It’s Hot Stove time in the majors – daily rumors of signing and deals. But the news and notes are not as busy as during the season.

What do die-hard fans do during the winter? Prospecting. Prospectors review the minor leagues looking for the next studs. Several websites are now huge databases of minor league statistics. Other websites go into prospect mode with their lists. Grades are being thrown around, and if you are lucky, some websites have videos of the prospects.

When looking at who to select for my teams, I always find it hard to decide between ten B+ prospects or the twenty 4-stars. One question that goes through my mind constantly is “What’s better: a B+ hitter or a B+ pitcher?”

Lately, I have been looking at organizations to help decide.

Does the organization develop players or acquire top prospects?

Does the prospect have a clear path to the majors at his position or will he have to spend time developing at a new position?

I started to put together “Depth Charts” to help answer the questions above.

COLORADO ROCKIES

Catcher

Michael McKenry
Wilin Rosario

1st Base

Joe Koshansky
Kiel Roling

2nd Base

Eric Young Jr.
Jonathan Herrera
Corey Wimberley
Daniel Mayora

Shortstop

Chris Nelson
Hector Gomez

3rd Base

Darin Holcomb

Outfield

Dexter Fowler
Charlie Blackmon
Seth Smith
Brian Rike
Delta Cleary
Matt Miller

Left Handed Starter

Christian Friedrich
Keith Weiser

Right Handed Starter

Jhoulys Chacin
Connor Graham
Brandon Hynick
Dan Houston
Chaz Roe
Aneury Rodriguez
Kurt Yacko

Reliever
Aaron Weatherford
Casey Weathers (torn labrum)
Juan Morillo
Pedro Strop
Kyle Walker

Graduates include:  Ian Stewart, Chris Ianneta, Troy Tulowitzki,  Franklin Morales, Ubaldo Jimenez, Greg Reynolds

It’s Hot Stove time in the majors – daily rumors of signing and deals. But the news and notes are not as busy as during the season.

What do die-hard fans do during the winter? Prospecting. Prospectors review the minor leagues looking for the next studs. Several websites are now huge databases of minor league statistics. Other websites go into prospect mode with their lists. Grades are being thrown around, and if you are lucky, some websites have videos of the prospects.

When looking at who to select for my teams, I always find it hard to decide between ten B+ prospects or the twenty 4-stars. One question that goes through my mind constantly is “What’s better: a B+ hitter or a B+ pitcher?”

Lately, I have been looking at organizations to help decide.

Does the organization develop players or acquire top prospects?

Does the prospect have a clear path to the majors at his position or will he have to spend time developing at a new position?

I started to put together “Depth Charts” to help answer the questions above. I started with the team I know the best.

SAN DIEGO PADRES

Catcher

Mitch Canham

1st Base

Kyle Blanks
Allan Dykstra

2nd Base

Matt Antonelli
Eric Sogard

Shortstop

Andrew Cumberland
Jonathan Galvez
Stephen Figueroa

3rd Base

James Darnell
Logan Forsythe

Outfield

Kellen Kulbacki
Jaff Decker
Cedric Hunter
Chad Huffman
Blake Tekotte
Mike Baxter

Left Handed Starter

Wade LeBlanc
Steve Garrison (labrum surgery)
Nick Schmidt
Cesar Ramos
Michael Watt

Right Handed Starter

Mat Latos
Will Inman
Jeremy McBryde
Jeremy Hefner
Wynn Pelzer
Cesar Carillo
Adis Portillo
Matt Buschmann
Drew Miller
Anthony Bass
Simon Castro
Chris Wilkes

Reliever

Luke Gregerson
Greg Burke
Edwin Moreno
Edward Mujica
Mark Worrell
Chad Reinke
Carlos Guevara
Ivan Nova
Will Startup

Graduates include: Chase Headley, Will Venable, Nick Hundley