Mondesi + for Stanton, Mondesi for Wong? Barf

Colon was shitty for a great deal of the season at AA and had a nice hot streak to boost his numbers. It was also over a pretty small sample and it was his 2nd attempt at the level, which is a huge deal. If you compare Wong's first season at AA to Colon's first season at AA, Wong clearly beats him. And Wong did it while a year younger than Colon on his first go-round. So it's not entirely fair to compare a 23 yr old in his 2nd attempt at AA to a 21 yr old in his first attempt, is it? And I say that being fully prepared to say that I was very underwhelmed by Wong last year and expected a lot more of him after his performance in High A.

Now if Colon comes back this year and hits well at AAA, you're onto something, but Colon failed with regularity his first 2 years as a professional and I'd be pretty hesitant to say that a nice month in AA trumps all that.

This year will say a ton about both players, but I suspect that Wong will show himself a superior prospect by a fair amount by season's end and while 2 years younger, which is a pretty big deal. And like I said, the guys that are willing to put projections on minor leaguers (ZIPS, OLIVER and a few others) believe that Wong could outplay Chris Getz by a significant amount if called up today. They aren't as bullish on Colon.

If Stanton goes on the block, they go to the Rangers and ask for Profar and probably a high end arm or two (Scheppers would be appealing for Miami).

And the Rangers will say yes, IMO. While there appears to be an outside chance that Mondesi is a Profar level prospect in a couple of years but he's not there yet. If the Marlins are looking to make a trade now, the Rangers will absolutely bite and have the best package to offer, IMO.

If the Rangers went to Profar, Scheppers and Ott for Stanton, the Marlins would take it and the Rangers should probably do it even at that sky-high price.

I just don't see the timing working out in KC's favor. Mondesi is way too young to project yet and nobody's going to give major value for him until he's beating up AA pitching at least.

SCOUT had him at 57, which was a little lower than I recalled.

Stop forcing our dreams down the toilet, please. I don't care how outlandish they may be.

I'm aware that age (17 months difference) and repeating the level definitely make Wong's numbers pop out a little bit more, but it doesn't really make Wong profile that much better as a major league guy.

I don't trust much regarding ZIPS and OLIVER projections for minor league guys. The same projections LOVED Chris Getz just a few seasons ago, as well as Kila Ka'ahuie. I definitely don't think I buy Wong as a .270 hitter in MLB this year.

I wouldn't call Colon's debut season in Wilmington in 2010 a "failure" by any means. That's an incredibly difficult hitting environment, and Colon's numbers profile just fine next to some of the better hitters to move through the KC system (Moustakas, Hosmer, Giavotella, etc.).

He was extremely disappointing in 2011 and looked to bounce back nicely last year despite missing time to injury. Wil Myers also failed at a disastrous level at NWA in 2011. Something in the water?

All in all, he played just a shade over 3 months of baseball last year and put up very solid numbers.

This year will be very telling.

I'm also not saying Wong is garbage or anything. He's a nice player and is likely to be a very solid second-division 2B for a decade or so. If offered a chance to do a straight-up swap of the two, I would do it without blinking.

Just don't think there's enough separation to warrant moving a guy like Calixte, whom the organization is EXTREMELY high on and thinks is ready to blow up this season.

There's nothing worse than a failing Colon.

I agree with all of this. Stanton would make WAY too much sense for the Rangers, and I bet they could pull that off for 2/3 you mention, plus another guy (Maybe Grimm).

The Royals' trade chips in the minors should be much more appealing at the end of the season than they currently are (one level closer for everyone).

Side note: Mike Montgomery made his first start in the Rays org the other day. 3 2/3, 3 BB, no K, 2 ER.

Will be interesting to see if they can find a fix. If they can't, no one can. Just such a strange case of failure.

If anybody finds a good image from the game today, I would like to update my facebook banner..

Exceptional images from previous games will do, as well..

I was at opening day... Row B. Amazing infield dugout seats...

Here's Gordon's RBI single.
https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphot...87239755_n.jpg

Here's Butler's RBI single.
https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphot...57146524_n.jpg

And a photo finish with Relish and Mustard....
http://i.imgur.com/k6TR8z5.png

Nice ****ing seats man.

Is there anything more depressing than the second home game of the season?

Thanks man. It was ****ing awesome. I'd never been to Opening Day before... glad I went.

And the iPhone and Samsung both take amazing pictures... you can see the ball in each one of those shots if you look. [I have two phones due to work, bleh]

Key point is that DJ is suggesting Wong to be an option at 2B right now at the major league level, so we're not really comparing prospect value Wong vs. Colon. We're actually comparing what each player would give the major league club today in place of Getz. So, the age/level difference is largely irrelevant. Neither profile to be upper end at the position, so you don't trade a SS with significant upside when you already have a middling/similar prospect at AAA.