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.

Gorkys Hernandez

OF

Currently

301

After a brief stint in the Atlanta system, onetime Tiger prospect Gorkys Hernandez was shipped to the Pirates for Nate McLouth in 2009 before ever getting a real shot with the Braves. His wheels and defense aren't in question, though his bat isn't quite as hot as many would like. Still, a .283/.348/.392 line at AAA Indianapolis might be enough to give him an MLB job in 2012 or at worst 2013. He can definitely contribute, and playing next to Andrew McCutchen in Pittsburgh every day might be the perfect place to do so.

Full Scouting Report for Gorkys Hernandez

SB 301BA SC BP SN ES ML

Mycal Jones

3B

Currently

302

A 2009 draftee who's been simmering in the Atlanta farm system, outfielder Mycal Jones is the benefactor of a positionally thin field. While the 252 .359 .381 he slashed at AA Mississippi in 2011 isn't exactly eyebrow-raising, it is good enough to make him one of the top-ranking outfielders in a Braves system that has a lot more of everything else. While hampered by a broken foot for part of the year, Jones still found time to do a little of everything, showing good speed and baseball instincts. He doesn't look like much more than a toolsy fourth outfielder on a major league team, but in outfield-starved Atlanta, he could see playing time as early as 2012.

Full Scouting Report for Mycal Jones

SB 302BA SC BP SN ES ML

Justin DeFratus

RHP

Currently

303

A big, lanky pitcher from California, Justin DeFratus has quietly climbed up an admittedly short prospect ladder to land among the top ranks of Phillie prospects and is right now the best closer the team has available in the minor leagues: He struck out 43 batters in 34 1/3 innings in AA last year, and 56 more in 41 AAA innings after that.. In a short taste of major league life, De Fratus gave up only a single hit in four innings of relief work for the Phillies. Despite his small-town personality, he doesn't seem easy to rattle. If Jon Papelbon falters in Philly, he should be ready to ascend, and given the nature of both Papelbon and Philadelphia, we have to think those odds aren't very long. His official team bio claims he's a switch hitter, but we don't expect we'll see him digging into the box from either side very often.

Full Scouting Report for Justin DeFratus

SB 303BA SC BP SN ES ML

Felix Doubront

LHP

Currently

304

A lefty with a classic fastball-change combination, Red Sox prospect Felix Doubront has worked his way up the prospect ladder with slow, steady development. He's been slowed by a few non-arm injuries, and his third pitch (a curve) isn't yet reliable, but he's still looking like a poised and polished prospect. His best function is in the rotation, but the way Boston is stacked, he may be relegated to another year in the bullpen, or idling in the Pawtucket rotation while waiting for injury or opportunity to strike.

Full Scouting Report for Felix Doubront

SB 304BA SC BP SN ES ML

Ryan Wheeler

1B

Currently

305

The Diamondbacks organizational player of the year for 2009, first baseman Ryan Wheeler's stock has slid a bit since then, but he's still looking like a solid all around player who will land in Arizona sooner rather than later. In a full year with the AA Baybears in 2011, he slashed .294/.358/.465 and popped 16 homers in 480 at-bats. His 2:1 strikeout to walk ratio wasn't half-bad, either. He's got a shot at a 2012 gig, depending on how the team's veterans and shinier prospects line up.

Full Scouting Report for Ryan Wheeler

SB 305BA SC BP SN ES ML

Hunter Morris

1B

Currently

306

The best in-house bet for a first-baseman of the future, Milwaukee's Hunter Morris stroked .271/.299/.461 (with 19 dingers) at high-A Brevard Country in 2011 before a late-season trip to AA Huntsville, where he also looked pretty comfortable. Give him another year and he could be working big league pitching, too.

Full Scouting Report for Hunter Morris

SB 306BA SC BP SN ES ML

Eduardo Escobar

SS

Currently

307

Eduardo Escobar is a switch-hitting, slick-fielding shortstop from Venezuela who's pretty much ready to join the MLB White Sox, assuming they have a position available for him. Eduardo looked pretty solid at AAA Charlotte in 2011 (.266 .303 .354 ). So solid, in fact, that he took a few swings with the ChiSox at the end of the season (2 for 9). He's still striking out a bit more than we'd like to see; he must take a few more walks to be viable as an on-base threat, but his bat shows some pop and he's already MLB caliber with the leather, with true plus range and a cannon arm to boot. He'll get a longer look sometime in 2012.

Full Scouting Report for Eduardo Escobar

SB 307BA SC BP SN ES ML

Zeke Sprull

RHP

Currently

308

A big, durable workhorse, righty Zeke Sprull threw six complete games in 2011 and worked deep into a dozen more. A straightforward fastball and decent stuff combined with a bulldog mentality and fearlessness helps Sprull pitch better than his tools suggest he should. Some maturity issues seem to be worked out now, and after starting at Mississippi this year he could get a callup looksee toward season's end.

Full Scouting Report for Zeke Sprull

SB 308BA SC BP SN ES ML

Tim Melville

RHP

Currently

309

Timothy 'Magoo' Melville is a bit of a sleeper prospect in the Royals system, where he doesn't get quite as much attention as he perhaps deserves. Drafted out of high school in 2008's fourth round, he's already blossoming as a starter. He uses a mid-nineties fastball to set up his strikeout curve, while his change is a better-developed pitch than any teenager deserves to have. Another year or two with the pitching coaches in KC and he should be ready to step into the Royals' rotation. It's not as if he needs much help, either: he struck out an even 300 in 350 innings across the lower levels in the past three seasons, and he looks ready to step up to AA in 2012. He'll need to get his control in check before he can dominate (he's still walking a batter for every two he strikes out), but it will only take a small improvement in this area to make him a viable major leaguer.

Full Scouting Report for Tim Melville

SB 309BA SC BP SN ES ML

LJ Hoes

OF

Currently

310

The outfield equivalent of infielder Ryan Adams, LJ Hoes is near-MLB ready player who gets downgraded only because he probably won't get much better than he is today. Other than a power shortage, he's pretty much what you want to see in a prospect just leaving his teenaged years: good bat speed and good raw mechanics at the plate (despite an unusual late load) and all-around athleticism in the field. He's a contact hitter still, but the bat speed and solid fundamentals still point to possible power developing somewhere down the road. His ETA in Baltimore is late 2012, and he could start by 2014.

Full Scouting Report for LJ Hoes

SB 310BA SC BP SN ES ML

301 to 310 of 525 Prospects

Top Prospects 2012

Combined Ranking

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50	60	70	80	90
100	110	120	130	140
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350	360	370	380	390
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1B	2B	3B	SS	OF
C	LHP	RHP	Matrix

Prospect Notes

Recent Player News

Roman Hernandez, KC

2/7/2012: Roman Hernandez has signed with the Royals, and will be sending a half-million dollar signing bonus back to his family in Cuba, one way or the other. Hernandez projects as a bench player with some power right now, and looks best in a corner outfield slot. At only 23, he still has room to grow, too.
More on Hernandez >

Also In The News...

Top Prospects 2012

Combined Ranking

1+	10	20	30	40
50	60	70	80	90
100	110	120	130	140
150	160	170	180	190
200	210	220	230	240
250	260	270	280	290
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350	360	370	380	390
400	410	420	430	440
450	460	470	480	490

1B	2B	3B	SS	OF
C	LHP	RHP	Matrix

CloserWatch Notes

Recent Closer News

Update: SEA: 2/6/2012

Seattle took a flier on the sometimes dominant lefty reliever Hong-Chih Kuo today, signing him to an incentive-laden 1-year deal. Kuo, one of baseball's best lefthanders the last decade or so, struggled with both physical and emotional turmoil in his last year as a Dodger.

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Scouting Book

Tools and Lists for Finding Better Baseball Prospects, Closers and More!

Baseball Prospect Rankings for 2012

Now updated for 2012's Top Prospects

OF

Currently

301

3B

Currently

302

RHP

Currently

303

LHP

Currently

304

1B

Currently

305

1B

Currently

306

SS

Currently

307

RHP

Currently

308

RHP

Currently

309

OF

Currently

310

Top Prospects 2012

Prospect Notes

Also In The News...

Top Prospects 2012

CloserWatch Notes

Update: SEA: 2/6/2012

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