Top Prospects of 2003
2003 was the first year I did a 50/50 list, Top 50 hitters and Top 50 pitchers. I decided to separate them since they are two different species that have to be judged in different ways. I find that when I split them up like that, I thought I did a better job of judging them. Pitches and hitters are valued and analyzed so differently, I think it works better this way. I know some disagree, but I like the system.
This list is hard to judge since so many of these players are still building their careers. Win Shares is just a way to put into one number what they have done so far. Its's not a perfect statistic. Obviously 15 years from now the WS totals will be much different.
- Mark Teixeira, 3B, Grade A, 104 win shares
- Joe Mauer, C, 82 win shares
- Victor Martinez, C, 97 win shares
- Brandon Phillips, SS, 37 win shares
- Mike Cuddyer, OF, 60 win shares
- Jose Reyes, SS, 87 win shares
- Hee Seop Choi, 1B, 26 win shares
- Scott Hairston, 2B, Grade A-, 9 win shares
- Miguel Cabrera, 3B, 127 win shares
- Travis Hafner, 1B, 98 win shares
- Jason Stokes, 1B, ruined by injuries
- Justin Morneau, 1B, 65 win shares
- Casey Kotchman, 1B, 21 win shares
- Adrian Gonzalez, 1B, 46 win shares
- Marlon Byrd, OF, Grade B+, 44 win shares
- Jose Lopez, SS, 33 win shares
- Jeff Mathis, C, 2 win shares, disappointing bat
- Lyle Overbay, 1B, 68 win shares
- Juan Rivera, OF, 47 win shares
- Jose Castillo, SS, 26 win shares
- John Buck, C, 31 win shares
- Laynce Nix, OF, bad plate discipline crippled his chances
- Shin-Soo Choo, OF, 5 win shares, played well in 2006 for the Indians
- Jayson Werth, OF, 38 win shares
- Rocco Baldelli, OF, 45 win shares
- David Wright, 3B, 103 win shares
- Khalil Greene, SS, 71 win shares
- Bobby Crosby, SS, 36 win shares
- Justin Huber, C, may get trapped in Triple-A
- John-Ford Griffin, OF, Triple-A slugger
- Hanley Ramirez, SS, 54 win shares
- Brendan Harris, INF, 14 win shares
- Chris Snelling, OF, injuries
- Xavier Nady, OF, 40 win shares
- Ken Harvey, 1B, 15 win shares then vanished, injuries, too fat, bad glove
- Todd Linden, OF, 7 win shares, generally disappointing
- Jeremy Brown, C, Triple-A catcher
- Brad Nelson, 1B, minor league slugger, injuries, could still contribute
- Kevin Youkilis, 3B, 53 win shares
- Jason Pridie, OF, will get to play this year in Minnesota
- Jake Gautreau, 2B, stuck in the minors
- Mike Restovich, OF, Triple-A slugger, never got a real chance
- Joe Thurston, 2B, Grade B, in the minors
- Tony Alvarez, OF, 1 win share, topped out in Triple-A
- Chad Tracy, 3B, 52 win shares
- Wilson Betemit, SS, 22 win shares
- Josh Hamilton, OF, 13 win shares
- Joe Borchard, OF, bust
- Jason Lane, OF, 32 win shares
- Russ Adams, INF, 16 win shares
- Jesse Foppert, RHP, Grade A-, 2 win shares, ruined by injuries
- Francisco Rodriguez, RHP, 63 win shares
- Rich Harden, RHP, 37 win shares
- Jerome Williams, RHP, 20 win shares, then lost velocity, stagnated
- Kurt Ainsworth, RHP, injuries
- Rafael Soriano, RHP, 24 win shares
- Adam Wainwright, RHP, 24 win shares
- Gavin Floyd, RHP, 2 win shares, struggled to establish himself
- Jeremy Bonderman, RHP, Grade B+, 40 win shares
- Scott Kazmir, LHP, 45 win shares
- Ricardo Rodriguez, RHP, 7 win shares, injuries, inconsistency
- Aaron Heilman, RHP, 26 win shares
- Macay McBride, LHP, 4 win shares, looking for a role
- Brian Tallet, LHP, 11 win shares
- Billy Traber, LHP, 4 win shares
- Colby Lewis, RHP, 2 win shares, major command issues
- Jason Arnold, RHP, lost velocity, topped out in Triple-A
- Clint Nageotte, RHP, control problems
- Ryan Hannaman, LHP, injuries
- John VanBenschoten, RHP, injuries
- Kris Honel, RHP, injuries, loss of velocity, etc.
- Ben Kozlowski, LHP, injuries, a good Triple-A pitcher though
- Jason Young, RHP, injuries
- Sean Burnett, LHP, injuries
- Jon Figueroa, LHP, injuries
- Joel Hanrahan, RHP, erratic career, still trying to get established
- Boof Bonser, RHP, 11 win shares
- Johan (Ervin) Santana, RHP, 23 win shares
- Andy Sisco, LHP, 7 win shares in '05 then fell apart with control problems
- Bobby Basham, RHP, injuries
- Angel Guzman, RHP, injuries, still trying to get established
- Joe Valentine, RHP, control problems
- Seong Song, RHP, Triple-A pitcher
- Franklyn German, RHP, 7 win shares
- Dontrelle Willis, LHP, 71 win shares
- Don Levinski, RHP, injuries
- Dewon Brazelton, RHP, 2 win shares
- Dustin McGowan, RHP, 11 win shares
- Zach Greinke, RHP, 24 win shares
- John Patterson, RHP, Grade B, 19 win shares
- Kenny Nelson, RHP, lost velocity
- Cliff Lee, LHP, 35 win shares
- Jimmy Gobble, LHP, 19 win shares
- Andrew Brown, RHP, 4 win shares
- Mike Nicolas, RHP, disappeared due to control problems, injuries
- Luke Hagerty, LHP, injuries
- John Rheinecker, LHP, 3 win shares
- Taylor Buchholz, RHP, 5 win shares
- Travis Foley, RHP, a good Double-A reliever
- Mike Gosling, LHP, 2 win shares, injuries
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