I recently read an ESPN article about one of the best young catching prospects in baseball and as a long time Blue Jays’ fan and self-admitted prospect junkie it really gave me reason for pause. It seems that in this day and age, of round-the-clock updates and instant information, as sports fans we’re always looking for the ‘Next One.’ The next Strasburg, the next Bryce Harper, the next Buster Posey; this obsession with novelty borders almost on the pathological. Enter, catcher Travis D’Arnaud, the 22-year-old top prospect of the Toronto Blue Jays. Since his breakout 2011 campaign, D’Arnaud has been lauded by scouts and prospect gurus alike as a star in the making; a player that, if he fulfills his immense potential, could become among the very best in baseball.

That "IF" however, is a critical one. One only need be reminded of the many prospects that came before D’Arnaud, who were also gloriously praised, and failed to live up to expectations. But let’s put these thoughts aside for a moment, and take a look at what were really talking about here. The following are excerpts from the aforementioned ESPN article. It is a scouting report written by well-respected baseball analyst John Sickels, whose praise of Travis D’Arnaud in the past has been well-documented.

Background

Devan Mesoraco is universally regarded as the best catching prospect in baseball. But Blue Jays’ farmhand Travis D'Arnaud isn't far behind.

D'Arnaud was drafted with a supplemental first-round pick in 2007, out of high school in Lakewood, California. Considered athletic but somewhat raw when drafted, he's emerged faster than expected, and more than held his own following a promotion to Double-A.

Scouting report

D'Arnaud's athletic tools stand out…He does everything well, and is working hard to improve his catching fundamentals (blocking, game-calling, etc). His work ethic is rated as exceptional.

D'Arnaud has good pop in his bat, and does a fine job driving the ball to the opposite field. He could use additional plate discipline, but his strikeout rate is reasonable, and he is difficult to overpower. He actually showed better discipline in Double-A than in Class A, a good sign. D'Arnaud will never steal many bases, but he runs well for a catcher, and isn't a base clogger.

Performance

D'Arnaud has proven he can hit for average. His home run power should increase gradually. He handled Double-A pitching without difficulty at age 22, the marker of an excellent prospect. He led the Midwest League in catching fielding percentage in 2008, while throwing out 37 percent of runners.

Health record

Weird injuries have cost him playing time. D'Arnaud's 2007 debut season was cut short with a broken hand, and his 2010 campaign was closed early by a back injury. He's recovered fully from both injuries, but nagging wounds are something every catcher must deal with.

Seems like a pretty accurate characterization of Travis D'Arnaud's career and potential, except that it's not actually about Travis D'Arnaud at all. If you're wondering why I underlined specific parts of the text, it's because those were the parts of the article that I altered. If you follow this link you will find the original article:

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?id=1612228

You will discover that the scouting report you’ve just read actually belongs to catcher Jeff Mathis, whom the Blue Jays acquired from Anaheim on December 3rd 2011, in exchange for left-handed pitcher Brad Mills. The article itself is pretty old. Published on September 9th, 2003 when Mathis was just a 20-year-old prospect in the Angels organization. It provides an interesting window into the past, and a cautionary note, as Mathis, now 28, was once highly-regarded prospect himself, perhaps even more so than D'Arnaud is now.

At the time of Sickels’ article, Mathis was considered by many evaluators to be second only behind Minnesota’s Joe Mauer as far as catching prospects went, and was ranked among the top 10 or 20 prospects overall from about 2001-2004 ahead of the likes of Prince Fielder, Justin Morneau, Zack Greinke, David Wright, Jason Bay, Ervin Santana, Grady Sizemore, and even Felix Hernandez.

(at least according to this Hardball Times list)

http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/top50prospects_2004_parttwo/

Now what is the lesson in all of this? That even the most "can't miss" prospects can, in fact, miss? I think we all know that. Then perhaps it's something more prosaic like "we shouldn't count our chickens before they hatch"? Ditto! I think the point is less general and more specific than that. You see what the scouting reports show us is that there are many commonalities between the Blue Jays current top prospect Travis D'Arnaud, and the newly-acquired, former star prospect Jeff Mathis.

Both players were taken in the supplemental first round of their respective drafts (Mathis 33rd in 2001 and D’Arnaud 37th in 2007). Both were considered athletic, all-around catchers; praised for their defence, receiving ability, and leadership behind the plate. Both are right-handed hitters, with strong throwing arms, who for some reason have problems with their release when trying to throw out runners. Both have had their share of injury problems throughout their careers

Mathis: broken hand, back pain, and a dislocated wrist.

D’Arnaud: concussion, tweaked back, herniated disk surgery, and torn ligaments in thumb.

D’Arnaud and Mathis profiles read so similarly in fact that if one looked at the scouting reports of each player out of context, they would have difficulty telling them apart. Here are a couple of scouting reports just as an example. Based on what you’ve heard, read, or seen of D’Arnaud could you figure out which ones belong to him and which belong to Mathis?

One of the position’s top athletes

He's young, plays a key defensive position and wields a very promising bat

Defensively, he grades as above-average as both a receiver and thrower, with a plus arm, soft hands and quick feet. While he’s athletic enough to play an infield spot, he’s too good behind the plate to move

[S]trong hands and plus bat speed allow him to drive the ball with power into the gaps, and eventually will produce home runs. He’s a premium athlete with an aggressive nature and above-average tools behind the plate. He already shows advanced receiving skills, a plus arm and a quick release

There are legitimate knocks against him, including an impatient approach, a need to improve his throwing mechanics, and a tendency to get hurt

I think he's going to be a star!

There are a total of six excerpts; three belonging to D’Arnaud, three to Mathis. Here’s the exact breakdown: D’Arnaud, Mathis, D’Arnaud, Mathis, D’Arnaud, and Mathis. How did you do? I imagine it wasn’t easy. And that’s understandable. I was taken aback myself by the similarities. In fact that last quote about Mathis being a potential "star," has been said of D’Arnaud many times this year, and I could have easily substituted one of those quotes in its place.

Now while it’s one thing to share a similar scouting profile. It could simply be the result of the scouting language being somewhat limited. For a more objective perspective, perhaps we should look at each player’s statistics, to see what they can tell us.

Here are Travis D' Arnaud's defensive stats for his minor league career:

Year              Age           Tm    Lg  Lev    Aff  G CG   Ch   PO   A  E DP Fld% RF/G PB  SB  CS CS% PO Rctch Rtz
2007               18     Phillies  GULF   Rk PHI  C    23  182  167  11  4  0 .978 7.74  7  19   6    24%        -3
2008               19      2 Teams 2 Lgs A--A PHI  C    58  504  453  41 10  1 .980 8.52 16  58  14    19%        -5
2008               19 Williamsport  NYPL   A- PHI  C    42  367  330  31  6  0 .984 8.60 11  41  12    23%        -4
2008               19     Lakewood  SALL    A PHI  C    16  137  123  10  4  1 .971 8.31  5  17   2    11%        -1
2009               20     Lakewood  SALL    A PHI  C    99  891  817  68  6  7 .993 8.94  9 132  40    23%        -1
2010               21      Dunedin  FLOR   A+ TOR  C    58  467  427  38  2  3 .996 8.02  2  38  16              30%
2011               22 NewHampshire    EL   AA TOR  C    98  838  775  57  6  7 .993 8.49 13  66  24              27%

Jeff Mathis's defensive stats in the minors:

Year                      Age              Tm    Lg   Lev    Aff  G CG   Ch   PO   A  E DP  Fld% RF/G PB  SB  CS CS% PO Rctch Rtz
2001                       18         2 Teams 2 Lgs    Rk ANA  C    23  210  184  24  2  0  .990 9.04  5  26   8              24%
2001                       18          Angels  ARIZ    Rk ANA  C     3   21   19   2  0  0 1.000 7.00  1   2   0               0%
2001                       18          Angels  ARIZ    Rk ANA OF     1    0    0   0  0        0                             0.00
2001                       18           Provo  PION    Rk ANA  C    20  189  165  22  2  0  .989 9.35  4  24   8              25%
2002                       19     CedarRapids  MIDW     A ANA  C    80  680  606  70  4  2  .994 8.45  6  47  28              37%
2003                       20         2 Teams 2 Lgs A+-AA ANA  C   105  828  738  83  7  6  .992 7.82 19  89  30              25%
2003                       20 RanchoCucamonga  CALL    A+ ANA  C    82  635  562  67  6  6  .991 7.67 14  73  23              24%
2003                       20        Arkansas    TL    AA ANA  C    23  193  176  16  1  0  .995 8.35  5  16   7              30%
2004                       21        Arkansas    TL    AA ANA  C   104  701  626  61 14  3  .980 6.61                          12
2005                       22        SaltLake   PCL   AAA LAA  C    94  654  598  47  9  5  .986 6.86  6  52  25    32%        -1
2006                       23        SaltLake   PCL   AAA LAA  C    83  614  547  61  6  9  .990 7.33  6  61  31    34%         0
2007                       24        SaltLake   PCL   AAA LAA  C    58  446  383  55  8  7  .982 7.55  6  32  21    40%         6
                                                                                                                            

A few pertinent differences arise when first looking at these charts. Mathis made it to Double-A as a 20-year-old, while D'Arnaud did not arrive there until his age-22 season. D'Arnaud had 47 passed-balls in five minor league seasons, including 13 in Double-A New Hampshire in 2011. Mathis had 61 in eight minor league seasons including 12 in Double-A as a 21-year-old (an average of 7.6 compared to D'Arnaud's 9.4 per season).

Now D'Arnaud did top Mathis in career fielding percentage at 99.0 per cent to 98.8 per cent in each of their respective minor league careers. But considering that Mathis was almost two years younger than D'Arnaud at each level played, the .20 per cent difference is somewhat negligible.

Does this mean that Mathis was better defensively as a prospect than D'Arnaud is now? Not necessarily. Statistics can sometimes be misleading. As far as reputation goes they both were heralded as very good defensive catchers coming up through their respective organizations, with Mathis possibly having a slight edge.

Defensively if there has been one criticism of D’Arnaud, it has been his inability to throw out runners. Though possessing a plus arm, his release times have been consistently average to below average so far in his young career.

[D’Arnaud’s] throwing arm is well above average, and he's ironing out some flaws in his mechanics that inhibited his throwing at times. He threw out just 19% of runners in 2008

The same thing has been said of Mathis now in his major league career, where in 7 seasons he has compiled a mediocre caught-stealing percentage of 24 per cent, mirroring D’Arnaud’s unimpressive career caught stealing numbers, despite his inflated defensive reputation. These concerns were likewise being expressed about Mathis when he was still a prospect. Here’s what Sickels had to say in that old ESPN article:

[Mathis] has a strong arm, but he sometimes has problems with his release. He hasn't thrown out runners at a great clip this year

Now as for their offensive comparison: Physically D'Arnaud presents a more projectable package at 6'2 than the 6’0 Mathis. But their minor league numbers stack up pretty evenly at first glance:

D'Arnaud

Year                      Age           Tm      Lg  Lev Aff   G   PA   AB   R   H  2B 3B HR RBI SB CS  BB  SO   BA  OBP  SLG  OPS  TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB
2007                       18     Phillies    GULF   Rk PHI  41  151  141  18  34   3  0  4  20  4  2   4  23 .241 .278 .348 .626  49   7   4  0  2   0
2008                       19      2 Teams   2 Lgs A--A PHI  64  267  239  33  73  18  1  6  30  1  2  23  39 .305 .367 .464 .831 111   5   2  0  3   2
2008                       19 Williamsport    NYPL   A- PHI  48  197  175  21  54  13  1  4  25  1  2  18  29 .309 .371 .463 .833  81   3   1  0  3   2
2008                       19     Lakewood    SALL    A PHI  16   70   64  12  19   5  0  2   5  0  0   5  10 .297 .357 .469 .826  30   2   1  0  0   0
2009                       20     Lakewood    SALL    A PHI 126  540  482  71 123  38  1 13  71  8  4  41  75 .255 .319 .419 .738 202  10   8  0  9   1
2010                       21      Dunedin    FLOR   A+ TOR  71  292  263  36  68  20  1  6  38  3  1  20  63 .259 .315 .411 .726 108   6   4  0  5   1
2011                       22 NewHampshire      EL   AA TOR 114  466  424  72 132  33  1 21  78  4  2  33 100 .311 .371 .542

Mathis

Year                          Age              Tm       Lg   Lev Aff   G   PA   AB   R   H  2B 3B HR RBI SB CS  BB  SO   BA  OBP  SLG  OPS   TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB
2001                           18         2 Teams    2 Lgs    Rk ANA  29  119  100  15  30   7  3  0  21  1  0  13  17 .300 .378 .430 .808   43   2   2  0  4   0
2001                           18           Provo     PION    Rk ANA  22   93   77  14  23   6  3  0  18  1  0  11  13 .299 .387 .455 .842   35   1   2  0  3   0
2001                           18          Angels     ARIZ    Rk ANA   7   26   23   1   7   1  0  0   3  0  0   2   4 .304 .346 .348 .694    8   1   0  0  1   0
2002                           19     CedarRapids     MIDW     A ANA 128  549  491  75 141  41  3 10  73  7  4  40  75 .287 .346 .444 .790  218   6   8  2  8   3
2003                           20         2 Teams    2 Lgs A+-AA ANA 121  533  473  92 149  39  3 13  68  6  5  47  90 .315 .380 .493 .872  233   6   6  1  6   1
2003                           20 RanchoCucamonga     CALL    A+ ANA  97  422  378  73 122  28  3 11  54  5  3  35  74 .323 .384 .500 .884  189   4   5  0  4   0
2003                           20        Arkansas       TL    AA ANA  24  111   95  19  27  11  0  2  14  1  2  12  16 .284 .364 .463 .827   44   2   1  1  2   1
2004                           21        Arkansas       TL    AA ANA 117  494  432  57  98  24  3 14  55  2  1  49 102 .227 .310 .394 .704  170   5   5  4  4   1
2005                           22        SaltLake      PCL   AAA LAA 111  476  424  78 118  26  3 21  73  4  3  42  84 .278 .342 .502 .844  213   7   1  5  4   1
2006                           23        SaltLake      PCL   AAA LAA  99  417  384  62 111  33  3  5  45  3  1  26  75 .289 .333 .430 .763  165   6   2  0  5   1
2007                           24        SaltLake      PCL   AAA LAA  66  273  250  39  61  14  2  5  26  3  1  17  45 .244 

2011 is largely considered D'Arnaud's breakout season offensively as a prospect. As a 22-year-old in his first season with Toronto’s Double-A New Hampshire affiliate he hit for a triple slash line of .311/.372/.542 with 21 homeruns, 78 RBIs, and a 33-100 ratio of walks-to-strikeouts. Mathis in contrast, arrived in Double-A Arkansas with the Angels midway through 2003 as a 20-year-old. There he hit .284/.364/.483 albeit in only 111 plate appearances after being promoted from High-A Rancho Cucamonga where he had hit .323/.324/.500 in 422 plate appearances along with 11 homeruns, 54 RBIs, and 35 BB to 74 SO.

The next season Mathis again found himself in Double-A Arkansas to start the year. A year older, he struggled for a combination of reasons, including nagging health issues, which resulted in a line of .227/.310/.394, albeit with 14 homeruns, and 54 RBIs, to go with a respectable 49 BB to 102 SO. It had been the first time in his minor league career that Mathis had struggled with the bat. Previous to that he had averaged a triple slash line of .305/.395/.444 over three minor league seasons bettering D’Arnaud’s career average of .278/.336/.452.

Now a couple of important considerations must be made. The first is that Mathis was virtually a year-and-a-half younger at every level he played at (prior to 2006) than D’Arnaud was at every level he’s played. Furthermore, Mathis’ career minor league offensive totals have been marginally better on average than D’Arnaud’s have been so far in his young career. However, Mathis overall numbers may be somewhat inflated by having played in favourable hitting environments in Triple-A Salt Lake of the Pacific Coast League, and High-A Rancho Cucamonga of the California League (often called the PCL of the low minors). In contrast, Lakewood of the Sally (South Atlantic League) in which D’Arnaud played from 2008-2009 while he was with the Phillies, as well as Dunedin of the Florida State League (The Blue Jays High-A affiliate) have long been considered pitcher’s havens that have typically depressed hitting numbers.

Overall D’Arnaud’s offensive reputation is probably slightly ahead of Mathis’s at the same point in their respective careers, despite what the stats might suggest. But Mathis bat was well-regarded in its own right, having been projected (during his prospect days) to be capable of plus power and average, to go along with above average plate discipline. It is highly doubtful that any of the prospect pundits that had predicted future stardom for Mathis (as many of the same pundits do now for D’Arnaud) would have envisioned him becoming one of the worst offensive players in baseball. Here are two scouts’ take on each player:

[H]as all-star caliber tools, on both sides of the game and might hit .275 each season with 20-25 home runs.

At his peak, I would not be surprised to see [him] surface as a .270-.285 hitter with 18-25 home run power while contributing above average defense and plus game management skills.

The first report refers to Jeff Mathis while the second belongs to Travis D’Arnaud; though both reports read almost identical. You would think the scouts were talking about the same player.

But what does this mean for the Blue Jays’ Travis D’Arnaud? Is he destined to be the overwhelming disappointment the once-hyped Jeff Mathis has ultimately turned out to be, just because they share a few interesting corollaries? Of course not! The trajectory of a player’s development is not linear, and thus neither should prospect evaluation.

It’s tough to figure out what really happened to Mathis. What kept him from fulfilling his immense potential? Or did nothing at all happen, and he just wasn’t as good as some people thought he was? Perhaps there are also deficiencies in D’Arnaud’s game which might hold him back from fulfilling his potential the way that Mathis’ did him.

Now offensively D’Arnaud’s profile shows very few weaknesses but if there were one it would have to be his inability to hit hard pitches inside on his hands. As one scout says:

[D’Arnaud] has trouble with cutting, inside fastballs and savvy pitchers at higher levels have clearly learned to exploit this weakness over the past couple of seasons. Instead of keeping his hands inside of the ball, when he’s pressing, he’ll sacrifice his swing mechanics in an attempt to pull an inside pitch to left—leading to strikeouts and foul pop-ups.

Now, if you look at this analysis of Jeff Mathis’ hot and cold hitting zone charts for his major league career, he has likewise shown an inability to handle inside pitches.

.444 .167 .000

.222 .476 .059

.125 .368 .000

His hot zones are pretty much pitches right down the middle and up and away. But as the chart also shows, Mathis is hitting below .059 on pitches inside. He also shows difficulty hitting pitches on the outside, which was once considered one of his strengths. Could his inability to hit the inside pitch have caused him to cheat, and thus lead him to become vulnerable to outside pitches?

One other issue with Mathis throughout his major league career has been his terrible walk and strikeout percentages. Walk and strikeout percentage are advanced offensive stats used to measure a player’s plate discipline. In Mathis’ career both of these have been severely lacking.

Mathis major league walk rate is precisely 7.0 per cent, a point and a half lower than the league average, which is roughly 8.5 per cent. His strikeout rate is even more alarming at 26.5 per cent, well above the league average of 20.7 per cent. But this hadn’t always been the case with Mathis. His minor league stats and scouting reports all spoke of a player with excellent contact ability, and plate discipline. His career strikeout and walk percentages in the minors were an excellent 17.1k to 8.2bb respectively which would rate as above average to average. Again we have to ask what went wrong for Mathis, and further, could it also happen for D’Arnaud.

To find out, we have to compare D’Arnaud’s peripheral numbers. For D’Arnaud’s career his walk and strikeout rates both rank as below average, and were certainly worse on par than Mathis’ at 17.1k and 7.1bb. Moreover, you see D’Arnaud’s plate discipline and contact rate beginning to trend downwards as they did for Mathis as he rose to higher levels, and better competition.

In Rookie ball and A-ball D’Arnaud’s strikeout rate was outstanding at 16.0k, which would qualify as above average. His walk rate remains pretty steady for his career however at 7.0 per cent, which is slightly below average, but not to a significant degree.

Once he was promoted to Double-A New Hampshire however, D’Arnaud’s strikeout rate jumps significantly from 16.0 per cent to 21.5 per cent, a 5.5 per cent increase, which is not offset by the measly 0.1 per cent increase in his walk-rate. It is surprising that even given these contact issues D’Arnaud was able to post impressive numbers during his Double-A debut, but as he moves up to Triple-A next season and potentially the Major Leagues, and those numbers continue to trend towards the negative, he could see similar decline to Mathis, whose contact rate and plate discipline in the Show has been horrendous.

What does this mean for D’Arnaud? We’ll have to wait and see. In 2012 he will still be 22-years-old and will begin his sixth season in the minor leagues playing for the Las Vegas of the Pacific Coast League. Depending on his performance there, he will likely make his debut in the Major Leagues for the Toronto Blue Jays sometime later in the year. When he does he’ll be playing alongside Mathis his scouting doppelganger. In German myth and folklore a doppelganger acts as a person’s supernatural double that is said to be an ominous sign. Perhaps this is what Mathis is now for D’Arnaud, a sobering reminder that being a highly-rated prospect in baseball is about as fleeting as alcohol induced euphoria, because the player the Blue Jays just acquired from the Angels also stood where he does now, in his same cleats, in a manner of speaking.

Blazing Fastball has released our Top 300 Prospect Rankings for 2012. We will be updating the list every month throughout the season. There is plenty of commentary and individual team prospect lists at Blazing Fastball.com.

We wanted to show the list to the wonderful prospecting community here on Mr. Sickels' site. We would appreciate your expert feedback.

We also felt it was important to get our list out as early as possible, especially before the "big three" of Baseball America, Baseball Prospectus and ESPN release their lists. John beat us to the punch with his fantastic book though.

1 Bryce Harper , - OF Nationals
2 Matthew Moore , - LHP Rays
3 Mike Trout , - OF Angels
4 Jesus Montero , - C Mariners
5 Shelby Miller , - RHP Cardinals
6 Jurickson Profar , - SS Rangers
7 Julio Teheran , - RHP Braves
8 Manny Machado , - SS Orioles
9 Jameson Taillon , - RHP Pirates
10 Trevor Bauer , - RHP Diamondbacks
11 Gerrit Cole , - RHP Pirates
12 Devin Mesoraco , - C Reds
13 Dylan Bundy , - RHP Orioles
14 Nolan Arenado , - 3B Rockies
15 Anthony Rendon , - 3B Nationals
16 Tyler Skaggs , - LHP Diamondbacks
17 Wil Myers , - OF Royals
18 Jacob Turner , - RHP Tigers
19 Danny Hultzen , - LHP Mariners
20 Manuel Banuelos , - LHP Yankees
21 Martin Perez , - LHP Rangers
22 Drew Pomeranz , - LHP Rockies
23 Carlos Martinez , - RHP Cardinals
24 Jarrod Parker , - RHP Athletics
25 Miguel Sano , - 3B Twins
26 TaiJuan Walker , - RHP Mariners
27 Travis D'Arnaud , - C Blue Jays
28 Bubba Starling , - OF Royals
29 Matt Harvey , - RHP Mets
30 Archie Bradley , - RHP Diamondbacks
31 Zack Wheeler , - RHP Mets
32 Christian Yelich , - OF Marlins
33 Randall Delgado , - RHP Braves
34 Jean Segura , - SS Angels
35 Arodys Vizcaino , - RHP Braves
36 Anthony Rizzo , - 1B Cubs
37 Gary Brown , - OF Giants
38 Mike Montgomery , - LHP Royals
39 James Paxton , - LHP Mariners
40 Nick Franklin , - SS Mariners
41 Yonder Alonso , - 1B Padres
42 Brett Jackson , - OF Cubs
43 Hak-Ju Lee , - SS Rays
44 Xander Bogaerts , - SS Red Sox
45 Michael Choice , - OF Athletics
46 Gary Sanchez , - C Yankees
47 Jonathon Singleton , - 1B Astros
48 Yasmani Grandal , - C Padres
49 Jacob Marisnick , - OF Blue Jays
50 Trevor May , - RHP Phillies
51 Oscar Tavares , - OF Cardinals
52 Zach Lee , - RHP Dodgers
53 Francisco Lindor , - SS Indians
54 Nick Castellanos , - 3B Tigers
55 Dellin Betances , - RHP Yankees
56 Joshua Bell , - OF Pirates
57 Billy Hamilton , - SS Reds
58 Leonys Martin , - OF Rangers
59 Jake Odorizzi , - RHP Royals
60 Wilin Rosario , - C Rockies
61 A.J. Cole , - RHP Athletics
62 Casey Kelly , - RHP Padres
63 George Springer , - OF Astros
64 Anthony Gose , - OF Blue Jays
65 Starling Marte , - OF Pirates
66 Will Middlebrooks , - 3B Red Sox
67 Javier Baez , - SS Cubs
68 Kolten Wong , - 2B Cardinals
69 Brad Peacock , - RHP Athletics
70 Cheslor Cuthbert , - 3B Royals
71 Jarred Cosart , - RHP Astros
72 Tyrell Jenkins , - RHP Cardinals
73 Robbie Erlin , - LHP Padres
74 Sonny Gray , - RHP Athletics
75 Matt Barnes , - RHP Red Sox
76 Christian Bethancourt , - C Braves
77 Rymer Liriano , - OF Padres
78 Drew Hutchison , - RHP Blue Jays
79 Chad Bettis , - RHP Rockies
80 Addison Reed , - RHP White Sox
81 Jed Gyorko , - 3B Padres
82 Jonathan Schoop , - SS Orioles
83 Oswaldo Arcia , - OF Twins
84 Zack Cox , - 3B Cardinals
85 Nestor Molina , - RHP White Sox
86 Matt Szczur , - OF Cubs
87 Eddie Rosario , - OF Twins
88 Noah Syndergaard , - RHP Blue Jays
89 Ryan Lavarnway , - C Red Sox
90 Garin Cecchini , - 3B Red Sox
91 Wily Peralta , - RHP Brewers
92 Mike Olt , - 3B Rangers
93 Jesse Biddle , - LHP Phillies
94 Allen Webster , - RHP Dodgers
95 Jeurys Familia , - RHP Mets
96 Mason Williams , - OF Yankees
97 Taylor Guerrieri , - RHP Rays
98 Jose Campos , - RHP Yankees
99 Joe Panik , - SS Giants
100 Grant Green , - OF Athletics
101 Luis Heredia , - P Pirates
102 Taylor Jungmann , - RHP Brewers
103 Kaleb Cowart , - 3B Angels
104 Garrett Richards , - RHP Angels
105 Liam Hendricks , - RHP Twins
106 James Darnell , - 3B Padres
107 Jed Bradley , - LHP Brewers
108 Dillon Howard , - RHP Indians
109 Matt Dominguez , - 3B Marlins
110 Drew Smyly , - LHP Tigers
111 Deck McGuire , - RHP Blue Jays
112 Aaron Hicks , - OF Twins
113 Keyvious Sampson , - RHP Padres
114 Daniel Norris , - LHP Blue Jays
115 Tim Wheeler , - OF Rockies
116 Alex Torres , - LHP Rays
117 Anthony Ranaudo , - RHP Red Sox
118 Jose Fernandez , - RHP Marlins
119 Derek Norris , - C Athletics
120 C.J. Cron , - 1B Angels
121 Rougned Odor , - SS Rangers
122 Vince Catricala , - 3B Mariners
123 Justin Nicolino , - LHP Blue Jays
124 Marcell Ozuna , - OF Marlins
125 Sebastian Valle , - C Phillies
126 Joe Wieland , - RHP Padres
127 Dante Bichette , - 3B Yankees
128 Jenrry Mejia , - RHP Mets
129 Tyler Thornburg , - RHP Brewers
130 Corey Spangenburg , - 2B Padres
131 Andrelton Simmons , - SS Braves
132 Matt Davidson , - 3B Diamondbacks
133 Thomas Joseph , - C Giants
134 Brandon Nimmo , - OF Mets
135 Stetson Allie , - RHP Pirates
136 Robbie Grossman , - OF Pirates
137 John Lamb , - LHP Royals
138 Mikie Mahtook , - OF Rays
139 Robert Stephenson , - RHP Reds
140 Chris Archer , - RHP Rays
141 David Holmberg , - LHP Diamondbacks
142 Dillon Maples , - RHP Cubs
143 Zack Cozart , - SS Reds
144 Jonathan Pettibone , - RHP Phillies
145 Brody Colvin , - RHP Phillies
146 Trey McNutt , - RHP Cubs
147 Nathan Eovaldi , - RHP Dodgers
148 Kyle Gibson , - RHP Twins
149 Taylor Lindsey , - 2B Angels
150 Daniel Corcino , - RHP Reds
151 Jacob Realmuto , - C Marlins
152 Trayce Thompson , - OF White Sox
153 Blake Swihart , - C Red Sox
154 Tyler Pastornicky , - SS Braves
155 Alexander Colome , - RHP Rays
156 Junior Lake , - SS Cubs
157 Chad James , - LHP Marlins
158 Edward Salcedo , - 3B Braves
159 Adeiny Hechevarria , - SS Blue Jays
160 Reese Havens , - SS Mets
161 Joe Benson , - OF Twins
162 Alex Meyer , - RHP Nationals
163 Trevor Story , - SS Rockies
164 Tony Wolters , - SS Indians
165 Jake Sisco , - RHP Indians
166 Josh Vitters , - 3B Cubs
167 Domingo Santana , - OF Astros
168 Sean Gilmartin , - LHP Braves
169 Bryce Brentz , - OF Red Sox
170 Kyle Crick , - RHP Giants
171 Jose Iglesias , - SS Red Sox
172 Phillippe Aumont , - RHP Phillies
173 Tim Beckham , - SS Rays
174 Brian Goodwin , - OF Nationals
175 Scooter Gennett , - 2B Brewers
176 Ryan Wheeler , - 3B Diamondbacks
177 Adonys Cardona , - RHP Blue Jays
178 Cody Buckel , - RHP Rangers
179 Nick Delmonico , - 3B Orioles
180 John Hellweg , - RHP Angels
181 Tyler Saladino , - SS White Sox
182 A.J. Pollock , - OF Diamondbacks
183 Colin Cowgill , - OF Athletics
184 Asher Wojciechhowski , - RHP Blue Jays
185 Edwar Cabrera , - LHP Rockies
186 Trevor Rosenthal , - RHP Cardinals
187 Freddy Galvis , - SS Phillies
188 Delino DeShields , - 2B Astros
189 Pat Corbin , - LHP Diamondbacks
190 Chris Reed , - LHP Dodgers
191 Rob Rasmussen , - LHP Marlins
192 Logan Schafer , - OF Brewers
193 Aaron Sanchez , - RHP Blue Jays
194 Robbie Ross , - LHP Rangers
195 Brian Dozier , - SS Twins
196 Wilmer Flores , - SS Mets
197 Joe Terdoslavich , - 1B Braves
198 Jaff Decker , - OF Padres
199 Matt Adams , - 1B Cardinals
200 Jason Esposito , - 3B Orioles
201 Alfredo Silverio , - OF Dodgers
202 Lance Lynn , - RHP Cardinals
203 Kirk Nieuwenhuis , - OF Mets
204 Tyler Matzek , - LHP Rockies
205 Kyle McPherson , - RHP Pirates
206 Sammy Solis , - LHP Nationals
207 Matthew Purke , - LHP Nationals
208 Neftali Soto , - 1B Reds
209 Neil Ramirez , - RHP Rangers
210 Levi Michael , - SS Twins
211 Michael Taylor , - OF Athletics
212 Chris Carter , - 1B Athletics
213 Guillermo Pimentel , - OF Mariners
214 Francisco Martinez , - 3B Mariners
215 Eduardo Sanchez , - RHP Cardinals
216 Jonathan Villar , - SS Astros
217 Charles Blackmon , - OF Rockies
218 Francisco Peguero , - OF Giants
219 Chris Withrow , - RHP Dodgers
220 LJ Hoes , - OF Orioles
221 Parker Bridwell , - RHP Orioles
222 Jiwan James , - OF Phillies
223 Andrew Susac , - C Giants
224 Cesar Puello , - OF Mets
225 Kyle Parker , - OF Rockies
226 Hudson Boyd , - RHP Twins
227 Christian Colon , - SS Royals
228 Yordy Cabrera , - SS Athletics
229 Chris Parmelee , - 1B Twins
230 Drew Vettleson , - OF Rays
231 Casey Crosby , - LHP Tigers
232 Michael Fulmer , - RHP Mets
233 Corey Dickerson , - OF Rockies
234 Dan Vogelbach , - 1B Cubs
235 Mason Hope , - RHP Marlins
236 Tyler Austin , - 3B Yankees
237 James Baldwin , - OF Dodgers
238 Austin Hedges , - C Padres
239 Brad Boxberger , - RHP Padres
240 Ravel Santana , - OF Yankees
241 Jeff Locke , - LHP Pirates
242 Jordany Valdespin , - SS Mets
243 Tom Milone , - LHP Athletics
244 Cito Culver , - SS Yankees
245 Nick Hagadone , - LHP Indians
246 Aaron Westlake , - 1B Tigers
247 Taylor Green , - 3B Brewers
248 Wellington Castillo , - C Cubs
249 J.R. Murphy , - C Yankees
250 Dan Klein , - RHP Orioles
251 Nick Maronde , - LHP Angels
252 Tony Sanchez , - C Pirates
253 Enny Romero , - LHP Rays
254 Austin Romine , - C Yankees
255 Henry Owens , - LHP Red Sox
256 Heath Hembree , - RHP Giants
257 Maikel Franco , - 3B Phillies
258 Cody Scarpetta , - RHP Brewers
259 Josh Lindblom , - RHP Dodgers
260 Slade Heathcott , - OF Yankees
261 Andrew Chafin , - LHP Diamondbacks
262 Alex Wimmers , - RHP Twins
263 Kelvin Herrera , - RHP Royals
264 Joc Pederson , - OF Dodgers
265 Didi Gregorius , - SS Reds
266 Adam Eaton , - OF Diamondbacks
267 Bobby Borchering , - 3B Diamondbacks
268 Elier Hernandez , - OF Royals
269 Angel Sanchez , - RHP Dodgers
270 Roman Mendez , - RHP Rangers
271 Vicmal De La Cruz , - OF Athletics
272 Joe Ross , - RHP Padres
273 Brandon Jacobs , - OF Red Sox
274 Yordano Ventura , - RHP Royals
275 Brandon Guyer , - OF Rays
276 Angelo Songco , - OF Dodgers
277 Tanner Scheppers , - RHP Rangers
278 Eric Surkamp , - LHP Giants
279 Tanner Bushue , - RHP Astros
280 Mike Foltynewicz , - RHP Astros
281 Junichi Tazawa , - RHP Red Sox
282 Alex Liddi , - 3B Mariners
283 Reymond Fuentes , - OF Padres
284 Josh Sale , - OF Rays
285 Kent Matthes , - OF Rockies
286 Chen-Chang Lee , - RHP Indians
287 Todd Frazier , - SS Reds
288 Brett Oberholtzer , - LHP Astros
289 Andy Oliver , - LHP Tigers
290 Brad Miller , - SS Mariners
291 Tyler Anderson , - LHP Rockies
292 Ronny Rodriguez , - SS Indians
293 Eugenio Suarez , - SS Tigers
294 Bobby Bundy , - RHP Orioles
295 Chris Dwyer , - LHP Royals
296 Marc Krauss , - OF Diamondbacks
297 Elvis Araujo , - LHP Indians
298 Chris Owings , - SS Diamondbacks
299 Michael Ynoa , - RHP Athletics
300 Zach Von Rosenberg , - RHP Pirates

For frequent updates go to Blazing Fastball.com

With 85.7% of the vote, Justin Nicolino is elected Overall Community Prospect #90.

*

POSITIONAL PROSPECT MATT DOMINGUEZ vs PITCHING PROSPECT JOE WIELAND

Positional Prospects In The Queue: Vincent Catricala, Cory Spangenberg, Robbie Grossman

Pitching Prospects In The Queue: Taylor Jungmann, Jose Campos, Luis Heredia

OVERALL COMMUNITY PROSPECT LIST:

#01 - BRYCE HARPER - 56.9%

#02 - MIKE TROUT - 60%

#03 - MATT MOORE - 96%

#04 - JURICKSON PROFAR - 51.9%

#05 - JULIO TEHERAN - 60.9%

#06 - SHELBY MILLER - 58.7%

#07 - MANNY MACHADO - 87.7%

#08 - DEVIN MESORACO - 69.4%

#09 - TREVOR BAUER - 55.3%

#10 - WILL MYERS - 73.8%

#11 - JESUS MONTERO - 73.7%

#12 - ANTHONY RENDON - 72.9%

#13 - TYLER SKAGGS - 54.3%

#14 - GERRIT COLE - 51.4%

#15 - TRAVIS D'ARNAUD - 60.9%

#16 - JAMESON TAILLON - 56.1%

#17 - DYLAN BUNDY - 65.0%

#18 - NOLAN ARENADO - 63.1%

#19 - DANNY HULTZEN - 81.1%

#20 - TAIJUAN WALKER - 62.7%

#21 - DREW POMERANZ - 67.9%

#22 - MIGUEL SANO - 62.5%

#23 - JACOB TURNER - 54.7%

#24 - JARROD PARKER - 60.4%

#25 - YONDER ALONSO - 68.4%

#26 - JAMES PAXTON - 61.4%

#27 - FRANCISCO LINDOR - 59.0%

#28 - CARLOS MARTINEZ - 50.8%

#29 - BUBBA STARLING - 65.2%

#30 - XANDER BOGAERTS - 50.8%

#31 - RANDALL DELGADO - 66.1%

#32 - ARCHIE BRADLEY - 53.8%

#33 - ANTHONY RIZZO - 60.0%

#34 - OSCAR TAVERAS - 58.7%

#35 - MARTIN PEREZ - 52.9%

#36 - ZACK WHEELER - 59.3%

#37 - BRETT JACKSON - 50.8%

#38 - YASMANI GRANDAL - 50.9%

#39 - MATT HARVEY - 54.5%

#40 - JAKE MARISNICK - 79.1%

#41 - HAK-JU LEE - 68.5%

#42 - NICK FRANKLIN - 59.3%

#43 - ROBBIE ERLIN - 57.1%

#44 - CHESLOR CUTHBERT - 57.1%

#45 - CHRISTIAN YELICH - 51.9%

#46 - ARODYS VIZCAINO - 53.6%

#47 - JONATHAN SINGLETON - 52.5%

#48 - A.J. COLE - 55.1%

#49 - MIKE OLT - 51.9%

#50 - ANTHONY GOSE - 59.3%

#51 - MANNY BANUELOS - 67.6%

#52 - GEORGE SPRINGER - 57.4%

#53 - BRAD PEACOCK - 53.8%

#54 - JAKE ODORIZZI - 66.0%

#55 - JOSH BELL - 63.0%

#56 - MICHAEL CHOICE - 63.0%

#57 - GARY SANCHEZ - 54.0%

#58 - MIKE MONTGOMERY - 50.8%

#59 - NOAH SYNDERGAARD - 51.6%

#60 - TREVOR MAY - 63.8%

#61 - RYAN LAVARNWAY - 58.8%

#62 - GARY BROWN - 64.4%

#63 - TYRELL JENKINS - 53.2%

#64 - LEONYS MARTIN - 65.8%

#65 - NICK CASTELLANOS - 60.7%

#66 - ZACH LEE - 71.2%

#67 - DREW HUTCHISON - 60.0%

#68 - WILIN ROSARIO - 61.7%

#69 - STARLING MARTE - 71.4%

#70 - JEAN SEGURA - 76.9%

#71 - RYMER LIRIANO - 76.9%

#72 - KEYVIUS SAMPSON - 53.5%

#73 - JONATHAN SCHOOP - 58.1%

#74 - JEDD GYORKO - 57.5%

#75 - KOLTEN WONG - 62.8%

#76 - CHAD BETTIS - 76.5%

#77 - ANDRELTON SIMMONS - 55.0%

#78 - WILL MIDDLEBROOKS - 52.2%

#79 - NESTOR MOLINA - 61.5%

#80 - JAVIER BAEZ - 66.7%

#81 - OSWALDO ARCIA - 52.8%

#82 - TIM WHEELER - 53.5%

#83 - EDDIE ROSARIO - 55.6%

#84 - WILY PERALTA - 65.0%

#85 - DELLIN BETANCES - 85.1%

#86 - SONNY GRAY - 75.0%

#87 - BILLY HAMILTON - 60.5%

#88 - GARRETT RICHARDS - 55.0%

#89 - DEREK NORRIS - 55.8%

#90 - JUSTIN NICOLINO - 85.7%

*

With 22.9% of the open vote and 66.7% in the runoff, Daniel Corcino is elected Community Pitching Prospect #60.

*

RESULTS:

Daniel Corcino: 22.9% (66.7% In Runoff)

Tom Milone: 25.7% (33.3% In Runoff)

Trevor Rosenthal: 14.3%

Kyle Gibson: 8.6%

Jose Fernandez: 8.6%

Anthony Ranaudo: 2.9%

David Holmberg: 2.9%

Alex Colome: 2.9%

Liam Hendriks: 2.9% (write in)

Chris Archer: 2.9% (write in)

Tyler Thornburg: 2.9% (write in)

John Hellweg: 2.9% (write in)

Drew Smyly: 0%

Kyle McPherson: 0%

*

CANDIDATES: Tom Milone, Trevor Rosenthal, Kyle Gibson, Jose Fernandez, Liam Hendriks, Juan Oramas, Adonys Cardona, Chris Archer, Tyler Thornburg, John Hellweg

*

IN ROTATION: Enny Romero (#59-2.8%), Casey Crosby (#59-2.8%), Alex Meyer (#59-0%), Anthony Ranaudo (#60-2.9%), David Holmberg (#60-2.9%), Alex Colome (#60-2.9%), Drew Smyly (#60-0%), Kyle McPherson (#60-0%)

*

TESTERS: Cody Bucknel, Joe Ross, Kelvin Herrera, Patrick Corbin, Trey McNutt, Andrew Chafin, Andrew Oliver, Lance Lynn, Chris Dwyer, Tyler Anderson, Eric Surkamp, Sammy Solis, Robbie Ross, Robert Stephenson, Garrett Gould, Eduardo Sanchez, Jordan Swagerty

#01 - MATT MOORE - 91.0%

#02 - JULIO TEHERAN - 57.3%

#03 - SHELBY MILLER - 66.7%

#04 - TREVOR BAUER - 40.0%

#05 - TYLER SKAGGS - 30.0%

#06 - GERRIT COLE - 24.3% (65.2% In Runoff)

#07 - JAMESON TAILLON - 26.0% (34.7 In 3-Way Runoff, 51.2% In 2-Way Runoff)

#08 - DYLAN BUNDY - 39.3%

#09 - DANNY HULTZEN - 45.6%

#10 - TAIJUAN WALKER - 31.6% (51.5% In Runoff)

#11 - DREW POMERANZ - 34.2%

#12 - JACOB TURNER - 45.7%

#13 - JARROD PARKER - 44.4%

#14 - JAMES PAXTON - 24.6% (51.6% In Runoff)

#15 - CARLOS MARTINEZ - 48.0%

#16 - RANDALL DELGADO - 28.6%

#17 - ARCHIE BRADLEY - 33.3%

#18 - MARTIN PEREZ - 32.3% (52.6% In Runoff)

#19 - ZACK WHEELER - 29.7% (67.9% In Runoff)

#20 - MATT HARVEY - 32.2% (55.4% In Runoff)

#21 - ROBBIE ERLIN - 37.1%

#22 - ARODYS VIZCAINO - 26.9% (58.5% In Runoff)

#23 - A.J. COLE - 32.2%

#24 - MANNY BANUELOS - 35.0%

#25 - BRAD PEACOCK - 22.4%

#26 - JAKE ODORIZZI - 28.3%

#27 - MIKE MONTGOMERY - 26.8%

#28 - NOAH SYNDERGAARD - 23.0% (50.9% In Runoff)

#29 - TREVOR MAY - 33.3%

#30 - TYRELL JENKINS - 25.0% (64.6% In Runoff)

#31 - ZACH LEE - 27.7% (58.7% In Runoff)

#32 - DREW HUTCHISON - 28.8%

#33 - KEYVIUS SAMPSON - 24.1%

#34 - CHAD BETTIS - 27.5% (52.1% In Runoff)

#35 - NESTOR MOLINA - 24.0%

#36 - WILY PERALTA - 20.9% (77.5% In Runoff)

#37 - DELLIN BETANCES - 23.5 (55.6% In Runoff)

#38 - SONNY GRAY - 19.6%

#39 - GARRETT RICHARDS - 18.9%

#40 - JUSTIN NICOLINO - 21.0% (51.0% in Runoff)

#41 - JOE WIELAND - 28.9%

#42 - TAYLOR JUNGMANN - 21.1%

#43 - JOSE CAMPOS - 26.4% (53.3% In Runoff)

#44 - LUIS HEREDIA - 26.0% (54.5% In Runoff)

#45 - DANIEL NORRIS - 22.0% (62.5% In Runoff)

#46 - CASEY KELLY - 38.3%

#47 - JARRED COSART - 31.0%

#48 - TAYLOR GUERRIERI - 25.0%

#49 - MATT BARNES - 25.0% (64.1% In Runoff)

#50 - JESSE BIDDLE - 34.1%

#51 - ADDISON REED - 35.6%

#52 - JED BRADLEY - 33.3%

#53 - JEURYS FAMILIA - 31.7%

#54 - NEIL RAMIREZ - 33.3%

#55 - NATHAN EOVALDI - 26.5% (53.3% In Runoff)

#56 - JOHN LAMB - 41.9%

#57 - DECK MCGUIRE - 27.2% (58.1% In Runoff)

#58 - ALEXANDER TORRES - 28.1%

#59 - ALLEN WEBSTER - 22.2% (55.9% In Runoff)

#60 - DANIEL CORCINO - 22.9% (66.7% In Runoff)

*

Matt Davidson, Charlie Blackmon and Joe Benson will face off in a 3 way runoff to determine the next positional prospect.

*

Please reply with a +1 to your favorite player and in the body of your reply indicated your 2nd favorite player. If there is a clear frontrunner after the 1st place votes are tallied, that player will be declared the winner. If it is close, we will do a 2 way runoff with the 2nd place votes of the last place candidate counting as first place votes.

#01 - BRYCE HARPER - 59.2%

#02 - MIKE TROUT - 38.8% (In Poll #1)

#03 - JURICKSON PROFAR - 52.9%

#04 - MANNY MACHADO - 31.5% (55.1% In Runoff)

#05 - DEVIN MESORACO - 45.1%

#06 - WILL MYERS - 31.6% (51.4% In Runoff)

#07 - JESUS MONTERO - 61.3%

#08 - ANTHONY RENDON - 53.1%

#09 - TRAVIS D'ARNAUD - 46.6%

#10 - NOLAN ARENADO - 33.3%

#11 - MIGUEL SANO - 37.3%

#12 - YONDER ALONSO - 22.5% (45.3% In 3-Way Runoff)

#13 - FRANCISCO LINDOR - 26.1%

#14 - BUBBA STARLING - 33.8%

#15 - XANDER BOGAERTS - 25.0% (55.2% In 3-Way Runoff)

#16 - ANTHONY RIZZO - 27.8%

#17 - OSCAR TAVERAS - 40.3%

#18 - BRETT JACKSON - 20.3% (58.7% In Runoff)

#19 - YASMANI GRANDAL - 31.3%

#20 - JAKE MARISNICK - 27.3%

#21 - HAK-JU LEE - 28.0%

#22 - NICK FRANKLIN - 24.3%

#23 - CHESLOR CUTHBERT - 30.3%

#24 - CHRISTIAN YELICH - 27.1%

#25 - JONATHAN SINGLETON - 21.9% (53.8% In Runoff)

#26 - MIKE OLT - 21.5% (67.7% In Runoff)

#27 - ANTHONY GOSE -22.7% (70.5% In Runoff)

#28 - GEORGE SPRINGER - 23.6% (59.6% In Runoff)

#29 - JOSH BELL - 27.1%

#30 - MICHAEL CHOICE - 17.4% (63.2% In Runoff)

#31 - GARY SANCHEZ - 24.6%

#32 - RYAN LAVARNWAY - 24.7%

#33 - GARY BROWN - 26.7%

#34 - LEONYS MARTIN - 20.3% (63.0% In Runoff)

#35 - NICK CASTELLANOS - 24.6% (58.5% In Runoff)

#36 - WILIN ROSARIO - 20.0% (51.7% In Runoff)

#37 - STARLING MARTE - 30.6%

#38 - JEAN SEGURA - 18.5% (52.2% In Runoff)

#39 - RYMER LIRIANO - 29.5%

#40 - JONATHAN SCHOOP - 27.3%

#41 - JEDD GYORKO - 22.8% (62.5% In Runoff)

#42 - KOLTEN WONG - 36.4%

#43 - ANDRELTON SIMMONS - 32.3%

#44 - WILL MIDDLEBROOKS - 16.1% (57.1% In Runoff)

#45 - JAVIER BAEZ - 22.0% (55.3% In Runoff)

#46 - OSWALDO ARCIA - 23.5%

#47 - TIM WHEELER - 25.5%

#48 - EDDIE ROSARIO - 32.7%

#49 - BILLY HAMILTON - 17.9% (52.2% In Runoff)

#50 - DEREK NORRIS - 15.7% (51.2% In Runoff)

#51 - MATT DOMINGUEZ - 20.4%

#52 - VINCENT CATRICALA - 18.8% (47.8% In 3-Way Runoff)

#53 - CORY SPANGENBERG - 17.4% (66.7% In Runoff)

#54 - ROBBIE GROSSMAN - 23.9%

#55 - BRANDON NIMMO - 20.0% (53.8% In Runoff)

#56 - GARIN CECCHINI - 28.9%

#57 - MATT SZCZUR - 33.3%

#58 - MASON WILLIAMS - 36.4%

#59 - MIKIE MAHTOOK - 25.8%

#60 - AARON HICKS - 13.9% (51.5% In 2-Way Runoff Following 4-Way Runoff)

#61 - MATT ADAMS - 13.9% (48.5% In 2-Way Runoff Following 4-Way Runoff)

#62 - CHRISTIAN BETHANCOURT - 14.6% (57.1% In Runoff)

*

I recently read an ESPN article about one of the best young catching prospects in baseball and as a long time Blue Jays’ fan and self-admitted prospect junkie it really gave me reason for pause. It seems that in this day and age, of round-the-clock updates and instant information, as sports fans we’re always looking for the ‘Next One.’ The next Strasburg, the next Bryce Harper, the next Buster Posey; this obsession with novelty borders almost on the pathological. Enter, catcher Travis D’Arnaud, the 22-year-old top prospect of the Toronto Blue Jays. Since his breakout 2011 campaign, D’Arnaud has been lauded by scouts and prospect gurus alike as a star in the making; a player that, if he fulfills his immense potential, could become among the very best in baseball.

That "IF" however, is a critical one. One only need be reminded of the many prospects that came before D’Arnaud, who were also gloriously praised, and failed to live up to expectations. But let’s put these thoughts aside for a moment, and take a look at what were really talking about here. The following are excerpts from the aforementioned ESPN article. It is a scouting report written by well-respected baseball analyst John Sickels, whose praise of Travis D’Arnaud in the past has been well-documented.

Background

Devan Mesoraco is universally regarded as the best catching prospect in baseball. But Blue Jays’ farmhand Travis D'Arnaud isn't far behind.

D'Arnaud was drafted with a supplemental first-round pick in 2007, out of high school in Lakewood, California. Considered athletic but somewhat raw when drafted, he's emerged faster than expected, and more than held his own following a promotion to Double-A.

Scouting report

D'Arnaud's athletic tools stand out…He does everything well, and is working hard to improve his catching fundamentals (blocking, game-calling, etc). His work ethic is rated as exceptional.

D'Arnaud has good pop in his bat, and does a fine job driving the ball to the opposite field. He could use additional plate discipline, but his strikeout rate is reasonable, and he is difficult to overpower. He actually showed better discipline in Double-A than in Class A, a good sign. D'Arnaud will never steal many bases, but he runs well for a catcher, and isn't a base clogger.

Performance

D'Arnaud has proven he can hit for average. His home run power should increase gradually. He handled Double-A pitching without difficulty at age 22, the marker of an excellent prospect. He led the Midwest League in catching fielding percentage in 2008, while throwing out 37 percent of runners.

Health record

Weird injuries have cost him playing time. D'Arnaud's 2007 debut season was cut short with a broken hand, and his 2010 campaign was closed early by a back injury. He's recovered fully from both injuries, but nagging wounds are something every catcher must deal with.

Seems like a pretty accurate characterization of Travis D'Arnaud's career and potential, except that it's not actually about Travis D'Arnaud at all. If you're wondering why I underlined specific parts of the text, it's because those were the parts of the article that I altered. If you follow this link you will find the original article:

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?id=1612228

You will discover that the scouting report you’ve just read actually belongs to catcher Jeff Mathis, whom the Blue Jays acquired from Anaheim on December 3rd 2011, in exchange for left-handed pitcher Brad Mills. The article itself is pretty old. Published on September 9th, 2003 when Mathis was just a 20-year-old prospect in the Angels organization. It provides an interesting window into the past, and a cautionary note, as Mathis, now 28, was once highly-regarded prospect himself, perhaps even more so than D'Arnaud is now.

At the time of Sickels’ article, Mathis was considered by many evaluators to be second only behind Minnesota’s Joe Mauer as far as catching prospects went, and was ranked among the top 10 or 20 prospects overall from about 2001-2004 ahead of the likes of Prince Fielder, Justin Morneau, Zack Greinke, David Wright, Jason Bay, Ervin Santana, Grady Sizemore, and even Felix Hernandez.

(at least according to this Hardball Times list)

http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/top50prospects_2004_parttwo/

Now what is the lesson in all of this? That even the most "can't miss" prospects can, in fact, miss? I think we all know that. Then perhaps it's something more prosaic like "we shouldn't count our chickens before they hatch"? Ditto! I think the point is less general and more specific than that. You see what the scouting reports show us is that there are many commonalities between the Blue Jays current top prospect Travis D'Arnaud, and the newly-acquired, former star prospect Jeff Mathis.

Both players were taken in the supplemental first round of their respective drafts (Mathis 33rd in 2001 and D’Arnaud 37th in 2007). Both were considered athletic, all-around catchers; praised for their defence, receiving ability, and leadership behind the plate. Both are right-handed hitters, with strong throwing arms, who for some reason have problems with their release when trying to throw out runners. Both have had their share of injury problems throughout their careers

Mathis: broken hand, back pain, and a dislocated wrist.

D’Arnaud: concussion, tweaked back, herniated disk surgery, and torn ligaments in thumb.

D’Arnaud and Mathis profiles read so similarly in fact that if one looked at the scouting reports of each player out of context, they would have difficulty telling them apart. Here are a couple of scouting reports just as an example. Based on what you’ve heard, read, or seen of D’Arnaud could you figure out which ones belong to him and which belong to Mathis?

One of the position’s top athletes

He's young, plays a key defensive position and wields a very promising bat

Defensively, he grades as above-average as both a receiver and thrower, with a plus arm, soft hands and quick feet. While he’s athletic enough to play an infield spot, he’s too good behind the plate to move

[S]trong hands and plus bat speed allow him to drive the ball with power into the gaps, and eventually will produce home runs. He’s a premium athlete with an aggressive nature and above-average tools behind the plate. He already shows advanced receiving skills, a plus arm and a quick release

There are legitimate knocks against him, including an impatient approach, a need to improve his throwing mechanics, and a tendency to get hurt

I think he's going to be a star!

There are a total of six excerpts; three belonging to D’Arnaud, three to Mathis. Here’s the exact breakdown: D’Arnaud, Mathis, D’Arnaud, Mathis, D’Arnaud, and Mathis. How did you do? I imagine it wasn’t easy. And that’s understandable. I was taken aback myself by the similarities. In fact that last quote about Mathis being a potential "star," has been said of D’Arnaud many times this year, and I could have easily substituted one of those quotes in its place.

Now while it’s one thing to share a similar scouting profile. It could simply be the result of the scouting language being somewhat limited. For a more objective perspective, perhaps we should look at each player’s statistics, to see what they can tell us.

Here are Travis D' Arnaud's defensive stats for his minor league career:

Year              Age           Tm    Lg  Lev    Aff  G CG   Ch   PO   A  E DP Fld% RF/G PB  SB  CS CS% PO Rctch Rtz
2007               18     Phillies  GULF   Rk PHI  C    23  182  167  11  4  0 .978 7.74  7  19   6    24%        -3
2008               19      2 Teams 2 Lgs A--A PHI  C    58  504  453  41 10  1 .980 8.52 16  58  14    19%        -5
2008               19 Williamsport  NYPL   A- PHI  C    42  367  330  31  6  0 .984 8.60 11  41  12    23%        -4
2008               19     Lakewood  SALL    A PHI  C    16  137  123  10  4  1 .971 8.31  5  17   2    11%        -1
2009               20     Lakewood  SALL    A PHI  C    99  891  817  68  6  7 .993 8.94  9 132  40    23%        -1
2010               21      Dunedin  FLOR   A+ TOR  C    58  467  427  38  2  3 .996 8.02  2  38  16              30%
2011               22 NewHampshire    EL   AA TOR  C    98  838  775  57  6  7 .993 8.49 13  66  24              27%

Jeff Mathis's defensive stats in the minors:

Year                      Age              Tm    Lg   Lev    Aff  G CG   Ch   PO   A  E DP  Fld% RF/G PB  SB  CS CS% PO Rctch Rtz
2001                       18         2 Teams 2 Lgs    Rk ANA  C    23  210  184  24  2  0  .990 9.04  5  26   8              24%
2001                       18          Angels  ARIZ    Rk ANA  C     3   21   19   2  0  0 1.000 7.00  1   2   0               0%
2001                       18          Angels  ARIZ    Rk ANA OF     1    0    0   0  0        0                             0.00
2001                       18           Provo  PION    Rk ANA  C    20  189  165  22  2  0  .989 9.35  4  24   8              25%
2002                       19     CedarRapids  MIDW     A ANA  C    80  680  606  70  4  2  .994 8.45  6  47  28              37%
2003                       20         2 Teams 2 Lgs A+-AA ANA  C   105  828  738  83  7  6  .992 7.82 19  89  30              25%
2003                       20 RanchoCucamonga  CALL    A+ ANA  C    82  635  562  67  6  6  .991 7.67 14  73  23              24%
2003                       20        Arkansas    TL    AA ANA  C    23  193  176  16  1  0  .995 8.35  5  16   7              30%
2004                       21        Arkansas    TL    AA ANA  C   104  701  626  61 14  3  .980 6.61                          12
2005                       22        SaltLake   PCL   AAA LAA  C    94  654  598  47  9  5  .986 6.86  6  52  25    32%        -1
2006                       23        SaltLake   PCL   AAA LAA  C    83  614  547  61  6  9  .990 7.33  6  61  31    34%         0
2007                       24        SaltLake   PCL   AAA LAA  C    58  446  383  55  8  7  .982 7.55  6  32  21    40%         6
                                                                                                                            

A few pertinent differences arise when first looking at these charts. Mathis made it to Double-A as a 20-year-old, while D'Arnaud did not arrive there until his age-22 season. D'Arnaud had 47 passed-balls in five minor league seasons, including 13 in Double-A New Hampshire in 2011. Mathis had 61 in eight minor league seasons including 12 in Double-A as a 21-year-old (an average of 7.6 compared to D'Arnaud's 9.4 per season).

Now D'Arnaud did top Mathis in career fielding percentage at 99.0 per cent to 98.8 per cent in each of their respective minor league careers. But considering that Mathis was almost two years younger than D'Arnaud at each level played, the .20 per cent difference is somewhat negligible.

Does this mean that Mathis was better defensively as a prospect than D'Arnaud is now? Not necessarily. Statistics can sometimes be misleading. As far as reputation goes they both were heralded as very good defensive catchers coming up through their respective organizations, with Mathis possibly having a slight edge.

Defensively if there has been one criticism of D’Arnaud, it has been his inability to throw out runners. Though possessing a plus arm, his release times have been consistently average to below average so far in his young career.

[D’Arnaud’s] throwing arm is well above average, and he's ironing out some flaws in his mechanics that inhibited his throwing at times. He threw out just 19% of runners in 2008

The same thing has been said of Mathis now in his major league career, where in 7 seasons he has compiled a mediocre caught-stealing percentage of 24 per cent, mirroring D’Arnaud’s unimpressive career caught stealing numbers, despite his inflated defensive reputation. These concerns were likewise being expressed about Mathis when he was still a prospect. Here’s what Sickels had to say in that old ESPN article:

[Mathis] has a strong arm, but he sometimes has problems with his release. He hasn't thrown out runners at a great clip this year

Now as for their offensive comparison: Physically D'Arnaud presents a more projectable package at 6'2 than the 6’0 Mathis. But their minor league numbers stack up pretty evenly at first glance:

D'Arnaud

Year                      Age           Tm      Lg  Lev Aff   G   PA   AB   R   H  2B 3B HR RBI SB CS  BB  SO   BA  OBP  SLG  OPS  TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB
2007                       18     Phillies    GULF   Rk PHI  41  151  141  18  34   3  0  4  20  4  2   4  23 .241 .278 .348 .626  49   7   4  0  2   0
2008                       19      2 Teams   2 Lgs A--A PHI  64  267  239  33  73  18  1  6  30  1  2  23  39 .305 .367 .464 .831 111   5   2  0  3   2
2008                       19 Williamsport    NYPL   A- PHI  48  197  175  21  54  13  1  4  25  1  2  18  29 .309 .371 .463 .833  81   3   1  0  3   2
2008                       19     Lakewood    SALL    A PHI  16   70   64  12  19   5  0  2   5  0  0   5  10 .297 .357 .469 .826  30   2   1  0  0   0
2009                       20     Lakewood    SALL    A PHI 126  540  482  71 123  38  1 13  71  8  4  41  75 .255 .319 .419 .738 202  10   8  0  9   1
2010                       21      Dunedin    FLOR   A+ TOR  71  292  263  36  68  20  1  6  38  3  1  20  63 .259 .315 .411 .726 108   6   4  0  5   1
2011                       22 NewHampshire      EL   AA TOR 114  466  424  72 132  33  1 21  78  4  2  33 100 .311 .371 .542

Mathis

Year                          Age              Tm       Lg   Lev Aff   G   PA   AB   R   H  2B 3B HR RBI SB CS  BB  SO   BA  OBP  SLG  OPS   TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB
2001                           18         2 Teams    2 Lgs    Rk ANA  29  119  100  15  30   7  3  0  21  1  0  13  17 .300 .378 .430 .808   43   2   2  0  4   0
2001                           18           Provo     PION    Rk ANA  22   93   77  14  23   6  3  0  18  1  0  11  13 .299 .387 .455 .842   35   1   2  0  3   0
2001                           18          Angels     ARIZ    Rk ANA   7   26   23   1   7   1  0  0   3  0  0   2   4 .304 .346 .348 .694    8   1   0  0  1   0
2002                           19     CedarRapids     MIDW     A ANA 128  549  491  75 141  41  3 10  73  7  4  40  75 .287 .346 .444 .790  218   6   8  2  8   3
2003                           20         2 Teams    2 Lgs A+-AA ANA 121  533  473  92 149  39  3 13  68  6  5  47  90 .315 .380 .493 .872  233   6   6  1  6   1
2003                           20 RanchoCucamonga     CALL    A+ ANA  97  422  378  73 122  28  3 11  54  5  3  35  74 .323 .384 .500 .884  189   4   5  0  4   0
2003                           20        Arkansas       TL    AA ANA  24  111   95  19  27  11  0  2  14  1  2  12  16 .284 .364 .463 .827   44   2   1  1  2   1
2004                           21        Arkansas       TL    AA ANA 117  494  432  57  98  24  3 14  55  2  1  49 102 .227 .310 .394 .704  170   5   5  4  4   1
2005                           22        SaltLake      PCL   AAA LAA 111  476  424  78 118  26  3 21  73  4  3  42  84 .278 .342 .502 .844  213   7   1  5  4   1
2006                           23        SaltLake      PCL   AAA LAA  99  417  384  62 111  33  3  5  45  3  1  26  75 .289 .333 .430 .763  165   6   2  0  5   1
2007                           24        SaltLake      PCL   AAA LAA  66  273  250  39  61  14  2  5  26  3  1  17  45 .244 

2011 is largely considered D'Arnaud's breakout season offensively as a prospect. As a 22-year-old in his first season with Toronto’s Double-A New Hampshire affiliate he hit for a triple slash line of .311/.372/.542 with 21 homeruns, 78 RBIs, and a 33-100 ratio of walks-to-strikeouts. Mathis in contrast, arrived in Double-A Arkansas with the Angels midway through 2003 as a 20-year-old. There he hit .284/.364/.483 albeit in only 111 plate appearances after being promoted from High-A Rancho Cucamonga where he had hit .323/.324/.500 in 422 plate appearances along with 11 homeruns, 54 RBIs, and 35 BB to 74 SO.

The next season Mathis again found himself in Double-A Arkansas to start the year. A year older, he struggled for a combination of reasons, including nagging health issues, which resulted in a line of .227/.310/.394, albeit with 14 homeruns, and 54 RBIs, to go with a respectable 49 BB to 102 SO. It had been the first time in his minor league career that Mathis had struggled with the bat. Previous to that he had averaged a triple slash line of .305/.395/.444 over three minor league seasons bettering D’Arnaud’s career average of .278/.336/.452.

Now a couple of important considerations must be made. The first is that Mathis was virtually a year-and-a-half younger at every level he played at (prior to 2006) than D’Arnaud was at every level he’s played. Furthermore, Mathis’ career minor league offensive totals have been marginally better on average than D’Arnaud’s have been so far in his young career. However, Mathis overall numbers may be somewhat inflated by having played in favourable hitting environments in Triple-A Salt Lake of the Pacific Coast League, and High-A Rancho Cucamonga of the California League (often called the PCL of the low minors). In contrast, Lakewood of the Sally (South Atlantic League) in which D’Arnaud played from 2008-2009 while he was with the Phillies, as well as Dunedin of the Florida State League (The Blue Jays High-A affiliate) have long been considered pitcher’s havens that have typically depressed hitting numbers.

Overall D’Arnaud’s offensive reputation is probably slightly ahead of Mathis’s at the same point in their respective careers, despite what the stats might suggest. But Mathis bat was well-regarded in its own right, having been projected (during his prospect days) to be capable of plus power and average, to go along with above average plate discipline. It is highly doubtful that any of the prospect pundits that had predicted future stardom for Mathis (as many of the same pundits do now for D’Arnaud) would have envisioned him becoming one of the worst offensive players in baseball. Here are two scouts’ take on each player:

[H]as all-star caliber tools, on both sides of the game and might hit .275 each season with 20-25 home runs.

At his peak, I would not be surprised to see [him] surface as a .270-.285 hitter with 18-25 home run power while contributing above average defense and plus game management skills.

The first report refers to Jeff Mathis while the second belongs to Travis D’Arnaud; though both reports read almost identical. You would think the scouts were talking about the same player.

But what does this mean for the Blue Jays’ Travis D’Arnaud? Is he destined to be the overwhelming disappointment the once-hyped Jeff Mathis has ultimately turned out to be, just because they share a few interesting corollaries? Of course not! The trajectory of a player’s development is not linear, and thus neither should prospect evaluation.

It’s tough to figure out what really happened to Mathis. What kept him from fulfilling his immense potential? Or did nothing at all happen, and he just wasn’t as good as some people thought he was? Perhaps there are also deficiencies in D’Arnaud’s game which might hold him back from fulfilling his potential the way that Mathis’ did him.

Now offensively D’Arnaud’s profile shows very few weaknesses but if there were one it would have to be his inability to hit hard pitches inside on his hands. As one scout says:

[D’Arnaud] has trouble with cutting, inside fastballs and savvy pitchers at higher levels have clearly learned to exploit this weakness over the past couple of seasons. Instead of keeping his hands inside of the ball, when he’s pressing, he’ll sacrifice his swing mechanics in an attempt to pull an inside pitch to left—leading to strikeouts and foul pop-ups.

Now, if you look at this analysis of Jeff Mathis’ hot and cold hitting zone charts for his major league career, he has likewise shown an inability to handle inside pitches.

.444 .167 .000

.222 .476 .059

.125 .368 .000

His hot zones are pretty much pitches right down the middle and up and away. But as the chart also shows, Mathis is hitting below .059 on pitches inside. He also shows difficulty hitting pitches on the outside, which was once considered one of his strengths. Could his inability to hit the inside pitch have caused him to cheat, and thus lead him to become vulnerable to outside pitches?

One other issue with Mathis throughout his major league career has been his terrible walk and strikeout percentages. Walk and strikeout percentage are advanced offensive stats used to measure a player’s plate discipline. In Mathis’ career both of these have been severely lacking.

Mathis major league walk rate is precisely 7.0 per cent, a point and a half lower than the league average, which is roughly 8.5 per cent. His strikeout rate is even more alarming at 26.5 per cent, well above the league average of 20.7 per cent. But this hadn’t always been the case with Mathis. His minor league stats and scouting reports all spoke of a player with excellent contact ability, and plate discipline. His career strikeout and walk percentages in the minors were an excellent 17.1k to 8.2bb respectively which would rate as above average to average. Again we have to ask what went wrong for Mathis, and further, could it also happen for D’Arnaud.

To find out, we have to compare D’Arnaud’s peripheral numbers. For D’Arnaud’s career his walk and strikeout rates both rank as below average, and were certainly worse on par than Mathis’ at 17.1k and 7.1bb. Moreover, you see D’Arnaud’s plate discipline and contact rate beginning to trend downwards as they did for Mathis as he rose to higher levels, and better competition.

In Rookie ball and A-ball D’Arnaud’s strikeout rate was outstanding at 16.0k, which would qualify as above average. His walk rate remains pretty steady for his career however at 7.0 per cent, which is slightly below average, but not to a significant degree.

Once he was promoted to Double-A New Hampshire however, D’Arnaud’s strikeout rate jumps significantly from 16.0 per cent to 21.5 per cent, a 5.5 per cent increase, which is not offset by the measly 0.1 per cent increase in his walk-rate. It is surprising that even given these contact issues D’Arnaud was able to post impressive numbers during his Double-A debut, but as he moves up to Triple-A next season and potentially the Major Leagues, and those numbers continue to trend towards the negative, he could see similar decline to Mathis, whose contact rate and plate discipline in the Show has been horrendous.

What does this mean for D’Arnaud? We’ll have to wait and see. In 2012 he will still be 22-years-old and will begin his sixth season in the minor leagues playing for the Las Vegas of the Pacific Coast League. Depending on his performance there, he will likely make his debut in the Major Leagues for the Toronto Blue Jays sometime later in the year. When he does he’ll be playing alongside Mathis his scouting doppelganger. In German myth and folklore a doppelganger acts as a person’s supernatural double that is said to be an ominous sign. Perhaps this is what Mathis is now for D’Arnaud, a sobering reminder that being a highly-rated prospect in baseball is about as fleeting as alcohol induced euphoria, because the player the Blue Jays just acquired from the Angels also stood where he does now, in his same cleats, in a manner of speaking.

Hey guys,
We are creating a dynasty baseball league that will be run on ESPN. Everyone will get to choose a team, with salaries and much more. I just ask that everyone remains active all year and to have a good time. The league is half full now, hopefully can get 12 or so more by Friday. Please have good knowledge of minor league players, and please consider the commitment it will take to compete in this league.

If interested, shoot the league commissioner an email at codyz_bullz92@yahoo.com

Thanks,
Mike

Hey all. New to posting on the site, but have been a long time lurker. This isn't a question about a trade in particular but more of a philosophy type of question.

Background: I am a member of a 28 team dynasty league. I've been part of the league for 5 years now and have always done well making our playoffs for all 5 years. That really is the base of my dilemma. We have a salary cap, as well as raising salaries for our players.

I'm considering tearing down my team and going into full rebuild mode. The reasoning for this thinking is that while I've made the playoffs, I don't have the guns to match up with the big boys and usually get bounced around the second round. I have enough parts and pieces in which I could likely get quite a few top 50 prospects (around 10) and rebuild my team around young MLB talent and higher end prospects. I understand that this would basically eliminate my chances for any type of winning record for the next few years but feel the reward could be worth it.

I'm not going to ask if I should trade this player for that set of prospects as I feel comfortable enough in my ability to evaluate the guys that I'm looking for.

My question to you all would be how would you handle a team like this? Try and develop your team further and attempt to get further (which in my scenario would be difficult at best as I don't really have a super deep minors roster but have some nice talent but it's far away from making an impact) Or would you tear apart your team, fill it with high upside prospects / young mlb guys and hope the prospects pan out to build a contender? Realizing that you won't compete in the short term, but possibly a way to build something much better than you have currently.

With 55.8% of the vote, Derek Norris is elected Overall Community Prospect #89.

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PITCHING PROSPECT JUSTIN NICOLINO vs POSITIONAL PROSPECT MATT DOMINGUEZ

Positional Prospects In The Queue: Vincent Catricala, Cory Spangenberg, Robbie Grossman

Pitching Prospects In The Queue: Joe Wieland, Taylor Jungmann, Jose Campos

OVERALL COMMUNITY PROSPECT LIST:

#01 - BRYCE HARPER - 56.9%

#02 - MIKE TROUT - 60%

#03 - MATT MOORE - 96%

#04 - JURICKSON PROFAR - 51.9%

#05 - JULIO TEHERAN - 60.9%

#06 - SHELBY MILLER - 58.7%

#07 - MANNY MACHADO - 87.7%

#08 - DEVIN MESORACO - 69.4%

#09 - TREVOR BAUER - 55.3%

#10 - WILL MYERS - 73.8%

#11 - JESUS MONTERO - 73.7%

#12 - ANTHONY RENDON - 72.9%

#13 - TYLER SKAGGS - 54.3%

#14 - GERRIT COLE - 51.4%

#15 - TRAVIS D'ARNAUD - 60.9%

#16 - JAMESON TAILLON - 56.1%

#17 - DYLAN BUNDY - 65.0%

#18 - NOLAN ARENADO - 63.1%

#19 - DANNY HULTZEN - 81.1%

#20 - TAIJUAN WALKER - 62.7%

#21 - DREW POMERANZ - 67.9%

#22 - MIGUEL SANO - 62.5%

#23 - JACOB TURNER - 54.7%

#24 - JARROD PARKER - 60.4%

#25 - YONDER ALONSO - 68.4%

#26 - JAMES PAXTON - 61.4%

#27 - FRANCISCO LINDOR - 59.0%

#28 - CARLOS MARTINEZ - 50.8%

#29 - BUBBA STARLING - 65.2%

#30 - XANDER BOGAERTS - 50.8%

#31 - RANDALL DELGADO - 66.1%

#32 - ARCHIE BRADLEY - 53.8%

#33 - ANTHONY RIZZO - 60.0%

#34 - OSCAR TAVERAS - 58.7%

#35 - MARTIN PEREZ - 52.9%

#36 - ZACK WHEELER - 59.3%

#37 - BRETT JACKSON - 50.8%

#38 - YASMANI GRANDAL - 50.9%

#39 - MATT HARVEY - 54.5%

#40 - JAKE MARISNICK - 79.1%

#41 - HAK-JU LEE - 68.5%

#42 - NICK FRANKLIN - 59.3%

#43 - ROBBIE ERLIN - 57.1%

#44 - CHESLOR CUTHBERT - 57.1%

#45 - CHRISTIAN YELICH - 51.9%

#46 - ARODYS VIZCAINO - 53.6%

#47 - JONATHAN SINGLETON - 52.5%

#48 - A.J. COLE - 55.1%

#49 - MIKE OLT - 51.9%

#50 - ANTHONY GOSE - 59.3%

#51 - MANNY BANUELOS - 67.6%

#52 - GEORGE SPRINGER - 57.4%

#53 - BRAD PEACOCK - 53.8%

#54 - JAKE ODORIZZI - 66.0%

#55 - JOSH BELL - 63.0%

#56 - MICHAEL CHOICE - 63.0%

#57 - GARY SANCHEZ - 54.0%

#58 - MIKE MONTGOMERY - 50.8%

#59 - NOAH SYNDERGAARD - 51.6%

#60 - TREVOR MAY - 63.8%

#61 - RYAN LAVARNWAY - 58.8%

#62 - GARY BROWN - 64.4%

#63 - TYRELL JENKINS - 53.2%

#64 - LEONYS MARTIN - 65.8%

#65 - NICK CASTELLANOS - 60.7%

#66 - ZACH LEE - 71.2%

#67 - DREW HUTCHISON - 60.0%

#68 - WILIN ROSARIO - 61.7%

#69 - STARLING MARTE - 71.4%

#70 - JEAN SEGURA - 76.9%

#71 - RYMER LIRIANO - 76.9%

#72 - KEYVIUS SAMPSON - 53.5%

#73 - JONATHAN SCHOOP - 58.1%

#74 - JEDD GYORKO - 57.5%

#75 - KOLTEN WONG - 62.8%

#76 - CHAD BETTIS - 76.5%

#77 - ANDRELTON SIMMONS - 55.0%

#78 - WILL MIDDLEBROOKS - 52.2%

#79 - NESTOR MOLINA - 61.5%

#80 - JAVIER BAEZ - 66.7%

#81 - OSWALDO ARCIA - 52.8%

#82 - TIM WHEELER - 53.5%

#83 - EDDIE ROSARIO - 55.6%

#84 - WILY PERALTA - 65.0%

#85 - DELLIN BETANCES - 85.1%

#86 - SONNY GRAY - 75.0%

#87 - BILLY HAMILTON - 60.5%

#88 - GARRETT RICHARDS - 55.0%

#89 - DEREK NORRIS - 55.8%

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