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One of my off-season projects is to create a register of Blue Jays minor leaguers, for purposes of comparison, nostalgia, or timewasting. As part of this project, I want to try to estimate the Buzz Factor for every Jays prospect of note throughout the years.

The Buzz Factor is an unscientific measurement, from 0 (low) to 10 (high), of the hype surrounding a particular prospect as he makes his way up the ladder to fame and glory in Toronto. I am doing this because I am wondering whether buzz is an indicator of success or not (and also for purposes of comparison, nostalgia and timewasting).

So far, I have created register entries, and hence Buzz Factors, for most of the leading hitting prospects. Here's my list - could you all please feel free to revise it at will? Consensus is, after all, the best way to judge buzz! Also, please add anybody I've missed (I know I've forgotten a few people, including some interchangeable so-so middle infield gloves), and feel free to create Buzz Factors for pitching prospects. Don't forget, though - I don't want to rate players as to whether they were any good: I just want to know whether they were hyped as being good. This is why Sil Campusano, for example, has a high Buzz Factor.

Also, keep in mind that many of us know more about up-and-coming prospects than your average fan. Many people here can debate, intelligently, the merits of Brandon League versus Chad Pleiness, but the average ticket buyer hasn't heard of either of these guys yet.

Also note that I don't have Buzz Factors for some of the pre-1983 prospects, as that's when I started following baseball.

Have fun, and buzz buzz!

Jesse Barfield ??
Kevin Batiste 2
Derek Bell 7
George Bell ??
Geronimo Berroa 6
Pat Borders 5
Sil Campusano 9
Felipe Crespo 5
Carlos Delgado 10
Rob Ducey 8
Tom Evans 6
Junior Felix 7
Tony Fernandez 10
Cecil Fielder 8
Alex Gonzalez 8
Otis Green 0 (failed outfield prospect, included as baseline)
Shawn Green 9
Kelly Gruber 7
Glenallen Hill 7
Jeff Kent 5
Nelson Liriano 5
Sandy Martinez 3
Fred McGriff 8
Lloyd Moseby 9
Greg Myers 7
Jeff Patzke 2
Robert Perez 4
Tomas Perez 4
Jerry Schunk 1
Mike Sharperson 6
Ron Shepherd 5
Luis Sojo 3
Ed Sprague 8
Shannon Stewart 8
Lou Thornton 4
Mitch Webster 5
Mark Whiten 5
Eddie Zosky 7

Buzz Factors for the current crop of youngsters and prospects, by comparison:
Gabe Gross 8
Alexis Rios 8 (will go higher if he keeps this up)
(England Dan and) John-Ford Griffin 6
Guillermo Quiroz 7
Russ Adams 7
Dustin McGowan 7
David Bush 5
Jason Arnold 6
Josh Phelps 7
Chris Woodward 3
Orlando Hudson 6 (he suddenly surfaced)
Kevin Cash 7
Vernon Wells 9
Reed Johnson 4 (again, remember that this isn't a rating - who had heard of him before this year?)
Jayson Werth 6
Simon Pond 3
Jimmy Alvarez 2

It's too early for lower minors, but Hill is already about a 5 or 6, and Vito The Triple Crown Guy will rate at about a 5.
Blue Jays Minor League Register - Hitters Buzz Factor | 12 comments | Create New Account
The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.
_Jabonoso - Sunday, November 02 2003 @ 05:18 PM EST (#86777) #
three out of the top of my head:
Kevin Witt 9
Luis Lopez 4
Jay Gibbons 6

From your list, i remember Robert Perez pretty hyped 6 or 7, sprague as a minor leaguer not so much as 8, well...
And Wells could be perfect 10.
More guys popping up
Howard Battle 4
Abernathy (sp?) 6
Izturis 6
Flop 8
Steve Karsay 9
Carpenter 8
koch 9
halladay 7
escobar 7
robertdudek - Sunday, November 02 2003 @ 06:03 PM EST (#86778) #
Mark Whiten should be a 7 or 8 (power and a cannon arm);
Glenallen Hill an 8 or 8.5 (great "athlete");
Nelson Liriano a 6.5 (the best of the 2B prospects post Damaso);
Sil Campusano about 8 (he was hyped but nobody considered him a Shawn Green);
Felipe Lopez 8.5 (1st round pick, enticing tools);
Alex Gonzalez 9 (Felip plus);
Ron Sheppard 3 (scrub and everyone knew it);
Derek Bell 8 (great season in AAA raised expectations);
Mike Sharperson 5 (kinda old for a rookie, not muhc pub before he won the job and then lost it because of defence);
George Bell 6.5;
Jesse Barfield 8;
Greg Myers 6;
Pat Borders 3 (came out of nowhere to unexpectedly succeed Ernie Whitt instead of Stark or Myers);
Kelly Gruber 5.5 (virtually unknown until he made the majors);
Ed Sprague 7 (hyped from the time he was drafted)

Some others not listed:

Manny Lee 6;
Sandy Martinez 5.5 (people thought he was going to be a great defensive catcher);
Matt Stark 6 (suposed to become a very good hitter);
Danny Ainge 6 (because of his fame as a basketball player);
Eric Yelding 2;
Kash Beauchamp 3;
Francisco Cabrera 6;
Alexis Infante 2.5;
Pedro Munoz 5.5;
Jeff DeWillis 1;
Randy Knorr 3
Jimy Kelly 7.5;
Rob Butler 4;
Rich Butler 5;
_jason - Sunday, November 02 2003 @ 09:08 PM EST (#86779) #
John Olerud has got to be a 10, though he didn't play in the minors did he.

I recently found an old Baseball America, 1994, rating the top ten in the Blue Jays system from the 1993 year. Among the top ten were Carlos Delgado, Shawn Green, Alex Gonzalez and Shanon Stewart. It got me to thinking (yes, it's been known to happen) has any top ten had four players who have played more games, had more hits, runs, etc. etc.

A sidebar to the top ten list was a report on how the Jays drafted. Quasi espionage in Nicaragua, huge bonuses paid to prospects on nobody else's radar, contraversial picks that were so far outside the box, that the 'box' seemed like a figment of imagination.

Dear Dave; what is the relation between hype and draft position/bonus paid?
P.S. sorry for the hijack. jason
_coliver - Monday, November 03 2003 @ 07:41 AM EST (#86780) #
I would say that Jesse Barfield's buzz factor would have been about an 8, while George Bell's would be about a 6. Bell would be a difficult one to set a standard to because he was a very unknown player when he was selected in the Rule 5 draft.

Glad to see that someone remembered Jimy Kelly. I would give him a seven, but after all the playing time that he received in the 1988 Spring Training, 7.5 sounds about right. He played pretty well that spring as a 17 year old.

Jossephang Bernhardt would get about an 7.5 also, while Jose Pett would get at least that, maybe an 8.

I'd give Eric Yelding a 5 and Rob Ducey about an 8.
_coliver - Monday, November 03 2003 @ 07:42 AM EST (#86781) #
Lest I forget--Dong Wong Choi--an 8. He was supposed to start in the majors right away!
_coliver - Monday, November 03 2003 @ 07:48 AM EST (#86782) #
Sorry--one more:

Andy Thompson 4
_Steve Z - Monday, November 03 2003 @ 08:40 AM EST (#86783) #
Today, Rotoworld's Matthew Pouliot presents a detailed American League offseason preview in which he projects, among other things: the Jays acquiring three FA starters (Thomson, Tomko, and Oliver), Sullivan and Reed joining A-Lo in the pen, and Escobar landing in SoCal.
_Jabonoso - Monday, November 03 2003 @ 11:08 AM EST (#86784) #
that Rotoworld preview is very rich and may end up in its own thread...
Craig B - Monday, November 03 2003 @ 12:04 PM EST (#86785) #
Just a draftee, never (strictly speaking) a minor leaguer, but John Olerud was clearly a 10 as Jason said.
_Jordan - Monday, November 03 2003 @ 01:08 PM EST (#86786) #
My memory is dimming, but I seem to recall that Tom Henke arrived in Toronto almost unheralded. One day Dennis Lamp was out there labouring as usual, the next there was this huge bespectacled guy on the mound in the 9th inning, wearing #50 and throwing bullets. My sense is that Henke's buzz was very low, maybe a 2 or 3. But I was far from Toronto then.
robertdudek - Monday, November 03 2003 @ 02:45 PM EST (#86787) #
Jordon,

Those of us who followed his exploits at Syracuse at the time were blown away by his performance there. I think there was the expectation that he could be an asset; of course he exceeded those expectations.
_James Pidutti - Monday, November 03 2003 @ 08:15 PM EST (#86788) #
Hey Dave Hill could you please do one of these buzz factor ratings for every minor leaguer? or at least rate the pulaski players as i want to see where i stand. or do something involving pulaski if you wouldn't mind. i hope you decide to do something and i look forward to reading it.
Blue Jays Minor League Register - Hitters Buzz Factor | 12 comments | Create New Account
The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.