Prospect rankings remain a snapshot of a moment in time, as more information is gathered constantly and new reports can change any number of perceptions on a player's future value. With the end of the minor league season, now's a good time to take a look back at our preseason prospect rankings, and see how some of these perceptions might have changed.
Second base prospects tend to be players that were originally at other positions, but lack a certain skill or tool which keeps them from staying at that position instead. It looks a lot like we will have substantial change this offseason in these rankings, as we saw a number of the ranked prospects graduate to the bigs, and also a couple (DeShields, Wolters) make position changes. Overall, it has been a pretty good year for a lot of the prospects we ranked, but the position remains shallow in terms of high-end prospects.
Note: These are not new rankings. These rankings were originally released in November of 2012.
Consensus Top 20 Second Base Prospects |
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# | Player | Org | Highest Level Reached |
1 | Delino DeShields | HOU | A+ |
2 | Jedd Gyorko | SD | MLB |
3 | Eddie Rosario | MIN | AA |
4 | Kolten Wong | STL | MLB |
5 | Nick Franklin | SEA | MLB |
6 | Jonathan Schoop | BAL | MLB |
7 | Rougned Odor | TEX | AA |
8 | Cory Spangenberg | SD | AA |
9 | Ronny Rodriguez | CLE | AA |
10 | Angelo Gumbs | NYY | A+ |
11 | Taylor Lindsey | LAA | AA |
12 | Scooter Gennett | MIL | MLB |
13 | Carlos Sanchez | CHW | AAA |
14 | Chris Bostick | OAK | A |
15 | Ryan Brett | TAM | AA |
16 | Grant Green | LAA | MLB |
17 | Christian Colon | KCR | AAA |
18 | Gioskar Amaya | CHC | A |
19 | Tony Wolters | CLE | A+ |
20 | Joe Panik | SF | AA |
Three Up
Rougned Odor - Any time a 19 year old reaches AA for a significant amount of time, you tend to take notice. We'd been hearing good things about Odor for a while, but there were questions about whether he could repeat the high level performance he had at Low-A as an 18 year old. The Rangers started him at High-A, and he finished with a month at AA Frisco while continuing to hit well. He finished the season with a .305/.365/.474 slash line with 11 home runs and 32 stolen bases. He profiles as a potential five-category contributor, although not all of the categories would likely be at an elite level.
Taylor Lindsey - Lindsey has vaulted himself into the discussion for the top prospect in the Angels' organization with a solid .274/.339/.441 campaign where he also hit a career high 17 home runs. Reports on Lindsey point to a player who is likely to be a major leaguer, and should be an overall positive at the plate as well. He's probably not going to be a top 5 second baseman, but has solidified himself to the point where I believe he will have a good chance to be in the top 10 consistently.
Chris Bostick - It's hard to believe that Bostick was a 44th round draft pick for the A's back in 2011, but he went out in his first full season assignment and hit well in a pitchers' league. He finished up the season with a .282 batting average, 14 home runs and 25 stolen bases for Beloit. While there remain questions about what he could potentially be long term for both fantasy owners and the A's, this year's results definitely moved him in the right direction.
Three Down
Angelo Gumbs - Poor performance at High-A led to a midseason demotion to Low-A, at which time Gumbs proceeded to hit just as poorly there. There have been signs of life, as he did steal 16 bases in 91 games between the two levels, but I know that I had thought he would take another step forward this year at a shallow position. For a player who doesn't hit for a ton of power (yet anyway), the strikeout rate (nearly 24% this year) is concerning, and I think we see Gumbs return to High-A to start next year.
Christian Colon - This draft pick by the Royals is looking worse by the season, as more players taken after Colon emerge as high quality major leaguers while he continues to work toward getting a shot. The Royals had been looking for help at second base for most of the season, and yet Colon still remained with AAA Omaha, so I wonder if there are concerns about his long-term value. His numbers were decent (.273, 12 HR, 15 SB), but a .379 slugging percentage isn't helping his case given he spent all year in the Pacific Coast League. The Royals have to protect him on the 40-man roster this offseason, which I still assume they will do.
Joe Panik - Panik is a player that definitely seems to be headed in the right direction for the Giants, but it's hard to see what fantasy value he will have when he gets there. He hit alright at AA this year, but with almost no power and very little speed to speak of. He seems a lot more likely to provide value in real life than fantasy, but will still likely be ranked in the top 20 next year due to the number of graduates and the overall shallowness of the position.