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.
If you think you have found a mistake, please read this blog entry before telling us. Then tell us.
A first-round pick in the 2011 draft from the University of North Carolina, Twins shortstop prospect Levi Michael was the first everyday college player drafted first by the Twins since 1996 (Travis Lee.) Levi is an athletic switch-hitter with good bat speed and more than a hint of future power in his bat. Michael slashed .306/.432/.510 in his three years with the Tar Heels, stealing 40 bases with a nice 85% success rate.
More Scouting Book Info on Levi Michael
SB 201BA SC BP SN ES ML
A Kentucky-grown pitcher stolen in round two of the 2008 amateur draft, Texas lefty Robbie Ross is one of the lesser-known prospects on a pitching-rich Texas farm. Ross works both sides of the plate with a 92mph that can sniff 95mph from time to time, and his complementary pitches (a hard slider and a mature change) come to him with near-effortless command. He can work the entire strike zone, and his five-to-one ratio of strikeouts to walks is one of the best in the Texas system, or anywhere in the minors.
More Scouting Book Info on Robbie Ross
SB 202BA SC BP SN ES ML
The older of Baltimore's double-fisted Bundy Bundle of righthanded pitching, Robert has a little less upside but a more refined approach to the game, which we suppose should be expected from an elder. Bobby moved from high-A to double-A in 2011, posting a nice composite 12-8, 3.51, 1.24 line that gained him a MiLB Pitcher of the Year nomination. He should put in a full year of AA work this season, and if he can maintain or improve that performance, he'll be due for a test in Camden Yards soon.
More Scouting Book Info on Bobby Bundy
SB 203BA SC BP SN ES ML
With one of the fastest home-to-first sprints since Ichiro and an OBP over .400 in his first season of pro ball, Padres prospect Cory Spangenberg is already looking very capable of sitting atop a San Diego batting order very soon. The versatile infielder played third base in college but will almost certainly be a second baseman in San Diego.
More Scouting Book Info on Cory Spangenberg
SB 204BA SC BP SN ES ML 81
A fast, lanky outfielder who signed as an international free agent, Mets prospect Cesar Puello is one of the most promising offensive prospects in the system, and one of the fastest rising. Already finished with rookie ball at age 18, Puello shrugged off Sally League pitching in 2010 and high-A in 2011: he stroked .259/.313/.397 with 10 homers and 19 steals at St. Lucie. If he continues to outclass his peers at his current rate, he'll be a shiny young New York Met come 2013. We may even get a peek in late 2012.
More Scouting Book Info on Cesar Puello
SB 205BA SC BP SN ES ML
The kind of all-around outfielder that Dexter Fowler once promised to be, Sacramento State's Tim Wheeler was universally regarded as one of the safest 'college hitters' available in the 2009 draft. With plus speed and a good set of instincts for the outfield, he's a solid defender, while his high-contact, high-smarts approach to hitting have always made it look like it could fit right into the top of the Rockies order soon enough.
More Scouting Book Info on Tim Wheeler
SB 206BA SC BP SN ES ML
A huge Venezuelan lefthander now fully recovered from Tommy John surgery, the Indians' Elvis Araujo works with a fastball in the low 90's that can reach 96 on occasion. His secondary pitches aren't there yet, but he hasn't exactly been able to sharpen his twists and torques while nursing his tendons, so give the kid some time to get back on track. We'll know a lot more about his future by 2012's winter.
More Scouting Book Info on Elvis Araujo
SB 207BA SC BP SN ES ML
2011 was a pitching-deep draft, so Dillon Maples, who might have gone in the first few rounds any other year, fell all the way to round 14, which means he might end up being the steal of the season. The Cubs, who also had to spend second round money to talk him out of UNC, end up with a short-arming righthander with bulldog attitude and a selection of developing fastballs and breaking balls. His sometimes-great changeup, though, is what will take him to the big leagues. If the Cubs can harness his stilted delivery, he should move quickly. He's very polished for such a young player.
More Scouting Book Info on Dillon Maples
SB 208BA SC BP SN ES ML
A righthander taken a bit high in the first round of 2011's amateur draft, Miami's Jose Fernandez is still a quality arm in a system that's desperate for pitching depth. The big Cuban defector chased big money all the way to Miami, braving sharks both literal and metaphorical, and has since hit 99mph on the radar gun and shown signs of a plus breaking pitch. He's still a long way from major league ready, though, so let's hope that big signing bonus lasts him awhile.
More Scouting Book Info on Jose Fernandez
SB 209BA SC BP SN ES ML
A smallish shortstop currently working as a third baseman, Taylor 'Red' Green was a draft and follow pick who broke out as the surprise Minor League Player of the Year for Milwaukee in 2007. A smart player with gap power and great plate discipline, Green is a Casey Blake-style player who looked pretty capable stroking a solid but power-free .270/.270/.351 in a 20 game MLB callup during 2011. He should compete for a job in 2012, and might win one outright. Who knows, he might be only one quick stop at Ryan Braun's locker away from blossoming into a surprise power hitter.
More Scouting Book Info on Taylor Green
SB 210BA SC BP SN ES ML
Has it been that long already? Son of the Blake Street Basher himself, Dante Jr. is a pretty disciplined power hitter for such a young player, and seems capable of playing a more than reasonable third base in the bargain. Already shining as the easy pick as GCL MVP for 2011 (.342/.446/.505), he'll still require a lot more cooking, but he already looks more advanced than his daddy did at the same age.
More Scouting Book Info on Dante Bichette
SB 211BA SC BP SN ES ML
He doesn't have the upside of Manny Machado, but infielder Ryan Adams should succeed in MLB sooner, and there's no reason to believe he won't have a long and successful career, even if he isn't a perennial All Star.
More Scouting Book Info on Ryan Adams
SB 212BA SC BP SN ES ML
Acquired from the Cubs in the Ian Stewart trade during the winter of 2011, David John LeMahieu is a near-MLB-ready corner infielder with good contact skills and plus defense, now on the Colorado roster. Good defense and a solid contact stroke aren't exactly the first two things one looks for in a cormer position of course, but then again Coors Field still has a habit of making great hitters out of merely good ones.
More Scouting Book Info on DJ LeMahieu
SB 213BA SC BP SN ES ML
A righthanded pitcher from San Pedro de Macoris, DR (his parents must have missed the shortstop delivery truck), Alexander Colome is a right-handed pitcher in the Rays system. Utilizing the very definition of 'raw stuff' last year, Colome struck out 123 but walked 72 in 158 innings split between high and double-A.
More Scouting Book Info on Alex Colome
SB 214BA SC BP SN ES ML
The proud owner of the best slider in the Miami system, smallish lefty Rob Rasmussen was selected by Florida in the second round of the 2010 First Year player draft. As a four-year starter at Pasadena Polytechnic before his UCLA days, Rasmussen struck out two batters per inning (seriously).
More Scouting Book Info on Rob Rasmussen
SB 215BA SC BP SN ES ML
A well rounded pitcher from the Midwest, Zach McAllister could be an innings-eater in the Indians rotation any time now. McAllister throws three quality pitches, and though none of them really grade out as plus offerings, he commands them all effortlessly and with near-perfect reproduction. While he didn't look especially good in a brief tour in Cleveland, McAllister's AAA season should be viewed as a good sample of his ability. Zach went 12-3, 3.32, 1.20 and struck out 128 hitters in 153 innings of workhorsery. His strikeout to walk ratio is over four, and ability to handle bigger and bigger workloads each season suggests it's just about time to plunk him down in the middle of the Indians rotation to see what will happen.
More Scouting Book Info on Zach McAllister
SB 216BA SC BP SN ES ML
A big righthander drafted in 2009's fourth round, San Diego's Keyvius Sampson looked pretty darn fine in his first season of A-ball, going 12-3, 2.90, 1.10 across 24 starts. He struck out 143 batters, three times as many as he walked, with a K/9 rate near 11. His control still needs a little work, but there's not much else to complain about here: he has guile, mound presence, confidence and calm when dealing his 94mph fastball (with movement), hammerish curve and even his newest pitch: a fading change with plenty of sink. Issues with recurring elbow soreness seem to be in his past, but note: seem to be.
More Scouting Book Info on Keyvius Sampson
SB 217BA SC BP SN ES ML
Don't confuse him with that Dominican F-Mart from the other coast. The Venezuelan Francisco Martinez is a real five-tool player with boundless raw ability and one of the biggest upsides in the Mariner system today. After coming over from Detroit in midseason, he raked AA pitchers over the coals in Southern League Jackson, posting a great .310/.326/.481 line and knocking three homers in his 33 games.
More Scouting Book Info on Francisco Martinez
SB 218BA SC BP SN ES ML
A very small guy with a very big arm, Royal's righty Yordano Ventura invites easy comparisons to his countrymate Pedro Martinez, though he doesn't come with quite the colorful personality. Ventura complements a plus fastball with rapidly-improving curves and changeups so well that the Royals may need to accelerate his development. That 4-6, 4.27 ERA that he accrued in his first season of A-ball might look pretty uninteresting, but the eyeballs-in-seats part of our research department would like to emphasize that the second half of Ventura's season was markedly better than the first, and he finished strongly enough to gain a few notches on the Kansas City prospect ladder. (Our math nerds would also like to chime in by pointing out that all year long, in good times and bad, he maintained a solid 3:1 ratio of strikeouts to walks.)
More Scouting Book Info on Yordano Ventura
SB 219BA SC BP SN ES ML
It's amazing how much a player's prospect status can be impacted by a tiny little murder charge. Until he was arrested in the Dominican Republic at the tail end of 2009, Giants slugger Angel Villalona was the Giants unquestioned number one prospect: a serious, middle of the order power threat with 30-30 potential. Charges against Villalona were finally dropped last year, and the team recently added him back to their 40-man roster. Assuming he can actually obtain a new US work visa, he should be back on the radar in San Francisco, too, since the club hasn't exactly added a bevy of power prospects while he was away. Obviously, he'll have some catching up to do.
More Scouting Book Info on Angel Villalona
SB 220BA SC BP SN ES ML
Prospects
Top Prospects 2012
Combined Ranking
201 to 220 of 525 Prospects
