Check back every Monday for the only weekly updated Top 25 prospect rankings on the internet | ||||||||||||||
No. | Player | Pos | Notes | Age | Org | Level | Pre. | |||||||
1 | Tim Lincecum | RHP | Could be better than Oswalt, as he showed last week (7.0 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 10 K) | 22 | SF | MLB | 1 | |||||||
2 | Phil Hughes | RHP | Expect him to be healthy and done w/ rehab in time to join Yankees around July | 20 | NYY | MLB | 2 | |||||||
3 | Yovani Gallardo | RHP | Has had 3 one-hit outings (6.0 IP, 1 H, 2 BB, 11 K last week); MILB K leader (66) | 21 | MIL | AAA | 6 | |||||||
4 | Billy Butler | OF/1B | He's played first base in all four games since returning to AAA last Thursday | 21 | KC | MLB | 3 | |||||||
5 | Jay Bruce | OF | 2008 No. 1 overall prospect favorite has 2B in last 5 games (all multi-hit days) | 20 | CIN | A+ | 7 | |||||||
6 | Evan Longoria | 3B | After .286/.419/.536 in 84 April at-bats, he's .365/.467/.651 in 63 May at-bats | 21 | TB | AA | 9 | |||||||
7 | Brandon Wood | 3B | Striking out once every 3.30 ab after fanning once every 3.04 ab last season | 22 | LAA | MLB | 8 | |||||||
8 | Josh Hamilton | OF | 4-for-14 last week (all singles) before being hospitalized with Gastroenteritis | 26 | CIN | MLB | 5 | |||||||
9 | Clay Buchholz | RHP | His 4.83 K/BB ratio since the start of 2006 is better than Phil Hughes' (4.67) | 22 | BOS | AA | 12 | |||||||
10 | Justin Upton | OF | Kind of funny that people are surprised after he hasn't hit a HR for 4 games | 19 | ARI | AA | 11 | |||||||
11 | Colby Rasmus | OF | Went 8-for-22 last week and hit a HR on Sat; .304/.391/.561 w/ 51.1% XBH | 20 | STL | AA | 19 | |||||||
12 | Homer Bailey | RHP | Gordon & Matsuzaka graduations create mirage that he's improving...he's not | 21 | CIN | AAA | 14 | |||||||
13 | Andy LaRoche | 3B | If Adam & him were competing for a roster spot, Adam would end up /w STL | 23 | LAD | MLB | 13 | |||||||
14 | Jarrod Saltalamacchia | C | Had first pro XBH on Sat (a 2B), he's now 6-for-21 with 4 BB vs. 2 K in bigs | 22 | ATL | MLB | 15 | |||||||
15 | Clayton Kershaw | LHP | Rebounds from 1.1 IP, 5 H, 7 ER, 4 BB, 2 K start w/ 6.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 9 K | 19 | LAD | A | 20 | |||||||
16 | Cameron Maybin | OF | Went 8-for-22 last week but hasn't hit a HR since Apr 17; .320/.439/.490 | 18 | DET | A+ | 20 | |||||||
17 | Fernando Martinez | OF | Finger injury kept him out over weekend; MLB.com thinks he's Carlos Gomez | 18 | NYM | AA | 16 | |||||||
18 | Hunter Pence | OF | Eight-game hitting streak has him at .364/.402/.675 in bigs; 20 HR guy in 2007? | 24 | HOU | MLB | 23 | |||||||
19 | Ryan Braun | 3B | Returned from groin/wrist injuries on Sat and went 2-for-7 over the weekend | 23 | MIL | AAA | 18 | |||||||
20 | Travis Buck | OF | Seven-for-16 week w/ 2B, 2 3B, and a HR; .245 average will come around | 23 | OAK | MLB | 22 | |||||||
21 | Kevin Slowey | RHP | Walked two batters last week for first time since 8/13/06; 7.44 K/BB since '06 | 23 | MIN | AAA | NR | |||||||
22 | Michael Bowden | RHP | Double-A debut: 5.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K…he's keeping pace with Buchholz | 20 | BOS | AA | NR | |||||||
23 | Will Inman | RHP | His 30.52% K and 5.24 K/BB since '06 stand WAY out among his peers | 20 | MIL | A+ | 24 | |||||||
24 | Elijah Dukes | OF | His .222/.338/.452 MLB line is slightly dissapointing; has stayed out of trouble | 22 | TB | MLB | NR | |||||||
25 | Felix Pie | OF | Hit .415/.479/.598 in 82 AAA at-bats and people can't call you raw anymore | 22 | CHC | MLB | 25 | |||||||
26 | Reid Brignac | SS | Some say he's dissapointing; Reality: he was overhyped in many circles | 21 | TB | AA | 28 | |||||||
27 | Adam Miller | RHP | His 23.89% K since '06 spells strong No. 3 more than future ace; .228 BAA ('07) | 22 | CLE | AAA | 31 | |||||||
28 | Carlos Gomez | OF | On 3/24/07, we said "Tools to be 3/4 Reyes but in the OF," … that's happening | 21 | NYM | MLB | 72 | |||||||
29 | Andrew Miller | LHP | 6.0 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 2 K in '07 MLB debut…may be on the cusp of breakout | 22 | DET | MLB | 12 | |||||||
30 | Joey Votto | 1B/OF | .391/.469/.565 w/ 3 HR in 69 May ab; back on track & Cin trying to find room | 23 | CIN | AAA | 26 | |||||||
31 | Adam Jones | OF | His .303/.392/.493 performance is a solid improvement over .287/.345/.484 '06 | 21 | SEA | MLB | 51 | |||||||
32 | Jacoby Ellsbury | OF | Too good for AA, but has slowed in AAA; 7-for18 last week; last HR 9/4/06 | 23 | BOS | AAA | 32 | |||||||
33 | Andrew McCutchen | OF | Struggles continue, 2 XBH in last 34 at-bats; .181/.247/.333 w/ 12 BB vs. 37 K | 20 | PIT | AA | 14 | |||||||
34 | Travis Snider | OF | .362/.397/.572 line and he's just starting to heat up…2 HR (3) in last 3 games | 19 | TOR | A | 46 | |||||||
35 | Jose Tabata | OF | Wrist injuries plaguing him? 15.6% XBH says yes; .300/.369/.373 line in 150 ab | 18 | NYY | A+ | 26 | |||||||
36 | Jacob McGee | LHP | 0 ER in 5 of 9 starts + 31.4% K = studly; 2.65 K/BB = mildly concerning | 20 | TB | A+ | 59 | |||||||
37 | Elvis Andrus | SS | Leap from 27.6% XBH in A ('06) to 32.4% XBH so far in A+ is promising | 18 | ATL | A+ | 60 | |||||||
38 | Matt Garza | RHP | Compare his '07 AAA line to Tyler Clippard's…Clip has been better + is younger | 23 | MIN | MLB | 21 | |||||||
39 | Nick Adenhart | RHP | .250 BAA in AA is solid for 20-year-old, 1.66 K/BB ratio is not; 1.35 WHIP | 20 | LAA | AA | 28 | |||||||
40 | Luke Hochevar | RHP | After strong April, '07's No. 1 overall pick has 1.81 WHIP in his last four starts | 23 | KC | AA | 29 | |||||||
41 | Billy Rowell | 1B | Orioles said he could return very soon, we've been waiting to hear that all year! | 18 | BAL | SS | 52 | |||||||
42 | Carlos Gonzalez | OF | Remember Qs on who would be odd man out in ARI OF? You're looking at him. | 21 | ARI | AA | 22 | |||||||
43 | Lars Anderson | 1B | Instantly adjusting to pro ball; .315/.398/.486 through 146 at-bats…future stud | 19 | BOS | A | 99 | |||||||
44 | Jeff Niemann | RHP | His .259 BAA and 24.4 K% for 24-year-old in AAA are solid, not staggering | 24 | TB | AAA | 35 | |||||||
45 | Jaime Garcia | LHP | 25.42 K% and 3.00 K/BB since start of '06; among youngest players in AA | 20 | STL | AA | NR | |||||||
46 | Daric Barton | 1B | Putting up line that's similar to Buck's just w/ less pop… .233/.352/.367 | 21 | OAK | AAA | 30 | |||||||
47 | Brett Anderson | LHP | 07's 55th overall pick is shredding in full-season debut: 58 K vs. 6 BB in 48.1 IP | 19 | ARI | A | NR | |||||||
48 | Eric Hurley | RHP | With his 0.54 GO/AO rate, MLB could be difficult; hard to ignore upside | 21 | TEX | AA | 63 | |||||||
49 | Phil Humber | RHP | His .242 BAA and 19.5 K% for 24-year-old in AAA are a little dissapointing | 24 | NYM | AAA | 44 | |||||||
50 | Ian Stewart | 3B | 2006 46.7% XBH was promising, '07 24.4% XBH leaves a lot to be desired | 22 | COL | AAA | 53 | |||||||
Honorable Mentions: Scott Elbert, Asdrubal Cabrera, Rick Vanden Hurk, Bryan Anderson, James Loney, Wade Davis, Deolis Guerra, Chris | ||||||||||||||
Marrero, Carlos Triunfel, Dexter Fowler, Brandon Erbe, Andy Sonnanstine, Chris Lubanski, Troy Patton, Tommy Hanson, Joba Chamberlain, | ||||||||||||||
Greg Reynolds, Tyler Clippard, John Whittleman, and Neil Walker. | ||||||||||||||
Graduated (last week's ranking): Alex Gordon (4), Daisuke Matsuzaka (10), and Mike Pelfrey (NR). | ||||||||||||||
Dropped Out of Top 25 (previous ranking): None. | ||||||||||||||
* Our rankings combine a player's ceiling with the odds that he'll reach it | ||||||||||||||
** Only players with less than 130 pro at-bats or less than 50 pro innings are considered for our rankings | ||||||||||||||
*** Ages are as of May 27th, 2007 | ||||||||||||||
**** Level is the highest level the player has reached | ||||||||||||||
***** Pre. is the player's rankings from last week's Top 25 or our preseason Top 100 (gray). | ||||||||||||||
<<< Click here to see our May 14th Top 25 Rankings |
Disclaimer
Our in-season Top 25 rankings are a tool that we’ve chosen to implement for the first time this season. We realize that this weekly exercise cannot be as thorough as creating a Top 100 prospect list – which involves months of thought and research. So why even bother publishing these rankings? For fun.
Just like any coaches poll or other in-season rankings, our rankings won’t be as concrete as the ones that can be made when you’re looking at something somewhat after the fact. (We’re still adjusting to the volatile nature of in-season rankings as well.) Lists will stray far from then maybe come back to looking like our previous prospect lists. A few odd names will work their way into the rankings--emphasis is on recent performance.
Think of these rankings like a giant coliseum battle. Everyone will be going after everyone; the air will be cluttered with dust. Then our Top 100 prospect list will be our take once the dust settles. Until then, just remember that's we're trying to judge a battle while it's still in progress.
We hope to provide an entertaining glimpse of our thought process, and a snapshot of how the prospect scene changes throughout the season.
A few other important notes: 1) More than ever, we’re going to begin relying on numbers for our rankings. Perhaps we could make better lists by regularly talking to people in the industry, but that’s not our style. 2) We’ll be balancing 2006 and 2007 numbers in order to draw upon the best sample that we see fit – the same methods will be applied to each prospect.
I am prepared to answer questions in more detail upon email request,
Adam Foster
Project Prospect Founder
adamwfoster@gmail.com