I was reading the comments section of this article I posted on December 30th, and saw reader Highheat comment that he would like to see more of these type of articles, so let's discuss ranking the top hitting prospects today, and then maybe we can drill down to top hitting prospects by position in the next few days/weeks.
So how would you rank the following hitting prospects from the 2011 MLB draft, along with a couple guys who broke out in 2011:
Anthony Rendon, WAS
Yoennis Cespedes, TBD
Bubba Starling, KC
Jake Marisnick, TOR
Travis d'Arnaud, TOR
Xander Bogaerts, BOS
Cheslor Cuthbert, KC
Matt Adams, STL
My take after the jump:
I am going to stick with Rendon at the #1 ranking, and here is the rest of my ranking:
Anthony Rendon
Jake Marisnick
Travis d'Arnaud
Cheslor Cuthbert
Xander Bogaerts
Bubba Starling
Yoennis Cespedes
Matt Adams
As you can see, I am down on Cespedes a bit, but I think we will hear more about him once he finally becomes a free agent. Right now, according to MLB, he is not a free agent, as he still needs to get approval from MLB and the USA, so that could take a few more weeks.
Assuming Rendon can recover from his 2011 injuries, and he should, he could turn into a 20+ HR, .290 BA hitter in the big leagues. If he moves to second base, a BIG IF, he would have huge value in all leagues.
I ranked d'Arnaud higher than a few guys I like more as he is a catcher who could give fantasy owners 20+ HRs in his prime.
Marisnick could be one of the top prospects in baseball should he improve his power numbers. He hit .320-.392-.500 with 14 HRs, 77 RBI and 37 stolen bases in Low A in 2011. He doesn't strike out a lot (around 17%) and walks a good amount (8%), so the power could improve in 2012.
Cuthbert and Bogaerts are two 18 year old third baseman who tore up Low A in 2011, and could very well be in many Top 25 prospect lists in 2012.
Come this time in 2013, Starling could easily be atop this list should he hit well in 2012, but I am not sure where the Royals will start him this year. Low A sound about right?
So how would you rank these hitting prospects?
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