Last year at this time, Project Prospect's forum community came up with their projected 2009 Top 10 prospects list. This inspired us to release our own projected Top 10 for 2009. This offseason, we're putting the spotlight on our community's list. Nineteen of our forum members submitted their own top 10 choices, which have been aggregated into the annotated list below.
One of the challenges of determining a "future" prospect list is not only choosing the breakout performers, but also correctly identifying the players who will lose their prospect eligibility by logging MLB time. The community also offered up their predictions of the guys who will be moving on to the big leagues.
| No. | Name | Pos | Notes | Age | Org | Level | ||||||
| 1 | Madison Bumgarner | LHP | Numbers (29.4 K%, 4.0 BB%, 2.17 FIP), size, velo, command to be a potential No. 1 SP. | 19.4 | SF | A | ||||||
| 2 | Pedro Alvarez | 3B | Contract standoff/conditioning questions haven't dimmed optimism about his power bat. | 21.9 | PIT | NCAA | ||||||
| 3 | Jason Heyward | RF | Heyward's size, athleticism and plate discipline point to a potential superstar in the making. | 19.4 | ATL | A+ | ||||||
| 4 | Rick Porcello | RHP | In FSL as a 19-year-old (13.7 K%, 6.3 BB%, 65 GB%, 3.84 FIP); many expect K% to rise. | 20.1 | DET | A+ | ||||||
| 5 | Mike Moustakas | 3B | After a slow start, showed he's a top power prospect by leading MWL in HRs at age 19. | 20.3 | KC | A | ||||||
| 6 | Neftali Feliz | RHP | Would have placed higher if many voters hadn't tagged him as a MLB graduate this year. | 20.7 | TEX | AA | ||||||
| 7 | Stephen Strasburg | RHP | The Consensus #1 talent for the '09 Draft; voters see Strasburg's as an ace in the making | 20.5 | SDSU | NCAA | ||||||
| 8 | Justin Smoak | 1B | Polished switch hitter with power and patience; should find himself in Texas uniform soon. | 22.1 | TEX | A | ||||||
| 9 | Lars Anderson | 1B | Had a .430 wOBA in a 163 PA stint in AA; many see Lars as the Red Sox 1B in 2010 | 21.3 | BOS | AA | ||||||
| 10 | Tim Beckham | SS | .301 wOBA in 189 Rookie PAs; voters still see the 2008 No. 1 pick as a future star at SS. | 19.0 | TB | SS | ||||||
| Honorable Mentions: Eric Hosmer, Logan Morrison, and Buster Posey | ||||||||||||
| Expected Graduations: Matt Wieters, David Price, Travis Snider, Colby Rasmus, Cameron Maybin, Brett Anderson, Trevor Cahill, Tommy Hanson, | ||||||||||||
| Matt LaPorta, and Dexer Fowler | ||||||||||||
| Adam Foster's 2010 Top 10 | Lincoln Hamilton's 2010 Top 10 | Brett Sullivan's 2010 Top 10 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. | Name | Pos | Age | Org | Level | No. | Name | Pos | Age | Org | Level | No. | Name | Pos | Age | Org | Level | |||||||||||||||
| 1 | Madison Bumgarner | LHP | 19 | SF | A | 1 | Jason Heyward | RF | 19 | ATL | A+ | 1 | Madison Bumgarner | LHP | 19 | SF | A | |||||||||||||||
| 2 | Stephen Strasburg | RHP | 20.5 | SDSU | NCAA | 2 | Stephen Strasburg | RHP | 20.5 | SDSU | NCAA | 2 | Stephen Strasburg | RHP | 20.5 | SDSU | NCAA | |||||||||||||||
| 3 | Rick Porcello | RHP | 20.3 | DET | A+ | 3 | Lars Anderson | 1B | 21.3 | BOS | AA | 3 | Jason Heyward | RF | 19 | ATL | A+ | |||||||||||||||
| 4 | Jason Heyward | RF | 19.4 | ATL | A+ | 4 | Neftali Feliz | RHP | 20.7 | TEX | AA | 4 | Neftali Feliz | RHP | 20.7 | TEX | AA | |||||||||||||||
| 5 | Pedro Alvarez | 3B | 21.9 | PIT | NCAA | 5 | Tim Beckham | SS | 19.0 | TB | SS | 5 | Rick Porcello | RHP | 20.3 | DET | A+ | |||||||||||||||
| 6 | Mike Moustakas | 3B | 20.3 | KC | A | 6 | Madison Bumgarner | LHP | 19.4 | SF | A | 6 | Justin Smoak | 1B | 22.1 | TEX | A | |||||||||||||||
| 7 | Jarrod Parker | RHP | 20.1 | ARI | A | 7 | Trevor Cahill | RHP | 20.9 | OAK | AA | 7 | Mike Moustakas | 3B | 20.3 | KC | A | |||||||||||||||
| 8 | Lars Anderson | 1B | 21.3 | BOS | AA | 8 | Mike Moustakas | 3B | 20.3 | KC | A | 8 | Brian Matusz | LHP | 21.9 | BAL | NCAA | |||||||||||||||
| 9 | Justin Smoak | 1B | 22.1 | TEX | A | 9 | Buster Posey | C | 21.8 | SF | SS | 9 | Trevor Cahill | RHP | 20.9 | OAK | AA | |||||||||||||||
| 10 | Eric Hosmer | 1B | 19.2 | KC | R | 10 | Justin Smoak | 1B | 22.1 | TEX | A | 10 | Jhoulys Chacin | RHP | 21.0 | COL | A+ | |||||||||||||||
| HM: Tim Beckham, Buster Posey, Neftali Feliz | HM: Dustin Ackley, Carlos Santana, Pedro Alvarez | HM: Mike Stanton, Buster Posey, Jesus Montero | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Grads: Matt Wieters, David Price, Cameron Maybin, | Grads: David Price, Matt Wieters, Colby Rasmus, | Grads: Matt Wieters, David Price, Cameron Maybin, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Colby Rasmus, Dexter Fowler, Brett Anderson, | Brett Anderson, Travis Snider, Derek Holland, | Colby Rasmus, Dexter Fowler, Brett Anderson, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Travis Snider, Matt LaPorta, Jordan Schafer, | Matt LaPorta, Dexter Fowler, Tommy Hanson, | Travis Snider, Matt LaPorta, Jordan Schafer, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Trevor Cahill, Chris Tillman, and Fernando Martinez. | and Cameron Maybin. | Chris Tillman, Andrew McCutchen, Tommy Hanson. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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