Top Baseball Prospects 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.
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The Topps Player of the Year for the (A-level) Midwest League in 2011, outfielder Rymer Liriano is a five-tool talent on the fast-track to major league duty in San Diego. The Dominican native's award-winning season included 12 homers and 65 stolen bases to accompany a solid .319 average. He'll be 21 this year, and he should spend most of it in high-A ball, with a little AA toward the end of the summer if things go well.
Full Scouting Report for Rymer Liriano
SB 92BA 49SC 100BP 52SN ES 40ML 60
An offensive catcher who could finally give the Sox that young bat they've wanted behind the plate for years, Ryan Lavarnway is starting to look close to ready for Fenway, too. The Yale grad certainly has the smarts for game-calling, and after a great minor league season in 2011 (.284/.360/.510 at AA Portland, and an even better .295/.390/.612 at higher-level Pawtucket) he received a callup to Boston, where he popped two home runs in September, just so everyone would remember his name. He could be a great midseason fill-in for the Sox in 2012.
Full Scouting Report for Ryan Lavarnway
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A college ace at Georgia Tech, lefthander Jedidiah Custer Bradley compiled a three year record of 18-11, 4.62, though it was his 7-3, 3.49 final season that got him a ticket to the first round of the MLB draft, when he was selected 15th overall by Milwaukee. While his 94mph heater isn't anything special, his advanced command of the changeup is what moved him to the highest levels of the draft, and it's that same change that will get him to MLB sooner or later. Probably sooner.
Full Scouting Report for Jed Bradley
SB 94BA 71SC 73BP SN ES ML 97
A high-school shortstop drafted at #12 by the Marlins in 2007, Dominguez's size and strength -- not to mention the presence of Hanley Ramirez -- prompted a move to third base last season, though he couldn't have been delighted to see Hanley also move to third during the winter.
Full Scouting Report for Matt Dominguez
SB 95BA SC BP SN ES ML 87
Now an outfielder for the Athletics, ex-USC shortstop Grant Green had a chance to be the #1 overall draft pick in 2009 until Stephen Strasburg's moment carried him into the top ranking. Green has an above average arm and plus range, and he seems to have taken to the outfield very well, though of course his prospect status takes a hit from the move to a less-valuable position.
Full Scouting Report for Grant Green
SB 96BA SC 47BP 100SN ES ML 94
Lefthander Hector Santiago started 2011 in high-A Winston Salem, but finished it with the major league White Sox. A polished and well-rounded player, Santiago has struggled with his control from time to time, but has usually managed to strike out 9+ batters per game, and that's the usual measure of a top pitcher. His few innings with the White Sox were uninspiring, but they won't be his last. Look for him sometime during 2012's midseason.
Full Scouting Report for Hector Santiago
SB 97BA SC BP SN ES ML
A big Dominican outfielder with an even bigger bat from the left side, the Cardinals' Oscar Taveras was a little too much for A-level pitchers to handle in 2011, as he smashed to the tune of a 1.028 OPS (386 .444 .584) and eight homers in Quad Cities. Even scarier, his 27 doubles will probably grow into additional dingers as his young body fills out: he's still only 19. He really needs to be in high-A or even AA ball soon so that we can all find out if that big swing has any obvious holes.
Full Scouting Report for Oscar Taveras
SB 98BA 74SC 35BP 23SN ES 53ML
Nobody expected young Josh Bell to sign in 2011, which is probably why he fell to the Pirates in round two of the draft. But one should never underestimate the allure of five million shiny dollars, and young Bell shocked other managers by inking with the Pirates and passing on the University of Texas. Bell immediately became the biggest bat in a Pirate system that's very lacking in offensive muscle, but his primo status doesn't only come from relative dearth: he's a valid top prospect all on his own merit. The switch-hitter who's carrying so many Pirate hopes will open 2012 at West Virginia.
Full Scouting Report for Josh Bell
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The 22nd overall pick of the 2011 player draft, tiny Hawaiian Kolten Wong already looks like St. Louis's second baseman of the very near future. A polished college hitter with a 1.013 career OPS, he's also a developing fielder who should be able to improve the .964 he recorded in his very first taste of professional baseball. He'll be in Busch by 2014, if not sooner.
Full Scouting Report for Kolten Wong
SB 100BA 93SC BP 88SN ES ML
Originally drafted by the Rangers, Righthander Joe Wieland is today a premium Padres pitching prospect with his sights set squarely on San Diego. A tall and thin kid with easy gas, Wieland works comfortably at 90-94mph, spiced with a genuine plus curve. Even his change shows above-average flash.
Full Scouting Report for Joe Wieland
SB 101BA SC BP 74SN ES ML
A polished college shortstop from St. John's, Joe Panik is the closest thing to MLB-ready in the Giants system today, though he's more likely than not to be deployed at second base for the big club. After signing with the team last year, he went straight to low-A Salem, where he promptly hammered out a nifty .341/.401/.467 line with six homers and thirteen stolen bases, all in only 270 at-bats. That's great production for a modern infielder, so as long as he plays up to his level, he'll be all set as a fixture in SF sometime in 2013.
Full Scouting Report for Joe Panik
SB 102BA SC BP SN ES ML
Born in Lakewood, Ohio but blessed with a name that really belongs in Texas, righthander Stetson Allie is one of the hottest teenaged arms in baseball. He played third base a great deal in high school, too, and is an average defender and slightly above-average hitter from that position, but most scouts agree his future is on the mound, where his signature is heat, heat and more heat. He can already bring a near-99mph fastball to the plate with an easy, repeatable delivery and mix in a filthy slider whenever he likes.
Full Scouting Report for Stetson Allie
SB 103BA SC BP SN ES ML
Drafted by the Padres after winning the 2010 Brooks Wallace Award as the best shortstop in NCAA Division I, Jedd Gyorko is officially regarded as a third basemen by the organization, despite his smallish stature. Of course, his bat has been nothing small since joining the Friars: In 119 games this year between High-A Lake Elsinore and AA San Antonio, Gyorko slashed a very shiny .323/.392/.518 line, including 47 doubles and 25 homers. With numbers like that, the Padres won't mind if they have to fudge his height in the official program. He should be ready by the end of 2012, if not sooner.
Full Scouting Report for Jedd Gyorko
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A smallish lefty drafted in 2009's third round and traded to San Diego in mid-2011, Erlin has risen very quickly through the farm system and could even get to the majors as early as 2012. Working through three levels of play in 2011, Erlin did the bulk of his work at AA Frisco after outclassing A hitters in the Carolina League. His AA numbers (5-2, 4.32, 1.20 and 61K in 67 innings) are nice but not great, but it was the 20 year old's first trip to AA, so give him some slack here.
Full Scouting Report for Robbie Erlin
SB 105BA SC 83BP 53SN ES ML
A righthanded power pitcher, Dillon Howard inherits the title of top pitching prospect in the Indians system almost by default, but he deserves a top spot on merit, too. Howard went 9-1 with a 0.31 ERA in 12 starts for Searcy High School last year, striking out 115 batter in 58 innings (read that again if you like.) His perfect pitcher's frame, not to mention that 95mph fastball with natural sink and run, make him pretty projectable. His curve is a bit of a slurvy mess at present, but give the youngster time and coaching and he should be able to tighten it up into a solid-average offering. He's many years away.
Full Scouting Report for Dillon Howard
SB 106BA SC BP SN ES ML
Signed as a slick fielder from Curacao, shortstop Andrelton Simmons has already become just as well-known for his bat as his glove: the Curacao native collected the batting title in the high-A Carolina League last year with a .311 average. He also stole 26 bases, though his success rate was somewhere between awful and ungodly. Still, he's a fast, contact hitter with plus instincts, a coaches' favorite who could become the heir apparent to the shortstop job in Atlanta in a couple years, especially if Eddy Salcedo outgrows the position, as expected. Watch for him in late 2013.
Full Scouting Report for Andrelton Simmons
SB 107BA 92SC BP SN ES ML 65
Ryan 'Scooter' Gennett is a fast-rising middle infielder in the Milwaukee Brewers system. A small-framed fireplug, the lefty-swinging Gennett destroyed high-A Brevard County last year just the way he chewed up low-A Wisconsin the year before. His .334/.406/.740 performance probably merits another promotion, but his sloppy baserunning and lack of power might necessitate a little more training time in high-A first. In the field he played second base exclusively, leaving shortstop in his past, and while his glovework isn't exceptional, it should be good enough to get his bat into play. If he can round the rough edges of his game, he will be ready for the two-hole in the Milwaukee order sometime in 2013.
Full Scouting Report for Scooter Gennett
SB 108BA SC BP 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 late 2013. He's only nineteen, but so was Andruw Jones, and Eddie's .337/.397/.670 Appy line (with 21 homers in 67 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 109BA SC BP 87SN ES 50ML
A talented lefty hitter who's played nothing but outfield since being drafted by the Brewers in 1998, Logan Shafer also put up one of the most impressive minor league seasons in baseball in 2011. Leaping from high A to AA to AAA and eventually getting a pat on the rear with eight games on the Milwaukee bench, Shafer actually performed better and better as he moved up the ladder, culminating in an eye-popping .331/.401/.521 during 40 games at AAA Nashville.
Full Scouting Report for Logan Schafer
SB 110BA SC BP SN ES ML
Prospects
Top Prospects 2012
Combined Ranking
91 to 110 of 500 Prospects
