Top Baseball Prospects for 2013
Now updated for 2013'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.
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Travis D'Arnaud is one of the very top catching prospects in baseball today. Not to be confused with infielder Chase, Travis is an offensively gifted catcher who's ready for major league ball, at least from an offensive perspective: he slashed .333/.380/.595 last year at AAA Las Vegas, ticking off 16 homers in 67 games. A major prize in the sell-high trade of RA Dickey in December 2012, d'Arnaud also has above-average speed for a catcher to go along with a great eye for the strike zone. While his game-calling and defense aren't quite ready for prime time (yet), he'll be pushed along quickly. He should be hitting high in any Mets batting order in 2013, and for years to come.
Full Scouting Report for Travis d'Arnaud
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There aren't a lot of Arubans around MLB, but the tiny island's reputation should be well-represented by Red Sox infield prospect Xander 'Crews' Bogaerts. A player of exceptional baseball intelligence, the man from San Nicolas has a graceful, quick swing with a little natural loft that should serve him well once his body fills out a bit more. His contact is solid and strong to all fields, and he's an above-average baserunner to boot. Bogaerts earned a late-season promotion to AA in 2012, and he showed pretty clearly (.326/.351/.598) that he's ready for a new challenge. His weaknesses to date are iffy strike zone judgement (he's young) and some awkwardness in the field, especially with his footwork (he's young). There's really not anything to worry about here, though, other than the possibility he may bump Middlebrooks to first base one of these years. Either way, he'll be a middle-lineup guy, so it's safe to pre-order your Bogaerts jersey, but remember to triple-check the spelling.
Full Scouting Report for Xander Bogaerts
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With the first pick of the 2012 Draft, Houston showed a commitment to a strong future with the surprise selection of teenage phenom Carlos Correa, a natural shortstop who impressed scouts with a superior work ethic and five solid tools. His power potential is especially intriguing for a player who looks well-suited to remain at short, though he seems aware of this: his swing gets a little long and lofty at times when he reaches for the seats. Some good coaching along with the aforementioned work ethic should fix this, of course, and if he blossoms, he'll be a cornerstone of a future Astros lineup as it fights to contend in the tough AL West.
Full Scouting Report for Carlos Correa
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The fourth overall pick in the draft, righthander Trevor Bauer was overshadowed by rotation mate Gerrit Cole while at UCLA, but after turning pro he became one of the most impressive young arms anywhere in the minors, and he's as hot a ticket in our book as Cole is today. Bauer is a smallish pitcher, with a bit of an unconventional motion, but his quirks are not the flaky flamethrower type, they're more of a dazzling bag-of-tricks variety. While he can reach 100mph if he wishes (we promise), he doesn't actually pitch there, preferring to stay down around 94mph with great and varying movement on his selection of sliders and cutters. He's also got a good head for the game and shows an Ichiro-level commitment to stretching and conditioning exercise. Acquired as the main return for Shin Soo Choo in a threeway trade via Cincinnati, it's possible Bauer will break camp with the Indians, but his real prime time won't be until midseason or even 2014.
Full Scouting Report for Trevor Bauer
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A sold all-around outfielder with a good line-drive stroke from the right side of the plate and better than average power, Cuban prospect Yasiel Puig was one of the most sought-after international free agents of 2012. Yaz took big strides forward in his final year with Cienfuegos, raising his average to .330 and his OPS to an all-star 1.011 on his way to raising scouts eyebrows significantly. His ability to work a walk increased significantly, helping the rest of his game as a result, though he still showed a propensity to chase bad pitches now and then, and usually in bunches. In the field, he's a bit messy with his routes but shows good instincts and a strong enough arm. He's an average to above-average runner, though he won't be a base-stealing threat unless he sharpens his skills substantially. He's still getting acclimated to life in the USA, but the .327/.407/.423 line from his first sixty plate appearances in A ball, not to mention a very strong spring in 2013, suggests that he's for-real, indeed. Still just 21, he's already looking like a Matt Kemp style all-around athlete who could help the MLB ballclub immediately... assuming there's a place for him to play every day.
Full Scouting Report for Yasiel Puig
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A high-school shortstop from Puerto Rico with a live bat and a great batting eye from both sides of the plate, Cleveland's Franky Lindor is a young and talented all-around player who shows signs of all five major league tools. His glove is pretty shiny, and his baserunning smarts and instincts are already several years ahead of his age bracket. As he works his way through several hundred thousand practice swings in the next three or four years, we'll find out if that bat can live up to early reports and carry his future into MLB.
Full Scouting Report for Francisco Lindor
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It's always nice when you can trade away a fading veteran for a team's top prospect, and that's what the Mets did in acquiring Zack Wheeler from the Giants as the best move in their sudden fire sale rebuilding plan. A flame-throwing righthander from Georgia, Wheeler mixes his 96mph fastball with a curve ball that's already a plus pitch. He's working now on adding a changeup, and if he can make it even a league-average offering, he can be a middle-rotation starter anywhere, anytime. Even without one, his fastball-curve combination is good enough for a major league bullpen today. He'll need some seasoning, of course, and most scouts would prefer to see that his pitcher-perfect body can hold up under a full season's workload before signing his ticket to Flushing. While he could pitch the Bigs right now, the Mets could benefit from showing a little patience: they won't be contenders in 2013 anyway, so it's probably better to bring an even-better Wheeler to the majors in 2014.
Full Scouting Report for Zack Wheeler
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As expected by Scouting Book readers, rake-thin Colombian righthander Julio Teheran forced his way onto the Braves roster ahead of schedule, and he should be considered one of the very best prospects in all of baseball despite some erratic results in 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 this season. The man scouts have called 'the best Latin American pitcher since Felix Hernandez' has a lot of pressure to handle, but he's in the best possible system to nurture his development while also containing his ego. His tribulations in 2012 stemmed from a failure to locate his fastball consistently, a problem that always causes a cascade of secondary issues for any pitcher, but he seemed to re-find his handle in the winter DSL, making him a very high upside pick for 2013, though the risk of another frustrating regression is real.
Full Scouting Report for Julio Teheran
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The Dodgers liked righthander Kevin Gausman a lot back in 2010, but he turned down an above-slot offer to go to LSU instead. Picked up again in 2012 by the Orioles, he's looking just as promising now as he was then: a solid pitcher with a big fastball and promising (though inconsistent) breaking stuff who could develop quickly. He's a bit of a high-risk / high-reward player for the Orioles, but when you're trying to compete in the AL East, you have to take a few chances. So far, he's looking like a good gamble.
Full Scouting Report for Kevin Gausman
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11 to 20 of 650 Prospects
Top Prospects 2013
Combined Ranking