ESPN's Keith Law published his much anticipated Top 100 prospect list today, along with his Top 10 prospects for each organization, and his Top 10 who missed his Top 100 list.
I put a little more faith in Law's Top 100 lists than those from Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus, as his list varies somewhat from most of the Top 100 lists from BA and BP. He was on Andrew McCutchen even after a mediocre 2008 season, and we all know how McCutchen has fared since. Plus, he has answered every one of my emails over the last few years.
Here is his top 25 list, with a few surprises:
1. Jason Heyward, OF, ATL
2, Stephen Strasburg, SP, WAS
3. Carlos Santana, C, CLE
4. Buster Posey, C, SFG
5. Mike Stanton, OF, FLA
6. Desmond Jennings, OF, TB
7. Martin Perez, SP, TEX
8. Dustin Ackley, OF, SEA
9. Justin Smoak, 1B, TEX
10. Jesus Montero, C, NYY
11. Brian Matusz, SP, BAL
12. Starlin Castro, SS, CHC
13. Neftali Feliz, SP, TEX
14. Domonic Brown, OF, PHI
15. Wade Davis, SP, TB
16. Aroldis Chapman, SP, CIN
17. Jeremy Hellickson, SP, TB
18. Casey Kelly, SP, BOS
19. Aaron Hicks, SP, MIN
20. Brett Wallace, 1B, TOR
21. Logan Morrison, 1B, FLA
22. Tyler Matzek, SP, COL
23. Jenrry Mejia, SP, NYM
24, Michael Taylor, OF, OAK
25. Zach Britton, SP, BAL
One of the surprises is his ranking of Cubs shortstop prospect Starlin Castro. Here is what he said about him:
Castro is one of the most exciting position player prospects in the minors as a quick-twitch player with an electric bat and a hose for an arm at shortstop. As a hitter, Castro has lightning in his wrists and the ball absolutely flies off his bat. He's going to be an impact bat in the middle of the diamond and could arrive as early as late 2010.
This glowing report doesn't make my decision much easier come draft day in one of my NL-only keeper leagues. I have the #2 pick in the minor league draft, and I was leaning toward taking Dodgers SS prospect Dee Gordon due to his SB potential.
Another surprise for me was his ranking of Reds pitching prospect Aroldis Chapman. Here is an excerpt:
He projects comfortably as an ace with a fastball that sits in the upper 90s and has legitimately hit 101 with good life, and he will flash a plus slider with good tilt. He has a changeup but seldom had to use it because he could get hitters out with velocity and fastball movement. He's very likely to become a No. 1 starter, but there's enough risk here -- including the possibility he'll end up in relief -- to keep him out of the top 10.
In my keeper league, I have the #7, 10 and 13 picks, in addition to the #2 pick, in the minor league draft, so I am curious if Chapman can fall to me at the 7 or 10 picks.
I will have a few more excerpts on Saturday.