Gaslamp Ball Book Club: The Baseball Prospect Book 2006

It's almost midnight. Before I go to bed, I thought I'd mention that I got John Sickels' Baseball Prospect Book in the mail today. I've been thumbing through it. Soon, I will have more knowledge about baseball prospects than you will ever know. Also, Cesar Carrillo is the bomb. The bomb I say. Also, my brother-in-law is on page 97. According to Sickels, Brooks is all skills, no tools.

If you didn't know, the traditional Five Tools are

1. Hit for power
2. 
   
3. Hit for average
4. 
   
5. Speed
6. 
   
7. Throwing (arm strength)
8. 
   
9. Glove

Sickels likes to use the Seven Skills which he defines as follows:

1. Hitting for average
2. 
   
3. Hitting for power
4. 
   
5. Plate discipline
6. 
   
7. Baserunning ability
8. 
   
9. Fielding range
10. 
    
11. Fielding reliability
12. 
    
13. Throwing reliability

Brooks' (my brother-in-law) comment reads like some kind of weird backhanded compliment. It's basically "This guy is slow, and yet he moves very quickly. He's a little bit of a weakling, and yet he hits the ball hard. He kinda sucks, and yet he's very very good. His future is as a utility player, but he'll have a longer career than most major leaguers."

Jess, being the good older sister she is, wasn't sure if all the backhanded compliments meant she should go and kick John Sickels' ass or if she should photocopy the page and send it out to the family. I'm a little undecided on that also.

Not too late to pick up a copy for yourself! Support the SportsBlogs Nation!