Early 2013 Prospect Rankings: Starting Pitching

Craig and I will be working our way through each of the 30 minor league systems in the coming months, looking at some of the top prospects in each of them. After we finish those, Fake Teams will be releasing our consensus position by position prospect rankings, including a fantasy-specific top 100 prospects list.

To start the discussion, I will be posting VERY RAW positional rankings. Note the emphasis on VERY RAW. I have begun to do my research for these upcoming projects, but it is very possible I could miss a prospect or have them ranked entirely too low or high. These are more aimed at general discussion amongst the community here, so if you've read or seen something that could be interesting to how a prospect is viewed, feel free to share it in the comments.

With that in mind, here is the criteria we will be using to determine whether a player is eligible for our prospect lists:

Hitters must have less than 130 AB in the Majors.

Pitchers must have thrown less than 50 IP in the Majors.

Graduates in 2012: Matt Harvey (NYM), A.J. Griffin (OAK), Jarrod Parker (OAK), Matt Moore (TAM), Yu Darvish (TEX), Garrett Richards (LAA), Wade Miley (ARI), Mike Fiers (MIL), Lance Lynn (STL), Lucas Harrell (HOU), Tommy Milone (OAK), Scott Diamond (MIN), Drew Smyly (DET), Patrick Corbin (ARI), Nate Eovaldi (MIA), Miguel Gonzalez (BAL), Randall Delgado (ATL)

You can find notes on some of the prospects after the jump:

• Hultzen's loss of control in AAA is extremely concerning, as it didn't seem like he profiled as a high strikeout pitcher before, and would be reliant upon excellent control. He'll likely be back in AAA to start the season, but could be a nice buy-low type if his current owner believes he won't bounce back.
• I really don't know what to make of the results that Teheran provided this year in AAA, as he repeated the league and seemed to struggle a lot. Hopefully he will rebound early on in next season, but I am very wary of him.
• It will be interesting to see as the offseason progresses whether the Diamondbacks will find space in their 2013 rotation for both Bauer and Skaggs at the start of the season.
• Fernandez jumped more than nearly any prospect with his performance this year, and could potentially be in Miami by the end of the 2013 season.
• I had about 6 or 7 more names that were all on my initial list of top 20 candidates, including Clayton Blackburn (SF), Yordano Ventura (KC), Martin Perez (TEX), and Victor Sanchez (SEA).
• We could see Cole and Taillon both in Pittsburgh by the end of next season, as Cole finished at AAA and Taillon at AA.
• There were a number of draftees that I am a lot more interested in seeing what they can do in their first full season, including Kevin Gausman (BAL) and Kyle Zimmer (KC).
• Another name to keep in the back of your mind for deep dynasty drafts is Nationals' top pick Lucas Giolito, who is currently recovering from Tommy John surgery.