Excerpts from Keith Law Top 100 Prospects Chat

ESPN's Keith Law held a chat for insiders on Thursday to answer questions on his Top 100 prospect rankings, which were released Thursday morning. He also held a prospects chat in Spanish here.

For me, his Top 100 Prospect Rankings are the rankings I put the most faith in when evaluating prospects for my three keeper league drafts. I also use John Sickels rankings/ratings as well. I don't know why I lean toward Law's rankings over others including Baseball America, Baseball Prospectus and Project Prospect, among others, but I just do. His analysis of each player is very informative.

Here are some excerpts:

Josh (Anchorage, AK)

Which 2 or 3 prospects do you have a gut feeling you may have ranked too low on your list? Great work, BTW.

Klaw

(1:06 PM)

I'd start with Austin Hedges, who is in the just missed category. Could be too low on Delgado (if he's got a better chance to start than I think), Neil Ramirez (dinged him on health), and May.

Hedges is a name to remember as he is a catcher in the Padres organization who comes with much acclaim as a good defensive catcher with power.

Bunger (Syracuse)

Matt Davidson was a guy I didn't expect to see, can you give us some insight into what he ceiling might be at the plate?

Klaw

(1:15 PM)

Average glove at third, chance to hit .300 with 20-25 HR and some walks.

Here's a guy who you won't see on many Top 100 prospect lists, but KLaw is high on him. One of the many reasons why I value his rankings more than most. I grabbed Davidson with the 4th pick in the minor league portion of the Fake Teams Dynasty League draft.

More excerpts after the jump:

Pierce (Memphis, TN)

If Tyrell Jenkins has a solid season, could he break the Top 25 next year?

Klaw

(1:18 PM)

Yes.

Jenkins is another prospect who doesn't get much hype. He's just 19 years old, so to say he could make the Top 25 in 2013 is saying a lot. Jenkins went 4-2 in 11 starts in the Appalachian League, or rookie ball. He struck out 55 and walked 13 in 56 innings resulting in an excellent K/BB rate of 4.33

Justin (San Diego)

How much of a red flag should it be that Rhymer Liriano had to be sent down and repeat a level in order to produce?

Klaw

(1:32 PM)

He'd been overpromoted in the first place.

Liriano might start getting more love this season, especially after his excellent season in Low A which saw him hit .319-.383-.499 with 12 HRs, 62 RBI, 81 runs and 65 stolen bases. KLaw raved about him in his player profile, saying he is a potential 30-30 hitter down the road.

Craig (Bethesda, MD)

Why Pederson over Silverio on the Dodgers top 10 list? I know Silverio has some issues, but I thought you liked him OK when you saw him at the futures game last year?

Klaw

(1:34 PM)

Silverio's probably a 4th OF, chance to be a regular. Pederson's further away, chance to be an above-average regular or better.

As a Dodgers fan, it would be nice to have a hitting prospect make the Top 100 rankings here and there, and Pederson could if he can follow up solid performance in rookie ball. Pederson hit .353-.429-.568 with 11 HRs, 64 RBI and 24 stolen bases and a 54-36 K/BB rate in 266 at bats last season.