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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Two years from now, the Seattle Mariners might just have one of the very best rotations in all of baseball. Yes, really. In addition to solid and near-ready Danny Hultzen and phenom Taijuan Walker, the Mariners also own James Paxton, a tall, athletic Canadian lefthander. Paxton rose to national attention at U Kentucky, and was selected in the 2009 Draft's supplemental round by the Toronto Blue Jays. He did not sign, however, and quickly became embroiled in a hubbub and eventual lawsuit when it was revealed that his 'family adviser' Scott Boras may have negotiated with the Blue Jays on his behalf, which is against NCAA rules. He thus became ineligible to play NCAA ball in 2010, and instead parked himself in independent ball to await the next draft, when he was selected by the Mariners much later, at #132nd overall.
Full Scouting Report for James Paxton
SB 91BA 87SC 82BP 92SN ES ML 61
A thin, wiry righthander from the Dominican Republic, Reds prospect Daniel Corcino doesn't do anything fancy on the mound. He simply mixes a maxed-out 98mph heater with a quality breaking ball and gets hitters out. In a full year of AA-ball at Pensacola in 2012, Corcino went 3.00 / 1.23 while striking out 126 would-be hitters in 143 innings of work. His walk rate was up a bit, but AA hitters are notorious for being much more patient than lower-level players, so that's not a shock. He did look durable, not missing any of his 26 starts for the Blue Wahoos. Hopefully he can regain his previously masterful control in 2012, which would keep him on track for a mid or late-season callup in 2013.
Full Scouting Report for Daniel Corcino
SB 92BA 94SC 81BP SN ES 72ML
Avisail Garcia is a high-ceiling, hard-hitting outfielder in the Detroit system who gained more than his share of big-time TV coverage as a late-season/post-season wunderkind for the Tigers in 2012. A big boy from Venezuela, Garcia runs well despite tipping the scales at almost 240lbs. He brings a similar-sized stick to the plate, too: Garcia slashed a .312/.345/.465 line last season at AA Erie that included 6 homers and 9 steals (we can only imagine the fear rampant among A-level second basemen). He's big, strong, rough, and raw, with a decent handle on all five tools but none of the practice or skill necessary to wield them perfectly just yet. Give him some time to polish up his skills and learn about the finer points of the curve ball before banking on him as a future Comerica slugger. Given the current Detroit roster makeup, we'd most like to see Garcia return to the minors in 2013, and rejoin the team at midseason (or later) to stay.
Full Scouting Report for Avisail Garcia
SB 93BA 74SC 99BP SN ES ML
A well rounded outfielder with great tools and a dedicated commitment to improving his skills, Twins outfielder Eddie Rosario could be a big sleeper star for Minnesota by mid-to-late 2013. He's only twenty, but Eddie's .296/.345/.490 Midwest line (with 48 extra-base hits in 95 games) looks frighteningly good, doesn't it? Miguel Sano will get the lion's share of glowing press in the next few years, but Eddie Rosario could be right at home hitting behind him.
Full Scouting Report for Eddie Rosario
SB 94BA SC BP SN ES 65ML
Originally drafted out of high school by the Oakland A's back in 2007, outfielder Gary Brown chose college instead before entering the 2010 draft, when he was selected 24th overall by the San Francisco Giants. A plus-plus runner with a centerfielder's natural graces, Brown's bat has been weak but improving (.279/.347/.385 as a 23 year old at AA Richmond in 2012), giving him the right mix of tools for an MLB leadoff slot just as soon as the big brains upstairs are willing to give him a chance.
Full Scouting Report for Gary Brown
SB 95BA SC 76BP SN ES ML 100
A big, sturdy reliever ready for MLB duty, Mariner prospect dominated the Southern League in the first half of 2012 season and looked at least that good late, striking out 20 in 20 while working at Triple-A Tacoma. A late-season taste in Seattle showed that he could handle the big-league pressure, and with an increasing confidence in his big, exploding fastball, Pryor should be mowing down MLB hitters this season.
Full Scouting Report for Stephen Pryor
SB 96BA SC BP SN ES ML
A very small guy with a very big arm, Royal's righty Yordano Ventura invites easy comparisons to his countrymate Pedro Martinez, though he doesn't come with quite the colorful personality. Ventura complements a plus fastball with rapidly-improving curves and changeups so well that the Royals may need to accelerate his development. His 2012 was a bit of a rebuilding effort, but the full season before shows off Ventura's good and bad parts well enough. That 4-6, 4.27 ERA that he accrued in his first season of A-ball might look pretty uninteresting, but the eyeballs-in-seats part of our research department would like to emphasize that the second half of Ventura's season was markedly better than the first, and he finished strongly enough to gain a few notches on the Kansas City prospect ladder. (Our math nerds would also like to chime in by pointing out that all year long, in good times and bad, he maintained a solid 3:1 ratio of strikeouts to walks.)
Full Scouting Report for Yordano Ventura
SB 97BA 85SC 86BP 62SN ES ML 59
Seen by many as the best pitching prospect in the 2013 draft class, Oklahoma's Jonathan Gray is a towering righthander with high-90's heat that breaks 100mph from time to time. More often, he throws it at 94 or 95 with good late movement that busts righthanded hitters. His real showcase pitch, though, is the hard slurvy slider that comes in near 90mph but drops dramatically off and away, making even good hitters look like weak-kneed noodle-slappers. If Gray has a weakness, it's his not-there-at-all changeup, a pitch he may need if he's going to handle lefthanded hitters with as much skill as he deals with righties. Regardless, he's a top flight prospect who will end up at or near the front of an MLB rotation soon.
Full Scouting Report for Jonathan Gray
SB 98BA SC BP SN ES ML
The Pirates swear he's only eighteen years old, but young Luis Heredia sure looks a lot older than that, both physically and when you take a look at what he can do with a baseball. The big (6-6, 210) kid from Sinaloa throws hard: he touched 96mph in rookie ball as a sixteen-year old (!?), and he looks like as he grows into his body, he'll be able to increase number in the future, too.
Full Scouting Report for Luis Heredia
SB 99BA 78SC 70BP 53SN ES 84ML
Baby brother to Seattle's Kyle, young Corey is a similar infielder with bat speed that might actually be better than his big brother's. He's more likely to see action at second base thanks to the Dodgers' depth at shortstop, which is just fine: his body and skill set are better-suited to that position anyway. Give him a couple of years, then check back.
Full Scouting Report for Corey Seager
SB 100BA SC BP SN ES 46ML
Prospects
Top Prospects 2013
Combined Ranking
90 to 100 of 650 Prospects
