This year's first round pick Robert Stephenson is 6th on your list, and he's as intriguing of an arm as we've seen in a long time. Due to the deep draft this year, many scouts said that Stephenson would have been a top 10 pick in most years. It seems like most of the ingredients are there: good size, velocity, secondary pitches, and the makeup to put it all together. The only thing to be decided now is if he goes to Dayton to start the year, or goes to extended spring training and pitches later on in the summer in rookie ball.

Same list today as yesterday, go ahead and vote.

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In a remarkably close vote, Zack Cozart edged Billy Hamilton by 10 votes in the Home Depot Floor vs. Ceiling Bowl to earn the #2 spot on our list. Perhaps we should start calling him Billy "Salieri" Hamilton.

Cozart may lack the elite tools and superstar ceiling of most top prospects, but a major league ready player who is a safe bet to be at least an average MLB shortstop is quite valuable, and not so easy to find. Just ask the Reds. And about 15 other teams. Hopefully The Coz can have a solid debut performance and put the tedious shortstop discussions around here to bed.

It would seem, based on voting trends from the Iowa caucuses, that the vote for the #3 spot is going to come down to Billy Hamilton and Daniel Corcino. Both have their merits, but in case you aren't enamored by either player, and in the name of abundant choice, we have added 2 new players to the list. DiDi Gregorius and Juan Carlos Sulbaran make their first appearances on the poll, and they will be the last players to be added for a while. If you want someone else, get over it. Or join the Libertarian party.

VOTE!

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The overly melodramatic title notwithstanding, this year's prospect rankings has a bit of a different feel. In years past we discussed and celebrated the gradual ascendance of the Reds farm system into one of the best in baseball. But after years of gathering prospects, graduating a few to the major league club, and generally hoarding good young players, Walt Jocketty has (finally) cashed in on the talent surplus. The unfortunate side effect of this exciting offseason is a significantly depleted system, but the cupboard is far from bare. The system still has plenty of exciting players from rookie ball up to AAA. It's your job to decide who is the best.

For those of you unfamiliar, the Community Prospect Rankings is your chance to vote on who you think are the top prospects in the Reds system. We'll start today with the #1 prospect, and a pool of 6 players. We'll add players to the pool every couple of days. Want to vote for a guy who isn't yet on the list? Make your voice heard in the comments!

After the jump find stats for all of the players in the first tier, as well as each player's basic strengths and weaknesses. We've also listed the player's Baseball America ranking, if applicable. Once John Sickels releases his rankings in a few days, we'll include those as well.

This first vote should be a no-brainer, but y'all have had some crazy ideas before, so who knows. Happy voting!

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5 weeks of voting have resulted in your best guess for the list of Reds top prospects for 2011.  NYC compiled what the so-called "experts" have had to say, so let's see how our list compares.

Listed here is the final RR list, plus mine and NYC's individual lists.  The "honorable mention" spots are the players who received the most votes throughout the final week but didn't make the list.

Agree, disagree? Let us know in the comments.

Another item of note. The Reds 13th round pick from last season, pitcher Lucas O'Rear, got injured playing basketball and will miss a good portion of next season with a broken ankle.  If you're unfamiliar with O'Rear and his story, he's the guy who the Reds drafted out of Northern Iowa (even though UNI doesn't have a team) and was the 6th man of the year in the Missouri Valley conference last year on the hoops team.  It's a tough blow for the Reds, as he put together a nice debut for them last year and didn't really have a future in basketball.  Kind of raises the question though: was it a mistake for the Reds to draft a kid with such a significant injury risk waiting in another sport?  Is there anything they could have done to better protect their investment?

*Ed. note: Sorry this is late. This time it was SBN's fault, not mine!

Well, this is it.  We're down to our last spot on the list.  This is your last chance to make a case for a guy you think will be a legit player.  Let us hear who deserves the spot!

Oh, yeah, Neftali Soto gets spot #24.  Apparently many of you think the offense is still there and we shouldn't give up on him.  In my humble opinion, if he ends up at 1B he's not much of a prospect, but as a 3B or even corner OF there might be something there.  Either way, this is a very big year for him.  A third straight mediocre year will probably seal his status as an ex-prospect.  

OK, no new prospects but plenty of intriguing guys still on the board, so vote!

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Drew Cisco edged out his competition for the 23rd spot on our list.  He's still a ways away, but could see some time in Dayton with a strong spring and if the Dragons decide that they're not stacked enough yet.  On the other hand, since he's still young and inexperienced, the team could decide to take him a little bit slower, especially considering he's a pitcher.  No word yet if they're going to make him spell his name "D-R-U" and dye his hair white.

Since NYC had a little 'credtastrophe yesterday, I'm adding the next two to vote on.  One is a projectable talent with huge potential but huge question marks and the other is exactly the same thing with less pro experience.  Anybody we missed?  Let us know.

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Crazy day in 'credsland, so you get a late poll and no new choices.  Sorry. 

Jonathan Correa nabs spot #22.  I will guarantee that either he or Ismael Guillon will be in the top 10 next year.  Look for Correa to start in Dayton this season.

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Junior Arias takes the 21st spot on our list.  It's our last week making the list, so if there's anyone else you want included be sure to name them in the comments.  The guys this far down the list may seem like they don't matter now, but remember, we felt the same way last year about Logan Ondrusek (22nd), Sam LeCure (25th), and Donnie Joseph (21st).

Two more names to the list today, as we look at a top performer in A-ball and a hard-throwing reliever with a Futures Game on his resume.  Vote now.

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