1. Matt Wieters, C, Orioles (A+)- Obviously this is a no-brainer. Wieters has Joe Mauer contact and Victor Martinez power along with the Molina brothers' defense. Basically, he's perfect. The Orioles are finally blessed with a savior and they know it. They made room for Wieters by trading Ramon Hernandez for Ryan Freel, and then signed Greg Zaun as a back-up/mentor. A .300 batting average and 15-20 homeruns and very good defense sounds like Matt Wieters in 2009.
2. Madison Bumgarner, SP, San Francisco Giants (A)- Alright, I know you're shocked that Price isn't in this slot, but the guy doesn't have the ceiling that Bumgarner does. M.B. for short, because repeating his name is a workout, throws a mid nineties fastball and an absolutely nasty 12-6 curve. The only comparison I can think of is, well, the best pitcher in the MLB, Tim Lincecum. He's only 20 so we'll have to wait until 2010 for some MLB action.
3. David Price, LHP, Tampa Bay Rays (A)- Price showed what he can do in last tears ALCS and World Series. He throws a 92-94 MPH fastball and a Joba Chamberlain/Francisco Liriano slider. He works with just two pitches, kind of like Kazmir, and that's what limits his ceiling, but those two pitches are both plus-plus. His fastball although its only a few ticks above average speed-wise, has a lot of cut to it, so Price looks like he'll be an ace for Rays in 2009, if he doesn't take the closer's job.
4. Trevor Cahill, SP, Oakland Athletics (A-)- Cahill hasn't had an ERA above 3.00 since his rookie league years when his era was exactly 3.00. The development of a Brandon Webb sinker, a strikeout sinker, has made his 90-92 mph fastball palatable to scouts and unpalatable to the minor league hitters he's struck out 264 times in a career of 238 ip. He's a step ahead of fellow prospect Brett Anderson, and looks to be a sure shot for the rotation in 2009.
5. Matt LaPorta, OF/DH, Cleveland Indians, (A-)- LaPorta is like Snider in that he can't field, he doesn't make good contact, he strikes out and hits for a ton of power. His contact isn't bad its just not his strong suit--he still hit .288 in 2008 and even .318 in '07, his strikeouts were quickly piling up though. What really makes him a top prospect isn't just his 40 homerun potential but his Kevin Youkilis patience. In his senior year at Florida he had an OBP of .582 and in 2008 he had a .402 OBP. He's definitely a gem and an A is his ceiling.
6. Tim Beckham, SS, Tampa Bay Rays (A-)- Beckham is a hell of an athlete. Drafted number one overall in 2008 and straight from highbschool he didn't impress in his single A debut when he hit only .243, but don't be fooled he's probably the next Derek Jeter, or at the VERY least an Edgar Renteria. He's got all the tools, he's fast, patient, has a wicked arm, a slick fielder and makes good contact. What more could you possibly ask for from your shortstop?
7. Colby Rasmus, OF, St. Louis Cardinals (A-)- Rasmus has plus-plus power and outside of a disappointing season in 2008, he's been money. It came as a surprise to many that the Cards didn't pick him to man the outfield over Schumaker, but because Schumaker did a decent job they really didn't need to rush the kid after all. When he finally gets going, he'll get going, and will probably be a Carlos Lee type hitter.
8. Cameron Maybin, CF, Florida Marlins, (A-)- Maybin is a five tool player in the mold of B.J. Upton. He makes great contact, exemplified by his .400 batting average in the bigs last September, has great speed and shows plenty of pop. His defense is good too. He'll be manning CF for Florida in 2009, and may very well give them a fighting chance to kick the Braves and Nationals to the corner, and hey, the Mets are still pussies so maybe them too.
9. Gordon Beckham, SS-3B, (A-) Chicago Whitesox- The bigger Beckham, not related to Tim, might even have more potential than the little guy. He's usually ranked around 40 by most scouting books, but my opinion he's one of the best and will be ranked in the top 10 in other scouting books in 2010 barring an unbelievable setbacks. His college numbers were absolutely ridiculous. In his senior year at Georgia he hit .411, yes, .411. His first year in the minors wasn't as good, but it was still nothing to poop on. He hit .310, slugged .500 and had a .365 on base percentage in about a 1/10th of a season. He's a legitimate 5 tool guy wit
h a lot of power and a lot of hitting ability10. Dexter Fowler, CF, (A-)- Fowler is probably the lesser known of the Laporta, Snider, Fowler trio of top outfield prospects. He shouldn't be. The bag of bones makes fantastic contact, he hit .335 in 2008 at AA Tulsa, and better yet, he got on base more than 43% of the time! His power still needs to grow, and he hasn't been stealing as much since his 2006 season where he swiped 43 bases. In fact he hasn't been stealing half that much, averaging only 20 over the past two seasons. Regardless I think he'll easily be a 20-20 player with Colorado, another B.J. Upton type player, and will play some good defense there too.
11. Travis Snider, OF/DH, Toronto Blue Jays (B+/A-)- What scares me about Snider is his lack of contact-making ability. Most scouts are in a consensus that power comes with age but contact can never be taught, and Snider has a whole lot of power, but only when he makes contact which has never been more than a .300 average and worse, he tends to strike out 100-150 times a season. If he played a full MLB season he could be an Adam Dunn type player, which is nothing to be scared of unless you're the opposing pitcher.
12. Reid Brignac, SS, Tampa Bay Rays (B+/A-)- Brignac is a wild card. He showed a ton of power in 2006 when he slugged .560 and plenty of contact with his .328 average. The past two years however, he's seem to have lost his stride. Since 2006 he hasn't slugged more than .433 between MLB, AAA, and AA, and hasn't had an OBP above .328-- pretty bad numbers much less top prospect numbers. Still as a power hitting, slick-fielding shorstop, Brignac has a high ceiling. If the Rays come to their senses and put Bartlett in the Utility role and make Brignac the starter, then he may very well be capable of Troy Tulowitzki numbers.
13. Alcides Escobar, SS, Milwaukee Brewers (B+/A-)- Escobar is a contact/steals guy, kind of like Juan Pierre at short. He seems to be garnering some power as he ages, but it doesn't look like he'll ever be a 20 homer guy. He'll be good for a .300 batting average and 10-15 homers yearly. He also can swipe a few, he stole 34 in AA in 2008, and could probably surpass that number in a full MLB season. Watch out for this guy, he's a real keeper.
14. Jarrod Parker, SP, Diamondbacks (B+/A-)- If the Diamondbacks can get this kid going, they could quite possibly have the best rotation in the MLB, manning a ship with Brandon Webb, Dan Haren, Max Scherzer, Jarrod Parker and Yusmeiro Petit. Parker has very good stuff. At age 19 he absolutely dominated single A grabbing 12 wins, striking out 117 in 117 ip, and walking only 33. Obviously if he's this good at this age the sky is the limit by the time he reaches the MLB.
15. Tommy Hanson, SP, Atlanta Braves (B+/A-)- The guy is a bit overrated because of the whole "we're not trading him for Jake Peavy" stubborning that Atlanta put up this winter. Regardless, the guy looks like a hillbilly, but has hillbilly heat--whatever that means, I don't know. He throws 95 mph and has a great slurvy breaking ball and a developing change. He threw a no hitter in AA in 2008 and really exploded as he dominated competition the rest of the 2008 season.
16. Carlos Carrasco, SP, Philadelphia Phillies (B+/A-)- Carrasco is inconsistent and young, but the potential is there. At age 19 in single A, he out up videogame numbers- 159 ip, 159 k's, 103 hits allowed and 2.26 ERA. He basically repeated these numbers in AA in 2007 but hiccuped in 2008 in AAA. In 2008 his numbers weren't bad by any means, but he could do far better. Now turning 22, he'll make a push for the Phillies rotation in 2009.
17. Jeff Samardzija, CL, Chicago Cubs (A-)- Samardzija gets the A- and the 16 ranking odd-coupling only because I don't rank relievers as high as starters. A multiple record holder at Notre Dame for football, and Brady Quinn's former favorite target, Samardzija is an incredibly athlete, especially for a white guy (haha). He chose baseball for the money, which sucks, but he's so good who really cares? He throws 96, has a ton of stamina--enough to make me wonder if he'll start in 2009.
18. Brian Matusz, LHP, Baltimore Orioles, (B+)- Matusz is kind of like Cahill in that he makes a living off control and polish. His delivery is kind of weird, and that definitely scares scouts. He keeps hi front leg too stiff when completing his wind up, putting more pressure on his shoulder to make the throw. If they can fix that his fastball could go from 92 to 94, and his injury risk will drop. He has good, not great stuff. He throws 92, with a good curveball, change up and 2 seamer, all plus pitches, but none of them plus plus. He's kind of what Ian Kennedy was projected to be.
19. Buster Posey, C, San Francisco Giants, (B+)- Now that Sandoval has been moved to the corners of the San Francisco infield, only an aging Bengie Molina blocks Posey. Buster doesn't have the power that Wieters does, but he does have everything else. He's a mini Joe Mauer, and yes that's pretty arrogant projection, but look at his college numbers and you'll see what I mean about his hitting. After the soon to be 22 year old was picked in the first round in 2008 he played a short season at single A hitting .385.
20. Jesus Montero, C, New York Yankees, (B+)- Montero's potential is A+, but the kid is still only 20, and at catcher that's pre-school. He has 80 power on the scouting scale, and has been described as an A-Rod hitter by scouts. Wow, as a Yankee fan I sure hope they're right; as a Nationals fan I ask, "why can't we ever get guys like this?!" He'll break into the MLB soon, just about the time Posada's contract is up and his arm falls off.
21. Brett Anderson, LHP, Oakland Athletics, (B+)- The guy doesn't have a memorable name or anything, but his stuff and style is unforgettable. I haven't heard much about him as I concentrate mostly on Cahill as the A's best prospect, but what I do know is that 2008 was Anderson's break out year and his ERA dipped below 3.00 and he struck out more batters than innings pitched. He's only done it for one season so you never know what's in store for 2009, but his superior stuff makes me think that he could be Tim Hudson or at least Ted Lilly.
22. Neftali Feliz, SP, Texas Rangers, (B+)- Feliz, the happy one, falls victim to Texas' Park which doubles as a graveyard for young pitchers. He came over from Atlanta in the Texeira trade and he represents Ryan's attempt at making the Rangers' staff respectable. His numbers in 2008 were very good, especially in the super-hard-to-pitch-in Texas League. He pitched 82 innings, struck out 102 and had an era of 2.52-- fuck that's a lot of twos...He has the ceiling of a top pitcher, not prospect, pitcher.
23. Elvis Andrus, SS, Texas Rangers (B)- Andrus is a baby Jose Reyes, He stole 53 bases in the Texas League in 2008, and hit .295. His contact isn't anything to write home about, but he's hit at or around .300 at three of the four levels he's been too in the minors. Elvis the iceman, will start for the Rangers in 2009 and will ultimately be the death of Michael Young at SS and the rebirth of Michael Young when he gets moved to third base.
24. Lars Anderson, 1B, Boston Red Sox (B+)- If I had to pick a guy to compare Anderson's ceiling too it would be Justin Morneau. He's a tall guy, about 6' 5", maybe a little under, who hits for contact, power and is patient. Again his power isn't awesome, but he does have 30 homer potential. What separates him from other first base prospects is his a
bility to make contact. He hit .343 in A+ in 2007 and has a career .304 batting average. He's also above .310 at ever minor league level he's been too outside of single A where he hit .288 in 2007. The beast in the east will push Youkilis to third by 2010 right about the time Mike Lowell takes his broken ass home.25. Pedro Alvarez, 3B/SS, Pittsburgh Pirates (B+)- Alvarez was the second pick in 2008 and has near unlimited potential. He and Ryan Flaherty absolutely dominated while playing for Vandy. In his three years in college Alvarez never had an OPS below 1.010, and that really says something especially because he played in the tough SEC. Currently he's a third basement, but I certainly think he has the ability to be a SS for Pitt. Either way he'll almost definitely be an All Star once he makes the Majors. His potential is (A+), but he hasn't played professional ball yet, so he's a bit of a wildcard.
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