I do have to disagree regarding the development of power stats. Some of your data on that may be due to the steroid era. With testing in the minors, it was a lot harder to cheat in the 00’s. Not so in the majors, as you know. Many of the names on the Mitchell report were back up catchers.

Jason Kendall? His high for HRs in the MLB was 14. He only slugged over .500 once (in 78 games). He was not a power guy. During his prime, he had a little pop and a little speed. He averaged almost 20 steals during the 6 years of his prime. I’m sure that speed helped him stretch some singles into doubles.

Marson is showing very little power (5 HRs and .416 OBP in 2008 AA; 7 HRs and .407 in more ABs in 2007 in High A) and no speed (3SB and 3 CS). He’s 22 in AA. So, it’s not like he is a high school player playing above his level and growing into his body (like Brown and Hewitt).

Finally, Ruiz had 17 HRs in AA in 2004. He was a few years older. But, he was never among the top 50 prospects in all of baseball. Ruiz’s power dropped in AAA (4 HRs & .458 SLG in 2005) and we all know his MLB stats. But, he’s solid defensively, calls a good game (per all of the pitchers), was clutch in September and the playoffs, and comes cheap. I just don’t see enough from Marson to see him being a significant upgrade over Ruiz. Therefore, I think we should strike while the iron is hot and ship him to another team for pitching.

- Stats don’t mean as much with prospects. Marson may not have power, but prospects usually don’t develop power until they hit the majors. Moreover, Marson’s worth as a catcher is extremely high. If he’s, say, a third basemen, he’s not that high a prospect. Marson does project to a starting catcher because of his defense and contact hitting abilities. A la Jason Kendall.

- I had Berry right outside the names I listed here. To me, his speed has been hampered by poor decision making. Moreover, he’s very old for his level. He needs to step it up in AA Reading.

- Well Slayden IS a prospect. But you are right that he’s nothing much. I’d concede swapping him for Berry.

- One thing I will try to change with OSR is adjusting each league for difficulty. Carpenter has a better OSR simply because he pitched better in the lower levels, while Carrasco had a tougher year in higher levels. Carrasco’s value was one of the few issues I had with OSR when I developed it.

Where is Quintin Berry? This I don’t understand. Speed is becoming increasingly important in the MLB, due to the decline in power numbers. Berry is not Bourn or Golson. He is not only fast, but he has excellent plate discipline as evidenced by his high OBP over the past two years. He may not be a starter, but he will be an excellent bench player and reserve outfielder.

Slayden is not a prospect. Whenever I see him listed on these sites, it makes me laugh. He is 26 years old, in AA. He may be a nice bench player for a team like Pittsburgh. But, he will never see any playing time on this team.

Carpenter has a better OSR than Carrasco???? I’m not sure how you calculated that stat, but you better check your math. Based on last year’s performance, there is no way that Carpenter should be ranked higher than Carrasco in any list.