This is a kid that has played the entire season at age 18, has a .893 OPS in the 2nd half, great contact rate, improved plate discipline, his success on the basepaths has improved dramatically this year, all things you love to see.

From a fantasy perspective, he’s got to be the top pick at SS.

he had the highest batting average on the US olympic team, playing SS everyday, batting in the 9 hole.

i think it’s well within the realm of possibility that he turns into a .280/.350/.450 hitter at the major league level. maybe he won’t hit 30 HRs, like brandon wood, and maybe he won’t steal 50 bases like elvis andrus. but he’s a good bet to hit 15-20 HRs, and a good bet to steal 10-15 bases. and he plays a solid enough SS to get in the lineup day in, day out.

my ranking of the position would be as follows:
escobar, MIL
frazier, CIN
wood, LAA
donald, PHI
marcus lemon, TEX
andrus, TEX
cardenas, OAK
dejesus, LAD
justin jackson, TOR
flores, NYM

i’m much more apt to go for the solid, unspectacular, dependable everyday SS, because i think it’s such a hard position to play. i just want a guy who stays within himself and is a solid building block for the future.

A matter of being solid defensively means a ton for a shortstop. Shortstop is probably the position with the greatest amount of movement away . . .very high standards here. So guys who are definitely going to stick at SS are definitely at a premium here . . .it would take a considerable bat to make up for any questions.

Pete Kozma needs to be on here somewhere. Young but a true SS and an intriguing bat. I’d take Justin Jackson over Brandon Hicks. Little skeptical on Frazier’s glove . . .I don’t think the Reds really know where he slots in yet, but he’s a good enough athlete that playing at SS for the moment is beneficial to his overall development. Nice bat though. Ditto for Cardenas, I think. Jason Donald is intriguing but where on that team does he fit?

18 year old in Rookie ball for the Nats, signed out of the DR for $1.4M when he was 16. He’s posted a .343/.432/.482 line so far this year, 8/2 SB/CS in 180 PAs. Just Rookie Ball, but his plate discipline and developing power are impressive, and there are few doubts he’ll be able to stick at short.

Did he move back there for the A’s? I have a hard time believing he’ll play there in the bigs, and regardless, think Brignac belongs higher than him.

Also, if you’re going to put guys like Flores on the list—and I love Flores—you should really put both Beckhams there too.

Brignac is the only guy on the list who projects to hit for power, average, and stay at SS. Out of your top 6 only Andrus, Escobar, and Brignac will stay at short

Being young and Latin is not some kind of guarantee that you will suddenly learn how to hit a baseball. There’s no possible way he’s in front of most of these guys.

Man these Phils prospects can’t get any love from you. First Marson & D’Arnaud are stiffed from the top 10 catchers, then Donald here, & Carrasco on the top 25 pitchers.

Not sure where Donald ends up i2B/SS or even 3B in the future. But all he’s done is produce at each level, he’s had .300+ BA, & .850+ OPS at A/A+/AA the past two years & was arguably the best hitter for the US team in the Olympics. He hit 14 HR’s in only 86 games, so he would’ve hit 20+ if not for the Olympics and a few minor injuries.

love the rankings. What is the consensus on Pete Kozma? struggled since his promotion to HI-A….but seems to have potential and is young? he in anyones top 10 SS prospects?

I find it hard to rate any 18 or 19 year old in A or A+ over say a Jason Donald for example. There are always adjustments from level to level and then some of the luster goes away and then we look for the next 18 year old. I believe we should rate MLB prospects starting in AA and the rate all the rookie and single A players in another group and call them AAA prospects. It just seems that so many progress to AA and the issues begin. Maybe it is just me.

Cardenas
Triunfel
Frazier
Escobar
Wood
Brignac
Andrus
Flores
DeJesus
Donald

3-4 rbi double in his Brooklyn debut.