Baseball Prospect Rankings for 2012
Now updated for 2012's Top Prospects
Scouting Book's Top Prospects list is a Combined List, a calculated summary of the overall valuations of the entire prospect universe.
Remember: this page is the result of an automatic process that re-sorts and re-ranks players often.
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There's not much more to say about Bryce Harper that hasn't already been reprinted hundreds of times. The young phenom is probably the best hitting prospect since Alex Rodriguez, and that's after we disregard the 96mph fastball he can throw as a pitcher.
Full Scouting Report for Bryce Harper
SB 1BA SC 3BP SN ES ML 2
A superior athlete with a centerfielder's speed and instincts, Mike Trout looks ready for a bright future patrolling Torii Hunter's turf. A patient hitter with a line drive stroke to all fields, he has a mature understanding of the strike zone and an ability to work it. His excellent speed and baserunning sense is ready right now, and his power seems to be arriving as hoped. Of course, the Angels may have exhausted poor Trout when they shipped him to AFL play after a minor league season that was already exhausting, and that's not even counting the 40 games he played in Anaheim. Ignore the uncharacteristic .220 he showed during his time in MLB: when he returns in 2012, it'll be with all his ability intact, and he won't return to the minors again.
Full Scouting Report for Mike Trout
SB 2BA SC 2BP SN ES ML 3
How many scary-good pitching prospects does any franchise need? If you're Tampa Bay, the answer appears to be 'all of them', and lefty Matt Moore fits right in with that master plan. Moore works with easy 93mph heat that has been clocked as high as 96, but it's the plus curve that makes hitters look foolish. Even his third and least mature pitch, a fading change, is much better developed than any changeup minor leaguers hitters are accustomed to dealing with. The Rays don't usually push their prospects very hard, but until someone manages to figure out Mr. Moore, they're going to be forced to promote him fast. He should see Tampa Time in 2012.
Full Scouting Report for Matt Moore
SB 3BA SC 1BP SN ES ML 1
He's six foot five with a 95mph fastball and he's... Japanese? Well, half-Japanese, at least. Darvish, the Japanese/Iranian wunderkind who's half baseball star and half sex symbol, is Japan's best young pitcher, and his upside is high enough that more than one team felt comfortable giving him a $60M contract, and that's only after spending another $50M for the right to even speak to him in the first place.
Full Scouting Report for Yu Darvish
SB 4BA SC BP SN ES ML
When news broke that the Mariners had traded the 'untouchable' young pitcher Michael Pineda to New York, you didn't need to read the rest of the story to know which Yankee prospect had to be coming back to Seattle. There was only one worth that price.
Full Scouting Report for Jesus Montero
SB 5BA SC 5BP SN ES ML 12
As expected by Scouting Book readers, rake-thin Colombian righthander Julio Teheran forced his way onto the Braves roster in 2011, and he should be considered one of the very best prospects in all of baseball entering 2012. Unless he falls off the rails, this will be the last time he qualifies as a prospect: he should be be toeing the rubber every fifth day for the Braves next year.
Full Scouting Report for Julio Teheran
SB 6BA SC 4BP SN ES ML 4
The Cardinals first round pick in 2009, pitcher Shelby Miller is a raw but talented prospect with a wicked-hot fastball that has excellent and natural late movement. He's learning to rely on more than just his admittedly-great heat to excel in pro ball, too, so it's not surprising to see his nifty 12-6 curve frustrate batters. More exciting is the extra sink he's starting to trust on the less-explosive two-seam version of his fastball, a pitch that even good hitters will beat into the ground with abandon. With a projectable body that could probably add muscle in the years to come, he looks like a good workhorse candidate in St. Louis come late 2013 or so, though he'll probably get a look-see a bit sooner than that.
Full Scouting Report for Shelby Miller
SB 7BA SC 6BP SN ES ML 5
A graduate of Team USA's championship squad, Miami's Manny Machado is a well-rounded hitter who was recognized as one of baseball's best high-school shortstops in 2009. He hasn't have a lot of power yet, and there are questions about his speed, but he does have a solid-average bat and the sort of above-average footwork and soft hands that give him a decent chance of actually sticking at short. Like all shortstops from Miami, Machado is sometimes compared to Alex Rodriguez, though that might be stretching his upside more than a bit. So far he looks more like a future Yunel Escobar, and by 'future' we're talking 2014 or 2015. Don't be surprised if he regresses a bit coming back from his knee injury in 2011, and don't worry if he does, either. He's very young and a very long way away from MLB, so there's plenty of time for a possible break out to a higher level.
Full Scouting Report for Manny Machado
SB 8BA SC 8BP SN ES ML 6
Like a taller twin to Gerrit Cole, righty James Taillon is a geniune monster power arm from Texas (via Quebec), a very high-ceiling pitcher who has already cracked 100mph on many radar guns. If that's not enough to get your attention, note that while his slider and change are below average, his curveball has already been rated a plus pitch. If he can hold his arm together under increasing workloads and develop his command and control to pro levels, he could be a viable #2 or #3 starter by 2014 or so, with a shot at being a genuine ace somewhere down the road. If Pittsburgh can keep Taillon, Cole and Allie together and healthy, they could have a rotation that evokes 1990's Atlanta only a few years from now.
Full Scouting Report for Jameson Taillon
SB 9BA SC 16BP SN ES ML 8
A two-way player and 2004 Little League star who most preferred as a pitcher, righthander Jurickson Profar was signed as an international free agent in 2009. At the time, the teen was blessed with a 94mph heater and a slider that could have matured into a real plus pitch, but the Rangers were determined to make a shortstop out of him, and so far it's paying off. A full season off the mound later and he's showing off every tool in the box, including a ridiculously-advanced batting eye for a teenager. In 430 at-bats in the Sally League, Profar walked more often than he struck out (65 vs 63), an incredibly rare feat among young players.
Full Scouting Report for Jurickson Profar
SB 10BA SC 7BP SN ES ML 7
Prospects
Top Prospects 2012
Combined Ranking
1 to 10 of 520 Prospects
