Scouting Book: The Best Baseball Prospects for 2010

Baseball Prospect Rankings for 2010

Now updated for 2010's Top Prospects

Scouting Book's Top Prospects list is a calculated summary of the overall valuations of the entire prospect universe. Prospect 'rankings' change constantly. For more on our methods, see this blog entry.

Baseball's Top Prospects for 2010

Remember: This list evolves and changes daily.

381. Edgar Garcia

RHP, PHI

A young, raw, but very promising prospect signed at the tender age of 16 Dominican Years (that is, 18 or 19), Garcia has always shown the potential to bring spectacular stuff to the mound, but his still-developing control and lack of experience have so far made it impossible to judge exactly how good he'll be.

Garcia has a low-90's fastball that will likely get nastier as he matures, along with a workable slider and a changeup that's better than it should be in one so young.

At various levels of minor league ball in the years since, Garcia has been at times dominant, striking out almost 11 per nine innings way back in 2005. At other times, he's looked afraid to throw anything other than a strike, and he's been hammered as a result. In 2008, for example, he dominated high-A hitters in the FSL (8-2, 3.97 ERA), but fell apart after a promotion to AA Reading (1-7, 8.22 ERA).

Given his inability to put together six consecutive good innings and the creaky condition of the Phillies bullpen, it's not impossible that he'll make an appearance with the big-league team before 2010 is over, if only to give the coaches a good look at his performance under the big lights before his age surpasses his potential.

More Scouting Book Info on Edgar Garcia >

381

382. Adam Miller

RHP, CLE

Miller, formerly known as 'Mr. 101' stemming from a late-season velocity reading before an arm injury in 2004, has dialed down his fastball since his teenage years, but still hits the mid nineties, working his two-seam fastball down, down, and down in the zone. His slider is one of the best in the minors, while his change is also above average.

He's fought injuries over the past three seasons now, including multiple injuries to the index finger of his pitching hand (a rather important finger, that) but none of them have been serious enough to be worth forgetting about the young righthander. In an attempt to preserve his health and get the most value from his serious heat, the Indians will be trying him as a reliever in 2010, and in that role he could flourish, with the potential to be a top-flight setup man or premium closer.

More Scouting Book Info on Adam Miller >

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383. Eric Hurley

RHP, TEX

A righthander with a fading shot at the Ranger rotation in 2009, Hurley has developed fast over the last few seasons.

He uses a hard, sinking fastball as well as the traditional two and four-seam varieties. Yes, this means his three best pitches are all fastballs. His slider and change, on the other hand, are average, workable pitches, but not yet polished enough to rely upon, and that's the reason he's still in the minors. He threw 24 innings for an injury-riddled Texas team last year (five starts, 1-2, 5.47 ERA) before missing the last month of with a biceps injury of his own.

While he's no longer the hottest pitching prospect in Texas (Hello, Neftali Feliz. Hey there, Martin Perez.), Hurley could still fight his way to a place at the back end of the Texas rotation someday.

More Scouting Book Info on Eric Hurley >

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384. Zach McAllister

RHP, NYY

A finesse pitcher when he was signed out of high school, Zach McAllister has grown into more of a power build over the past two seasons, which means it's anyone's guess how he'll end up. In high school he worked with a 90mph sinking fastball and a great 82mph slider, but the Yankees may be reevaluating his strengths now that he's a big boy in pinstripes. He has an outside shot at bullpen work in 2010, but more likely he'll continue to move slowly. He's worth keeping an eye on over the next couple of years.

More Scouting Book Info on Zach McAllister >

384

385. Tanner Bushue

RHP, HOU

The 19th pick of the 2009 draft's second right, righthanded Tanner Bushue is a 6-4 teenager who can hit the upper 90's with his fastball, though he usually works around 92-94mph. A late signee, he made five starts in rookie ball at the end of the season and showed promise, outclassing the other youngsters with a 1.03 WHIP and a 19:5 ratio of strikeouts to walks. He's a long way on the horizon, but in a thin farm system he could be moved up as quickly as he can handle it.

More Scouting Book Info on Tanner Bushue >

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386. Andy Cannizaro

SS, TB

While lost in the sea of Tampa prospects, Andy Cannizaro deserves a look as an up-and-coming middle infielder, even though he's of advanced age for a prospect.

His glove, one of the best in all the minors, is considered major-league ready, and his bat has been steadily improving: the .378 OBP he posted in 52 winter-ball games has the Rays front office talking about letting him compete for a starting job in 2008. If one of Tampa's super-IF prospects (Brignac or Longoria) can't cut it or gets hurt, Cannizaro might break out before either. A sleeper of the late-blooming variety.

More Scouting Book Info on Andy Cannizaro >

386

387. Tomohiro Nioka

SS, Japan

Nioka, a free agent since 2008, is a slick fielding shortstop and quality hitter who may help many major league teams.

He is durable, has an impact bat, and is able to play 3B, SS, 2B, and OF. His power numbers, impressive in Japan, will not likely survive a Major League transition, but ten to fifteen homers is possible, and a lot of MLB teams would take that happily. At the very least, Nioka would be a great super-utility player for numerous teams.

More Scouting Book Info on Tomohiro Nioka >

387

388. Dallas Buck

RHP, CIN

A premium prospect in college, Buck's stock took a dive when it was discovered that he played through a partial ligament tear en route to Oregon State's College World Series championship in 2006. Of course, the same event proved that his heart was two sizes too large, and he's been a bit of an underdog darling ever since. Buck had TJ surgery to rebuild his elbow in 2007 and has been coming back since. When healthy, Dallas is a workhorse who throws a 92-94 mph fastball, a plus slider and a changeup that could develop into a premium MLB pitch. He'll idle under the radar until fully recovered from his operation, but after the usual 18 months pass, he should return to top prospect status.

More Scouting Book Info on Dallas Buck >

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389. Wade Miley

LHP, ARZ

Playing for a less-known school caused Miley to slide to the 2008 draft's second round, but the lefthander was one of college ball's leading strikeout artists last season. Among second-round pitchers from the last few seasons, he's one of the most likely to outperform his slot.

More Scouting Book Info on Wade Miley >

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390. Juan Duran

OF, CIN

A huge pile of talent and potential, the six-foot-six teenager is a scout's darling, even if he's a bit rough around the edges. Scooped out of Dominica by some calendar-savvy Reds' scouts before anyone else noticed he was eligible, Duran is a bony, gawky youngster who's all arms, legs, elbows... and big, looping home run swings. He'll probably stay parked in the DSL for now, but he could start to see meaningful minor-league action stateside in 2010.

More Scouting Book Info on Juan Duran >

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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, though, please and we'll look into it for you.

Helping you track baseball prospects, sleepers and rookies. (Closers, too!)

Baseball Prospect Rankings for 2010

Now updated for 2010's Top Prospects

Baseball's Top Prospects for 2010

381. Edgar Garcia

382. Adam Miller

383. Eric Hurley

384. Zach McAllister

385. Tanner Bushue

386. Andy Cannizaro

387. Tomohiro Nioka

388. Dallas Buck

389. Wade Miley

390. Juan Duran

Disaster in Minnesota?

Five Backups to Nathan, Plus One Sleeper Candidate

New York Yankees: Top 2010 Prospects

No Mercy: The World Champions Just Keep Getting Better

Washington Nationals: Top 2010 Prospects

Don't Look Now: The Nats Are (Almost) For Real

Florida Marlins: Top 2010 Prospects

How to Win Baseball Games Without Spending Money

Philadelphia Phillies: Top 2010 Prospects

The NL's Craftiest Franchise Has Many, Many Secret Weapons

Atlanta Braves: Top 2010 Prospects

All the Pitching You Know and Love, with Something New: Hitters

New York Mets: Top 2010 Prospects

Meet the Mets Farm, Otherwise Known as Midseason Injury Replacements

Baseball America Releases 'BA Top 100 Prospects for 2010'

New Data for Scouting Book, and a Deeper Look at Why Rankings Disagree

Toronto Blue Jays: Top 2010 Prospects

Regroup, Rethink, Retool: The Blue Jays Rebuild

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Helping you track baseball prospects, sleepers and rookies. (Closers, too!)

Baseball Prospect Rankings for 2010

Now updated for 2010's Top Prospects

Baseball's Top Prospects for 2010

381. Edgar Garcia

382. Adam Miller

383. Eric Hurley

384. Zach McAllister

385. Tanner Bushue

386. Andy Cannizaro

387. Tomohiro Nioka

388. Dallas Buck

389. Wade Miley

390. Juan Duran

Five Backups to Nathan, Plus One Sleeper Candidate

No Mercy: The World Champions Just Keep Getting Better

Don't Look Now: The Nats Are (Almost) For Real

How to Win Baseball Games Without Spending Money

The NL's Craftiest Franchise Has Many, Many Secret Weapons

All the Pitching You Know and Love, with Something New: Hitters

Meet the Mets Farm, Otherwise Known as Midseason Injury Replacements

New Data for Scouting Book, and a Deeper Look at Why Rankings Disagree

Regroup, Rethink, Retool: The Blue Jays Rebuild

Rising and Falling

Recently-Changed Rankings

ScoutingBook's Top 2010 Prospects