He has an excellent fastball, but I think his other pitches need a lot of work. Obviously he is very young and has lots of time on his side to develop solid secondary offerings. His amazing stats are mainly due to the low A batters being overmatched by his lethal heater. If he can develop another pitch along with the fastball, watch out!

Although Stanton has been pretty solid thus far (currently .292, 1st half .281, 2nd half .304).

I can’t wait to see how he does in the FSL. Hopefully he can trim the Ks and maintain HUGE power.

I was contemplating putting Cahill at #2. I am slightly concerned in Price’s drop in velocity from college. He used to be mid-high 90s at Vanderbilt, but not sits in the low 90s. Perhaps there are some issues going on with his arm. Up until AAA, he was very effective.

11 of 25.

Wade Davis will be a solid starting pitcher that probably fits in the back of a rotation.

Fernando Martinez really hasn’t done much to impress. I’m tired of hearing how young he is for the level.

Matt Gamel is someone I strongly considered, he barely missed the cut.

Madison Bumgarner I have already addressed, he is dominating weak hitters with a great fastball, thats it.

Chris Tillman is a flyball pitcher. In Camden? No thanks.

Tim Beckham was not included because I didn’t want to include recent draftees (not enough games).

understand how Derek HOlland is way overrated. The only thing that would make someone say that is simply the fact that he was a 25th Round draft pick, paid 5th round money to sign out of an unknown juco… That means nothing when you look at what he’s done and the kind of stuff he now has… Throws anywhere from a 92 all the way to a 97 MPH fastball with alot of late movement a good slider and developing changeup, His numbers are even more impressive with a .64 ERA in 5 or so starts at AA, he’s always had more than a K per IP ratio and solid BB ratio. I just dont see why you’d call him overrated

It’s no secret that I am very high on Derek Holland.

I believe he has Kazmir type ability, so why wouldn’t I include him in my top 10?

Don’t worry about Bumgarner, he might make the list next year if he can continue his video game numbers at higher levels in the minors.

maybe I’m not understanding this fully, if so, please correct me, but LaPorta is almost a year younger than Lowrie and he absolutely crushed Lowrie in every hitting category (well almost). LaPorta OPSed over 1.000 in 07 while Lowrie was at .900. I understand the positional differences, but LaPorta still outhit him by a rather wide margin. Also, those numbers should be taken with a grain of salt since LaPorta only had only 100+ AB’s and it was his first taste of pro ball.

As for Anderson vs LaPorta, you can certainly make a case there, but I wouldn’t say that Anderson has outhit LaPorta since they’re both putting up an identical OPS this year. Factor in the positions (I know LaPorta is horrible in the OF, but he still plays there) and it’s pretty much a wash I think. Based on projection I’d say Anderson is ahead of him, but right now they’re about even.

However, I have the following concerns…

Halman – I view him as a taller Corey Patterson. A lot of Ks and holes in the swing.

Hughes – I believe he has been moved to 3B, and I just don’t think his bat is good enough for 3B.

Alonso/G.Beckham/Alvarez – I excluded all recent draftees, although Justin Smoak would be ahead.

Villalona/Montero – barely missed the cut. Hugh upsides definitely.

Jennings – has lost A LOT of development time. I wanna see how he rebounds from injury.

Ok, I laughed out loud at this one. Top quote “Ronnie Belliard upside”!!! Does that meanthat he has the potential to develop the same size backside?

I do think Heyward should perhaps be higher on the list. I am starting to become a big fan of his.

I don’t like extreme flyball pitchers.

Tillman is a solid prospect no doubt. However, from what I’ve read, he doesn’t profile as a frontline starter (like the others on the list). Furthermore, he needs a lot of work on his control, and the flyballs worry me.

I see what you’re saying, but you differ from most rankings then. Baseball America and others will rank prospects on likelihood to reach the majors and be a consistent contributor. According to what you just said, you think that some of the guys on the list can be better than him but all the pieces have to fall into place and it is likely that Tillman will be superior than them in the long run although the others may have a higher ceiling.

I guess it depends how good you think Scott Kazmir is. I think Holland has that kind of potential, which is why I have probably ranked far higher than what the majority of the community would have done.

As for Daryl Jones, he is another extremely underrated outfield prospect. In my opinion, he is the the leadoff hitter of the future for the Cardinals and will hit .300, draw a good amount of walks, hit 20+ HRs, and steal 30 bases. With that in mind, I think he deserves the ranking I gave him.

…is just so wrong….

had a one hit shutout until the 8th inning homer, he’s a balla… I believe in the dutch, left-handed Jesus!

I have fallen in love with too many pitching prospects who have dominated at the A ball level… the real test for a prospect is AA, this has been proven to be the biggest jump in the minors, and is a real test for a prospect, so I will hold my excitement for him until after he reaches AA.