PERFECT GAME CROSSCHECKER'S TOP TEN LIST
WEEK 21: 9/10/07 - 9/16/07
 
Thursday, September 13, 2007
TOP 10 WORST MLB RECORDS
TAMPA BAY LEADS RACE FOR NO. 1 PICK IN ‘08

With little more than two weeks remaining in the 2007 season, the competition for the poorest record in the major leagues has become a more hotly-contested race than it is for playoff spots at top of the standings. A mere 5 1/2 games separate the bottom 10 clubs.

Finishing with the worst record has its own payoff as the team that brings up the rear is rewarded with the No. 1 pick in the 2008 draft. Tampa Bay, which had the first pick in June, is in line to select first again a year from now as its 61-85 (.418) record is the worst, through games of Wednesday. But the Devil Rays have a narrow one-game lead on the Baltimore Orioles and Chicago White Sox.

We’ll take another look at the standings when the 2007 regular season ends on Sept. 30. Shortly thereafter, PG Crosschecker will unveil its first look at the top 100 prospects for the 2008 draft.

The 10 top contenders for the No. 1 pick in the 2008 draft (as of Sept. 13):
 
  Club W-L PCT GB
1. Tampa Bay Devil Rays 61-85 .418 --
2. Baltimore Orioles 61-83 .424 1
3. Chicago White Sox 62-84 .425 1
4. Florida Marlins 63-83 .432 2
5. Kansas City Royals 63-82 .434 2.5
6. Houston Astros 63-82 .434 2.5
7. Pittsburgh Pirates 65-81 .445 4
8. Washington Nationals 65-81 .445 4
9. San Francisco Giants 66-80 .452 5
10. Cincinnati Reds 66-79 .455 5.5
--ALLAN SIMPSON
 
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
TOP 10 CAPE COD LEAGUE PROSPECTS
Led by Aaron Crow, a rising junior at the University of Missouri who led the league with a 0.67 ERA, we’ve compiled a list of the top 100 prospects this summer in the Cape Cod League. The complete list, along with scouting reports on all players, is available on the PG Crosschecker/Summer Baseball site—though is available to ‘Insider’ level subscribers only. We also have lists of varying length on all the nation’s remaining top summer college leagues.

Here’s how we ranked the Cape’s top 10 prospects, with the colleges the players attend noted in parentheses:
 
  Player, Pos., Team (College)
1. Aaron Crow, rhp, Falmouth (Missouri)
2. Ryan Perry, rhp, Orleans (Arizona)
3. Dennis Raben, of, Orleans (Miami)
4. Gordon Beckham, ss, Yarmouth-Dennis (Georgia)
5. Yonder Alonso, 1b, Brewster (Miami)
6. Luke Burnett, rhp, Falmouth (Louisiana Tech)
7. Buster Posey, c, Yarmouth-Dennis (Florida State)
8. Christian Friedrich, lhp, Falmouth (Eastern Kentucky)
9. Kyle Gibson, rhp, Falmouth (Missouri)
10. Conor Gillaspie, 3b, Falmouth (Wichita State)
--ALLAN SIMPSON