What I think we have to appreciate with Ranaudo is that he had really strong peripherals. He had good strikeout rates, kept the ball in the ballpark, and had a strong K/BB. I'd personally like to see the BB/9 go down a bit, but that's nitpicking. In his first year of pro ball, I don't think anyone would be disappointed with what he accomplished. Now they can start to push him a little bit, and I'm sure he'll start the year in AA. The point is, Mayo probably looked at his bottom line ERA and determined that he didn't belong on the list, which is foolish. When you have a guy who is that big and can throw the ball downhill, has had a ton of success is his life, and the stuff is still there, he needs to get a little more recognition than that if he was their #1 prospect last year, and on everyone's top 100 list.

To the point about Brentz, like DCB said, there is no way Brentz should be above some of those other guys in terms of a "prospect." You can make the case that he had the second best season in the system, but the fact that Mayo tossed him on there on the strength of that season tells us everything we need to know.