BA: Team-by-Team Top Prospects

[colbyjack]

Baseball America has kicked off their first top prospect list, starting with the Baltimore Orioles. Not too long ago the O's realized it was time to start thinking about the future instead of trying to sign the next Javy Lopez, Ramon Hernandez or even Leo Mazzone to make them competitive once again.

 

Now they arguably have the top 1-2-3-4 prospects in all of baseball with Wieters, Tillman, Matusz and Arrieta. After Wieters, the system is low on impact bats, as the trio of Nolan Reimold, Billy Rowell and Brandon Snyder need to step up to prove that they are legitimate everyday contributors at the big-league level.

 

http://www.baseballameric...rospects/2009/267135.html

 

The Brewers are up on January 19th. Here's the full schedule:

 

http://www.baseballameric...on-top-10-prospects/2009/

[colbyjack]

The Red Sox are up today. Their system doesn't seem as strong now as it did 1-2 years ago, but they have graduated a ton of impact talent in recent years, and have been spending a ton of money on scouting and player development.

 

http://www.baseballameric...rospects/2009/267146.html

[colbyjack]

The Yankees go today:

 

http://www.baseballameric...rospects/2009/267148.html

 

Interesting write-up by John Manuel about how the Yankees young talent didn't step up this past year like the young talent on the Red Sox' and Rays' rosters did. Looking at the list quickly, it definitely doesn't look as strong as it did a year ago when guys like Chamberlain and Kennedy were still considered prospects, and Jose Tabata was dealt to Pirates as part of the Nady/Marte trade. Austin Jackson at #1 doesn't seem particularly promising for their talent at the top or their overall depth, although that probably gives more credence to them going out and out-spending everyone this offseason to re-vamp their roster.

[colbyjack]

The Rays are still loaded, although their talent depth has had a significant switch from hitters to pitching the past 2-3 years, as now they are lacking in impact bats despite their wealth in power arms.

 

http://www.baseballameric...rospects/2009/267162.html

[colbyjack]

Today it's the Blue Jays turn. I like their top 3 guys, all of whom are knocking on the big-league door:

 

http://www.baseballameric...rospects/2009/267166.html

[colbyjack]

BA shifts their attention to the AL Central today, starting with the Chicago White Sox. Their talent level the past few years has been somewhat deceptive, as while it doesn't seem like they have a ton of talent, they haven't been shy about trading young talent to supplement their big-league roster.

 

http://www.baseballameric...rospects/2009/267205.html

[colbyjack]

Matt LaPorta is ranked #2 with Michael Brantley at #9 for the Indians top prospect list, a system that has some nice depth among corner OF/1B types. Brantley of course was praised for his bat control yet questioned for his lack of power, below average CF defense and arm strength.

 

http://www.baseballameric...rospects/2009/267213.html

[colbyjack]

The Tigers are up today, led by Rick Porcello. After Porcello the talent thins out, although the system does have some promising power arms that could flourish with more seasoning.

 

http://www.baseballameric...rospects/2009/267221.html

[colbyjack]

I really like the Kansas City Royals top six guys, as their top two are particularly impressive middle-of-the-order hitters (Moustakas and Hosmer) that may have a more immediate impact than what Alex Gordon and Billy Butler have had.

 

http://www.baseballameric...rospects/2009/267224.html

[paul253]

Wow....7 of their top 10 are pitchers. Any chance we can match up as trading partners. I know prospect for prospect trades are rare, but we seem to have a lot of decent catching prospects, maybe a pitcher for Lucroy or Salome?

[colbyjack]

Check out the Twins top 10 today:

 

http://www.baseballameric...rospects/2009/267227.html

 

I was a big fan of Hicks' as he came out of high school, but I'm always skeptical of teams whose top prospect was just added to the system via the draft, unless you're talking about a David Price/Pedro Alvarez type of prospect. While the Twins' list doesn't look great on paper, I think their success procuring talent gives them a little more credibility.

[jjfanec]

The Twins list does seem a little down, and different from what I seem to remember for them as 4 of the top 5 are position players and Mijares the pitcher is a reliever. They usually seem to be stacked in the starting pitching department. Their next 5 is full of pitching though, but some of the guys seem suspect like Mulvey who was good but not really good last year. Revere is interesting to project on that team as well with Span and Gomez in the OF. They could easily have the fastest OF in the majors if Revere progresses but he is a ways away.

[colbyjack]

The Angels continue to stockpile power arms, and they would be a good team to deal with if they miss out on Teixeira and if they come calling about the availability about Prince Fielder. The Angels have one of the more underrated farm systems in the game, as I believe 17 of the 25 players on their postseason roster were entirely homegrown.

 

http://www.baseballameric...rospects/2009/267257.html

[colbyjack]

The A's have two nice pitching prospects at the top of their list, but they are really lacking in impact bats.

 

http://www.baseballameric...rospects/2009/267276.html

[colbyjack]

The Rangers will likely have the top rated farm system when BA comes out with their overall results. They're loading with talent, as there aren't too many areas in which they don't have a premier prospect. Catching is particularly deep for them.

 

http://www.baseballameric...rospects/2009/267282.html

 

The Mariners' list was released last Friday. There is some intriguing talent, but the depth isn't particularly great. Jack Z. won't be running the scouting ship, but you know he's going to place a much greater emphasis on scouting to help make sure this list looks a lot better moving forward:

 

http://www.baseballameric...rospects/2009/267278.html

[colbyjack]

The NL begins today with the Braves. Tommy Hanson and Jason Heyward are a solid 1-2.

 

http://www.baseballameric...rospects/2009/267345.html

[colbyjack]

The Marlins have a really nice mix of positional players at a variety of positions (athletes, contact hitters and power hitters) as well as pitchers (left-handed and right-handed) in their system.

 

http://www.baseballameric...rospects/2009/267349.html

[colbyjack]

The top prospect lists are back up today, with the Phillies being profiled. While their system doesn't look particularly good, they have developed some high impact talent in recent years. Although the man responsible for much of that talent, Mike Arbuckle, left the Phillies and joined his buddy Dayton Moore in KC when Ruben Amaro got the nod over him.

 

http://www.baseballameric...rospects/2009/267393.html

 

I missed the Mets a few weeks back as well, another organization lacking in impact talent, although Fernando Martinez continues to be a part of every trade rumor the Mets are involved with:

 

http://www.baseballameric...rospects/2009/267356.html

[colbyjack]

Wisconsin native Jordan Zimmerman is at the top of the improving Nationals farm system. The Nats system has gotten a lot better, but obviously they have a lot more work to do, and Jim Bowden should be focusing his efforts on scouting and player development than evening trying to mess with the idea that Mark Teixeira could magically turn their fortune around.

 

http://www.baseballamerica.com/images/jzimmerman08428309kp.jpg

 

http://www.baseballameric...rospects/2009/267400.html

[endaround]

I always thought Texeria was more to help sell tickets in the near term and hopefully by year 4 or 5 of his deal the Nats would have had talent in place around him. That said actually putting together a winning team would help sell a lot more tickets than a local boy made good.

[brewerguy71]

I will be interested to see where certain people wind up when BA's Top Prospects book comes out this month with a more expanded view.

 

I thought it very interesting in the most recent BA (we get it before a lot of people here in WI because it is printed in Neenah or something like that) and it said that the Braves system is at a critical mass. That sure would be a nice problem to have. That also would lead me to believe that if they all pan out as expected 2 to 3 years from now the Braves will again be a major force in the game. Could you imagine if they had not given up Saltamacchia or Andrus? Looks like Wren and Schuerholz' departure havent drastically hurt the team.

[colbyjack]

I always thought Texeria was more to help sell tickets in the near term and hopefully by year 4 or 5 of his deal the Nats would have had talent in place around him. That said actually putting together a winning team would help sell a lot more tickets than a local boy made good.

 

Exactly. Any team that fools themselves to think that one player will help them sell that many more tickets is doomed to fail. Winning is the only thing that cures attendance woes.

 

I thought it very interesting in the most recent BA (we get it before a lot of people here in WI because it is printed in Neenah or something like that) and it said that the Braves system is at a critical mass.

 

I'm not so sure I agree with BA to the extent that the Braves are ready to explode. They are still missing quite a bit of impact talent. Jason Heyward is an exciting prospect, but I'm not convinced they have enough other pieces in place for it all to come together. Maybe if Chipper Jones were closer to 30 than 40, and if Jeff Franceour actually showed signs of reaching his considerable potential, but I think they're going to see a lot of new faces before they're a perennial contender again.

[Never Outhustled]

I have to give Patrick props again after seeing Zimmerman on top of Washington's list. Patrick pimped him again and again before the draft that year, and he couldn't have been more right. Hitting on a small school pitcher is no easy task. Its a shame Zimmerman was a supplemental pick the year before the Brewers started loaded up on supplemental picks. We can only hope 1 of our supplemental picks turns out as well.

As for the rest of Washington's list, what a disappointing 2008 for just about every one of there talented prospects had. If their going to re-build through the farm, they have a long road ahead.

[colbyjack]

The Cubs system certainly doesn't look nearly good as it did a few years ago. Josh Vitters is a nice hitting prospect, but he's several years away from making an impact. They haven't been shy in recent years trading some of the top players for proven talent.

 

http://www.baseballameric...rospects/2009/267407.html

[jjfanec]

The Cubs system certainly doesn't look nearly good as it did a few years ago. Josh Vitters is a nice hitting prospect, but he's several years away from making an impact. They haven't been shy in recent years trading some of the top players for proven talent.

 

http://www.baseballameric...rospects/2009/267407.html

That system looks extremely weak outside of Vitters who like you said is a long way away. I know there are some sites that do power rankings for systems and I would have to guess the Cubs would be near the bottom. I know their big league club is pretty set but with guys like Lee, Ramirez and Soriano getting older and all in their 30's they will need some sort of youth infusion soon.

Obviosuly the Cubs do not depend on a strong minor league system the same way the Brewers do, but it would be interesting to see where their guys would fall on our list.