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.
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
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
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
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
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
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 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
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
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
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
Critics howled when Baltimore reached for Simon too early in the draft, but after he posted sub-1.00 WHIPs at three different levels of play in 2011, they became a lot quieter. A very tall, ground-ball throwing righthander from Arizona, Kyle Simon could churn through batters at almost any level as long as he keeps repeating his delivery, and so far he's shown every sign of being able to do just that, day in and day out. A hard worker without the glitz of a rockstar prospect or 100mph strikeout arm, Simon could quietly work his way into a prominent place in Baltimore in the next year or two.
Full Scouting Report for Kyle Simon
SB 311BA SC BP SN ES ML
Yankee prospect Cito Culver is a toolsy infield prospect who many expected to fall deeper in teh draft than he did. As it is, the Yanks seem content to see him shaping up as a Howie Kendrick-style infielder: high average, acceptable speed, and minimal power.
Full Scouting Report for Cito Culver
SB 312BA SC BP SN ES ML
A pure tools selection by the Orioles in the 2008 draft, high school centerfield star Xavier Avery will probably be the fastest player in baseball if his bat can get him there. We won't know for quite a while, though, which is probably good, since we'll need practice saying his name quickly without hurting our tongues.
Full Scouting Report for Xavier Avery
SB 313BA SC BP SN ES ML
Still rookie eligible despite memorable stints in the majors in 2009 and 2010, slight Dominican Sammy Gervacio has nastiest sliders in the system, not to mention an unforgettable setup on the mound. What he lacks in power (he's lucky to scrape 90mph now and then) he makes up for in guile and pluck, as he's been effective everywhere he's pitched. While most of his 2011 was lost to injury, he should be a dark horse candidate for a bullpen job in 2012.
Full Scouting Report for Sammy Gervacio
SB 314BA SC BP SN ES ML
Another in the endless parade of young hitters with question marks in the Mariners' system, Triunfel has slipped a bit from his high-flying days of hype, but remains intriguing because of his advanced batting development at an early age. While he lacks real power, he does have line-drive stroke and an ability to work to all fields.
Full Scouting Report for Carlos Triunfel
SB 315BA SC BP SN ES ML
A mature prospect who'll be 27 (or so) later this year, Cuban Yadil Mujica is a contact hitter with plus speed, good range and a plus arm from shortstop. In his last year in Cuba, he hit .358/.432/.440, that average enough for twelfth-best in the league (modern Cuban baseball is hitter-friendly, which explains why so few Cuban pitchers stick in MLB.)
Full Scouting Report for Yadil Mujica
SB 316BA SC BP SN ES ML
The ex-Miami Hurricanes closer throws a 98mph fastball that could get even faster as he comes back from TJ surgery. His breaking ball is still a bit sub-par, but if any coaching staff can coax secondary pitches from power arms, its the wizard's guild in Minnesota. Gutierrez is still a year or so away from being completely ready, but the Twins work in mysterious ways, which means he could see opportunities as a setup man as early as 2012, with the closer mantle still within reach.
Full Scouting Report for Carlos Gutierrez
SB 317BA SC BP SN ES ML
The Blue Jays have been bereft of developing power threats recently, but they're fixing it with this move. Cooper is a high-average, high-on-base machine with significant power to all fields, and better than the usual masher's ability at first base, too. He was drafted higher than expected, but the way the power bats were vanishing from the board in 2008, one can hardly blame the Blue Jays for reaching. He only hit .211 in 71 late-season ABs for the Jays in 2011, but he did nail a couple of long balls in that time, and he should be given the opportunity to do so again in 2012. Hopefully his on-base skills will come along for the ride this time.
Full Scouting Report for David Cooper
SB 318BA SC BP SN ES ML
A big lefty from Boston College, Arizona's Mike Belfiore was selected 45th overall by the Diamondbacks in 2009. A closer and first baseman in college, he combines easy heat with a plus slider: the perfect combination for a relief pitcher. While his big body and strong bat could play in the field, the Diamondbacks looked at Belfiore as a starting pitcher first, and so far they're sticking to that. Belfiore posted a 3.99 ERA in 25 starts for A-level South Bend in 2010, but slid to earth in 2011, with an ERA of 5.92 in 79 innings, most of them from the bullpen. This might be seen as a step back, but as long as he keeps up his strikeout rate (an even one per inning), he's got a bright future somewhere on a major league roster.
Full Scouting Report for Mike Belfiore
SB 319BA SC BP SN ES ML
A tall, powerful strikeout artist, Guerra has been considered in both starting and bullpen roles for the last couple of years. He should be easy to lock up in the late rounds of a deep draft this year, but he promises to be much more attractive (and widely known) next year. With electric stuff but not much pro experience under his belt yet, Guerra will probably keep striking out a batter per inning until the Twins' brain trust can't ignore him anymore.
Full Scouting Report for Deolis Guerra
SB 320BA SC BP SN ES ML
Prospects
Top Prospects 2012
Combined Ranking
301 to 320 of 525 Prospects
