Top 25 Rankings

August 13, 2007
Check back every Monday for the only regularly updated in-season prospect rankings on the internet
No. Player   Pos Notes Age Org   Level   Pts.   Pre.
1   Phil Hughes   RHP   After solid start last Fri., has 22 K, 7 BB, 2 HR, and .228 BAA in 21.1 MLB IP   21   NYY   MLB   98.8   1 ↔
2   Justin Upton   CF   He told me he likes challenges; .294/.368/.647 w/ 3 2B, 3 3B, 1 HR in 34 MLB ab   19   ARI   MLB   95.9   3 ↑
3   Jay Bruce   CF   Didn't go yard last week; still .296/.362/.565 w/ 11 BB vs. 28 K in 115 AAA ab   20   CIN   AAA   95.0   2 ↓
4   Clay Buchholz   RHP   Has 9 K in each of his last 3 AAA starts; could be big-league bound this week   23   BOS   AAA   94.9   4 ↔
5   Joba Chamberlain   RHP   In a pair of 2.0 IP MLB relief outings (including MLB debut); 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K   21   NYY   MLB   94.2   8 ↑
6   Colby Rasmus   CF   He's .286/.444/.686 through 35 Aug. ab; .252 overall Ave. remains misleading   21   STL   AA   93.5   5 ↓
7   Evan Longoria   3B   Not missing a beat in AAA; .303/.429/.576 w/ 3 2B, 2 HR through 33 at-bats   21   TB   AAA   93.3   6 ↓
8   Brandon Wood   3B   Missing his beat in AAA; hasn't walked in last 9 games; .267/.342/.486 in AAA   22   LAA   MLB   92.4   7 ↓
9   Adam Jones   CF   Only saw action in 2 games last week: 0-for-4 in one, 3-for-4 w/ a 2B in other   22   SEA   MLB   91.5   9 ↔
10   Cameron Maybin   CF   Showed his power critics up by homering in each of his first three AA games   20   DET   AA   90.8   10 ↔
11   Andy LaRoche   3B   A back injury caused him to miss nearly all of last week; .306/.391/.591 in AAA   23   LAD   MLB   87.7   12 ↑
12   Clayton Kershaw   LHP   AA debut was solid but unspectacular: 4.1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 HR, 4 BB, and 4 K   19   LAD   AA   87.3   11 ↓
13   Homer Bailey   RHP   Close to a return after enduring his second strained groin of the year on 7/17   21   CIN   MLB   86.8   14 ↑
14   Fernando Martinez   CF   Hand contusion is now being reported as fractured hamate bone; sugery likely   18   NYM   AA   86.2   13 ↓
15   Reid Brignac   SS   Went 5-for-18 (.278) w/ 2B, HR, 5 BB, and 4 K last week; .254/.315/.433 overall 21   TB   AA   86.2   18 ↑
16   Andrew McCutchen CF   Though he only had 1 XBH, went 7-for-24 (.292) last week; .255/.324/.375 total   20   PIT   AA   85.9   17 ↑
17   Jeff Clement   C   In the midst of his second-hottest month this season: .294/.368/.500 in 34 ab   23   SEA   AAA   85.8   19 ↑
18   Daric Barton   1B   Hasn't hit a HR since 6/27 (6 total this year): he's hitting .297/.390/.441 overall   22   OAK   AAA   85.4   16 ↓
19   Johnny Cueto   RHP   22.0 IP, 22 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 21 K in AAA; Flyballs could be trouble in bigs though   21   CIN   AAA   85.2   20 ↑
20   Jacob McGee   LHP   Imploded in his AA debut: 2.0 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 6 BB, 4 K; 149 K vs. 45 BB to date   21   TB   AA   85.0   15 ↓
21   Will Inman   RHP   Has allowed 9 hits in 18.1 IP since being traded to SD; 155 K vs. 49 BB to date   20   SD   AA   84.9   33 ↑
22   Ian Kennedy   RHP   Combined .178 BAA in 128.2 IP this season; 19 K vs. 5 BB through 17.0 AAA IP   22   NYY   AAA   84.9   32 ↑
23   Carlos Gonzalez   RF   If he hit like he has in July/August in April/May, he'd likely be Top 10 on this list   21   ARI   AA   84.5   27 ↑
24   Wladimir Balentien   RF   Dislocated a finger diving for the ball on Friday; could miss at least two weeks   23   SEA   AAA   84.5   21 ↓
25   Neil Walker   3B   In a HUGE power drought: .615 SLG in June, .301 SLG in July, .386 in August   21   PIT   AA   84.5   22 ↓
Honorables: Asdrubal Cabrera (84.4), Travis Snider (84.4), Chris Marrero (84.2), Carlos Triunfel (84.2), and Lars Anderson (84.2).    
Graduated (final ranking): None.                    
Dropped Out of Top 25 (previous ranking): Travis Snider (23), Wade Davis (24), and Carlos Triunfel (25).                    
* Our rankings combine a player's ceiling with the odds that he'll reach it and favor recent production                    
** Only signed professional players with less than 130 pro at-bats or less than 50 pro innings are considered for our rankings        
*** Ages are as of August 19th, 2007                    
**** Level is the highest level the player has reached                    
***** Pts. Is the player's score from my prospect ranking program                    
****** Pre. is the player's rankings from last week's Top 75.                    
                                 
<<< Our August 6th Top 75 Rankings                    
<<< Discuss these rankings                    
<<< How our rankings work                      

 

Disclaimer
Our in-season 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 pre-season 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 preseason 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
adamf@projectprospect.com