Scouting Book: The Best Baseball Prospects for 2008 (Sleepers Too!)

Baseball Prospect Rankings for 2008

Scouting Book's Top Prospects list is different than other prospect lists: we're not in a bubble, and we never sit still. We show you not just our own rankings, but also rankings from some of the other major ranking lists for each player. You can now sort, for example, by Baseball America's rankings, or view the top prospects as chosen by the wizards at Baseball Prospectus, or compare our rankings to those from Sports Illustrated. Also, unlike most lists, we don't publish a book! Our lists are updated often during the offseason, and updated daily during the pre-season to show the latest situations and adjusted for spring results. This means we're always a work in progress. We also think this means our lists are much more useful for fantasy draft purposes. If you notice a mistake or have a suggestion feel free to let us know by mailing mistakes (at) our domain name. For more on our methods, see this blog entry.

Baseball's Top Prospects for Spring 2008

191. Hitoki Iwase

LHP, FA

The highest paid pitcher in Japan last year, Iwase is a free agent after the 2007 season, and projects as the best relief pitcher available from Japan. While he's a very strong closer candidate, many teams may look at him in a setup role due to his left-handedness.

The only pitcher ever to post back-to-back 40 save seasons in the history of the Japanese Baseball League, Iwase has 114 career saves since being named closer in 2004.

Like the closer he replaced, the Dragons own Akinori Otsuka, Iwase gets the job done with a mid-nineties fastball and a nasty slider that makes batters look foolish.

He projects to be an elite setup man or a very good closer.

More Scouting Book Info on Hitoki Iwase >

191

192. Lance Broadway

RHP, CHW

The polish has faded from this once-glimmering White Sox prospect. Broadway struck out 108 batters in AAA last year, yes, but he also walked an unacceptable 78 others. He did look all right in his brief September callup, shutting out the Royals for six innings and striking out eight. Still, he'll need to show that he can pitch against real major league teams if he's going to have a chance in Chicago in 2008.

More Scouting Book Info on Lance Broadway >

192

193. Joshua Fields

RHP, SEA

Another late inning specialist, Fields has no real place in the Mariner's of today or the near future, so we can only guess that they're going to attempt some sort of bizarro-world Brandon Morrow trick here, and turn this sure-thing reliever into a maybe-starter. He chose not to sign with Atlanta last year, so it's no sure thing that he'll prefer Seattle this time around. Even if he does sign, he might end up being a trade piece in the near future. Fields is a terrific ball of potential, and it'd be a shame to see him wither in the inept Mariners system.

More Scouting Book Info on Joshua Fields >

193

194. Colin Balester

RHP, WAS

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194

195. Jeff Samardzija

RHP, CHC

Mr. Football is the holder of every Notre Dame receiving record worth counting, which is why it cost the Cubs ten million dollars worth of Major League contract to convince him to take up pro baseball. His speed, reflexes and athleticism have been repurposed by the Cubs, making him into a... pitcher. We think ten million dollars is a lot to pay for a fastball, even if it is of the 97mph moving variety. Samardzija's fastball is legitimate, but as expected, he lacks any real secondary pitches. He's learning a changeup, and he flashed a workable slider late last year, but he remains a longshot project for the Cubs, even though he's got tantalizing potential. The fact his arm has never thrown anything approaching a major-league level of workload suggests he's got a better shot as a reliever than anything else.

More Scouting Book Info on Jeff Samardzija >

195

196. Rob Bryson

RHP, CLE

A promising righthander with strikeout stuff, Bryson is buried a little too deep in the Brewers' system. A flamethrower with a 96mph fastball and an electric if erratic slider, Bryson led the Pioneer league in strikeouts. He might be best off moving to the bullpen, where he'd have a better shot at the big leagues, sooner. Since the Brewers don't have an obvious closer candidate in the wings, Bryson could slot in nicely for 2010 or 2011. If he remains a starter, he's going to have a rocky road ahead getting through the rich and slow Milwaukee system.

More Scouting Book Info on Rob Bryson >

196

197. Beltran Perez

RHP, WAS

Perez, a sometime-reliever and sometime-starter in the minors, was called him up last season to see if he could fit into the starting rotation. He projects to do just that. In AA last year, he had a decent 3.11 ERA and averaged 0.9 strikeouts per IP. In his late season call up to the majors, he was 2-1 with a 3.86 ERA.

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197

198. Josh Outman

LHP, PHI

Well, it's a better name for a pitcher than Homer, that's for sure. Outman is one of the best pitching prospects that the Phils have in the system, and with the scattered nature of the big-league club, he may see time in Philadelphia sooner rather than later. In 2007, Outman posted a combined 12-7 record and a 2.99 ERA split between double and triple-A.

When he does arrive, the Missouri State product will bring his newly-'normalized' pitching motion and an arsenal of still-developing breaking balls that complement a solid 94mph heater. His control has not yet improved enough to set him loose on big-league bats, but considering he'll be throwing home games in the most pitching-hostile stadium left in baseball, that may be the least of his worries. The good news is that by all accounts he's got a serious and mature approach to his game, which means he should be able to survive some 500ft wake-up calls.

More Scouting Book Info on Josh Outman >

198

199. Adis Portillo

RHP, SD

Portillo is a hard-throwing right-hander who shows more polish than most Venezuelan prospects. Portillo exhibits a dominating mound presence and great composure, featuring a moving fastball that tops out at about 94mph. It's the raw stuff he wields with three possible plus pitches, though, that puts him into the upper ranks of pitching prodigies.

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199

200. Brett Wallace

3B, STL

Much like Texas selecting Smoak in the 2008 draft or Houston taking Castro, the Cardinals move to take Brett Wallace is a bit of a head scratcher. A power hitting third baseman with slow feet, most scouts seem to think he'll need to be moved to first base sooner rather than later. And don't the Cardinals already have a pretty good first baseman? Maybe St Louis just couldn't pass up his bat, which some think is better than any other hitter in the draft other than Alonso. Talent first, need second.

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