Jon Paul Morosi: Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving. Happy to talk some ball with you today. ... To be honest, it was a real toss-up between Maybin and Miller at No. 1. It's hard to compare a college pitcher and high school position player, and they both have such great potential. The names I often hear in connection with Maybin are Torii Hunter and Mike Cameron -- guys who hit for average and power from the right side, and are elite defenders at the position. Right now, that's the course Maybin is on.

Jon Paul Morosi: Ramirez is very similar to Tony Giarratano: The Tigers love his potential, but need him to have a healthy, productive season to validate that. He was shut down in June this year, after a foul ball created a deep bruise and severe swelling in his shin. A freak injury, really. Still, he was hitting .225 before then, so it's hard to be too encouraged with what he did in '06. That makes '07 that much more important. He'll probably repeat at Lakeland.

Jon Paul Morosi: Two reasons: Miller's control was not good in September -- he had so rarely thrown out of the stretch at UNC that he just wasn't used to it -- and, secondly, the World Series opponent wasn't conducive to having another left-hander in the bullpen. If the Tigers had played the Mets, Miller probably would've been on the roster. Instead, they went with Zach Miner, a right-hander, against St. Louis.

Jon Paul Morosi: Great question, although we may not know the answer for several years. You could put it another way, too: Will the Tigers regret trading Kevin Whelan or Anthony Claggett? Whelan would have been a top-10 prospect on this list, and Claggett's stock was way up after the way he pitched at West Michigan. As you've seen with the trades Dave Dombrowski has made, a 1-for-3 success rate with prospects is very good. In the Jeff Weaver deal, the Tigers hit with Jeremy Bonderman and missed on Carlos Pena and Franklyn German. In the Mark Redman deal, the Tigers hit with Nate Robertson and missed on Rob Henkel and Gary Knotts. So, it will probably only take one success in that trade for the Yankees to feel good about it, especially since they had no plans for Gary Sheffield in '07. Even then, I'll never fault Dombrowski for making this deal. He saw the need to add an elite hitter, and he did that. Plus, we're seeing now that Soriano or Lee would have been much more expensive.

Moderator: They're in the next tier below. Boesch, as you know, had a very good pro debut at Oneonta. He has a nice, athletic frame and projects to play a corner outfield spot. The key for him will be to generate more power without sacrificing his demonstrated ability to hit for average. Nickerson had a pretty solid summer at Oneonta, too, but he only pitched five times because of the 3,432 innings -- maybe more, I can't remember -- that he threw at Omaha. His stuff isn't overwhelming, but everyone saw that he has tremendous makeup. He should be a starter at West Michigan in '07.

Jon Paul Morosi: You are, in fact, exactly right. Sanchez and Whelan would have been in the top 10. Larish was No. 11, and Sizemore 12. That said, I have no qualms with either player being in the top 10. Some scouts I've talked with believe Larish could be as high as No. 6 or 7, so he's hardly out of place. He has two things that the organization lacks -- plus patience and left-handed power -- so you can believe that he will be closely monitored by the Tigers this season. He should play at Erie. The Tigers like Sizemore, too. He's a real hitter (.327 at Oneonta) who will likely play second base, even though he was a shortstop in '06. His HR power may come eventually. He could be a Mark Loretta-type.

Jon Paul Morosi: The '07 season should be the true test for him, since it's the second year after Tommy John. So far, there are no signs that he's had any health setbacks since the surgery, even though his numbers at Lakeland this year were not good. The Tigers were encouraged by his work at Instructional League, but no one's too sure what that will mean next year. Right now, there's a very good chance that he'll pitch out of the bullpen in 2007, so the team can regiment his work. Despite his draft status, he's no longer considered one of the team's best pitching prospects. That said, he has the potential to make the top 10 again. To do that, though, he needs to perform better during regular season games than he has.

Jon Paul Morosi: Great question. I remember one Tigers official telling me that, in terms of potential, those two players are very, very close. That's incredible, when you think about it. Hernandez could probably be in the top 5, but I was a little hesitant to rank him there because he has yet to play above the GCL. We'll know a lot more about him this coming year, when he plays at West Michigan. From what I'm told, he has incredible tools. I'm really looking forward to watching this guy play.

Jon Paul Morosi: The only reason the Tigers would consider moving Inge back to catcher is the fact that there are so few great No. 1 catchers available, either from within the system or on the trade or free agent markets. Look at the money Blanco is going to get from the Cubs. If I had to bet right now, I'd say there is a very good chance Ivan Rodriguez will be the Tigers' catcher in 2008, when the club holds a $13 million option. Sure, he's not putting up the offensive numbers he once did, but he can shut down an opponent's running game. That has incredible value for a team with a very young pitching staff. Defensively, Inge is above average at third base. He makes errors, but he also gets to more balls than anyone else -- which is one of the best measures of defensive ability.

Jon Paul Morosi: At this point, I'd say Bourquin has the greater potential of the two. He's a big, physical, left-handed-hitting third baseman. He has good patience, and he plays a position where other prospects (Wilkin Ramirez and Kody Kirkland) have shown a lack of consistency at the plate in recent years. Strieby has some pop, too. We should know more about both of these guys once they play full-season ball in '07, probably at West Michigan.

Jon Paul Morosi: Very close. Again, as with Maybin and Miller, the comparison is difficult because they're very different players. Clevlen had a confusing '06 season. He struggled at Erie, but he hit some home runs for the Tigers in the middle of a pennant race, then was a hero in the AFL championship game. He's a great athlete -- runs well, plays all three outfield positions -- but there is still some question as to whether he's a potential starter in the outfield, or more of an extra guy. I don't think he'll be on Detroit's Opening Day roster this year, but his chances would increase if the Tigers deal Marcus Thames. Then again, I didn't exactly think he'd double off Johan Santana for his first major-league hit. Jurrjens has great control -- one reason the Nationals asked for him in the Soriano talks. He should be at Toledo this year.

Jon Paul Morosi: I hate to run, but this will be the last question ... Kirkland has tons of potential. Great athlete. Great arm. Big power. Still, he tends to strike out too much. He also led his regular-season team (Erie) and AFL team (Phoenix) in errors. One line of thinking on him is that he has a good attitude, and good work ethic, but he hasn't had a chance to play too much baseball. (He grew up in Idaho, where, sources say, it can be cold in the springtime.) He'll probably repeat Double-A this year. If he's truly a top prospect, he should crush the pitching there. Thanks so much for joining us today ... Happy Holidays.