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.
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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 decent defensively, and shows above average speed on the bases.
More Scouting Book Info on Chris Owings
SB 221BA SC BP SN ES ML
The son of the Twins/Astros second baseman, switch-hitter Steve Lombardozzi Junior is also a keystone fielder, one of the brighter prospects pushing up at the ceiling of the Nationals' minor league system. In a late-season callup last year, he logged innings at second base, third base and also shorstop, so it's clear the Nationals are still getting a sense of how he can best contribute. improved as he moved up to more difficult levels of play: that's the classic sign of a long-term offensive asset, no matter where the suddenly-overstocked Nationals decide to deploy him.
More Scouting Book Info on Steve Lombardozzi
SB 222BA SC BP SN ES ML
A strong infielder with a nice line-drive stroke and an eye that's beyond his young years, second base prospect Taylor Lindsey showed better glovework than expected in rookie ball, and will try to take his sparkplug style of play up to A-level in 2012. He's a couple of years away from scratching a living from the Anaheim dirt, but he's exactly the sort of scrappy, line-drive hitting middle infielder that the Angels are so good at drafting and developing. He's probably no superstar, but he will stick in MLB and play well when his time comes.
More Scouting Book Info on Taylor Lindsey
SB 223BA SC BP SN ES ML
A sixth round selection by the O's in 2011, catcher and third baseman Nick Delmonico probably has the best pure power bat in the Baltimore system, but it'll be a year or two before we know that for sure. Most intriguing is the reflection that his success in high school came mainly on the strength of his patience and selectivity at the plate: if that kind of discipline can be nurtured in pro ball, he could be a very powerful offensive force indeed. He's a few years away.
More Scouting Book Info on Nick Delmonico
SB 224BA SC BP SN ES ML
The number one catching prospect in the system until Yasmani Grandal came to town, Austin Hedges is still a top prospect in the San Diego system. He's also probably further from the majors than Grandal, as he's barely out of high school compared to the college-bred Cuban. So pencil him into the Padre lineup all you like, but please date that doodle 2017 to be safe.
More Scouting Book Info on Austin Hedges
SB 225BA SC BP SN ES ML
Yet another spare part that came to the Astros via the Phillies farm system, Santana is tall, projectable hitter with a long but easy swing. An average runner and a strong-armed thrower, he's still learning to handle breaking pitches, but for such a young talent, he's already looking like one of the best athletes in the revitalized Houston system.
More Scouting Book Info on Domingo Santana
SB 226BA SC BP SN ES ML
Selected by Cincinnati in the first round of the 2011 Draft (27th overall), righthander Robert Stephenson was a rare high-school choice from the usually conservative Reds franchise. The tall Californian overpowered his peers in his senior high school season, posting a 1.19 ERA in 76 innings that included not one but two no-hitters. A power pitcher in the classic mould, he can already top 98mph with his fastball. As always, though, it's how well his secondary pitches develop that will determine his fate in pro baseball.
More Scouting Book Info on Robert Stephenson
SB 227BA SC BP SN ES ML
A second baseman converted to catching in mid-2008, Rockies proto-bat Jordan Pacheco is a plus plus contact hitter still searching for a full-time occupation. While he has the bat speed and contact rate to hit .300, he lacks the feet for the middle infield, the glove for a corner or the arm for third base. He may end up a platoon C-1B-OF in the major leagues, but another year or two of experience behind the plate could also turn him into a serviceable regular. His bat is certainly ready: after smashing .278/.343/.377 at AAA Colorado Springs in 2011, he took 78 more at-bats for the MLB Rockies that were even better: .286/.318/.369, including a broken-bat home run that gave the young man his first taste of ESPN (and YouTube) fame.
More Scouting Book Info on Jordan Pacheco
SB 228BA SC BP SN ES ML
A speedy outfielder in the Giants' system, Dominican Francisco Peguero is a solid defender with developing on-base skills. A line drive hitter whose build doesn't suggest future power (he's shaped more or less like Eugenio Velez, though he hits exclusively from the right side), Peguero will have to keep reaching base at a high clip in order to contribute. He's got some distance to close, too: despite the nice batting average, his walk rate is too low, and he is getting caught stealing a frightfully high percentage of the time.
More Scouting Book Info on Francisco Peguero
SB 229BA SC BP SN ES ML 98
A California boy drafted out of Crenshaw High Schools by the Dodgers in 2005, outfielder Trayvon Robinson came to Seattle as part of the Erik Bedard trade of 2011. Robinson is a pretty premium outfield prospect pushing at the gates of MLB. With a solid all-around game, the switch-hitting Robinson has a nice mix of plus speed and decent (if erratic) power that could play well with a rebuilding Mariners club, and he's got wheels and glove enough to cover Safeco's big greenspaces, too. Now in a system devoid of many offensive gems, Robinson should shand out: he probably won't make the spring roster, but you should expect to see him in the big leagues by September.
More Scouting Book Info on Trayvon Robinson
SB 230BA SC BP SN ES ML
A polished prep pitcher who should provide some 'veteran' balance to the very very young core that Pittsburgh is building, the University of Mobile's Kyle McPherson is not surprisingly closer to the majors than most of that deservedly-hyped talent.
More Scouting Book Info on Kyle McPherson
SB 231BA SC BP SN ES ML
A big, strong pitcher secured as an international free agent in 2004, Rafael Dolis has developed slowly but surely on the Chicago farm, and today can throw a triple digit sinking fastball that screams of MLB-readiness. His second-best pitch is a nasty slider, and even though his third pitch (a straight change) is still sub-par, the Cubs don't seem too concerned, as they seem to see a shutdown reliever in the near future here: he made forty-five relief appearances and only four starts for the AA Smokies in 2011.
More Scouting Book Info on Rafael Dolis
SB 232BA SC BP SN ES ML
He might not really be a third baseman, but his good eye and plus contact mean he should play at almost any position, and his versatility means that the M's will find a place for him when necessary. The M's Minor League Player of the Year on the strength of a .349, 25 homer season. Catricala vaulted into a leadership role immediately upon joining the system, pacing the organization with 106 RBIs split across A and AA. It's starting to look like Seattle realy stole him in 2009's 10th round. The Mariners don't really have many offensive threats on the farm, but Catricala is a good one.
More Scouting Book Info on Vinnie Catricala
SB 233BA SC BP SN ES ML
Seattle's always been one of the most aggressive clubs when it comes to international signings, and they continued that tradition by signing Italian (yes, Italian) infielder Alex Liddi in 2005. He might not have looked ready yet during 40 at-bats in Seattle, but his full-season .259/.332/.488 30 homer line at Tacoma is probably his real value, especially the 30-homer part. His defense at third isn't as bad as some fear, either, he's just a big guy who doesn't always look so elegant in the way he does his business. Still, with better options available, he's probably a 1B/DH in the majors sooner or later.
More Scouting Book Info on Alex Liddi
SB 234BA SC BP SN ES ML
A slight righthander who gained a lot of attention with a blisteringly hot first half of 2011, Thornburg outgassed the low-A Midwest League (7-0, 1.57) before finding his feet in high-A Brevard County, which is probably where he'll open 2012 as well.
More Scouting Book Info on Tyler Thornburg
SB 235BA SC BP SN ES ML
One of the best hitting prospects in the 2007 Amateur Draft, Beau Mills went to the Indians, who conveniently enough had no long-term 1B or 3B solution in their system. He's turned out to be pretty much as-expected, a lumbering slow slugger with so-so contact skills but plus power. The .300/.358/.522 line he posted in AA Akron in 2011 was validated by a month-long tour with the AAA Clippers in which he turned in similar numbers while homering seven times in 35 games. He's really due for a look at the big club, and he should get an opportunity in 2012.
More Scouting Book Info on Beau Mills
SB 236BA SC BP SN ES ML
A finessey lefty in the Tom Glavine fashion, Toronto prospect Justin Nicolino can dial his fastball up to 92 or 93, but not much more than that. It's more than enough, though. Nicolino had what might be the best debut by a Jays prospect ever, as he went 61 innings of low-A and A ball, striking out 73 hitters in only 61 innings while posting an ERA of 1.33 and a tiny little WHIP of 0.83. He'll move up to high-A in 2012 for certain, and he'll do it on the strength of an easy, repeatable throwing motion (balls will come down, down, down on hitters from his tall frame and overhand motion) and a propensity to throw strikes, strikes and more strikes.
More Scouting Book Info on Justin Nicolino
SB 237BA SC BP SN ES ML
A tweener talent from the Red Sox system, Pirate shortstop Yamaico Navarro is a native of The Land of Shortstops, San Pedro de Macoris, and he shows every sign of following in the footsteps of so many who came before. A bit bulkier than most, he might be best suited for second or third base, but for now he's an offensive-minded middle infielder with a powerful, aggressive approach at the plate. His bat is quick, and he adds some natural loft to most of his line drives, which means he could be a threat in a couple more years. In the field, he's a bit clumsy around the bag, but has a plus arm and slick glove, with a penchant for turning in dazzling plays at least once a week.
More Scouting Book Info on Yamaico Navarro
SB 238BA SC BP SN ES ML
A big, strong righthander from Illinois, Brewer pitcher Cody Scarpetta is one of a half-dozen cogs grinding away in the minors while working his way higher in the prospect machine. Scarpetta still lacks a true third pitch, leaning hard (maybe too hard) on a fastball he can usually control, and falling back on a curve that has enough bite to be a plus pitch. The fastball isn't on fire, but it has enough late movement and sink to be very effective, especially against righthanders. He's getting a lot of swing-and-miss strikes on balls out of the zone thanks to this movement, which is something that higher-level hitters will probably be able to lay off. With his style, demeanor, body type and skillset, though, he should power through his problems, even if his walk rate rises a little. He looks a lot like a Joe Blanton-style workhorse from here.
More Scouting Book Info on Cody Scarpetta
SB 239BA SC BP SN ES ML
The best batting eye in the Marlins' system, ex-National Jake 'The Choirboy' Smolinski is a slow-growing outfield prospect that a few scouts seem to have forgotten about, though not for any good reason. While it's true that his .245/.342/.364 line in 2011 mirrored his 2010 performance, no improvement is actually pretty impressive considering it was his first experience with AA pitching.
More Scouting Book Info on Jake Smolinski
SB 240BA SC BP SN ES ML
Prospects
Top Prospects 2012
Combined Ranking
221 to 240 of 525 Prospects
