Aaron Fitt: Hello everyone, and welcome to the NY-P chat. The last time I chatted about this league, in 2004, I was singing the praises of Ben Zobrist and Anibal Sanchez. With guys like Hunter Pence and Adam Lind also in that league, it was a fun year, but this year's haul is much stronger, I think. Let's get to the chat.

Aaron Fitt: Hagadone probably would have come in around No. 5. That group of college lefties at the top was almost interchangeable -- all are polished guys with good velocity and quality sliders, though Cecil distinguished himself the most with his performance. Hagadone worked up into the 94-95 mph range with a lively fastball this summer and showed a decent slider and feel for a changeup. Nice package from the left side.

Aaron Fitt: I certainly think Arencibia's bat will play in the big leagues -- he has legit above-average power, though his power numbers were tempered a bit this summer after he was hit by a pitch on his wrist. He's also a mature hitter with a solid approach -- the bat's a safe bet. Defense is a bit of a question, but he's got the tools to be at least an average defender behind the plate in the majors -- it's a strong arm, he just needs to work on quickening his exchange, and polish up his receiving a bit. I like him quite a bit -- makeup is outstanding too.

Aaron Fitt: The Nats seldom hesitate to push their college arms (see: Zinicola, Lannan, Stammen, Spradlin, even Adam Carr) and I suspect they'll do the same with Zimmermann. He's got a big arm and pretty good polish, and he should definitely move faster than Willems, though I expect Gibson to hop on the fast track next year also, because he's very mature for a high school product.

Aaron Fitt: The rankings are an amalgamation of all those factors, though these league top 20 lists typically put a bit more emphasis on performance in the league than our other lists do. Betances has a huge upside, there's no question, but he's by no means a safe bet; durability is a bit of a question, as is his command. His potential is what landed him in the top 10 in a very good league, but those other factors prevented him from being higher.

Aaron Fitt: I expected Jess to close for Arkansas last year after he transferred in from a junior college, but an injury to Shaun Seibert early in the year ensured he remained in the weekend rotation there, and he handled himself very well. But I still think Todd profiles best as a power arm out of the bullpen -- he's not very big, so I question whether he has the durability to handle a starter's workload. But he's got a very quick arm, he gets a lot of ground balls and strikeouts with a fastball that reaches 94 and an excellent slider -- a nice fit for the pen. He can just attack guys with those two plus offerings as a reliever, and he could be very effective. Look for him to move very quickly through that system next year.

Aaron Fitt: It's hard to stack them up against other players in the league since neither pitched more than four innings, but I like both of them and anticipate both will crack the Nationals' top 10. For me, McGeary is very similar to Gibson in stuff, polish and profile, though he might have a bit more projection, since Gibson might never sit in the 90s even when he does fill out his frame. McGeary looked like a back-of-the-first-round talent late in his high school season before fatigue really took its toll and his velocity tumbled, and I rank him slightly ahead of Smoker. Both of those guys are similar to Gibson, though, in that both are mature above their years and seem like pretty safe bets -- you don't have to dream much on those guys. I think all three could move quickly for high school guys, and all three have a good chance to be big league starters, though not necessarily front-of-the-rotation starters.

Aaron Fitt: Ah, I forgot to answer the Oneonta part of an earlier question, so let's get to that here. The closest to making the list was Erik Crichton, a little righthander out of Oral Roberts who really attacks hitters with three promising pitches. He can run his fastball into the 93-95 mph range, he's got a hard, tight slider that he throws for strikes and a changeup with some movement. He's undersized and is probably a bullpen guy, but he's not too far from being Jess Todd -- and his numbers this year were outstanding.

Aaron Fitt: Ron Bourquin also garnered some consideration -- he made some adjustments and showed the ability to make more consistent contact in his second go-round in the NY-P. He has yet to unlock his power, though, making his profile a question mark as a third baseman, and he needs to continue to get more consistent. Also, Justin Henry is a very tough out who runs well -- a classic grinder type who might have a chance. Devin Thomas is a switch-hitting catcher with some power who has a shot if he can improve behind the plate and make more consistent contact. And Guillermo Moscoso was too old for the league at 23, but he dominated thanks to his impressive feel for pitching, though his stuff is fringy.

Aaron Fitt: Out of that group, Britton was the closest to making the cut. He ran his fastball up to 92-93 from the left side at times, and he really got better with his breaking ball as the summer progressed, throwing it for strikes to both sides of the plate by the end of the summer. He's a good prospect who just barely missed the top 20. Henson's bat showed some promise, but he had some trouble throwing and might have to move to the outfield. Angle was one of a group of speedy college center fielders who garnered consideration, along with Hudson Valley's Emeel Salem. Angle's speed is his best asset, and he's a very good defender with range and instincts, but the bat is a bit of a question.

Aaron Fitt: It's kind of a screwy little quirk of the qualification system -- in short-season leagues, a starting pitcher needs to throw one-third as many innings as his team's games played, and a reliever needs to make 10 appearances. So if Hagadone's 24.1 innings had come over 10 relief appearances instead of 10 starts, he would have qualified... instead, since Lowell played 76 games, he needed to throw 25.1 innings as a starter to qualify, and he fell one inning short.

Aaron Fitt: Both of those guys are interesting sleepers, but neither was close to making this list. Chapman has an exceptional slider, but his fastball is fringey and he was too old for the league at age 23. Taylor is dripping with tools -- he's built more like a linebacker than an outfielder. His college career has to be considered a disappointment -- a fixture on preseason all-america teams, Taylor never really made good on his potential. He's got big-time raw power and speed, but he just needs to make more consistent contact and improve his approach.

Aaron Fitt: Mortensen is a sinker-slider guy with a ton of movement on his low-90s sinking fastball and a good, hard major league slider. He has some rough edges to polish (his delivery is not the smoothest, though it lends him some deception) and he needs to improve his changeup to stick as a starter.

Aaron Fitt: That Williamsport team was really loaded with intriguing sleepers -- we talked about Michael Taylor, but Spencer and Matt Rizzotti might have even more power. Spencer is actually at the front of that group -- he's got massive lefthanded pull power to go along with good speed for a big guy and a strong outfield arm. If he can cut down his strikeouts a bit, he could take off, because his tools are tantalizing.

Aaron Fitt: Willems has a huge upside, but Zimmermann is a much safer bet in my mind, and his stuff is nasty in its own right. I'll take Zimmermann.

Aaron Fitt: There were a number of interesting players who missed the cut from Brooklyn. Raul Reyes, a toolsy outfielder, got some love from managers, but he was way too old for the league, and scouts killed his defense and approach at the plate. Lucas Duda is a hulking first baseman out of USC who came on in the second half of the season; he's got good doubles power right now but projects for some home run pop. Dylan Owen put up amazing numbers in the league with a fringy fastball in the 86-90 range, a swing-and-miss curveball and his competitiveness and strike-throwing ability. But his ceiling is low and his body is a huge concern -- he's short and needs to get into better physical shape. Stephen Clyne has a funky arm action but decent stuff out of the pen, with a 90-92 mph fastball with tailing life and a slightly above-average slider in the 82-85 range. Dan McDonald, a righty out of Seton Hall, has good feel for pitching with a fringe-average fastball and a solid-average slider. The real guy to watch for me is JJ Leaper, who showed a 91-92 mph fastball, an average 11-to-5 curveball in the 77-79 range and an average changeup.

Aaron Fitt: It's hard to know what to make of Tejeda, who is still just 17 and still has so much development ahead of him. But holding his own in this league against competition that was so much older than him was incredibly encouraging. He's got some qualities that evoke Hanley, such as lightning-quick bat speed and smooth, easy actions, but he's just got a lot of polishing left to do. The upside is significant, but I don't think it's a Hanley Ramirez upside; one thing that makes Ramirez so electric is his speed, and Tejeda is just an average runner, maybe a tick above. And while I think you can project some power for Tejeda, I don't think you can project Hanley-type power.

Aaron Fitt: He just missed -- happy?

Aaron Fitt: Naylor was the toughest omission for me, even tougher than Zach Britton. He showed mound presence, his fastball was heavy and had good life and his curveball was sharp. I'd like to see him develop his changeup so he can stick as a starter, but he's already got a pretty good feel for pitching -- he's definitely got a chance. I addressed Spencer earlier.

Aaron Fitt: I'm a big Snyder fan -- he was the heart and soul of a very good San Diego team this spring, and he continued to grind in pro ball, not surprisingly. But he's just that -- an undersized grinder who will have to prove himself over and over. It would help if he were an above-average runner, but he's not. He is a solid line-drive hitter who can hit velocity and offspeed stuff, and he's a versatile defender -- he profiles as a super-utility type player.

Aaron Fitt: Dew was a terrific two-way player at Troy, and he's settled in nicely to a pitching-only pro career. His fastball sits around 90 with good sink, he throws strikes with his quality slider, and his low-three-quarters delivery has some deception. He also has a good professional frame. He's really just a two-pitch guy, though, and lacks overwhelming velocity, which limits his ceiling a bit.

Aaron Fitt: I'm a big fan of Stephen Cishek -- he pitches at 93 and touches 95 with a lively fastball, he's got a tight slider and a decent little changeup. He's got better stuff, but Parcell also pitched well this summer -- he uses a decent 12-to-6 curveball to get out of jams, and though his fastball is not overwhelming, he spots it well.

Aaron Fitt: Cecil is more of a power pitcher. Rzepczynski works in the high 80s and touches 90-91 to go along with a good slider (but not as hard as Cecil's) and a changeup. Rzepczynski has a smooth, effortless delivery, and one manager compared him to Jimmy Key. Cecil has also proven much more durable over his college career than Rzepczynski.

Aaron Fitt: He's improved the changeup from high school, but it's still very distinctly his third pitch -- he does not have the confidence to throw it in a 2-1 count, for instance.

Aaron Fitt: Langley was in the mix -- he made very nice progress this summer. He has a plus arm when his feet are set, and he's improving as a receiver, but he's still got to smooth things out back there. He also showed some good power from the pull side to center field.

Aaron Fitt: We go with the official data as supplied by MLB Advanced Media. Willems may be 6-6, and his manager said he is, but until that is reflected by official records, we're not going to change it. It's important to have some standard across the board, because just because someone tells us a player has grown doesn't necessarily make it so.

Aaron Fitt: Lightning round time: Myers has some speed, plays a good center field and puts the ball in play, but he lacks Brown's upside.

Aaron Fitt: Mach's another very interesting player. I really like the bat -- he's a gap-hitting machine, with occasional home run power. He's a fringy defender, though, and he was old for the league.

Aaron Fitt: He was very intriguing as a pitcher at Wichita State, but he could not stay healthy, and he prefers to play a position anyway. I see him as an offensive second baseman in the big leagues -- similar bat to Mach, for my money, but he's more athletic.

Aaron Fitt: Cusick is another offensive-oriented second baseman in the Tyler Mach mold, but while Cusick is a good pure hitter, Mach has a better track record in college and more raw power. I rank Cusick behind Sublett, Mach and even Snyder (because of his versatility and hard-nosed approach) out of the college second basemen in the league.

Aaron Fitt: I give Savery a slight edge there -- he would have been a top-five kind of pick if his medical track record had been a little better, I think.

Aaron Fitt: Velocity is fringy, and he dominated less advanced hitters by pitching backwards with a four-pitch mix. He can hit his spots and pitch to contact, but his ceiling is low... No. 5 spot starter, best-case scenario, in my mind.

Aaron Fitt: Descalso started hitting better once he spread out his stance a bit and lowered his hands, and though he didn't hit for much home run power, he did do a much better job driving balls to the gaps. He had to play third base at Batavia, but a move to second is likely in store for him -- he's got good enough hands and learned how to turn the double play already, but his range might be a little limited.

Aaron Fitt: He's really not a center fielder. He played some third base early in his college career, and his value took a bit of a hit when the Tar Heels had to move him to left field because he was too inconsistent at third, but he might hit for enough power to hold down a corner outfield spot. The raw power is in there, and his offensive approach is very good -- he's a very patient hitter who does a good job finding ways to get on base.

Aaron Fitt: Stuff and frame. It never ceases to amaze me how people can look at a guy's numbers in a short-season league and immediately conclude the guy's a star without knowing anything about his stuff. Owen is an up-and-down big leaguer, at best.

Aaron Fitt: One of the best catch-and-throw guys in the league, a bit of pop, but bat's a real question mark.

Aaron Fitt: Hard to judge by four innings, but his stuff at Clemson was very good -- runs his fastball up to 94 mph, and it's effortless. He never completely put it together in college, but he could take off in pro ball if he can stay healthy.

Aaron Fitt: Capellan is a pitchability lefthander with fringy stuff but the ability to throw from different arm slots and keep hitters off balance. He topped out around 90 mph with his fastball.

Aaron Fitt: Ok, that's all I've got time for today -- thanks for all the good questions, everyone. Make sure to catch Alan Matthews' Northwest League Top 20 chat tomorrow.