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| Rk | Player | Pos | Comments | Age | Org | Lvl | ||||||
| 1 | Jason Heyward | RF | Has the skills to turn into one of baseball's best hitters; back injury is a concern | 20.7 | ATL | AAA | ||||||
| 2 | Desmond Jennings | CF | Solid bet to surface as an above-average big leaguer, with his D and contact bat | 23.4 | TB | AAA | ||||||
| 3 | Jesus Montero | C/DH | Sick power bat and an elite contact hitter, though he's probably not a catcher | 20.4 | NYY | AA | ||||||
| 4 | Stephen Strasburg | RHP | May emerge as No. 1 as soon as '10; painful mechanics will likely lead to injury | 21.7 | WAS | NCAA | ||||||
| 5 | Carlos Santana | C | Power-hitting catcher with outstanding patience; could become a plus defender | 24.0 | CLE | AA | ||||||
| 6 | Dustin Ackley | CF/LF | In convo for decade's best college hitter; patient LD bat and good defensive OF | 22.1 | SEA | NCAA | ||||||
| 7 | Brian Matusz | LHP | Command pitcher with a power arsenal and MLB track record; potential No. 1-2 | 23.2 | BAL | MLB | ||||||
| 8 | Buster Posey | C | Polished all-around hitter and a solid defender; very high floor as well as ceiling | 23.0 | SF | MLB | ||||||
| 9 | Justin Smoak | 1B | Elite patience and power to go along with good contact skills; limited to 1B on D | 23.3 | TEX | AAA | ||||||
| 10 | Fernando Martinez | LF/RF | Plus power/good contact skills may allow him to ascend to stardom some day | 21.5 | NYM | MLB | ||||||
| 11 | Alcides Escobar | SS | One of baseball's best defensive SS; elite contact bat but not much power or BB | 23.3 | MIL | MLB | ||||||
| 12 | Pedro Alvarez | 3B | Awesome power hitter; probably doesn't have the agility for 3B; will K often | 23.2 | PIT | AA | ||||||
| 13 | Michael Taylor | LF/RF | Making unbelievable strides as a pro; scary part is he could continue to improve | 24.3 | OAK | AAA | ||||||
| 14 | Neftali Feliz | RHP | Stuff is filthy (FB sat 93-96 in MLB);will he be able to jump up to SP innings? | 21.9 | TEX | MLB | ||||||
| 15 | Michael Stanton | RF | No one doubts 80 power -- also patient; contact struggles do give him a low floor | 20.4 | FLA | AA | ||||||
| 16 | Josh Bell | 3B | Should be solid defender; patient, powerful & works the count well; could K a lot | 23.4 | BAL | AA | ||||||
| 17 | Yonder Alonso | 1B | Very polished LD hitter; patient + makes lots of contact; how much power is here? | 23.0 | CIN | AA | ||||||
| 18 | Jaff Decker | LF | Above-average power hitter and extremely patient; better athlete than most think | 20.1 | SD | A | ||||||
| 19 | Logan Morrison | 1B | Safe bet for a lengthy career; swing + approach may not lead to very much power | 22.6 | FLA | AA | ||||||
| 20 | Mike Leake | RHP | Combines plus plus command and outstanding movement; likely No. 3 - maybe 2 | 22.4 | CIN | NCAA | ||||||
| 21 | Jhoulys Chacin | RHP | Great sinking FB & plus changeup; curve flashes plus break; chance to be a No. 2 | 22.2 | COL | MLB | ||||||
| 22 | James Darnell | 3B | Good bet to be solid MLBer; swing resembles J. Upton's - not as explosive, though | 23.2 | SD | A+ | ||||||
| 23 | Madison Bumgarner | LHP | No. 1-2 upside; great command of deceptive FB; SL is erratic; change lacks polish | 20.7 | SF | MLB | ||||||
| 24 | Domonic Brown | RF | Quick-twitch athlete has great bat speed; awkward swing mechanics limit ceiling | 22.6 | PHI | AA | ||||||
| 25 | Chris Carter | 1B | Monster power will come w/ perhaps 200 Ks a year -- patient too; no value on D | 23.3 | OAK | AAA | ||||||
| 26 | Martin Perez | LHP | Just needs to prove he can handle a SP's workload; potential for 3 plus pitches | 19.0 | TEX | AA | ||||||
| 27 | Ryan Westmoreland | CF/LF | Outstanding athlete w/ speed, power, patience and strong arm; very high upside | 19.9 | BOS | SS | ||||||
| 28 | Wade Davis | RHP | Horse of a SP; extended track record in minors, solid FB & 2 good breaking balls | 24.6 | TB | MLB | ||||||
| 29 | Brett Wallace | 1B/3B | Won't stick at 3B, but could be slightly above-average overall as a first baseman | 23.6 | TOR | AAA | ||||||
| 30 | Daniel Hudson | RHP | Reached the bigs in his full-season debut; great FB/CH combo; SL is inconsistent | 23.1 | CHW | MLB | ||||||
| 31 | Derek Norris | C/DH | Extemely patient power hitter but he will stike out; not a good bet to stick at C | 21.1 | WAS | A | ||||||
| 32 | Aroldis Chapman | LHP | Didn't have great command in Cuban League, but hard to doubt his stuff | 22.1 | CIN | n/a | ||||||
| 33 | Todd Frazier | 2B/LF | Unorthodox swing has led to sweet LD rates; his defensive home is uncertain | 24.1 | CIN | AAA | ||||||
| 34 | Alex Avila | C | Rapid rise from from 5th rounder to MLB; solid bet to stick at C; decent upside | 23.2 | DET | MLB | ||||||
| 35 | Casey Kelly | RHP | Doesn't have top-notch FB velo, but knows how to pitch & has a polished arsenal | 20.5 | BOS | A+ | ||||||
| 36 | Starlin Casto | SS | Good contact bat doesn't walk and power upside is limited; can he stick at SS? | 20.0 | CHC | AA | ||||||
| 37 | Thomas Neal | LF/1B | Fresh off outstanding offensive season in the low-minors; may end up as a 1B | 22.6 | SF | A+ | ||||||
| 38 | Jose Iglesias | SS | Best defensive SS in minors; good contact hitter; questions about power & BB% | 20.2 | BOS | n/a | ||||||
| 39 | Chris Heisey | LF/CF | D-III stud turned legit MLB prospect; may not be a star but likely a solid regular | 25.3 | CIN | AAA | ||||||
| 40 | Brett Lawrie | 2B | Balanced power hitter with above-average speed reached AA in 1st full season | 20.2 | MIL | AA | ||||||
| 41 | Lonnie Chisenhal | 3B | Established himself as an elite power/contact hitter in A+; solid bet to stick at 3B | 21.5 | CLE | AA | ||||||
| 42 | Tony Sanchez | C | Nearly a lock to stick at C; hit for power, walked & didn't K; 4th overall pick ('09) | 21.9 | PIT | A+ | ||||||
| 43 | Nick Weglarz | LF/DH | Played w/ a broken leg in '09; very patient, plus power, not a bad contact bat | 22.3 | CLE | AA | ||||||
| 44 | Hector Rondon | RHP | Composed + has great command; doesn't try to overpower guys; fly-ball pitcher | 22.1 | CLE | AAA | ||||||
| 45 | Logan Forsythe | 3B | Patient, balanced LD hitter who could be a good defensive 3B; maybe even a 2B | 23.2 | SD | AA | ||||||
| 46 | Brandon Snyder | 1B | Bat will get him to the bigs - smooth swing + patient; former C is now stuck at 1B | 23.4 | BAL | AAA | ||||||
| 47 | Jason Castro | C | Already outstanding defensive C; simple LD swing doesn't generate much power | 22.8 | HOU | AA | ||||||
| 48 | Jon Niese | LHP | Commands a sinking FB; CB and SL both get swing-throughs; Likely no. 3 starter | 23.4 | NYM | MLB | ||||||
| 49 | Matt Dominguez | 3B | Slow but still an elite defender; lots of offensive potential, though swing is long | 20.6 | FLA | AA | ||||||
| 50 | Aaron Hicks | CF | Patient hitter with some power; he plays an outstanding CF - great speed/arm | 20.5 | MIN | A | ||||||
| * Ages are as of 4/1/10; Lvl is the highest the player has reached; Our rankings put a lot of weight into floor as well as ceiling | ||||||||||||
| ** Check back for our top 100 prospect list later this month! | ||||||||||||
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Top 50 Prospect List
by Project Prospect
February 6, 2010