2013 Top 10 Left-Handed Pitching Prospects

Posted on 28 March 2013 by

Yesterday’s list of right-handed pitchers was flat out jaw dropping. Today’s list of left-handers doesn’t offer the same inspiration, and frankly, it is difficult to identify a pitcher on this list that could really explode and hang with the elite right-handers I discussed yesterday. That said, the lefties currently on the farm have legitimate big-league profiles and several of them could pitch in the middle of the rotation or slightly above that.

1. Tyler Skaggs – Arizona Diamondbacks
2. Max Fried – San Diego Padres

This upper tier of southpaws lacks the punch of the upper tier on the list of right-handed pitchers released yesterday, but both Skaggs and Fried are quality prospects with number two upside. Skaggs is nearly big-league ready and should help anchor the Arizona rotation for a long time. Fried is a completely different animal, having barely made his professional debut after being drafted in the first round last summer. Despite that, Fried has been extremely impressive according to the scouts I have spoken with and he could be in line to fly up prospect lists this summer.

3. Martin Perez – Texas Rangers
4. Danny Hultzen – Seattle Mariners Continue reading →

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2013 Top 10 Right-Handed Pitching Prospects

Posted on 27 March 2013 by

Right-handed pitching is one of the strengths of the prospect landscape right now; featuring multiple handfuls of high-end pitching prospects that have the potential to become front of the rotation arms. Unlike some years, there is a group of four pitchers in the upper minor leagues that all have the potential to front rotations and become legitimate number one starters. If that weren’t unusual enough, that group of four pitchers exists in just two franchises. That leads to some exciting times for fans of those clubs, but fans of other clubs should be excited as well. Of the ten players ranked here, seven of them have a legitimate chance to pitch in the big leagues this season and another one could be there sometime next summer. That’s an impressive crop of pitching prospects and something baseball fans should be prepared to embrace and cherish.

1. Gerrit Cole – Pittsburgh Pirates
2. Dylan Bundy – Baltimore Orioles
3. Kevin Gausman – Baltimore Orioles
4. Jameson Taillon – Pittsburgh Pirates

There seems to be a discussion out there that Dylan Bundy sits alone atop the list of pitching prospects in the minor leagues. I don’t share that belief. In fact, I don’t believe he’s the best pitching prospect in the game. While it is close, give me Gerrit Cole and his potential for three ‘7’ pitches at the front of my rotation. Both Bundy and Cole are exceptional talents that can develop into number one starters. My beef with the conversation of Bundy alone at the top doesn’t end there. I think the Orioles and Pirates both have another prospect that is right there with Bundy and Cole. Kevin Gausman and Jameson Taillon are also exceptional talents that have the potential to front rotations at the big league level. They’re all potential number one starters and they all deserve recognition at the top of this list.

5. Zack Wheeler – New York Mets
6. Jose Fernandez – Miami Marlins
7. Shelby Miller – St. Louis Cardinals
8. Taijuan Walker – Seattle Mariners Continue reading →

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2013 Top 10 Outfield Prospects

Posted on 26 March 2013 by

One would think a 2012 Top 10 that included Mike Trout and Bryce Harper would be followed by a considerably less flashy list in 2013. Good thing for all of us, that just isn’t true. With several massive talents at the top and some raw talents with huge ceilings pushing up behind them, the outfield prospects currently on the farm are as impressive as ever. Further, there were several players that I adore that could not fit on the back of this list because of the overwhelming amount of talent.

1. Oscar Taveras – St. Louis Cardinals
2. Will Myers – Tampa Bay Rays
3. Christian Yelich – Miami Marlins

All three players at the top of this positional list represent exceptional talents with star potential. Oscar Taveras and Christian Yelich are two of the best hitting prospects in the game with the potential to contend for batting crowns in their prime. In addition to his hitting prowess, Taveras offers the potential for 25-30 home runs a year and Yelich should add very good pop as well. Myers is more of a middle-of-the-order bopper with home run power, solid batting lines and what may be a propensity to whiff a fair amount. All three players should impact the middle of their respective big league lineups and all three could begin to make that impact in 2013.

4. Byron Buxton – Minnesota Twins
5. Jorge Soler – Chicago Cubs Continue reading →

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2013 Top 10 Shortstop Prospects

Posted on 26 March 2013 by

The minor leagues are bursting with excellent shortstop prospects and none better than Jurickson Profar who returns to the same perch he held in last year’s Top 10. The 2012 draft added a couple of precocious talents to the rankings and several players like Xander Bogaerts and Javier Baez cemented their standing as some of the top shortstop (for now) prospects in the game.

1. Jurickson Profar – Texas Rangers

I could easily lump Xander Bogaerts and Carlos Correa in a group with Profar atop this list, but as one of the top two or three prospects in the entire game, Profar deserves a level all his own. An extremely polished young player, Profar has the potential to contribute in a big way in every phase of the game. He is a superstar in waiting and easily the top shortstop prospect in the game today.

2. Xander Bogaerts – Boston Red Sox
3. Carlos Correa – Houston Astros Continue reading →

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2013 Top 10 Third Base Prospects

Posted on 25 March 2013 by

Third base prospects are coming back with a vengeance after a few years away. The two top dogs from last year’s Top 10 return to this year’s list and they are joined by a host of other quality prospects from the hot corner. A present, the minor leagues offer a nice mix of third basemen close to the big league level as well as a host of high ceiling talents that are still a few years from the big league radar. This Top 10 list exhibits both of those worlds, as several big-league read options occupy the upper reaches of the list, followed by a few crude prospects that could explode in the next year or two.

1. Anthony Rendon – Washington Nationals
2. Miguel Sano – Minnesota Twins

If Anthony Rendon could just stay on the field, he might have already forced his way onto the big league roster in Washington. A supremely talented offensive player with projection for average and power, Rendon is a potential star. With Ryan Zimmerman anchoring third base in Washington, Rendon’s first Major League opportunity may come at second base if Danny Espinosa’s shoulder gets in the way of him playing every day. While further away from the big leagues, Miguel Sano may actually have a higher raw ceiling than Rendon. With the best power of any prospect in the minor leagues, Sano has huge potential at the plate, but there are serious questions about his future in the field.

3. Mike Olt – Texas Rangers
4. Kaleb Cowart – Los Angeles Angels
5. Jedd Gyorko – San Diego Padres Continue reading →

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2013 BPN Top 10 Second Base Prospects

Posted on 21 March 2013 by

Unlike the other positional lists I have published this year, the second base rankings had very few graduates from 2012. Only Steve Lombardozzi (#7) graduated to the big leagues and four of the other players from last year’s list return for another engagement.   It can be difficult to project players that have always been second basemen, as many of the best keystone players in the big leagues were converted from other positions during their minor league career. I refrained from including players that project to move to the position in the coming years, and focused on only those that play the position everyday right now.

1. Delino DeShields – Houston Astros
2. Eddie Rosario – Minnesota Twins
3. Kolten Wong – St. Louis Cardinals
4. Taylor Lindsey – Los Angeles Angels

It seems odd to group these four players together given the vastly different skill sets they bring to the table, but in the end, all of them pretty easily profile as everyday players. DeShields is the burner of the group with solid hitting abilities, some gap power and the ability to steal 50 bases a year. Rosario has the most pop of the group but also may lack the defensive chops to stay on the dirt. A move to the outfield could be in his future. Lindsey is the best pure hitter of the crew, with the potential to hit his way straight to the big leagues. Wong doesn’t have the stand out tool that the other three possess, but he is a well-rounded player that can contribute on both sides of the ball.

5. Rougned Odor – Texas Rangers
6. Angelo Gumbs – New York Yankees Continue reading →

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2013 Detroit Tigers Top 15 Prospects

Posted on 21 March 2013 by

With the public release of the Top 10 prospects at TigsTown.com, I can now circle back and publish my final Top 15 prospects list of the 2013 season. Because of my continued involvement with scouting and ranking Tigers prospects for TigsTown, this post will only contain a listing of the Top 15 players in the system. Brief capsules of each player can be found in two free articles at TigsTown – “Top 50: 20-11” and “Top 50: The Top Ten.” We will continue to run detailed profiles and scouting reports of each of these players at TigsTown over the two weeks.

1. Nick Castellanos (3B)
2. Bruce Rondon (RHP)
3. Avisail Garcia (OF)
4. Danry Vasquez (OF)
5. Casey Crosby (LHP)
6. Steven Moya (OF)
7. Jake Thompson (RHP)
8. Austin Schotts (OF)
9. James McCann (C)
10. Drew Verhagen (RHP)
11. Tyler Collins (OF)
12. Eugenio Suarez (SS)
13. Will Clinard (RHP)
14. Harold Castro (2B)
15. Endrys Briceno (RHP)

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