In my most recent Fantasy Baseball Today live chat session Friday, the day after rookie Sonny Gray's eight-inning gem against the Astros (worth repeating: the Astros), a certain chatter took exception to my description of the Athletics' most recent call-up -- specifically, the part where I called him a third-tier prospect with iffy minor-league minors.
Look, I'm just stating facts. Depending on how you draw up your tiers, he is a third-tier prospect. Baseball America didn't even include him in its top 100 entering this season. I usually reserve the first tier for the prospects everybody rushes to grab when the come up, such as Christian Yelich or Xander Bogaerts, and the second tier for others who would fit into the top 100, such as Jedd Gyorko or Kolten Wong. The third tier is the best of what's left. No shame in that. I would have considered Tony Cingrani a third-tier prospect at this time last year even as I was scooping him up in long-term keeper leagues. But he had awesome minor-league numbers. Gray's are iffy. True, he had to pitch in the heavy-hitting Pacific Coast League this year, but he was even worse in the Texas League last year and allowed more than a hit per inning over his minor-league career.
But certainly, he's looked good so far, and as a former first-round pick, he bears watching. I'm just not ready to go gaga over him because of one great start against a bad opponent.