Below are the Top 50 shortstop prospects. I decided to list more players because shortstop is a more prospect-filled position, but by #50, I was running sort of low on names. Omissions are possible because—as the list gets longer—so does the number of players who potentially deserve to be ranked. As always, feedback is appreciated so let us know which places the rankings could improve.
1. Jurickson Profar—Rangers
2. Manny Machado—Orioles
3. Francisco Lindor—Indians
4. Nick Franklin—Mariners
5. Xander Boagerts—Red Sox
6. Billy Hamilton—Reds
7. Hak Ju Lee—Rays
8. Jean Segura—Angels
9. Javier Baez-Cubs
10. Zach Cozart—Reds
11. Trevor Story—Rockies
12. Christian Colon—Royals
13. Levi Michael—Twins
14. Joe Panik—Giants
15. Tim Beckham—Rays
16. Andrelton Simmons—Braves
17. Tyler Pastornicky—Braves
18. Wilmer Flores—Mets
19. Jose Iglesias—Red Sox
20. Brian Dozier—Twins
21. Jake Hager—Rays
22. Adeiny Hechavarria—Blue Jays
23. Jonathan Villar–Astros
24. Chris Owings—Diamondbacks
25. Derek Dietrich—Rays
26. Matt Lipka—Braves
27. Rossell Herrera—Rockies
28. Ronny Rodriguez—Indians
29. Shawon Dunston, Jr.—Cubs
30. Yordy Cabrera—Athletics
31. Freddy Galvis—Phillies
32. Tyler Saladino—White Sox
33. Zach Walters—Nationals
34. Junior Lake—Cubs
35. Cito Culver—Yankees
36. Martin Peguero—Mariners
37. Brad Miller—Mariners
38. Nick Ahmed—Braves
39. Eugenio Suarez—Tigers
40. Marcus Littlewood—Mariners
41. Brandon Martin—Rays
42. Jace Peterson—Padres
43. Christian Lopes—Blue Jays
44. Jiovanni Mier—Astros
45. DiDi Gregorious—Reds
46. Roman Quinn—Phillies
47. Josh Rutledge—Rockies
48. Eduardo Escobar—White Sox
49. Jake Lemmerman—Dodgers
50 (tie). Hector Gomez—Rockies
50 (tie). Carlos Truinfel—Mariners
Others to Watch: Deven Marrero (Arizona St.), Kenny Diekroeger (Stanford), and Addison Russell (HS—FLA).
FYI, was going to let y’all know the message board is up and running! There is a link on top of the site or the URL is:
http://www.deepleagues.com/forum/
I will keep the comment board open, but a message board has been a much needed addition. If anybody has any baseball stuff they want to discuss, definitely post on there and it’ll be fun to see how the forum does.
Great thoughts on that trade, y’all! It primarily depends on how you value Volquez, which is difficult. He is speculative, but he potentially offers more talent than last year’s numbers indicate. So from the Reds’ perspective, my concern would be sacrificing that much long-term value while also facing a foreseeable risk the short-term difference in value might not be substantial. It’s basically the same concern I have when viewing the Melancon trade from Boston’s perspective.
This is a random idea, but what if the Reds tried to balance the trade by asking San Diego to throw in some value in terms of young, high-upside prospects? The logic would be: (1) trying to balance the trade by placing some long-term risk on the Padres; and (2) giving the trade a secondary goal where the teams balance the various areas of their systems (various positions, short-term or long-term, etc).
I would not want a huge return, but enough to balance the trade. SD is loaded w/ interesting prospects who could balance the trade, but not sure how much value it would take?
Some candidates would be Erlin, Rymer, Sampson, Galvez, Oramas, Fuentes…even perhaps guys like Everett Williams or Matt Lollis. Even though he’s speculative, another name would be Donavan Tate. The chances are starting to look slim Tate will provide any value, but at the same time, the Reds would acquire some potential long-term upside that would balance the potential short-term risk they face in that trade.
Good stuff on Adrianza, Scott! Solid suggestion and I’ll definitely follow him more closely.
Hamilton definitely offers ridiculous speed. Solid fantasy option because assuming he can learn to get on base consistently in the major leagues, he can almost win that category by himself.
I mean Latos is very good but the REDs gave up a lot to get him. The Reds had too many prospects and it was obvious that had to trade a few as their positions on the MLB club were already filled! But wow, didnt think they would do it all in 1 trade!
I guess the REDS GM was tired of Billy Beene hanging up on him when discussing the Gio Gonzalez trade. (the hanging up reference from the movie moneyball)
Adrianza doesnt have great speed or power but I think can be more of a Placido Polanco type player at SS as long as he continues to hit for contact and gap power. Will never be a fantasy stud but wont be a dud either.
Mesoraco is a lot better than Grandal imo – I would imagine he’s pretty much untouchable for the Reds. Also, I don’t really see the Reds trading for Headley with Rolen, Francisco and Frazier all on the roster.
I don’t think that the deal is nearly as bad for the Reds as people make out. Volquez is pretty much looking like a reminder that recovering from Tommy John is still not automatic. Even pitching in San Diego won’t help that much, given that the strike zone is still the same size there as in other parks. He’s also going through arbitration, so he’ll start to get expensive if he ever gets good again. I would guess he could be non-tendered next year even.
Boxberger doesn’t really have the stuff to close – probably a set up man at best.
The deal is really Latos for Alonso and Grandal, which is fine. Grandal is a good prospect, but there are issues with his receiving, and it’s unclear how good his bat is actually going to be. Alonso has also never really demonstrated the power to be an elite first basemen, and medium power 1st base options have quite limited value really.
Oh and I just want to say that number six, Hamilton stole 103 bases in 135 games this year and was caught 20 times. Now that’s speed!
I agree. They gave up a LOT of talent in the trade. Don’t get me wrong Latos is a very good pitcher, but Volquez is a quality guy who is starting to look healthy again. Alonso and Grandal are two very good prospects, and then pile on a good reliever makes this a lopsided trade. I say the Reds should of gone after Chase Headly as well. Then the Reds would probably have had to give up Devin Mesoraco instead of Grandal but it might be worth it to get a good starting third basemen, who I believe would hit for decent power in Cini. I think the ideal trade would have been Latos/Headly for Boxberger/Alonso/Grandal/(Wood over Volquez). I think the Reds would have let Wood go if they could have got Headly and Wood would give the Padres someone with a higher ceiling.
http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/7362616/san-diego-padres-trade-mat-latos-cincinnati-reds-edinson-volquez-yonder-alonso-two-prospects
What do y’all think of the Latos trade? I understand the Reds playing aggressively and shuffling their roster, but they gave up lots of value for Latos. Alonso, Grandal and Volquez!?
Good suggestion on Adriazana. He doesn’t get as much attention (myself included), but he posted respectable numbers last season w/ no huge plate discipline problems. How would y’all project his upside in terms of HR’s and SB’s?
I think you made a really fair counter-offer, Simon. I would sell the trade based on the depth of this year’s draft pool b/c-with clever selections at #32 and #48-he can pickup the same value he could get at #17. I would keep following Cespedes closely, and once it becomes a little more apparent multiple teams are actually willing to bid $40-50 million, than I would offer him the original deal w/ #17.
My concern is the value of Cespedes’ contract is not the best method of comparing him to the 2011 players. The huge contract Cespedes will receive shows how much the draft pushes down player’s values (even under the old system!), and one team being willing to pay exponentially more on the open market still makes it tough to value in comparison (i.e., how much would Hultzen receive). Nevertheless, when the info is limited, how much MLB teams are willing to invest is valuable info for dynasty teams.
Any second opinions on this one? How would y’all value Cespedes compared to the top players in this year’s draft?
I think ehire adrianza should not only be on this list, but top 15. He will stick at SS (has great defense) and showed a much improved bat in high A ball this past season.
I offered my 7, 32 and 48 for his number 1 pick. I suspect he says no, but I think that’s actually reasonably fair given the players available.
Assuming he doesn’t do astonishingly bad, I think it would be too early to call him a complete bust. To the extent Beckham’s no longer one of the best prospects in baseball, I am a fan simply b/c I like how he’s continued to make progress despite the expectations changing.
IMO, Beckham’s value hit its lowest point midway through 2010. At that point, his plate discipline numbers began improving and production started to follow. The trend continued into this season, but unfortunately, the plate discipline numbers declined a little after promotion to AAA (but some commenters said those numbers were misleading).
I think the Rays will give him a full season in AAA. Ideally, he can produce as much power as possible while keeping the difference between his strikeout and walk percentages at no more than 10-12%. If he gets to the point where that difference is approx is 17-20%, it’s hard for him to be productive.
Is this the final year for Tim Beckham to perform before we can officially and collectively call him a BUST?!?!
Even though it could be a mistake, I would probably vote no for now. Or I’d counter w/ 1 and 25 for 7, 17, and one of your really last picks (in the 40’s or 50’s…he’ll probably reject but oh well).
This might be bad advice b/c Cespedes could be special enough to justify the trade. But ideally, you can wait until Cespedes signs and learn more information (how much he receives, info after the signing, etc). Once you it becomes a little clearer there is a substantial value difference, then make the trade.
He has 18, 24, 25 and 55. Pretty sure I would only do the deal if I want Cespedes enough. I don’t see enough of a difference between Bauer/Bundy and whoever I can get at 7 – probably go with someone with more upside like Walker, just because I don’t really need someone like Hultzen right now.
Darvish went years ago, so it’s pretty much Cespedes or nothing. You’re right that 17 is worth having. I looked at last year’s draft, and I picked Kipnis at 17, so it’s really whether Cespedes is worth giving up an elite prospect (say top 20) and a solid prospect (say 50-60) for. It’s worth doing if he’s likely to be an impact player in a shallow league, but I’m not sure how likely that is. If it matters, I’d have Cespedes at $3/year for 3 years, and could then extend him for another 3 years at $10/year.
Tough call! Luckily, the basic question is easy: is there enough difference in value between #1 and #7 to justify trading away the #17 pick? My concern is this draft is sufficiently deep that 17th pick carries pretty solid value.
Assuming you can get Hultzen in the seventh spot, I’m not sure there is enough difference between him and Bauer/Bundy to justify losing that quality player who could be around at #17 (Springer, Josh Bell, Jumgmann…people might sleep on Soler).
Cespedes is the wild card. He offers enormous potential and could be the type of impact player justifying the trade. My concern is the information right now is a little bit limited to value him w/ total confidence ahead of the best guys in the 2011 draft. Is Darvish gone? If not, he would justify the deal even though I’ll feel a little better once he officially signs.
I think it’s a really close call. Does the other owner have another pick after number one? Assuming he has a later pick (maybe in the low-30’s), I might counter w/ picks 7 and 17 for #1 and that later pick b/c I think the pool is sufficiently deep to get a solid prospect w/ that last pick.
I have a minor league draft coming up for a 12 team 5×5 roto league. Mostly it’s current year draftees/signings available (not Rendon or Cole though, they went last year), and guys who have had big breakouts in the last year) I currently have picks 7 and 17, and a whole load of picks later on. I’ve spoken to the guy who has the number one pick, and he might trade it for my 7 and 17, and a pick or two towards the end. Best players available are Cespedes, Bauer and Bundy – picking 7, I would probably be choosing from the likes of Hultzen, Taijuan Walker, maybe Lindor , Paxton or Soler. Pick 17 should get me a top 50-60 prospect, and I plan to use the later picks on international guys with big upside. Trade up, or not? If I do trade up, I’m thinking I take Cespedes.
Nah, no Grant Green. He switched to the OF around July and it seems permanent enough to justify listing him there. He’ll definitely make the OF list, but I’m not sure where to value him.
I really like Franklin, but I might be valuing him a little high. He suffered a couple of really random injuries this season (food poisoning, injured during batting practice) which should not have any lingering effects. I love that he produced respectable numbers at a young age despite being promoted relatively aggressively. Ideally, he’ll return to AA this season and produce solid numbers. I’d like to see him produce those same solid power numbers from 2010 while reducing his strikeout rate to around 20% (.480 SLG w/ 60 walks while staying under 100 K’s), but that might be a little unrealistic.
What’s with Nick Franklin, is he gonna hit for power or not? Last year was a surprise this year seemed disapointing. Maybe kinda like Jimmy Rollins. The worst thing he ever did for his career was hit 30 homeruns. Changed his whole persona.
No Grant Green? His power was down this year but he still looks to be a good hitter. He did play alot of CF this year. Is that a permanent thing? His defense at short could use some work but hey so did Derek Jeter. I do like seeing Cito Culver getting some recognition.
http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/7356002/panel-study-major-league-baseball-needs-international-player-draft
Looks like MLB is starting to look at implementing an international draft? What do y’all think? I have never found the reasons for differentiating players based on country of origin to be very compelling, but you can argue limiting bonuses will hurt the game by giving international players less incentive to play baseball. Nevertheless, as much as I dislike all the spending restrictions, I have less problem letting international players sign under the same system as American players.
I agree—assuming Hech’s numbers improve slightly this season in the PCL—you still might want to be a little patient picking him up.
I like the suggestions on Jackson and Mercer. Both produced respectable power without too many k’s. Mercer needs to get on base more frequently, but the low BABIP partially explains last year’s BA. Jackson improved significantly after jumping to AA (increased power…everything else stable). I bet STL starts him in AAA w/ a chance to contribute in a utility role this summer.
Yeah, Wilmer’s chances of remaining at shortstop look thin. I listed him there b/c that’s where he played a majority of games last season, and I don’t know his future position. Hopefully not 1B b/c that would really hurt his value!
I think you caught a dumb mistake on Dunston! I listed him at SS based on the 2011 draft prospects list from last month. I just spent about five minutes on google trying to remember what convinced me to list him at shortstop? I’ve got nothing! Hopefully, there is an intelligent explanation for the mistake than being so used to connecting that name w/ SS I listed him there w/o thinking. If not, I apologize for the error!
I’d give a look to the Pirates’ Jordy Mercer; he has a good defensive reputation (for what that’s worth in fantasy) and he showed good power in AA last year, though he didn’t do as well in AAA. He’s older, which limits his upside, but which also means he’s fairly likely to hit the big leagues in a year or two.
Maybe someone who’s most likely to be a major league UT isn’t that useful in fantasy, but I’d still rank him over some of the guys at the bottom of the top 50 who really haven’t hit at any level of the minors.
Ya Wilmer shouldn’t be considered at SS… 3B/LF/RF and maybe even 1B long-term.. still bullish on this kid.
You have Dunston listed as a SS – I haven’t been able to find anything that says the cubs moved him from OF.
Interesting discussion at Minor League Ball on Beckham, Iglesias and Hechevarria.
http://www.minorleagueball.com/2011/12/14/2635669/shortstop-smackdown-tim-beckham-vs-adeiny-hechavarria-vs-jose-iglesias#storyjump
I won’t believe that Hechevarria can hit until he does it somewhere except for Las Vegas and the PCL. On Dozier, I think he has a chance to hit for good average, with some power (although probably more doubles than homers), and he should steal some bases. Whether that makes him valuable or not probably depends on your league. In a deep league, he makes an ideal middle infielder or a cheap option at second (not sure the arm is good enough to stick at short, although he may play enough there to retain eligibility).
Ryan Jackson (STL) is a name i feel has been left off. He put up decent number .278 .334 .415 while playing well above average SS. He followed that up by .342 .438 .500 in the AFL. He is not sexy and will never be a star, but i think between a decent bat and above average glove at SS should get him on the list.
Just saw I forgot to answer the question about upside after the Top
30, Mark. I would focus on players from the 2011 draft (Miller, Lopes, Martin, Quinn, Peterson, and Ahmed). If you are totally looking for upside and a bust does not matter, I would probably favor the HS players from that group.
The crop of high upside international guys seems a little thinner, but I think Gregorious offers upside along w/ Suarez from Detroit. There were also a few international players I failed to list. The best example is Sardinas from Texas, but I’d also look at the players Jed listed below.
What’s up Kyle! Hope everything is going well! I was emailing w/ two friends about the trade and we all really like the deal. From the Astros perspective, swapping a reliever makes sense considering it’ll be awhile before preserving leads becomes a top priority. For the return value, we pickup two players I think have the potential to do excellent given an extended opportunity. It’s also a great sign Lunhow has the right concept of what kind of moves need to happen to eventually improve. What do y’all think about the move from Boston’s perspective? As much as I like Melancon, my concern is I could envision a scenario where a healthy Jed Lowrie outproduces him. The trade potentially allows them to move Bard into the rotation, but I’m not sure they aren’t better off using Bard in the ‘pen and letting Wieland provide extra rotation depth. But I don’t necessarily think Boston made an awful trade b/c both players we received carry risk. Regardless, I love the trade for the ’stros because those are the types of risks we can afford to take.
Good feedback, Ryne. I agree the concerns re: Hamilton’s offensive potential make Lee a much safer bet. For fantasy purposes, I sorta like taking the risk on Hamilton simply because of the huge stolen base potential. Sorry about the spelling mistake…I need to remember to double-check the spelling before publishing! Even though it doesn’t show up on the site, my other weak spot is pronouncing names! I don’t know if anybody can relate, but it’s funny the first time I hear the name of a player I’ve read (and often written) about for awhile b/c the pronunciation is often totally different.
Great feedback, Mark! Cozart is interesting. I tend to value him higher than most b/c he offers solid proximity, decent potential for HR’s and SB’s, no huge red flags in the K:BB numbers, and little concern about switching positions.
Good stuff on Hech, Geo. I remember we discussed him for awhile during his mini-streak back in September, and you posted that great interview w/ AA discussing his development. Even if the numbers improve in Vegas, I think Toronto would be smart taking a patient approach giving Hech another year to develop in AAA w/ a potential September call up if he has a solid year.
Jason: If the AA hech shows up, in which he could hit a beachball, then he’s in trouble and will be in AAA all season. If the AAA Hech continues his AAA playing he’ll be a September callup baring any serious injury from the MLB club. He’s defense ready, not bat ready.
Red: i love your enthusiasm for Christian Lopes…If all goes well he will be one of the top SS prospects before he hits the majors, but he is just SO far away. I think Brad got this slot correct…for now.
Gotta think Hamilton moves to second, and Lee is a much better all-around player. I don’t really like either personally as I had both along with Profar, so I traded them. But I prefer Lee to Hamilton. Yes Hamilton’s the fastest player in the minors, but his hit tool is much worse than Lee’s and he’s not a lock to stay at short, which Lee is. So I’d suggest switching those two, other than that, great job.
Oh, and it’s spelled Bogaerts FYI haha.
Who in your rankings from 30-50 has the best chance to crack the top 10 after this season and why? I think Tim Beckham is too high and Villar and Simmons are too low on list IMO. I like your top 14 alot although I’m not a big believer in Cosart I understand the ranking.
Bradley, long time no talk. I try to keep up reading but I HAVE to get your opinion on the trade of Melancon. For Jed Lawrie and Weiland. What’s your opinion of the deal? Good deal? And what does this do for the value of Kyle Weiland? Starter in June/July?
Good analysis, Simon. The hardest part about predicting a position change is it’s always based on a combination of the player’s abilities and the team’s needs. I agree Machado and Boagerts could eventually get moved, and even though Profar is a lock to stick at SS skill-wise, he might arrive at 2B based on the presence of Elvis Andrus.
What do y’all think of Brian Dozier? He offers respectable numbers and could get an opportunity in Minnesota this season. My concern is—even assuming he gets an opportunity—what are the chances he’ll offer upside beyond what a team can get on the free agent list.
Of the top 10, I would say only Profar, Lindor, Lee and Cozart seem locks to stick at short. Machado and Boagerts could have to move to third at some point, although they probably get every chance to stick. Dozier is seen as more likely a second baseman/utility guy in the bigs than a pure SS. He can play SS well enough not to embarrass himself but would probably struggle playing every day.
I like Lopes too, but top ten would be bold! He and Henry Owens from his HS were both pretty well-regarded leading up to the draft, but he was picked later than I expected (but did sign for $800k).
There is definitely some upside potential, but at this point, I sorta have him valued w/ the other overslot SS’s picked slightly later in the 2011 draft (Quinn, Dunston, Miller, etc). It’s partially based on lack of information b/c it’ll be easier to value them once they produce some minor league numbers.
lopes by far should be in your top ten .His bat alone is the strongest in your field…
Good comment re: defense, Simon. Factoring defense into the rankings for fantasy is a complicated process we are yet to master. It’s a mistake to ignore defensive concerns because bad defense can hurt fantasy teams (albeit indirectly) when: (1) it keeps a guy off the field, or (2) a prospect’s value takes a huge hit when he moves to another position. But at the same time, it’s important to watch out for a guy whose ranking is bolstered by elite defensive skills b/c all you need is the player to play defense well enough to remain on the field at the position you need.
Considering half the players I listed will eventually switch to another position, I like the idea of placing more emphasis on who will play SS in the majors. Who do y’all think are the most likely candidates to get switched and/or remain at SS? It’s hard to predict who will switch, but some candidates are Matt Lipka, Wilmer Flores, Christian Colon, Nick Franklin, Billy Hamilton, Javier Baez, Levi Michael, Yordy Cabrera, and maybe Jean Segura.
How much have you taken defence into account in these rankings? While I wouldn’t normally say it matters much for fantasy rankings, a number of these players have big question marks about whether they can stay at short, which obviously impacts on their value. For example, I don’t think I’ve seen anyone suggest that Wilmer Flores could ever play SS in the bigs – some reports say he may end up even as a 1B or LF – that has to impact significantly on his rankings. I wonder with this list (and maybe with the CF one if you are planning to split up outfielders) if it might be worth indicating who is seen as a natural SS, who is the sort that may be able to play a passable short in the bigs, and who is more likely to move off it.
I also think that guys like Iglesias and Hechevarria are over-rated on this list if they are never going to contribute much more than hitting a pretty empty .260 with a bunch of steals. That only has value in a league that is deep enough that having regular playing time is valuable in itself.
Great call on Baez! Unfortunately, messed up and somehow managed to forget him-and even though I usually don’t change rankings-that omission is glaring enough I’m going to fix it b/c he should clearly be listed at SS (even if he might switch to 3B) and rank in the second half of the Top 10. Cannot believe I missed that one and thank you for pointing it out!
Also good calls on Odor and Sardinas. I listed Odor at 2B even though he might switch to SS. Sardinas offers lots of upside, but I haven’t become as familiar w/ him primarily because he is so young. But he offers enough upside to make a strong case for a spot on this list.
Boagerts’ strikeout rate (24%) could be better, but I am not too concerned partially because he was young for his level. I like the fact the strikeout rates seemed to improve as the season progressed, and to some degree, I think the batting average has a chance of improving on its own (slightly low BABIP). To me, the biggest questions will be remaining at shortstop, trying to produce comparable numbers against more advanced pitching, and whether some of the numbers will self-correct based on the BABIP and LD%.
Hech is interesting because he went on that nice streak near the end of the season around the time he was promoted to AAA. I think Toronto will be fairly patient w/ him, and hopefully, he can build on that progress at the end of the season. With a good season in AAA, I think he could jump another 10 spots but there is also that concern his value could fall more if he does not develop.
Great suggestions, Jed! I will definitely look at those suggestions and teams looking for high upside guys should also consider the players he listed.
Javier Baez??
Brad,
Do you have any concerns on Bogaerts jump in K’s? I know added power comes with it, but I would think there should be some concern if he can’t develop when to swing for the fences and when to take the base hit.
If Adieny can show next year his hot hitting at the end of last year wasn’t a fluke how high do you think he could get on this list?
Two guys you could keep note on are Marco Hernandez (Cubs) and Alen Hanson (Pitt). I think Hanson may end up at 2B, but he has some promising skills. BA listed him as the fastest base runner in the Pirates system and thats saying something with Marte in that system. Neither have distinguished themselves, but could be worth watching in the next year or so. Jeimer Candelario is another candidate, but I think he has been labeled a 3B or Corner OF more than a SS.
I find it interesting that there werent any big names in this years Internation Crop that will find themselves on this list… Another name to watch: Carlos Correa (class of 2012).
And Luis Sardinas?
What about Rougned Odor?
Not sure about Cabrera. He did not increase his value during his first season, but it’s still early. If he needs to switch to another position, it’ll make me very concerned b/c the offensive numbers need a lot of improvement even if he remains at SS. What I like is, even though it was clear coming into last year’s draft he was valued below Machado and Castellanos, he was one of the three high-upside HS INF talents from Florida. So if you can get him for nothing in a league with deep systems, I like him as a flyer on a well-known younger player who might bounce back (also like Littlewood under similar logic).
You do a great job following those high-upside players (half of whom start at shortstop!), so I’m guessing you know a few players this list is missing? For example, who are those guys from the Cubs you really like? As I am writing this, I just remembered I forgot to look at them as I was creating this list. The lower levels of the minor leagues is loaded w/ high-upside shortstops and the lack of information makes it tough distinguishing the successes from the large number who will inevitably bust. For example, as much as I like Herrera, I think that ranking might be aggressive considering it’s awfully early to say he’s distinguished himself that much from the other high-upside SS’s at the lower levels of the minor leagues.
I think the ordering of the 2011 draft guys could be better. It’s hard mixing them w/ prospects from previous drafts, but to some degree, I think you can argue several of the players should rank closer together. I also arguably ranked them too low considering several of them are ranked lower than prospects who received similar bonuses last season, but probably slightly decreased their value last season.
Great list Brad!!! Makes me happy to see I own Mr. Profar and that he is at the head of your list. I also own Xander Bogaerts in the same league. I still wonder whether or not he will remain at SS though, if he does thats a huge plus! What are your thoughts on Yordy Cabrera? Think he has break out season this year?? or is an average MLB regular at best??