Here’s the fourth installment of the top 100 rankings for the 2012 season!
This is a mini-consensus ranking between 5 people: Myself, Brad Z., Brian T., Brian B. and Geo007. Each of us had equal say in the prospects. Rather than go about giving the average and high/low of each prospect, we’re going to give you the change from the previous rankings (the Consensus Top 100). Only changes of 5 or more places will be denoted, because many changes of 1 to 3 spots are not notable, but rather focused on other players jumping up above and pushing them down. The majority of players that have changed will have a comment on them, talking about why they rose/fell.
Enjoy!
Rank. Name - POS, Team (Change) Comment
1. Bryce Harper – OF, WAS
2. Mike Trout – OF, LAA
3. Matt Moore – SP, TB
4. Jurickson Profar – SS, TEX
5. Shelby Miller – SP, STL
6. Jesus Montero – C/DH, SEA
7. Dylan Bundy – SP, BAL (+3)
-Three spot jump here due to the ERA being 0.00 through 30 IP!
8. Julio Teheran – SP, ATL
9. Manny Machado – SS, BAL
10. Trevor Bauer – SP, ARI
11. Gerrit Cole – SP, PIT
12. Jameson Taillon – SP, PIT
13. Wil Myers – OF, KC (+10)
-Slash line of .343/.414/.731 so far
14. Taijuan Walker – SP, SEA
15. Devin Mesoraco – C, CIN
16. Travis d’Arnaud – C, TOR
17. Nolan Arenado – 3B, COL
18. Bubba Starling – OF, KC
19. Tyler Skaggs - SP, ARI
20. Danny Hultzen – SP, SEA (+5)
21. Archie Bradley – SP, ARI
22. Oscar Taveras – OF, STL (+14)
-19 year old in AA, hitting .312/.369/.623 with 10 HRs
23. Jacob Turner – SP, DET
24. Francisco Lindor – SS, CLE
25. Drew Pomeranz – SP, COL
26. Miguel Sano – 3B, MIN
27. Anthony Rendon – 3B, WAS (-13)
-Injuries were a concern out of college (out for season)
28. Carlos Martinez – SP, STL
29. Jake Marisnick – OF, TOR
30. Jarrod Parker – SP, OAK
31. George Springer – OF, HOU (+10)
-Complete offensive package, hitting .331 w/ 9 HR, 9 SB in 38 games
32. Christian Yelich – OF, MIA
33. Zack Wheeler – SP, NYM
34. Billy Hamilton – 2B/SS, CIN (+10)
-OBP has improved, is on pace to break 100 SB again
35. Manny Banuelos – SP, NYY
36. Anthony Rizzo – 1B, CHC (+11)
-Has thoroughly dominated PCL pitching (.353/.418/.706) with 14 HR
37. Xander Bogaerts – SS, BOS (-9)
-Plate discipline has improved. Drop in rankings due more to other player’s hot bats
38. James Paxton – SP, SEA (-5)
39. Gary Brown – OF, SFG (-7)
40. Matt Harvey – SP, NYM
41. Yonder Alonso – 1B, SD
42. Martin Perez – SP, TEX (-8)
-5.72 ERA this year, coupled with a 1.41 SO/BB ratio makes him fall
43. Randall Delgado – SP, ATL (-5)
44. Jake Odorizzi – SP, KC (+5)
-Dominant this year and continues to miss bats at a 47:10 SO/BB rate
45. Jean Segura – 2B/SS, LAA
46. Jonathan Singleton – 1B, HOU (+11)
-Expectations of power has not shown up yet but has been good in all areas.
47. Brett Jackson – OF, CHC
48. Yasmani Grandal – C, SD
49. Will Middlebrooks – 3B, BOS (+22)
-Potential RoY candidate if he keeps this pace up
50. Josh Bell – OF, PIT (-11)
-Injured, and then sent down a level, which is never good for a prospect
51. Robbie Erlin – SP, SD (+10)
-His numbers have been as good as some of the more glamorous names in the minors
52. Nick Castellanos – 3B, DET (+14)
-Flirting with .400 all season and is producing some solid numbers across the board
53. A.J. Cole – SP, OAK
54. Kolten Wong – 2B, STL
55. Noah Syndergaard – SP, TOR
56. Jared Cosart – SP, HOU
57. Nick Franklin – SS, SEA (+10)
-Doubles machine at a premium SS position
58. Gary Sanchez - C, NYY (-8)
-Playing well (.314 avg) but when others go up, someone must drop
59. Arodys Vizcaino – SP, ATL (-11)
-Just another injury faller (TJS this year)
60. Michael Choice – OF, OAK
61. Javier Baez – SS, CHC (-10)
-XST is not helping him up the charts while other prospects are in games
62. Starling Marte – OF, PIT (+6)
63. Trevor May – SP, PHI
64. Anthony Gose – OF, TOR (-8)
-Even in the hitter friendly PCL, still striking out nearly 25% of the time
65. Brad Peacock - SP, OAK (-7)
-Just biding his time waiting for the call, pitching well (FIP of 3.07)
66. Zach Lee – SP, LAD
67. Hak-Ju Lee – SS, TB (-8)
-Hitting below most expected. The speed is still good as advertised
68. Rymer Liriano – OF, SD (-14)
-Very slow start to the season and is not showing the speed and pop in his bat from past seasons.
69. Leonys Martin – OF, TEX
70. Daniel Norris – SP, TOR
71. Cory Spangenberg – 3B, SD
72. Matt Barnes – SP, BOS (+22)
-Much more advanced college arm then anticipated
73. Cheslor Cuthbert – 3B, KC (-9)
74. Tyrell Jenkins – SP, STL
75. Mike Olt – 3B, TEX
76. Ryan Lavarnaway – C, BOS
77. Sonny Gray – SP, OAK
78. Tim Wheeler - OF, COL
79. Justin Nicolino – SP, TOR (+11)
-Minuscule ERA and WHIP with more then a K an inning
80. Zack Cox – 3B, STL
81. Joe Wieland – SP, SD
82. Matt Adams – 1B, STL (+19)
-Dominated PCL pitching to the tune of .340/.375/.603, got called up this week
83. Aaron Sanchez – SP, TOR (+18)
-See Justin Nicolino (#79)
84. Eddie Rosario – 2B/3B, MIN
85. Wilin Rosario – C, COL
86. Addison Reed – RP, CWS
87. Jedd Gyorko – 2B/3B, SD
88. Casey Kelly – SP, SD (-10)
89. Mike Montgomery – SP, KC (-8)
90. Taylor Guerrieri – SP, TB (-5)
-Still in XST, should see live action soon to boost his status back up
91. Jose Fernandez – SP, MIA (+10)
-Has a 10.53 K/9 and a 1.91 ERA so far this year at age 19 in A ball
92. Zack Cozart – SS, CIN (-5)
93. Drew Smyly – SP, DET (+8)
-Proving himself in the majors, projects as a mid-rotation guy
94. Jonathan Schoop – 3B, BAL
95. Jose Campos – SP, NYY
96. Trevor Story – SS, COL (+5)
-Hitting .281/.384/.511, maximizes above-average tools across the board
97. Lance Lynn – SP, STL (+4)
98. Dellin Betances – SP, NYY (-15)
-His 5.24 ERA is better than his FIP (5.89), and his K/BB ratio is almost 1
99. Mason Williams – OF, NYY
100. Dante Bichette Jr. – 3B, NYY (+1)
Fallen Off the List
Drew Hutchinson (84), Nestor Molina (89), Taylor Jungmann (91), Brandon Jacobs (95), Jed Bradley (97), Mikie Mahtook (98), Blake Swihart (100)
Newcomers
Matt Adams (82), Aaron Sanchez (83), Jose Fernandez (91), Drew Smyly (93), Trevor Story (96), Lance Lynn (97), Dante Bichette Jr. (100)
This draft is really interesting seeing aggressive teams in the first few rounds go college juniors or seniors the latter rounds to balance out those signing dollars.
The Astros are having a fantastic draft! If they can get Correa below slot and sign the rest easily, they will be hands down the winner of this draft. They are getting solid talent.
I’d put money that all 3 of those players go to college. The slot money would be WAY overslot (especially in this system) and teams can’t afford them. Maybe someone takes a 4/5 round flier just in case they can’t go for some reason.
Second Round Winners:
Astros – Nolan Fontana
Reds – Tanner Rahier
Indians – Mitchell Brown
Cardinals – Carson Kelly
Surprisingly still on the board: Hunter Virant, Stephen Johnson, Walker Buehler
I have to give props to kpulek – he was the only guy anywhere that I saw that mentioned Correa and the #1 overall pick.
HAHA, yeah the Buxton interview was very odd, perhaps it was too hot to celebrate judging from all of the hand fans being used in the back round! He did look pissed that he didn’t go first overall, hopefully that motivates him and he punishes the Astros when they move to the American League!
To me, the clear winner of this draft were the Astros and the Padres. Pirates also got pretty lucky with Appel falling to them, although I don’t think drafting a pitcher was in their plans.
It seems that the Astros may not have to give Correa maximum slot dollars, so they should have enough to sign McCullers Jr.
After losing Rendon for the season, what were the Nats thinking picking Giolito?!?! IMO they should have secured a safer pick, although I do admire their high risk vs high reward philosophy.
It was clear that this was a thin draft as most players after the first 10-12 picks all had areas of concern. Hopefully some of these players turn heads in the future.
Y’all gotta drop Miller at this point. He’s having issues that are starting to raise some eyebrows. Maybe he figures them out, but he needs a breather from the top 5.
Yeah, the interview confused me.
The reaction was different than the other draftees, which makes no sense considering he was just picked early by a team w/ a substantial draft budget, etc. He’ll probably just need a crash course in the generic “Nook LaLoosh” answers to questions. Could have been much worse. Not even close to some of the legendary bad sports interviews…
Brett Myers…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2p-Ee1hdKcc&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Lee Elia…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uv23pqH9iG0&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Hal McRae..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kamDqL-AGzI&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Ron Artest..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3_xmYLBnnA&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Not baseball…but Artest’s interview was one of my favorites. Best part is the reporters doing research after-the-fact to find out that insane story actually happened.
Yeah, that Buxton interview was ugly. It looked like he was either pissed or wanted to cry. Poor kid, having to go play in MN.
Bradley,
The Buxton interview reminded me of watching Devon Hester get interviewed after a Bears Game…
Good thoughts, Brian. Assuming the Astros can sign McCullers, I could not be happier w/ the first two picks.
Not sure about the Red Sox draft? Don’t love the picks, but it’s tough picking later in a thin draft. I was reading the draft thread of a Red Sox message board, which always has entertaining commentary which is great b/c watching draft coverage can be painful.
http://sonsofsamhorn.net/topic/72575-2012-mlb-draft-gameday/page__pid__4166112#entry4166112
Through the first and comp rounds, I see some clear winners and losers:
Winners:
Astros – Correa, McCullers Jr.
Blue Jays – Stroman, DJ Davis, Smoral
Padres – Fried, Eflin, Weichel
Nats – Giolito
Losers:
Red Sox – Marrero, B. Johnson, Light
Other nice picks: Appel (PIT), Dahl (COL), Naquin (CLE), Wacha (STL), Roache (MIL), Shaffer (TAM), Berrios (MIN), Gallo (TEX)
Absolutely. What did y’all think of Buxton’s interview? Is it just me or did the interview come off a little awkward (kinda quiet, etc)? Hard to read too much into that b/c my guess is he’s a little quiet and it’s a pretty overwhelming situation.