The 411 on Baseball Prospectus’ Top 20 Prospects: #’s 1-10

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The following list of players are from Baseball Prospectus’ top 101 prospects that have already joined the MLB club: ranked # 34 – Wade Davis SP with the Rays,  # 37 – Starlin Castro SS with the Cubs, # 49 – Austin Jackson OF with the Tigers, # 57 – Scott Sizemore 2B with the Tigers, # 58 – Josh Reddick OF was called up in April with the Red Sox due to injuries (to OF’s Mike Cameron & Jacoby Ellsbury) , # 59 – Mike Leake SP of the Reds, # 60 – Drew Storen SP with the Nationals, # 69 – Reid Brignac INF of the Rays, # 87 – Ike Davis 1B called up by the Mets. If I have missed anyone please let me know and I will add them to this list! Since the posting of #’s 11-20, 1B Justin Smoak (# 17) has been called up with the Rangers

The stats below around the slashes for batter are as follows BA/R/HR/RBI/BB/SO/SB/OBP/G while for pitchers it will be W-L/ERA/GS/CG/IP/BB/SO.

10. Aroldis Chapman LHP with the Reds

4-2/3.98/8/0/40.2/24/48

Not only is he a talented Cuban defector that happens to throw lefty, but he does so while throwing 100mph at times too. He needs to improve on his BB/SO ratio if he’s going to compete with Strasburg for rookie of the year in 2010. Unlike Strasburg, Chapman hasn’t been absolutely dominating AAA hitters, but he has been good. He’s also a mature 22 year old much like Strasburg and Mike Leake (also with the Reds). Barring injury, I don’t see why he won’t be in Cincinnati sometime in June, but they may let him cook at AAA until right around the trade deadline as someone (Arroyo or Harang) might get dealt.

9. Buster Posey C with the Giants

.343/29/6/30/26/30/1/.437/45

Currently tearing it up in AAA. If they don’t want to move the aging Molina after resigning him, then why not temporarily move Posey to either 1B or LF in a way to get his bat in the lineup at the big league level. He obviously no longer needs to prove anything at the AAA level.

8. Carlos Santana C with the Indians

.313/30/10/40/35/29/5/.447/44

Currently in AAA waiting for the right moment as he’s currently behind Lou Marson & Mark Redmond the major league depth chart. Given Redmond’s age and the fact that neither he nor Marson are hitting over .230, I don’t know why they wouldn’t call up Santana in June or July. That might mean DFA’ing Redmond unless they go with three catchers.

7. Desmond Jennings OF with the Rays

.256/13/0/6/10/13/11/.341/26

Currently in AAA and should stay there until his batting average climbs. He might be a bargaining chip in a deadline deal given the fact that the Rays are all set in the OF with Crawford, Upton and Zobrist. That is unless they are planning on letting Crawford walk in free agency especially seeing that Jennings might be a leadoff candidate in the future.

6. Pedro Alvarez 3B with the Pirates

.251/26/10/42/22/45/2/.342/46

Currently in AAA with a below average batting average, but nice power numbers (10/42 HR/RBI) and he strikes out too much right now. Plus he is currently blocked by LaRoche who is having a decent year so far.

5. Mike Stanton OF with the Marlins

.312/32/17/44/36/43/1/.444/42

Currently in AA, but rumors are swirling that he may make his debut the same week as another top 10 prospect is rumored. Stanton may not hit for the same high average, but he should show off his power stroke right from the start…just remember, he’s only 20! Once he’s up, he will probably stay up. The question remains as to who he will replace?

4. Jesus Montero C with the Yankees

.241/16/3/19/16/25/0/.318/39

Currently in AAA and isn’t hitting as well as he has in past years in the minors. If he were, he might have been called up when Posada or Nick Johnson hit the DL. Cervelli & Montero might be the future at catcher for the Yankees. As a reminder, he was the one MUST have player in last year’s Halladay bidding wars (and probably others as well).

3. Neftali Feliz RHP with the Rangers

He broke with the team out of spring training and has never looked back. He has been both the 8^th inning set up man and the closer, boasting triple digits on the radar gun.

2. Jason Heyward OF with the Braves

He also broke camp with the team and has been getting game winning or tying hits on a regular basis as the every day centerfielder. Let’s just hope it doesn’t all go to his head!

1. Stephen Strasburg RHP with the Nationals

In AA: 3-1/1.64/5/0/22.0/6/27

In AAA: 3-0/0.39/4/0/23.1/4/27

The only reason in my mind that he is not already in the majors is to avoid super two status, hence avoiding a huge additional payout. The word on the street (and the internet) says that he will pitch in his major league debut against the Pirates on June 8^th. When that day comes, Washington DC will be the mecca of baseball as he is expected to set the league on fire. There hasn’t been a starting pitcher with this kind of hype for as long as I can remember! It should be fun to watch how this unfolds…