohrbough for one), which puts Carrasco well outside his top 100.

I also just took a closer look at the rankings on milb.com and even though they rank Carrasco 28th, he still wasn't one of the 10 best pitchers on the list. Even on a list that ranks him especially high Carrasco still doesn't even qualify as a top 10 pitcher in the minor leagues, so I think its fair to say that calling him one of the best pitchers in the minors is a stretch.

actually look at his stats from AA a little bit closer. its only a 1 or 2 starts where he actually doesnt pitch well. there is a reason this kid has been pitching in the futures game for the past 3 years. and with many young pitchers his control is not that good because it doesnt have to be when your that much better than anyone else

Here's the links to Sickels rankings if you're interested...

http://www.minorleagueball.com/2008/10/28/648643/philadelphia-phillies-top

http://www.minorleagueball.com/2008/10/23/641522/atlanta-braves-top-20-pros

My point wasn't that Carrasco wasn't a one of the top putchers in the minors since he didn't rank in the top 10 pitchers on the milb.com list. My point was that list has him ranked at the top end of what he could possibly be ranked and he still didn't crack the top 10 pitchers. Other people who aren't as high on him, John Sickels for one, have him much lower. In Sickels case he has him ranked lower than a guy like Rohrbough.

Hanson on the other hand is ranked towards the lower end of the spectrum of where he can be ranked and he is still a top 10 pitcher. I also think Hanson is still underrated by a lot of scouts who haven't seen him since he started mixing his slider back into his repertoire. I think his ceiling is considerably higher if he actually can mix in a 4th pitch that is at least average.

Honestly, I'm not really trying to take anything away from Carrasco. I think he's a very good prospect that's a very good bet to be a #3/#4 SP with the upside of a #2. I just don't happen to see him as one of the better pitchers in the minors.

OK, i was ABOUT to hammer you about making him a 4. There's no WAY he's a 4.

And realize at the end he said, Maybe a B+

WHEN he starts strong next year, he'll earn that B+

And thanks for including the links but I've got some disagreements with Sickels both ways + and -. But he's the expert, who am I.

I'd take Marson to be better than a C+

I don't think Collier is anywhere near a B-

I'd move Drabek up a bit because his command in admittedly a small sample set seemed good in winter ball and he could take a big leap early next year. If he does well at Clearwater where I expect he'll start, I'd move him to a B-