Jonathon Mayo of milb.com wrote an article on the top 10 names to know in the Florida State League and Drew Stubbs came in at #8. Here is what he had to say:

8. Drew Stubbs, OF
Sarasota Reds (Cincinnati)

Want to see a guy who really can go get ‘em in center? Then Stubbs (Photo:MWLguide.com) might be your guy. Even though he was banged up last year, he still managed to swipe 23 bases. When healthy, that should improve. He’s got raw power to spare and even the larger parks in the FSL won’t hold him if he starts to realize his potential in that area. He does swing and miss quite a bit, though he’ll also draw some walks along the way. Even more encouraging for Sarasota fans is that he raised his batting average 33 points in the second half of last season and made some adjustments that enabled him to cut down that K rate quite a bit. If that’s a springboard, Reds fans could be in for quite a treat.

Sounds a lot like how I feel about Stubbs. I really think this is his year to make some noise. Time will tell, but the season starts in just over a week.

Todd Frazier and Brandon Waring are both slated to begin their 2008 seasons with the Dayton Dragons. One of them makes perfect sense and the other one leaves me confused.

Brandon Waring is a perfect candidate to start in Dayton. He is a good prospect, but needs to tune his swing in a little bit as he is a bit of a free swinger (who self notedly swings for the fences at times). Dayton is a fine place for a guy who is a little rough around the edges to work on things. Top it off that Juan Francisco is also a 3rd baseman and should be in Sarasota this year and everything comes together.

Todd Frazier to Dayton leaves me confused. A first round pick (supplemental) out of college with lots of polish has no reason to start in Dayton. Frazier hit .319/.405/.538 last year with only 6 more strikeouts than walks in over 200 plate appearances. He is going to be playing shortstop, so the question to ask would be, who is slated to play shortstop in Sarasota next year? Last years shortstops in Dayton were  Chris Valaika (who was moved off of SS in the Hawaiian Winter League by the Reds), Justin Tordi and Zach Cozart. Cozart is the best defensive shortstop in the system, so he is going to be playing the position somewhere. There is no way the Reds are sending him to Sarasota and keeping Frazier in Dayton, are they? Frazier is far and away the more advanced of the two players. Cozart may have a glove made of gold, and his bat is better than he showed last year, but it still needs plenty of work. While I don’t know the plan for Cozart is, there seems to be evidence supporting the idea that he will begin in Sarasota playing SS over Frazier.

When the full season rosters come out, I will be very surprised if Frazier isn’t the only top 2 round college position player in Low A baseball despite the fact he is one of the most polished guys from the draft.

Vote in the new poll if you want, I would like to see if I am alone in my thinking.