Top Baseball Prospects for 2013
Now updated for 2013'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.
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The younger brother of infielder Andrew, Austin Romine was a two way player in the Buster Posey fashion, acting as his high school closer as well as everyday catcher. As you might expect, he has one of the best cannons to second of any catcher in the minors today. At the plate he has doubles power and an easy swing, which looks projectable to 20-30 homer power someday. He's not really ready for Yankee Stadium yet, but he's a hard worker with enough raw talent to get there soon, and he's the most promising defender of the Yankee catching prospects.
Full Scouting Report for Austin Romine
SB 351BA SC BP SN ES ML
A talented righthanded strikeout artist from Brazil, White Sox prospect Andre Rienzo has the stuff and guile to succeed as a big-league reliever, even if that stuff came with its share of chemical enhancement last season. After serving a 50 game PED suspension, Rienzo returned to struck out almost ten batters per nine innings across three levels of play, mainly at AA Birmingham. He can dial his fastball up to 98, or maybe even a bit more than that in short use, and the average slider he mixes in should be enough to keep hitters honest. His changeup, a so-so one at best, shouldn't be a factor unless he returns to starting duty.
Full Scouting Report for Andre Rienzo
SB 352BA SC BP SN ES ML
A power pitcher with a three-quarter delivery and a wicked 96mph fastball who's zoomed up the charts in the last year, lefthander Drake Britton was once one of the Red Sox's top pitching prospects before being dreailed by injury. Working his way back in 2011, he had a troubled year in high-A Salem, posting a nasty 6.91 ERA and hard to look at 1.70 WHIP, all of which resulted in a glaring 1-13 record. He works a plus curve from that fastball, but he seems to have lost the ability to throw his once devastating 80mph change reliably, which will keep him from advancing in the system.
Full Scouting Report for Drake Britton
SB 353BA SC BP SN ES ML
A huge righthander in the Pirate system, Nicholas Kingham (not Kingman) is another young power arm in a system that's busting at the seams with them. Drafted fresh out of high school in 2010, he's busy going through the traditional 'fastball, fastball, fastball' period of his ongoing development with the Pirates, so it's difficult to judge how much more than that he'll be able to offer when the time comes. He did show off a quality change back in high school, as well as a very rough curve, so there's potential.
Full Scouting Report for Nicholas Kingham
SB 354BA SC BP SN ES ML
A huge beast of a pitcher, the six foot eight Anthony Ranaudo is one of many premium righthanded arms from the 2010 Amateur Draft. The LSU alum works with a mid-90's fastball on an (obviously) downward plane, mixing in an average curve and changeup that will have to improve before he's MLB-worthy. There are still some concerns with his mechanics, as is often the case with tall pitchers, and his slightly jerky delivery worries a few scouts. Despite those concerns, though, Ranaudo is a pitcher with significant upside who should be worth the XL risk the Sox took on him.
Full Scouting Report for Anthony Ranaudo
SB 355BA SC BP SN ES ML
A solid, sturdy pitcher with excellent command of three pitches, KC prospect Jason Adam won't be bumping anyone from the front of the MLB rotation this year, but he has a good chance to slip in at the back end sometime in 2014. Adam, a local product of nearby Overland Park (Kansas), posted a nifty 123 to 36 ratio of strikeouts to walks last year at high-A Wilmington, a career best from a pitcher who's always been labeled a high-control workhorse. Expect a higher workload in AA ball this year, with perhaps a slight regression in numbers, followed by likely uptick in early 2014. After that, it's Kauffman all the way.
Full Scouting Report for Jason Adam
SB 356BA SC BP SN ES ML
A high school signee often compared to Brian Jordan thanks to his football-receiving skill set, Toronto prospect Anthony Alford is one of those all-athlete types who may, or may not, learn to play top level baseball. After an autumn in which he played college football with Toronto's permission, he's returning exclusively to baseball in 2013, and when he does, he'll probably be an outfielder: that'd be the easiest way to leverage his speed without overloading him with too much to learn too quickly. At the plate, he looks to have good developing power with a little natural loft. We'll need to see some real game data from Alford this season, since that 3-for-18 last year wasn't enough to go on, though it should be said: we instinctively like any rookie who walks twice in his first four professional games.
Full Scouting Report for Anthony Alford
SB 357BA SC BP SN ES ML
Onelki Garcia (Speck) is a very large Cuban lefthander with a very big strikeout fastball. In Cuba's major league (Serie Nacional) in 2009-2010, Garcia made 15 starts and posted a 3.40 ERA with 74 strikeouts in 85 innings. Of course, he also walked 51. Surprisingly subject to the MLB draft after living in legal limbo for a year, he was selected by the Dodgers in round three. Garcia features a 96mph fastball that is occasionally good, but shows little movement and often comes in erratic and flat due to his awkward delivery. His curve tells a similar story, only more emphatically: it's occasionally great, with flashes of true plus movement, but usually mediocre. nobody's seen much of his changeup yet. He only threw two innings at Rancho Cucamonga last season, but in those two innings, he struck out four batters. The Dodgers obviously see something special in Garcia, though, and are expected to break him down before building him back up again, hopefully with some cleaner mechanics.
Full Scouting Report for Onelkis Garcia
SB 358BA SC BP SN ES ML
A native of Miami, Jorge 'Tony' Sanchez is an offensive-minded catcher in the style of Matt Wieters (though with less power) or Buster Posey (but with less defensive prowess). He does show enough skill to stick at catcher, though, and his bat is legitimate. He's pretty much major league ready today, and we'll certainly see him in Pittsburgh this year.
Full Scouting Report for Tony Sanchez
SB 359BA SC BP SN ES ML
With his onetime stellar WHIP and strikeout rate tumbling somewhat following 2009 surgery, Yankee righthander Dellin Betances has been pushed a bit harder than many scouts would have preferred, and will need to reestablish some firm ground before he's ready to reclaim top prospect status. The team also pushed him way too quickly last season, probably panicking a little over their MLB bullpen woes. Still, he remains a high-ceiling if risky long-term asset: guys with stuff this wicked always seem to find their way onto MLB rosters sooner or later.
Full Scouting Report for Dellin Betances
SB 360BA SC BP SN ES ML
Prospects
Top Prospects 2013
Combined Ranking
350 to 360 of 650 Prospects
