Baseball's Top Prospects for 2010
Remember: This list evolves and changes daily.
3B, TB
Acquired from the infield-deep Angels in the Scott Kazmir trade of 2009, left-handed slugger Matt Sweeney has a pretty good looking future ahead of him in Tampa, thanks to the organization's need for corner power. While coming back from a season-ending injury last year, Sweeney still produced at a .289/.377/.475 clip, half of it with the Angels' high-A team at Rancho Cucamonga, and half with Tampa's similarly-leveled team in Charlotte. Sweeney hit 9 homers in 230 at bats, but more power will come around soon enough.
More Scouting Book Info on Matt Sweeney >
211
RHP, ATL
Righthander Randall Delgado is a wiry power pitcher with three quality pitches and developing control. His fastball, which can touch 95, lives more in the 92mph range with significant late movement. His control is about where you'd expect it to be in such a youngster: some days he can blow hitter away, while on other days he looks lost on the mound. He struggled a bit in his first full season of pro ball in 2009, but finished strong, with 141 strikeouts to balance against only 49 walks. There's no room for him at higher levels of the Atlanta system (the Braves farm is stacked in pitching) so he's likely to spend 2010 in class-A Rome, even though he's probably ready for a bigger challenge than that.
More Scouting Book Info on Randall Delgado >
212
RHP, ATL
A fireplug righty in the Jon Broxton fashion, Kimbrel is the Braves' number one closer prospect. His heavy fastball touches 96, and when he mixes in his plus slider, he's near-unhittable. With 18 saves across three levels of minor league ball in 2009, he's also very close to ready to try his hand at the big game. Expect him to pay a visit to the Braves bullpen in 2010.
More Scouting Book Info on Craig Kimbrel >
213
SS, ARZ
A slight shortstop with plus instincts, Arizona prospect Chris Owings could see a move to second base in the near future. Signed out of high school in South Carolina after being selected 41st overall in the 2009 draft, Owings is a gap-to-gap hitter with a bit of pop. He's solid defensively, and shows above average speed on the bases.
More Scouting Book Info on Chris Owings >
214
OF, STL
A powerful third baseman when he was drafted out of college, Craig showed a plus bat with solid corner power at each stop in his career. Questions about his ability to stick at third base (a move to first isn't exactly an option in St. Louis) led the Cardinals to recast him as an outfielder, at least temporarily, but he did make Brett Wallace expendable, which shows you how much the team's brass thinks of his bat If the infield experiment is truly shut down for good, he might still have a chance to crack right field in St. Louis, but he'd have an even better chance on another roster somewhere. Either way, he's a year or two away from making an impact, and his defense will let us know when he's ready to make the leap.
More Scouting Book Info on Allen Craig >
215
LHP, NYY
With a nickname that sounds like something out of Radical Feminist Manifesto, Manny Banuelos is a young and tiny lefthander signed out of Mexico who's already being heralded as a shining success story for the Yankee's international scouting team. Man-Ban's fastball is an easy 92mph, while his changeup already looks like a plus pitch, remarkable in such a young player. He's been working on adding a curve and/or slider to his mix, but even his existing two-pitch arsenal has been effective so far: as an 18 year old in the Sally League in 2009, Buenolos more than held his own, going 9-5 with a 2.67 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP, not to mention 104 strikeouts in 108 innings of work. He'll be brought along slowly, as the ever-conservative Yankees have no need to rush him, but if his next year is as good as his last, he'll have to be considered one of the top young arms in the minor leagues.
More Scouting Book Info on Manny Banuelos >
216
C , MLW
A compact, powerful catcher with an explosive short swing, Brewer prospect Angel Salome could be the team's long-term answer behind the plate if he can sharpen his game-calling skills. He's already adept at blocking the plate and has a very strong throwing arm, and his bat keeps working at every level he touches. Most recently, he posted a .286/.334/.413 line in 82 games for AAA Nashville. Jon Lucroy is probably still the long-term answer, but thanks to his advanced skills, there's not much keeping Salome from putting on a Brewer-blue chest protector right now.
More Scouting Book Info on Angel Salome >
217
SS, PIT
A quality shortstop prospect in a weak Pittsburgh system, California native Chase D'Arnaud hit .295/.402/.481 at high-A Lynchburg in 2009, contributing 14 steals and 4 dingers in 54 games as a Hillcat. Despite that performance, there are still questions about his plate discipline and batting eye that he'll need to address in order to make the leap to the next level of play.
More Scouting Book Info on Chase D'Arnaud >
218
OF, PHI
A big, strong Stanford graduate, John Mayberry Jr is the son of ex-Royal/Blue Jay John Mayberry Sr. He came to the Phillies in Nov 2008 when they traded away former #1 prospect Greg Golson to the Rangers.
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219
RHP, LAA
Regarded as the best high school prospect of the 2006 draft, righthander Walden took his time to eventually sign a midnight deal with the Angels in 2007.
More Scouting Book Info on Jordan Walden >
220
211. Matt Sweeney
212. Randall Delgado
214. Chris Owings
215. Allen Craig
216. Manny Banuelos
217. Angel Salome
218. Chase D'Arnaud
219. John Mayberry
220. Jordan Walden
211 to 220 of 445
