All Positions: C / 1B / 2B / SS / 3B / CF / OF / P
| Top 50 Hitters Under the age of 25 | ||||||||||||
| No. | Player | Pos. | Comments | Age | Org | Lvl | ||||||
| 1 | Hanley Ramirez | SS | Followed .400 wOBA in '07 with .394 rate in '08; much improved patience (7.4% BB vs. 13.3%) | 24.8 | FLA | MLB | ||||||
| 2 | B.J. Upton | CF | Breakout alert: huge postseason, shoulder repaired, K% down 7.2 ('07 to '08) and BB% up 3.3 | 24.1 | TB | MLB | ||||||
| 3 | Justin Upton | RF | .347 wOBA in bigs as 21-year-old; low contact (.250 AVG, 29.0% K), great discipline (12.9%) | 21.1 | ARI | MLB | ||||||
| 4 | Ryan Braun | LF | Followed .417 rookie wOBA w/ .369 in '08; has power (.268 IsoP), lacks patience (6.3% BB) | 24.9 | MIL | MLB | ||||||
| 5 | Nick Markakis | RF | wOBA has gone from .345 to .362 to .388 in 3 MLB years; 14.3% BB ('08), 8.6 ('07), 7.9 ('06) | 24.9 | BAL | MLB | ||||||
| 6 | Prince Fielder | 1B | Didn't live up to '07 standards (.404 wOBA) in '08 (.358); patience still there though (12.1% BB) | 24.4 | MIL | MLB | ||||||
| 7 | Brian McCann | C | Returned to form (.378 wOBA) after slow season in '07 (.319); 43.1% XBH, 10.6% BB rates | 24.6 | ATL | MLB | ||||||
| 8 | Evan Longoria | 3B | Offensively, he was 08's Ryan Braun -- less power and speed, more walks and better glove | 23.0 | TB | MLB | ||||||
| 9 | Matt Wieters | C | Put up videogame-esque .355/.454/.600 line between A+, AA; .918 OPS (33 AB) in AFL | 22.4 | BAL | AA | ||||||
| 10 | Jay Bruce | RF | Solid .330 wOBA as rookie; like Upton, had trouble making contact (.254 AVG, 24.3% K) | 21.5 | CIN | MLB | ||||||
| 11 | Elijah Dukes | RF | Went .264/.386/.478 in 334 MLB PA in '08; solid power (.214 IsoP), great patience (15.0%) | 24.3 | WAS | MLB | ||||||
| 12 | Matt Kemp | CF/RF | Went .291/.340/.460 in 1st full MLB season (655 PA); BB, K rates both up slightly from '07 | 24.1 | LAD | MLB | ||||||
| 13 | Ryan Zimmerman | 3B | Similar offensive production to Gordon (.345 wOBA in 1932 career PA), much better defense | 24.0 | WAS | MLB | ||||||
| 14 | Chris Davis | 1B/3B | .369 wOBA in 317 MLB PA; lack of discipline (6.3% BB), high K's (27.8%) causes for concern | 22.6 | TEX | MLB | ||||||
| 15 | Troy Tulowitzki | SS | Injuries, struggles made for an '08 season Tulo may like to forget: .310 wOBA vs. .360 in '07 | 24.0 | COL | MLB | ||||||
| 16 | Cameron Maybin | CF | Nearly replicated A+ (.406 wOBA) numbers in AA (.381); still K'd a ton (26.9%); .179 IsoP | 21.5 | FLA | MLB | ||||||
| 17 | Alex Gordon | 3B/1B | Improved contact rate slightly from '07 to '08 + walk rate up 4.8% on his way to a .338 wOBA | 24.7 | KC | MLB | ||||||
| 18 | Colby Rasmus | CF | After posting .397 wOBA in AA in '07, fell to .324 in AAA in '08; missed time w/ sprained knee | 22.2 | STL | AAA | ||||||
| 19 | Dexter Fowler | CF | Olympian had breakout year: career-best .401 wOBA; lots of BBs (12.9%), K's down (17.6%) | 22.6 | COL | MLB | ||||||
| 20 | Lastings Milledge | CF | Seems like he's been around forever, but '08 was 1st full MLB season: .320 wOBA, .134 IsoP | 23.5 | WAS | MLB | ||||||
| 21 | Billy Butler | 1B/DH | Inverted BB, K %'s in AAA (12.2%, 6.1%), bigs (6.9%, 11.9%); .319 wOBA in 578 MLB PA | 22.5 | KC | MLB | ||||||
| 22 | Delmon Young | LF | Wonder if Minnesota would like Garza back? Young had .319 wOBA, .115 IsoP last season | 23.1 | MIN | MLB | ||||||
| 23 | Travis Snider | LF/DH | .361 wOBA across 4 levels in '08; lots of power, BB's, K's; could see regular time in bigs in '09 | 20.7 | TOR | MLB | ||||||
| 24 | Daric Barton | 1B | Disappointed in 1st full MLB season (.296 wOBA); lots of walks, good LD%, mainly gap power | 23.2 | OAK | MLB | ||||||
| 25 | Jeremy Hermida | RF | After posting .373 wOBA in '07, fell to .315 in '08; contact rates, power down significantly | 24.7 | FLA | MLB | ||||||
| 26 | Adam Jones | CF | After putting up .409 wOBA in AAA ('07), went .309 w/ Orioles in '08; IsoP cut in half; great D | 23.2 | BAL | MLB | ||||||
| 27 | Travis Buck | RF | Slowed by post-concussion woes (.311 wOBA in bigs); fighting for starting RF slot in OAK | 24.9 | OAK | MLB | ||||||
| 28 | Jason Heyward | RF | 6-foot-4, 220-pounder had .377 wOBA, 9.7% BB, not too many K's (14.7%) last year in Low-A | 19.2 | ATL | A+ | ||||||
| 29 | Pedro Alvarez | 3B | High upside hitter w/ power + patience; missed time in '08 (contract disputes/broken hamate) | 21.7 | PIT | NCAA | ||||||
| 30 | James Loney | 1B | After .385 wOBA in '07, dropped to .331 in '08; similar LD (23, 20%), lower BABIP (.352, .320) | 24.4 | LAD | MLB | ||||||
| 31 | Mike Moustakas | 3B | Tale of two halves in '08; pre all-star: .228/.285/.386, post all-star: .321/.392/.557; .343 wOBA | 20.1 | KC | A | ||||||
| 32 | Matt LaPorta | RF/LF | Went .279/.386/.539 ('08); plenty of power (.260 IsoP), 11.3% BB; slowed once traded to Tribe | 23.8 | CLE | AA | ||||||
| 33 | Jordan Schafer | CF | HGH use costed him 50 games; good power (.202 IsoP), good BB (14.0%), bad K's (25.2%) | 22.1 | ATL | AA | ||||||
| 34 | Dioner Navarro | C | Production slowed after All-Star Break (.785 OPS vs. .715); .333 wOBA, .112 IsoP overall | 24.7 | TB | MLB | ||||||
| 35 | Justin Smoak | 1B | No. 11 overall pick had .372 wOBA (62 PA) in Low-A; .450 wOBA, 40% XBH in 48 AFL PA | 21.9 | TEX | A | ||||||
| 36 | Lars Anderson | 1B | All he did was follow .398 wOBA showing in Cal League with .415 wOBA in Eastern League | 21.1 | BOS | AA | ||||||
| 37 | Mike Stanton | RF/CF | Put up crazy .318 IsoP in 1st full pro season (39 HR in 540 PA), but tons of K's, too (28.3%) | 18.9 | FLA | A | ||||||
| 38 | Carlos Gomez | CF | 7th youngest hitter in MLB last season; exceptional D; could be an average hitter in his prime | 22.9 | MIN | MLB | ||||||
| 39 | Eric Hosmer | 1B | No. 3 overall pick brings advanced approach to the plate for a high schooler; some power, too | 19.0 | KC | R | ||||||
| 40 | Buster Posey | C | Selected No. 5 overall after great Jr. season; not much power in Hawaii: .338/.405/.392 (84 PA) | 21.6 | SF | SS | ||||||
| 41 | Carlos Santana | C/DH | Call it a breakout: went .326/.431/.568 in '08 after .223/.318/.370 showing in '07; 16.5% BB | 22.5 | CLE | A+ | ||||||
| 42 | Yonder Alonso | 1B | No. 7 overall pick sported a .308/.419/.510 line (124 PA) in HWB; both power, patience | 21.5 | CIN | A+ | ||||||
| 43 | Logan Morrison | 1B | As if his .386 wOBA in the Florida State League hasn’t impressive, he was .484 in the AFL | 21.1 | FLA | A+ | ||||||
| 44 | Tim Beckham | SS | No. 1 overall pick in June's draft had .287 wOBA in 189 PA; low contact: 21.7% K, .251 AVG | 18.7 | TB | R | ||||||
| 45 | Gordon Beckham | SS/2B | This Beckham had more success in pro debut: No. 8 pick went .394/.468/.652 in AFL (78 PA) | 22.1 | CHW | A | ||||||
| 46 | Fernando Martinez | CF/LF | Wasn't overmatched as youngest AA player (.332 wOBA); IsoP up from .106 ('07) to .145 ('08) | 20.0 | NYM | AA | ||||||
| 47 | Denard Span | CF | Vision corrected, career catipulted; 02's 20th overall pick put up .355 wOBA in 1st MLB season | 24.6 | MIN | MLB | ||||||
| 48 | Andrew McCutchen | CF | Still not much power (.115 IsoP); finding ways on base: 11.5% BB rate best since rookie ball | 22.0 | PIT | AAA | ||||||
| 49 | Pablo Sandoval | C/1B | Went .350/.394/.578 (485 PA) between A+, AA, then .345/.357/.490 (154 PA) in majors | 22.2 | SF | MLB | ||||||
| 50 | Asdrubal Cabrera | 2B/SS | Had his share of rookie struggles (.310 wOBA), but finished strong: .425 in Sept. (91 PA) | 22.9 | CLE | MLB | ||||||
| Honorables: Jose Lopez (2B), Ian Stewart (3B), Blake DeWitt (2B), Brandon Wood (LAA), Brett Wallace (STL), and Dustin Ackley (UNC). | ||||||||||||
| * Our rankings combine a player's ceiling with the odds that he'll reach it and favor recent production | ||||||||||||
| ** Ages are as of November 1st, 2008 | ||||||||||||
| *** Level is the highest level the player has reached | ||||||||||||
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Questions about this list can be directed toward Adam Foster at adamf@projectprospect.com.