2010 Prospect Rankings Starting To Emerge

This past week, a ton of top-100 prospect lists have been published. Instead of doing a post every time one comes out, I’ve consolidated them all together here…

For those who won’t let the Cliff Lee trade go (or as I call it, the Roy Halladay trade, separate or not), I’ve included the prospects we gave to the Indians and Blue Jays as well (if mentioned).

AOL FanHouse Top 100 (link)

#15. Kyle Drabek, Blue Jays

#19. Domonic Brown, Phillies

Brown is often described as a scout’s dream. He has a frame reminiscent of Darryl Strawberry’s, and while his power probably won’t reach those heights, he has tools galore. The on-the-field results have caught up to the tools in a hurry, but he’s not a finished product.

#29. Phillippe Aumont, Phillies

The best pure arm, and the player with the most upside in the Halladay-Lee blockbuster, was Aumont. He is not as far along in his development as Kyle Drabek but the raw stuff stacks up with anyone. Armed with a 92-95 mph heavy sinking fastball and a four-seamer he can sit at 94-98 mph with, the 6-foot-7 Canadian can get by on arm alone. Couple that with his plus breaking ball at 79-83 mph and Aumont has two pitches that could make him a downright dominant force.

#38. Michael Taylor, Athletics

#46. Anthony Gose, Phillies

The Phillies’ scouting department has long been in favor of drafting athletes, and few athletes are as intriguing as Gose. Blessed with blistering speed that grades out as an 8 tool on the 2-8 scouting scale, Gose has the skills to wreak havoc on the basepaths. His times to first base are consistently under four seconds. Very few players come along that have the skills to be an elite big-league base-stealer, but he is one of them. He also shows an outstanding, plus throwing arm in center field. As far as his skills at the plate, he’s still quite raw.

#50. Tyson Gillies, Phillies

The world met Gillies at last year’s Futures Game, as he not only impressed with his inspiring story but also his potentially game-changing skills. Few players in the minors have the speed of Gillies, and he has the range to be a Gold Glove-caliber center fielder. The offense has continued to improve — the 21-year-old had a fantastic 2009 campaign, hitting .341 with nine home runs and 44 stolen bases.

MLB.com Top 60 (link)

#14. Domonic Brown, Phillies

Upside potential: Depending on who you ask, he’s either a multi-tooled All-Star who hits in the middle of the lineup or maybe more of a top-of-the-lineup type. That depends on how much power he actually develops.

#17. Kyle Drabek, Blue Jays

#35. Michael Taylor, Athletics

#47. Phillippe Aumont, Phillies

Upside potential: He’s still a bit raw, but he still has the chance to be a top-of-the-rotation type ace or a nasty closer out of the bullpen. He’ll get to the bigs faster if he remains in a relief role.

Keith Law’s Top 100 (link)

#14. Domonic Brown, Phillies

It’s common in scouting circles to refer to an extremely athletic player as “a freak,” but in Brown’s case, his freakishness isn’t limited to his incredible athleticism but includes how well he has played in pro ball despite still being fairly crude as a baseball player. He’s long and wiry, listed as an inch taller than Heyward but 15 pounds lighter, built like a young, lean Dave Winfield. As raw as Brown is, he does two things like a longtime veteran: He has a good swing path that should produce significant power as he fills out, and if he can keep his weight back a little better — he leaks slightly to his front side now — he has 30-plus homer potential.

#24. Michael Taylor, Athletics

#40. Kyle Drabek, Blue Jays

#99. Travis d’Arnaud, Blue Jays

#101. J.C. Ramirez, Phillies

Ramirez has No. 2 starter stuff if he shows he can stay in the rotation; his fastball is up to 96 mph and he’ll sit 91-94 with some glove-side run, and he shows an above-average slider at 77-80 with a very sharp break. His changeup is rudimentary, and he likes to go to the slider in changeup situations. So far he hasn’t missed as many bats as a guy with his raw stuff should miss, with most of that trouble coming from left-handed hitters. He’s very skinny, listed at 6-foot-3, 175 pounds, and his arm slot is just below three-quarters, both of which would point toward a relief role. In his favor, he was just 20 in 2009, pitching in a great hitters’ park in High Desert, and should get to move to a saner environment in Reading in 2010 to show whether he projects as more than just a very good reliever.

Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus have yet to release their top-100 lists, but I will put similar updates here when they do. Also, if you know of any lists from reputable sources, let me know.

January 28, 2010