And just because I looked, it appears the Jays will be picking in the 15-17 range in the draft next year.  Tampa is on pace for the #1 pick again.

BA named Brett Cecil the #1 prospect in the NYPL.  Arencibia was 7th and Rzcyadkfljd received an honouable mention.

Does anybody know BA's criteria for prospects with respect to Major League service time.  Specifically, will Curtis Thigpen still be considered a prospect in their book?

I believe they use the Rookie of the Year guidelines (130 ABs, 50 innings).

Well I finally bit the bullet and used my PAR dollars to register for BaseballAmerica.com.  And much to my surprise, they suspect the same motive as I do for Travis Snider's AFL assignment:

But his bat speaks loudly enough and should allow Snider to move quickly; the AFL assignment could indicate the 19-year-old outfielder will skip high Class A next season and jump directly to Double-A New Hampshire.

Snider's teammates will include Brignac, Longoria and Sergio Santos, and he'll be facing generally AA quality pitching at least.  His ETA is 2009, but whether it is April, July or September is still up in the air. 

We're not TB.

I don't want Snider up till he's ready for the show offensively, defensively and mentally. I see Sept 09 as his first apparence and mid-10 as his "here to stay " moment. I

No question, it'll be interesting to see how he does in IL next to some serious talent.

Could Cecil turn into what we hoped Jackson and Purcey were?

I get the warm fuzzies thinkin' about Yohermyn Chavez. I think this kid will be a stud. Could Josh Kreuzer be a late 08 or early 09 platoon guy at least? I think so.

Cecil already looks like he has Purcey's stuff, and he doesn't walk many.  At BA, they said Cecil's fastball sits at 93-94 early and then tails off, due to stamina (he is a converted reliever).  He has an above average slider and a quality change-up.  At the draft, a splitter was mentioned, but I haven't heard anything further.

Here's his manager's assessment from BaseballAmerica.com:

"I think he's an internal competitor of sorts. I don’t think he wears his emotions on his sleeve very much," Auburn manager Dennis Holmberg said. "He's everything he was advertised as. He's got all the ingredients: a power-throwing lefthander with an outstanding breaking ball, and a good competitor."

Snider's teammates will include Brignac, Longoria and Sergio Santos

Longoria has been pulled and instead will be joining Team USA.

I'm glad they've given Banks the start. I was afraid Towers would get the nod.

Hopefully he has a good night.