MLB.com released its 2006 Top 50 Prospects Poll today. It's based on voting by "23 members of the scouting community," and these are 23 folks who don't think much of the Everett Aquasox, Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, San Antonio Missions, or any other Seattle Mariner farm club.
Out of the 50 prospects selected, not a single one is property of our Mariners.
What do you people do all day???
On the bright side, there's one prospect who would surely be ranked #1 if he still had rookie status--stud pitcher Felix Hernandez.
On the other hand, the M's signed Hernandez as a free agent. So not a single player the M's have drafted in the past few years is considered even among the top 50 players in the minors. Which means that, for the foreseeable future, the M's will have to fill their lineup and pitching staff with expensive free agents. You simply can't build a championship team that way. Even the Yankees can't.
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I wouldn't put too much stock in a list that doesn't have Adam Jones or Jeff Clement. Plus the Mariners have Jeremy Reed, Yuniesky Bentancourt, Jose Lopez, Kenji Jojhima, and Felix Hernandez on their opening day roster. They are all rookies or have less than 2 years of MLB experience. Surely the Mariners would rate higher if a few of them were in the minors. Plus if Chris Snelling can ever stay healthy that's another prospect.