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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Victor Sanchez, the prize of the international free agent market in 2011, is a big-armed righthander who's growing up in a Seattle system that's positively overflowing with that particular blessing. A gifted athlete with a loose, easy motion and natural movement on his ball, he was a star in Venezuela from the time he was 12 years old, dominating hitters four years older than that with a 90mph fastball and a downright unfair curve. As a sixteen year old in showcases, Sanchez demonstrated he could hit 92 with that heater, not to mention the beginnings of a slider that has since blossomed into a genuine plus pitch. He's even shown indications of a working changeup, which is remarkable in such a young pitcher.
More Scouting Book Info on Victor Sanchez
SB 141BA SC BP SN ES ML
Now an outfielder for the Athletics, ex-USC shortstop Grant Green had a chance to be the #1 overall draft pick in 2009 until Stephen Strasburg's moment carried him into the top ranking. Green has an above average arm and plus range, and he seems to have taken to the outfield very well, though of course his prospect status takes a hit from the move to a less-valuable position.
More Scouting Book Info on Grant Green
SB 142BA SC BP SN ES ML
A polished college shortstop from St. John's, Joe Panik is the closest thing to MLB-ready in the Giants system today, though he's more likely than not to be deployed at second base for the big club. After signing with the team in 2011, he went straight to low-A Salem, where he promptly hammered out a nifty .341/.401/.467 line with six homers and thirteen stolen bases, all in only 270 at-bats. Last year's .297/.368/.402 line might look like a step back, but considering it came along with a promotion to high-A San Jose, it's very good production. As long as he plays up to his level, he'll be all set as a fixture in SF sometime in 2014, with a callup in late 2013 not out of the question.
More Scouting Book Info on Joe Panik
SB 143BA SC BP SN ES ML
The Mets top infield prospect, Wilmer Flores is on a trajectory for Flushing that will be difficult to derail. Flores's reached AA in 2012, slashing .311/.361/.494 in 66 Binghamton games that included 8 homers and 18 doubles. He's still a year or so away from Flushing, and it's possible he could outgrow shortstop, but right now he looks like he could be a slightly-dimmer East Coast version of Starlin Castro by early 2014.
More Scouting Book Info on Wilmer Flores
SB 144BA SC BP SN ES ML
One of the lesser-known arms being sharpened in Doctor Ryan's No-Whining Pitching Clinic, righthander Neil Ramirez took another step forward in 2012, working at both double and triple A and racking up 108 strikeouts in 123 innings of work (28 starts).
More Scouting Book Info on Neil Ramirez
SB 145BA SC BP SN ES ML
Bad from the bullpen (7.72 ERA). Great in the rotation (2.12). That's the short version of John Hellweg's 2010 tour at high-A Inland Empire. That's enough to get him a lot of asterisks and scribbled marginalia, but it was also enough to inspire the Angels to commit to the big enigma as a starter going forward, at least provisionally.
More Scouting Book Info on John Hellweg
SB 146BA SC BP SN ES ML
An unsexy pickup by the Rangers at the bottom of the second round of the 2010 Draft, California righthander Cody Buckel was overlooked by many scouts due to his small stature, but he certainly shows pitching ability. His real ability was on display at AA Frisco in 2012, however, as he struck out 68 hitters in 69 innings of work, (10 starts) while walking only 23. Not bad for a 20-year old.
More Scouting Book Info on Cody Buckel
SB 147BA SC BP SN ES 90ML 87
The A's first round pick in the 2011 draft, righthander Sonny Gray is a small, stocky pitcher with big stuff. His 95mph fastball has great natural movement, and he's already complementing it with a quality curve. As can be said of 99% of all amateurs (and new professionals), though, his changeup isn't really all there yet, and that'll be what matters most to his future. Until now, his stuff has been good enough to allow him to succeed even when pitching up in the zone. That might not work out so well at higher levels of play, especially if the architects for that new San Jose ballpark give Sonny Gray real estate that's a little less forgiving than the Oakland version.
More Scouting Book Info on Sonny Gray
SB 148BA SC BP SN ES ML
A smallish lefty drafted in 2009's third round and traded to San Diego in mid-2011, Robbie Erlin has risen very quickly through the farm system and could even get to the majors as early as 2013. Working through three levels of play in 2011, Erlin did the bulk of his work at AA Frisco after outclassing A hitters in the Carolina League. His 2012 numbers (2.82, 1.25, 80:16), racked up mainly at AA San Antonio, are so good that he might get an opportunity in San Diego this season. If he's among the Texas League's better starters by midseason, which is quite possible, expect to see him in San Diego by the second half.
More Scouting Book Info on Robbie Erlin
SB 149BA SC BP SN ES ML
A Stony Brook alumnus taken by the Houston Astros in the fifth round of the 2011 MLB Amateur Draft, righthander Nick Tropeano is a raw but high-ceiling pitching prospect. Moving from low to high-A last year, Tropeano posted a combined 12-7, 2.85, 1.23 season, striking out 166 hitters and walking 47 in 158 innings.
More Scouting Book Info on Nick Tropeano
SB 150BA SC BP SN ES ML
Prospects
Top Prospects 2013
Combined Ranking
140 to 150 of 650 Prospects
