Anyone an ESPN insider?
artistlost
Posts: 2,239 ✭✭✭
I would love to read the front page story with Dominic Brown fro Phillie and the updated top 25 prospect list.
Thanks again in advance.
mathew
Thanks again in advance.
mathew
baseball & hockey junkie
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Some of the names here would not ordinarily merit inclusion in a postseason Top 25 ranking, but we've had many graduations without an influx of new talent into the minors. By the next update, however, we'll have more 2010 draftees in the mix, so some players you see here could be pushed down or even pushed off by the addition of players such as Bryce Harper or Christian Colon.
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The new Top 25 MLB prospects
1. Domonic Brown, OF, Philadelphia. Is there anything he can't do? He's destroying everything in his path in Double-A and is probably just some defensive refinements from being big league ready. I don't think he's next off the list to the big leagues, but with Raul Ibanez providing below-average offense and defense in left, I'd have to think the Phils are looking at Brown for a second-half call-up. Previous ranking: No. 7
2. Desmond Jennings, OF, Tampa Bay. He's on a tear at the moment, hitting .351/.407/.526 in June. Previous ranking: No. 5
3. Mike Trout, OF, LA Angels. Oh, just call him up already. The way he's going, he probably could handle it. Previous ranking: No. 14
4. Dustin Ackley, 2B, Seattle. I said last time around that I thought his cold start was just a small-sample-size fluke, and it looks as if that was correct. Now, the bigger question on Ackley is his glove, with reports so far that his shift to second base is going slowly. Previous ranking: No. 8
5. Martin Perez, LHP, Texas. He's stumbling a little, especially with control, although one brutal outing on June 18 spiked his ERA by a run. If Texas dangled him in a trade, the team could probably name its price, given how good he is and how highly regarded he is by other clubs. Previous ranking: No. 6
6. Jesus Montero, C/DH, NY Yankees. The bat is starting to come around, although he's still not performing at the level he showed the previous two years. Previous ranking: No. 9
7. Aroldis Chapman, RHP, Cincinnati. He's coming up as a reliever and won't be on the next version of this list, but I would hate to see them stick him in the bullpen without at least giving him a chance to start, given that I see no physical reason he couldn't work in the rotation. Previous ranking: No. 10
8. Jeremy Hellickson, RHP, Tampa Bay. He's ready to step into the Rays' rotation the moment there's an opening. Wade Davis has been a little better of late (albeit against the soft lineups of the Four-A League), but they might be better off with Hellickson in this year's pennant race. Previous ranking: No. 11
9. Aaron Hicks, OF, Minnesota. I still don't get why he's not in the Futures Game. He's a potential star, both in the long-term sense and in his potential to make the postgame highlight reel with a long home run or a great throw to nail a runner. Previous ranking: No. 13
10. Casey Kelly, RHP, Boston. Would it be unfair to say that I expected him to perform better in Double-A? He's still just 20 and is in his first year as a full-time pitcher, but I thought he would treat Eastern League hitters the way he treated Class A hitters last year: with disdain. Previous ranking: No. 12
11. Julio Teheran, RHP, Atlanta. A big fastball, a plus change and an improved breaking ball have helped him dominate at two levels this year -- and it's not just being in pitcher-friendly Myrtle Beach. Six of the nine Colombians to reach the big leagues came from Cartagena -- as does Teheran. I'm still waiting for our first prospect from Macondo. Previous ranking: No. 63
12. Brett Wallace, 1B, Toronto. He actually has cooled off since his huge April, but continues to hit for average with lots of doubles and walks, and he's murdering left-handed pitching. Previous ranking: No. 15
13. Logan Morrison, 1B, Florida. He's often injured, but he hits when he plays, and his plate discipline remains superb. He might not be a 30-homer guy, but even so, he'll produce more than enough to be a star-caliber bat at first. Previous ranking: No. 16
14. Tyler Matzek, LHP, Colorado. His walk rate has been high, but the fastball-curve combo is plus and he does it very easily. Previous ranking: No. 18
15. Shelby Miller, RHP, St. Louis. The Cardinals held Miller out of games for almost all of June, having him throw bullpens to work on his secondary pitches and manage his workload, and they say that he's not injured. I'm not sure of a precedent for this, especially for a kid who was throwing well when he took the mound. Previous ranking: No. 21
16. Zack Britton, LHP, Baltimore. He's missing bats and getting ground balls. I haven't found a scout who has seen him without really liking him. Previous ranking: No. 17
17. Eric Hosmer, 1B, Kansas City. He continues to rake in High-A despite being young for the level and is hitting the ball with more authority of late as well as hitting left-handers very well. The power (just 4 HR so far) will come eventually. Previous ranking: No. 23
18. Lonnie Chisenhall, 3B, Cleveland. He's been raking since taking two weeks off to rest a sore shoulder, and it's one of the best swings you'll see in the minor leagues. One red flag is that his platoon split is widening slightly. Previous ranking: No. 26
19. Arodys Vizcaino, RHP, Atlanta. He's producing outstanding numbers so far with a plus fastball/above-average curve and a very low-effort delivery. Previous ranking: No. 43
20. Kyle Gibson, RHP, Minnesota. His strikeout rate dipped a little after the promotion to Double-A, but he's still getting ground balls, throwing strikes and missing enough bats to stay on the list and potentially help the club later in the year. I've heard that he's throwing a ton of sliders. Previous ranking: No. 20
21. Mike Moustakas, 3B, Kansas City. He's still mashing in Double-A, but his home/road split is becoming more pronounced, and he does play his home games in a hitter's park. I'm not arguing that the breakout isn't real, but when you're hitting about 80 percent of your home runs at home and just .230/.319/.420 on the road, expectations might be running a little too high. Previous ranking: No. 25
22. Jarred Cosart, RHP, Philadelphia. With one of the best fastballs of any starter in the minors, he's carving through the Sally League in his first full season in pro ball. Previous ranking: NR
23. Brett Lawrie, 2B, Milwaukee. I don't think he'll ever be above average defensively at second and he's pretty maxed-out physically, but his bat looks as if it's going to play just about anywhere in the big leagues and his offensive downside is very limited. Previous ranking: No. 47
24. Jordan Lyles, RHP, Houston. He probably lacks the ceiling of most of the arms on this list, but there's a chance for three pitches here and his performance at 19 in Double-A has been remarkable -- especially for a guy many teams didn't see as a top-five-rounder when the Astros took him in the sandwich round in 2008. Previous ranking: No. 60
25. Michael Pineda, RHP, Seattle. He's pounding the zone with a mid-90s fastball but needs to develop a slider and a changeup to maximize potential and remain a starter. Previous ranking: NR
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Just missed
Wilmer Flores (NYM), Matt Moore (TB), Austin Romine (NYY)
Deleted
Lars Anderson (Prev. 24), Michael Taylor (Prev. 19), Josh Vitters (Prev. 22)
Why not?
Mike Montgomery? Because he has hit the DL twice with elbow soreness. … Randall Delgado? Total package doesn't have the big upside of Teheran, and he's not as polished as Vizcaino … Chris Sale? Because he wasn't a top-40 prospect for me in this draft, a low-slot lefty with bad arm action and a below-average breaking ball … Tanner Scheppers? I wouldn't put a pitcher with that high a probability that he's a reliever long term in the top 25 prospects at any point. … Jonathan Singleton? Too small a sample for a player who didn't come in with the track record or scouting reports to put him here before the season. … Chris Carter? I'm concerned about his contact rate in Triple-A, although the good news is that his secondary skills remain intact.
Keith Law, formerly the special assistant to the general manager for the Toronto Blue Jays, is the senior baseball analyst for Scouts Inc.
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