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.
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
211 to 220 of 525 Prospects
