All Positions: C / 1B / 2B / SS / 3B / CF / OF / P
| Top 30 Pitching Prospects | ||||||||||||
| No. | Player | Pos. | Comments | Age | Org | Lvl | ||||||
| 1 | David Price | LHP | From 2007's No. 1 pick to MLB in 15 months; 7.2% BB, 24.3% K in '08, lots of GBs (appx. 54%) | 23.1 | TB | MLB | ||||||
| 2 | Madison Bumgarner | LHP | Nearly flawless pro debut (29.4% K, 4.0% BB, 2.14 FIP) as the 4th-youngest SP in Low-A | 19.2 | SF | A | ||||||
| 3 | Brett Anderson | LHP | Dominated A+/AA last year (6.2% BB, 26.3% K, 57+% GB); Ks rose by 4.7% from A+ to AA | 20.7 | OAK | AA | ||||||
| 4 | Rick Porcello | RHP | Top paid '07 prep arm managed 6.3% BB, 13.7% K, and 65% GB as 5th-youngest player in A+ | 19.8 | DET | A+ | ||||||
| 5 | Derek Holland | LHP | One of biggest breakout arms in '08; 27.6% K, 6.8% BB (A/A+/AA); Juco signee in '06 ($100 K) | 22.0 | TEX | AA | ||||||
| 6 | Neftali Feliz | RHP | Posted awesome 32.7% K in A (25.4 in AA), but BB% rose from 8.6 to 12.4 (324 TBF vs. 185) | 20.5 | TEX | AA | ||||||
| 7 | Jarrod Parker | RHP | K% doesn't wow you? Notice that Ks rose steadily from 19.4% in April to 30.6% in August | 19.9 | ARI | A | ||||||
| 8 | Trevor Cahill | RHP | Stellar strikeout/ground-ball pitcher; command will determine if he peaks as a No. 1 or No. 3-4 | 20.6 | OAK | AA | ||||||
| 9 | Brian Matusz | LHP | The best NCAA pitcher in the '08 draft class; 40.8% K, 6.4% BB during his final college season | 21.7 | BAL | NCAA | ||||||
| 10 | Tommy Hanson | RHP | Power arm who had mediocre '08 walk/ground ball rates (27.8% K, 10.0% BB in AA; 410 TBF) | 22.1 | ATL | AA | ||||||
| 11 | Chris Tillman | RHP | Another power arm w/ mediocre '08 BB/ground ball rates (26.6% K, 11.2% BB in AA; 580 TBF) | 20.5 | BAL | AA | ||||||
| 12 | Tim Alderson | RHP | Started, finished w/ poor K% (27.1 in July); great command (5.9% BB); 4th-youngest SP in A+ | 19.9 | SF | A+ | ||||||
| 13 | Jordan Zimmermann | RHP | Adjusted well to AA after mediocre first 2 months (27.7% K, 6.3% BB in 2nd half); 2.54 A+ FIP | 22.4 | WAS | AA | ||||||
| 14 | Jhoulys Chacin | RHP | Like Holland, broke out in '08; not a huge K guy; 23.5% K, 4.5% BB, 60% GB in 264 A+ TBF | 20.8 | COL | A+ | ||||||
| 15 | Brett Cecil | LHP | Great GB pitcher had good K and BB rates in A+/AA; BB rise in AAA; pitched 118.2 '08 innings | 22.3 | TOR | AAA | ||||||
| 16 | Carlos Carrasco | RHP | 2nd-youngest pitcher in AAA last year; K% rose by 5.7, BB% dropped by 1.3 from AA to AAA | 21.6 | PHI | AAA | ||||||
| 17 | Jeremy Hellickson | RHP | FSL stud (28.05 K, 2.58 FIP) to AA launching pad (12% HR/Air); great command (3.3% '08 BB) | 21.5 | TB | AA | ||||||
| 18 | Michael Inoa | RHP | "He is a very polished pitcher with three above-average pitches" - Billy Beane told ESPN last Jul. | 17.1 | OAK | n/a | ||||||
| 19 | Michael Bowden | RHP | Owned AA, decent in AAA (3.1% BB, 18.0% K, 161 TBF); 5th-youngest SP in AAA last year | 22.0 | BOS | MLB | ||||||
| 20 | Wade Davis | RHP | Going to be a MLB starter, but his K and BB% lead us to believe he won't be more than a No. 3 | 23.1 | TB | AAA | ||||||
| 21 | Gio Gonzalez | LHP | Reverted to '06 K and BB% in '08 (AAA): 24.4% K, 11.6% BB, 4.23 FIP; was in PCL, though | 23.1 | OAK | MLB | ||||||
| 22 | Michael Main | RHP | Fractured ribs limited him to 58.2 '08 IP; great K% (27.1) could help him break out w/ healthy '09 | 19.8 | TEX | A | ||||||
| 23 | Jack McGeary | LHP | Signed for 1st-round money in '07; pro career stalled by academics; stellar '08 GCL numbers | 19.6 | WAS | R | ||||||
| 24 | Dellin Betances | RHP | High K% pitcher made huge command progress in July/August; healthy '09 could mean breakout | 20.6 | NYY | A | ||||||
| 25 | Aaron Poreda | LHP | Solid bet to reach bigs (3.24 AA FIP); upside will hinge on K rate improving, GB staying solid | 22.0 | CHW | AA | ||||||
| 26 | Jeff Samardzija | RHP | Irregular development path, regular improvement; 23.6% K, 11.2% BB in 276 AAA/MLB TBF | 23.7 | CHC | MLB | ||||||
| 27 | Shairon Martis | RHP | Waiting for 2008's youngest AAA SP? Here's your guy (23.1% K, 9.3% BB, 30% GB, 3.24 FIP). | 21.5 | WAS | MLB | ||||||
| 28 | Jon Niese | LHP | Good combo of GB% (52), K% (21.5), BB% (8.4) in AA; Ks declined 2.3% in AAA (4.42 FIP) | 22.0 | NYM | MLB | ||||||
| 29 | Jeremy Jeffress | RHP | Huge ceiling, low floor; 29.9% last season in A+ to go with 12.4% BB; only totaled 94.0 '08 IP | 21.1 | MIL | AA | ||||||
| 30 | Carlos Gutierrez | RHP | Missed '07 with TJ; 41.4% K, 11.5% BB last year in NCAA (174 TBF); 27th overall pick of '08 | 22.1 | MIN | A+ | ||||||
| Honorables: Christian Friedrich (COL), James Simmons (OAK), Jordan Walden (LAA), Kasey Kiker (TEX), and Nick Adenhart (LAA). | ||||||||||||
| * 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 .