Project Prospect's Top 25 Rankings

June 18, 2007
Check back every Monday for the only regularly updated in-season prospect rankings on the internet
No. Player   Pos Notes Age Org Level   Pre.
1   Tim Lincecum   RHP   48 vs. 21 MLB K/BB ratio is decent, but .223 BAA shows he's pitching well   23   SF   MLB   1 ↔
2   Phil Hughes   RHP   Injured his left ankle while rehabbing his left hamstring; Out for the season?   21   NYY   MLB   2 ↔
3   Yovani Gallardo   RHP   Has 298 K vs. 79 BB since the start of 2006; .189 BAA this season in AAA   21   MIL   AAA   3 ↔
4   Billy Butler   1B   Introducing the best first base prospect in baseball; still likely a career DH   21   KC   MLB   4 ↔
5   Jay Bruce   CF   Still homer-less in June; hasn't played since 6/14 due to FSL All-Star Break   20   CIN   A+   5 ↔
6   Ryan Braun   3B   Raking in the big leagues: .317/.353/.587; 3 BB vs. 17 K shows he will slow   23   MIL   MLB   7 ↑
7   Evan Longoria   3B   Batting .228/.356/.480 on the road; still just .239/.386/.485 vs. righthanders   21   TB   AA   6 ↓
8   Clay Buchholz   RHP   Has given up more than four hits in an outing just once since May 11th   22   BOS   AA   9 ↑
9   Justin Upton   CF   Wonder what a hitter's park can do? He's .250/.313/.321 on the road in AA   19   ARI   AA   8 ↓
10   Jarrod Saltalamacchia   C   The best catching prospect and the best blocked prospect in the game   22   ATL   MLB   10 ↔
11   Brandon Wood   3B   Finally had a hot week; has doubled in 6 of last 9 games; up to .246/.341/.438   22   LAA   MLB   13 ↑
12   Colby Rasmus   CF   Showing why not to get too excited about a hot start; 11 K in last 8 games   20   STL   AA   11 ↓
13   Clayton Kershaw   LHP   Responded well to 9 days of rest (6/3-6/13): 7.0 IP, 8 K, 2 BB, 4 H, and 0 ER   19   LAD   A   15 ↑
14   Homer Bailey   RHP   With 7 BB vs. 4 K in his first 11.0 MLB IP, he's off to a rough start in the bigs   21   CIN   MLB   12 ↓
15   Andrew Miller   LHP   Gave up 2 HR in last start but it was in Philly; will improve is GB rates improve   22   DET   MLB   14 ↓
16   Andy LaRoche   3B   Missed 3 games due to sore shoulder last week; '07 XBH% down 5% from '06 23   LAD   MLB   16 ↔
17   Felix Pie   CF   Last multi-hit game was June 8th; stealing bases successfully (6-for-7 in bigs) 22   CHC   MLB   17 ↔
18   Fernando Martinez   CF   1 XBH in last 45 at-bats; hitting .232/.330/.305 at home; .146/.222/.220 in June   18   NYM   AA   18 ↔
19   Cameron Maybin   CF   06 XBH% of 29.9 vs. '07 XBH% of 25.0 is concerning but he's in the FSL   20   DET   A+   20 ↑
20   Adam Jones   CF   .408/.455/.817 through 71 April at-bats; 15 HR since May; 66 K vs. 25 BB   21   SEA   MLB   22 ↑
21   Reid Brignac   SS   9 of his 15 hits have gone for extra bases this month; .255/.309/.416 overall   21   TB   AA   23 ↑
22   Kevin Slowey   RHP   Has allowed 7 HR in 22.1 MLB innings, but six of them have been solo shots   23   MIN   MLB   19 ↓
23   Will Inman   RHP   Got eaten alive in AA debut after .198 BAA and 98 K vs. 23 BB in 78.2 A+ IP   20   MIL   AA   21 ↓
24   Joba Chamberlain   RHP   I'm waiting for a longer stint of good health before I jump onto his bandwagon   21   NYY   AA   NR
25   Adam Miller   RHP   Strained flexor tendon in his right middle finger still has him out of action   22   CLE   AAA   25 ↔
Honorable Mentions: Joey Votto, Jacoby Ellsbury, Carlos Gomez, Daric Barton, Andrew McCutchen, Michael Bowden, and Jacob McGee.
Graduated (final ranking): None.                    
Dropped Out of Top 25 (previous ranking): Joey Votto (24).                
* Our rankings combine a player's ceiling with the odds that he'll reach it and favor recent production                
** Only players with less than 130 pro at-bats or less than 50 pro innings are considered for our rankings                
*** Ages are as of June 24th, 2007                  
**** Level is the highest level the player has reached                
***** Pre. is the player's rankings from last week's Top 25.                
                             
<<< Click here to see our June 13th 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