The following rankings are updated constantly and will serve as your guide to the next big thing in fantasy baseball. While most sites seem to go off Baseball America, and Baseball America ranks prospects based on their ability to help a baseball team, we rank prospects on their ability to help your fantasy team. For insight on what we feel is right way to read prospect lists for fantasy baseball and how ours’ differs from most go here. These rankings are based on a combination of potential and proximity to making an impact in the Majors and on your fantasy roster.
Updated: September 12, 2011
1. Bryce Harper—OF, Nationals
2. Mike Trout—OF, Angels
3. Matt Moore—P, Rays
4. Julio Teheran—P, Braves
5. Shelby Miller—P, Cardinals
6. Gerrit Cole—P, Pirates
7. Jurickson Profar—SS, Rangers
8. Anthony Rendon—3B, Nationals
9. Jesus Montero—C, Yankees
10. Tyler Skaggs—P, Diamondbacks
11. Manny Machado—SS, Orioles
12. Dylan Bundy—P, Orioles
13. Devin Mesoraco—C, Reds
14. Danny Hultzen—P, Mariners
15. Jameson Taillon—P, Pirates
16. Bubba Starling—OF, Royals
17. Robbie Erlin—P, Padres
18. Jacob Turner—P, Tigers
19. Drew Pomeranz—P, Rockies
20. Trevor Bauer—P, Diamondbacks
21. Miguel Sano—3B, Twins
22. Yonder Alonso—1B/OF, Reds
23. Martin Perez—P, Rangers
24. Manny Banuelos—P, Yankees
25. Jason Kipnis—2B, Indians
26. Brett Jackson—OF, Cubs
27. Carlos Martinez—P, Cardinals
28. Randall Delgado—P, Braves
29. Taijuan Walker—P, Mariners
30. Travis D’Arnaud—C, Blue Jays
31. Jarrod Parker—P, Diamondbacks
32. Arodys Vizcaino—P, Braves
33. Jake Odorizzi—P, Royals
34. Leonys Martin—OF, Rangers
35. Gary Brown—OF, Giants
36. Wil Myers—OF, Royals
37. Zach Wheeler—P, Mets
38. Nolan Arenado—3B, Rockies
39. Hak-Ju Lee—SS, Rays
40. Matt Harvey—P, Mets
41. Zach Lee—P, Dodgers
42. Archie Bradley—P, Diamondbacks
43. Jonathan Singleton—1B, Astros
44. Dellin Betances—P, Yankees
45. Billy Hamilton—2B/SS, Reds
46. George Springer—OF, Astros
47. Zach Cox—3B, Cardinals
48. Brad Peacock—P, Nationals
49. Jarred Cosart—P, Astros
50. Casey Kelly—P, Padres
51. Deck McGuire—P, Blue Jays
52. Yasmani Grandal—C, Reds
53. Michael Choice—OF, Athletics
54. Sonny Gray—P, Athletics
55. Taylor Jungmann—P, Brewers
56. Jean Segura—2B, Angels
57. Joe Wieland—P, Padres
58. Nick Franklin—SS, Mariners
59. AJ Cole—P, Nationals
60. Christian Yelich—OF, Marlins
61. Francisco Lindor—SS, Indians
62. Liam Hendriks—P, Twins
63. Jake Marisnick—OF, Blue Jays
64. Mike Montgomery—P, Royals
65. Oswaldo Arcia—OF, Twins
66. Drew Hutchison—P, Blue Jays
67. Nathan Eovaldi—P, Dodgers
68. Wilin Rosario—C, Rockies
69. Garrett Richards—P, Angels
70. Nick Castellanos—3B, Tigers
71. Trevor May—P, Phillies
72. James Paxton—P, Mariners
73. Alexander Colome—P, Rays
74. Matt Barnes—P, Red Sox
75. Jedd Gyorko—3B, Padres
76. James Darnell—3B, Padres
77. Oscar Taveras—OF, Cardinals
78. Gary Sanchez—C, Yankees
79. Aaron Hicks—OF, Twins
80. Keyvious Sampson—P, Padres
81. Will Middlebrooks—3B, Red Sox
82. Nestor Molina—P, Blue Jays
83. Bryce Brentz—OF, Red Sox
84. Alexander Torres—P, Rays
85. Chris Archer—P, Rays
86. Alex White—P, Rockies
87. Joshua Bell—OF, Pirates
88. Allen Webster—P, Dodgers
89. Anthony Gose—OF, Blue Jays
90. Matt Dominguez—3B, Marlins
91. Starling Marte—OF, Pirates
92. Jeurys Familia—P, Mets
93. Eric Surkamp—P, Giants
94. Chad Bettis—P, Rockies
95. Jonathan Schoop—2B, Orioles
96. Kolten Wong—2B, Cardinals
97. Tyrell Jenkins—P, Cardinals
98. Jed Bradley—P, Brewers
99. Javier Baez—SS, Cubs
100. Cheslor Cuthbert—3B, Royals
I read a report awhile back that said he throws 91 when pitching right-handed with solid control. That’s enough to pitch in the major leagues but his breaking ball is slightly below average. When pitching lefty, he’ll throw in the mid-80’s but he manages to effective against left-handed hitters because his left-handed delivery is really deceptive and he throws a good breaking ball.
It’s hard to get a gague on him. Last season’s numbers were really good but he was also 25 in A+ facing younger hitters. He’ll move up to AA this season, which will be the big test re: whether he can pitch in the major leagues. If he’s effective this season, I think the Yankees should give him a shot in September.
Yeah, it’s amazing how some well-known college players fall in the draft. I went to UT when Huston Street was our closer, and even though he went in the supplemental round, most ‘horns fans weren’t surprised he was Oakland’s closer within one year of the draft.
Venditte’s fastball is in the 90s with both arms, right? Just seems that he’ll always have an advantage over anyone who is not a switch hitter of comparable skill from each side of the plate.
His numbers looked pretty close to dominant last season at High-A. Walk rate low, Whip below .9, Era under 2.
Personally, if I was an ML team, he’d be on my must have list. I don’t understand still why teams let guys like this go for 20 rounds.
He’s definitely one of the most interesting players in the minor leagues. He’s not a guy most expect to make a huge impact, but at some point, it wouldn’t surprise me if the Yankees give him a major league opportunity. What’s sorta interesting is Drew Vettleson, one of the Rays’ top picks, is capable of switch pitching. The Rays drafted Vettleson as an outfielder, so his switch pitching days are likely behind him. But someday, I’m not convinced there won’t be a switch pitcher who makes it in the major leagues.
If Venditte has a good season, I’d love to see the Yankees give him a shot in September. He’s a very cool story, and it would be a worthwhile experiment (and fun for fans) to see how the pitching style works against major league hitters.
How does Pat Venditte fit in with the big picture?
2011 ZiPS projection for Luebke: 80 ERA+. Please don’t let him sniff any top 100 lists.
Nah, no Friedrich . We ranked him pretty low in the positional rankings based on his AA #’s this season. I’m not totally sold he didn’t deserve a better spot on that list (spent less time on part II of the SP’s), but I feel pretty good about having him outside the top 100 based on the AA #’s declining last season. He’s definitely still a prospect though and could move higher w/ a good performance.
No christian Friedrich?
All three are terrific players who should be full time regulars in two years. I’m probably more reserved on Belt than most just because I’m slightly reluctant to move a guy too high based on one season. The Giants adjusted his plate approach after they drafted him and he’s just taken off. He has the potential to be an all-star first baseman, but I’m still not totally sure. I like Freeman’s potential to produce excellent RBI numbers, and last seasons numbers (especially the second half) were impressive considering he was one of the youngest players in AAA. Jackson is a great athlete (really fast) who shows the potential to hit for power.
What are your projections for Brett Jackson, Freddie Freeman and Brandon Belt in 2 years?
Whoops. We update our top 100 prospect list pretty frequently, and we must have somehow deleted Morrison as we were updating the list. I think we had him only ranking behind only Justin Smoak and Chris Carter. I ended up putting him at #20…but Morrison versus Freddie Freeman is a close call
My only concern w/ Morrison is Florida’s corner infield situation. Morrison is way better than Gaby Sanchez, but Sanchez will reach the majors first. The Marlins will eventually try Sanchez at third base, but it’s questionable whether Sanchez can play third. Another factor is whether Florida will eventually trade Jorge Cantu. By 2012, I think the likely scenario is Morrison and Matt Dominguez starting at the corner spots, so on the whole, it’s hard not to like Morrison.
Interesting list guys…Where’s Logan Morrison? He’s kind of controversial, I know there are a lot of Logan haters, but I like him a lot. He’s got an insane eye ratio – he doesn’t strike out, and walks a ton. He’s shown some power, though some question that still. I see him eventually as a .300+ hitter, who will hit 25-30 HR, maybe more.
Crawdaddy, thanks for checking the Top 100 List and for your feedback. Harper over Allen was tough but there are a couple of reasons why we have Harper ranked higher. First, as is probably the case in your fantasy league as it is in mine, most of the top 50 are already on someone’s roster. After that there are not very many impact players left and definitely not many close to the Majors. We feel that Harper could be a huge pick up for anyone’s roster, especially with Harper as a catcher. After speaking with some owners in my league I know Harper won’t make it past the 5th pick in our Amateur Draft so I wanted to impress upon people how highly we think of Harper and that people should consider him this year because in many fantasy leagues this year may be your only chance to get him. The second reason is that I think Allen’s stock has fallen this offseason. I thought very highly of him last season as I spent $13 on him at the end of the summer hoping he’d be my 2010 first baseman. Since then I have learned that even though he had some success when he first came up last year he has holes in his swing that need to be cleared up before he sticks in the Majors. Plus Conor Jackson is healthy and has played very well over the winter, his Dominican League stats were incredible, so he’ll be the starting first baseman for the Diamondbacks in 2010. That means Allen won’t be competing for the job until 2011 or even later. But he does have a serious bat and may make it to the Majors at some point next season, I think there is no way he does before the All-Star break, so he still deserves to be ranked somewhat high.
Interesting list. Quickly skimmed it. Tillman no longer qualifies.
Also, if you are rating them by fantasy team worth . . . how can you rate Bryce Harper (about 3 years out if everything goes right) above Brandon Allen (starts right now and has a pretty solid bat)?