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As we start moving through the month of January, we are going to start seeing more and more top overall lists of prospects coming out. Add into that the organization top lists that will be coming out from Baseball America, Baseball Prospectus, and at some point Keith Law's top lists, and it's likely to be a busy month for minor league links here at Fake Teams.
Minor League Ball
New York Yankees Top 20 Prospects for 2012 - Minor League Ball
"1) Jesus Montero, C-DH, Grade A: What he did in the majors last year was not a fluke. It was at the high end of expectation, yes, and I wouldn't expect him to hit like that over 500 plate appearances at age 22. He may need some adjustment time, but his bat is truly outstanding and he wasn't just getting lucky. His glove isn't very good and while he's not a complete player in terms of contributing speed or defense, his hitting is so strong he still gets a Grade A from me."
San Francisco Giants Top 20 Prospects for 2012 - Minor League Ball
"2) Joe Panik, SS-2B, Grade B: I was very impressed with him in the Arizona Fall League. Line drive bat with gap power, good plate discipline, uses speed well on the bases, plays with fire. I think he can be an average defensive shortstop or above-average at second base. Nice tablesetter when combined with Brown at the top of the future Giants order."
Cleveland Indians Top 20 Prospects for 2012 - Minor League Ball
"1) Francisco Lindor, SS, Grade B+: A strong defensive shortstop who can hit, at least for average. Not expected to have big power, but not punchless either. He should be a force at the top of the order while providing a slick glove, and probably won't need as much time in the minors as many high schoolers."
Jake Marisnick: A Future Top 10 Prospect? - Minor League Ball
Ray Guilfoyle discusses Blue Jays outfield prospect Jake Marisnick and wonders if he is a future Top 10 prospect.
Fake Teams
Minor League Keeper Thoughts: Chicago Cubs - FakeTeams
I took a deep look at some of the top names to know for your fantasy team from within the Cubs' minor league organization.
Fantasy Prospect Starting Pitcher Rankings for 2012 - FakeTeams
I took a look at the top Fantasy Starting Pitcher Prospects for 2012.
Ranking the Hitting Prospects: Rendon, Cespedes, Starling and Others - FakeTeams
Ray takes a look at ranking some of the top Hitting Prospects: Rendon, Cespedes, Starling among others.
Ranking the Pitching Prospects: Cole, Darvish, Bauer, Hultzen and Others - FakeTeams
Ray takes a look at Ranking Some of the Top Pitching Prospects: Cole, Darvish, Bauer, Hultzen among others
Top 100 Prospects: Kevin Goldstein's Top Rated Hitting Prospects - FakeTeams
Ray summarizes Kevin Goldstein's top hitting prospects for 2012.
Top 100 Prospects: John Sickels' Top Rated Hitting Prospects - FakeTeams
Ray summarizes John Sickel's top rated hitting prospects for 2012.
Seedlings to Stars
The Seedlings To Stars 2012 Top 100 Prospects, #1: Mike Trout - Seedlings to Stars - A Minor League Baseball Site - Draft and Prospect News, Blogs, Opinion and More
"Trout was the rare player to make the majors at age 19, and he acquitted himself just fine. Yes, his batting average was low, but he showed some secondary skills, with a 6.7% walk rate and .171 ISO. Overall, he was worth 0.8 WAR in 40 games already, and it’s easy to see him as an average starting center fielder in 2012 despite being just 20 years old."
The Seedlings To Stars 2012 Top 100 Prospects, #2: Jurickson Profar - Seedlings to Stars - A Minor League Baseball Site - Draft and Prospect News, Blogs, Opinion and More
"Profar projects as the quintessential leadoff hitter, much like Harper is the ideal cleanup man. The shortstop switch-hits, runs well, and shows an incredibly advanced approach for his age–he walked more than he struck out in 2011, which is shocking given his youth. Furthermore, he ripped an extra-base hit every other game (57 in 115 contests), and could be an annual 15-20 HR player with a ton of doubles and triples."
The Seedlings To Stars 2012 Top 100 Prospects, #3: Bryce Harper - Seedlings to Stars - A Minor League Baseball Site - Draft and Prospect News, Blogs, Opinion and More
"As time goes on, I’m more and more coming around to the idea that Harper is actually #1, but I haven’t changed any other rankings on this list (some of which I regret far more), and am not making an exception for this either. Still, as I said in discussing Matt Moore yesterday, the top four are all very close."
The Seedlings To Stars 2012 Top 100 Prospects, #4: Matt Moore - Seedlings to Stars - A Minor League Baseball Site - Draft and Prospect News, Blogs, Opinion and More
"Moore should be an ace, as he’s got three pitches that could be plus at the least, and he commands all of them. If you look deep enough, you can see small warts, but he remains an absolute monster prospect, easily the best pitching prospect in the game, and arguably the best overall."
The Seedlings To Stars 2012 Top 100 Prospects, #5: Tyler Skaggs - Seedlings to Stars - A Minor League Baseball Site - Draft and Prospect News, Blogs, Opinion and More
"There is a fair gap separating Skaggs from the top 4 prospects on this list, but he’s a very special prospect who doesn’t get the attention he deserves. His performance for his age in Double-A was borderline historic, and he’s at least above-average on every scouting attribute, and he could improve further due to his youth and projection. He is very much a potential #1 starter, and being a mid-rotation lefthander seems to be his downside."
The Seedlings To Stars 2012 Top 100 Prospects, #6: Jacob Turner - Seedlings to Stars - A Minor League Baseball Site - Draft and Prospect News, Blogs, Opinion and More
"Turner should be a big, durable front-of-the-rotation presence, and he has three pitches with plus potential. He doesn’t turn 21 until May, and he should be a major league fixture right around his birthday. It looks highly likely that he’ll be able to maintain a very low walk rate and solid groundball/homer rates in the majors, especially as he matures. If he tightens up his pitches and sequencing, he should get enough whiffs to be an ace, and barring a tremendous setback, his worst-case scenario is probably something like Luke Hochevar with better command."
The Seedlings To Stars 2012 Top 100 Prospects, #7: Julio Teheran - Seedlings to Stars - A Minor League Baseball Site - Draft and Prospect News, Blogs, Opinion and More
"While what made him the game’s top pitching prospect remains fully evident in his skillset, Teheran has seen his stock slip somewhat over the past year. When he made the jump to Double-A in 2010, his strikeout rate fell under a strikeout per inning for the first time, and it continued to head south in Triple-A and the majors in 2011. It looks like he’ll throw enough strikes to post fairly low walk rates, particularly as he refines things, but Teheran also has developed a disturbing flyball tendency."
Baseball Prospectus
Baseball Prospectus | Future Shock: Miami Marlins Top 11 Prospects
"Yelich can flat out hit. He has a smooth, downright pretty swing from the left side, has plenty of bat speed, and is learning how to extend his arms for power, projecting for 20-25 home runs annually. He works the count well and should hit for average with a high on-base percentage as well. Scouts were almost shocked at his athleticism, as he's a 55-60 runner who stole 32 bases and has good instincts on the base paths."
Baseball Prospectus | Future Shock: Rockies Top 11 Prospects
"Arenado is a fantastic pure hitter with a seemingly supernatural feel for contact. He had more extra-base hits (55) than strikeouts (53) thanks to great hands, and has the strength to hit 20-25 home runs annually. He's honed his approach to avoid pitches he can hit but not drive, and he's worked hard to improve his physique and his defense at third base. Scouts now think he can be an average third baseman, if not slightly above average."
Baseball Prospectus | Future Shock: Athletics Top 11 Prospects
"Choice has monster power; most scouts put a 70 score on the tool, while others think that might be a bit low. He made big progress throughout the year in cutting his strikeouts and trusting his swing instead of muscling his power, and should be at least an average hitter who can hit .270-.280 annually. He's a good outfielder with a solid arm."
Bullpen Banter
Bullpen Banter | Tampa Bay Rays 2012 Top 15 Prospects
"It may not have received the same amount of hype as the debut of Stephen Strasburg and the entire #Strasmas movement, but Matt Moore treated us to a glimpse of the future during late September. He took such a drastic step forward in his development that even the patient Rays were forced to find room for him, and he looks poised to be one of the few rookies to make the team out of spring training this spring. It would be hard for Tampa to justify doing anything else. To call the stuff swing and miss inducing would be to do it a disservice; the confluence of the easiest velocity that I have ever seen, a fantastic change-up, and a sharp breaking ball – labeled a curve ball but looking more like a slider – is overwhelming... especially now that he shows the ability to command it. Matt Moore is the best prospect in baseball."
Bullpen Banter: Texas Rangers 2012 Top 15 Prospects
"It is not often that you find a prospect who both profiles to play short stop in the majors– well at that! –and provide above-average offense; that is part of what makes Jurickson Profar so special. The other is the amount of polish already present in his game. He continued to play well against older competition; rather than simply holding his own – as was the case in the NWL the year before – he was perhaps the best player in the SAL in 2011. The only question is whether or not there is much room for improvement."
Baseball America
BaseballAmerica.com: Prospects: Rankings: Organization Top 10 Prospects: 2012 Boston Red Sox Top 10 Prospects
"Likewise, Boston's farm system didn't cover itself in glory in 2011, yet still has plenty of talent. The system does lack an elite prospect, however, and many of its best players haven't advanced past Class A."
BaseballAmerica.com | Prospect Rankings: 2012 New York Yankees Top 10 Prospects
BA ranks New York's top prospects led by Jesus Montero, Manny Banuelos and Dellin Betances.
Baseball Instinct Top 360 Prospect: 360-321 | 320-281 | 280-241 | 240-201 | 200-161 | 160-121
Other Links
Baseball-Intellect | Minnesota Twins Top-15 Prospects of 2012
Future Redbirds 2011 Top 20 Prospects | Future Redbirds
The staff over at Future Redbirds released their compiled top 20 prospects. Not a huge surprise here with Shelby Miller at #1 overall.
Padres Prospects | Q&A with Baseball America Associate Editor Matt Eddy
Jeff of Padres Prospects has a Q&A with one of Baseball America's top prospect experts, Matt Eddy.
Scouting Book: The Best Baseball Prospects for the 2012 Season
Scouting Book has updated their top prospects list (#1-500) for the 2012 season. Not a huge surprise here with Bryce Harper and Mike Trout leading the way.