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Top 5 2007 Major League Baseball Prospects By Organization
Compiled by J.P. Schwartz
Here are my bold predictions for each team's Top 5 prospects. I have also made a Top 30 list (right side), ranking each organization's # 1 prospect against each other.
NOTE - Each player CANNOT have pitched more than 50 innings, nor had more than 130 ABs in the Majors
Arizona Diamondbacks: Justin Upton Yes, he'll catch some heat for not yet living up to his $6.1mil salary, but he's clearly the chosen one. Patience, people! He's got the highest ceiling of anyone in the minors.
2) Carlos Gonzalez
3) Chris Young
4) Micah Owings
5) Alberto Callaspo
Atlanta Braves: Jarrod Saltalamacchia I'll no doubt get ragged on for picking him. But I'm convinced he just had an off-season. I maintain he'll be in the show sometime next year. Can't say that for Andrus, who is still a ways off.
2) Elvis Andrus
3) Matt Harrison
4) Beau Jones
5) Van Pope
Baltimore Orioles: Nolan Reimold With Markakis and Loewen now ineligible, I believe he's next in line. Erbe is their top young arm.
2) Brandon Erbe
3) Billy Rowell
4) Radhames Liz
5) Garrett Olson
Boston Red Sox: Jacoby Ellsbury Boston's future centerfielder. And Hansen is their future closer, what with Papelbon's impending move to the starting rotation.
2) Clay Buchholz
3) Craig Hansen
4) Jed Lowrie
5) Lars Anderson
Chicago Cubs: Felix Pie He's certainly had a roller-coaster season, but the bottom line is, he's still got the highest ceiling available. Veal possesses their best young arm.
2) Donald Veal
3) Sean Gallagher
4) Tyler Colvin
5) Jeff Samardzija
Chicago White Sox Josh Fields Easily had the best overall season, and is learning OF with Crede standing in his way at third. Should definitely be called up for good at some point next year. Sweeney isn't that far behind.
2) Ryan Sweeney
3) Lance Broadway
4) Kyle McCulloch
5) Charlie Haeger
Cincinnati Reds
Homer Bailey Lit up the system like a deranged pinball. He could make a strong case for the starting rotation next year. Baseball America loves Bruce though, as he topped the MWL's Top 20 Prospects list recently.
2) Jay Bruce,
3) Joey Votto,
4) Drew Stubbs,
5) Johnny Cueto
Cleveland Indians
Adam Miller Despite elbow surgery, he's shown he still has the goods. I'd like to see him in the rotation next year. Kouz showed why he's easily the top bat in the system.
2) Kevin Kouzmanoff,
3) Chuck Lofgren,
4) Trevor Crowe,
5) Scott Lewis
Colorado Rockies
Troy Tulowitzki Awesome first season for the kid. Iannetta is their catcher of the future, who had a similiarly impressive season.
2) Chris Iannetta,
3) Ian Stewart,
4) Ubaldo Jimenez,
5) Dexter Fowler
Detroit Tigers
Cameron Maybin Really, is there anything more to be said about him? I'm glad they're not rushing him, but I hope he's in AAA by next season's end. Miller and Sanchez are their best arms, but Cam is in a league of his own.
2) Andrew Miller,
3) Humberto Sanchez,
4) Brett Clevlen,
5) Jair Jurrjens
Florida Marlins
Yusmeiro Petit It seems as though 2006 was a year in which they called up all of their young arms. With Anibal now ineligible, Petit is next in line, followed closely by Volstad.
2) Chris Volstad,
3) Jose Garcia,
4) Brett Sinkbeil,
5) Sean West
Houston Astros
Jason Hirsh Destined to be a fixture in Houston for many years to come. Patton is certainly on the rise, though.
2) Hunter Pence,
3) Troy Patton,
4) Matt Albers,
5) Jimmy Barthmaier
Kansas City Royals
Alex Gordon Baseball America's 2006 Minor Leaguer of the Year. Astounding season, and if he's not in the show by next season's end, it's a travesty of justice. With Hochevar's great beginning thus far, he rockets right up the charts, usurping Butler for 2nd banana. They need pitching. Bad.
2) Luke Hochevar,
3) Billy Butler,
4) Tyler Lumsden,
5) Chris Lubanski
Los Angeles Angels
Brandon Wood Not as great as his 2005 season, but good enough to remain at the top. Adenhart made a good case, but he's got a ways to go still.
2) Nick Adenhart,
3) Jose Arredondo
4) Erick Aybar,
5) Hank Conger
Los Angeles Dodgers
Scott Elbert With Billingsley, Martin, and Kemp all called up this year, he's next in line for the throne. Probably the best lefty in the minors. This is why LA still has arguably the best system overall. It was close between LaRoche and Loney, but LaRoche is better overall.
2) James Loney,
3) Andy Laroche,
4) Clayton Kershaw,
5) Blake DeWitt
Milwaukee Brewers
Yovani Gallardo Another very close call. Braun has the tools, but Gallardo has a stronger case as their best arm and had a better season.
2) Ryan Braun,
3) Mark Rogers,
4) Will Inman,
5) Lorenzo Cain
Minnesota Twins
Matt Garza Look at the journey he's had this year as he climbed the ladder. And he barely qualified at all, having pitched exactly 50 innings in the bigs. I'd give the nod to Slowey as their next best arm, but not by too much.
2) Kevin Slowey,
3) Anthony Swarzak,
4) Pat Neshek,
5) Yohan Pino
New York Mets
Mike Pelfrey He's had a slightly nasty first taste of the show, but in fairness, he didn't have much time to prepare, what with the whirlwind ascent up the ladder this year. He'll come around soon and show why he was the best arm in the 2005 draft.
2) Carlos Gomez,
3) Fernando Martinez,
4) Philip Humber,
5) Deolis Guerra
New York Yankees
Phillip Hughes Their future top gun, without question. I'd love to see him in the majors sometime next year, and maybe George will like him enough to keep him there for good. Tabata is a close second, but is still a long ways off.
2) Jose Tabata,
3) Tyler Clippard,
4) Joba Chamberlain,
5) Ian Kennedy
Oakland Athletics
Travis Buck He sticks out like a sore thumb to me. Great talent, as he proved this year. Injury aside, Barton's still got the best ceiling of the remaining available.
2) Daric Barton,
3) Jason Windsor,
4) Kurt Suzuki,
5) Landon Powell
Philadelphia Phillies
Carlos Carrasco Pretty close between him and Maloney, but he has the highest ceiling.
2) Matthew Maloney,
3) Scott Mathieson (out for 2007 season),
4) Gio Gonzalez,
5) Greg Golson
Pittsburgh Pirates
Andrew McCutchen I'd be a whole lot more certain of this pick if BA wasn't so high on Lincoln, but Cutch's raw talent simply cannot be ignored. He may very well reach the show earlier than everyone expects.
2) Brad Lincoln,
3) Neil Walker,
4) Todd Redmond,
5) Brent Lillibridge
St. Louis Cardinals
Colby Rasmus He's easily their diamond in the rough. Ceiling is almost off the scale, but still needs to prove himself. Stavinoha impressed me more this year.
2) Nick Stavinoha,
3) Jamie Garcia,
4) Bryan Anderson,
5) Blake Hawksworth
San Diego Padres
Cesar Carrillo Pretty close between him and McAnulty, but he's still the one to beat, especially with Kottaras now out of the picture.
2) Paul McAnulty,
3) Cesar Ramos,
4) Cedrick Hunter,
5) Chase Headley
San Francisco Giants
Tim Lincecum Everyone, yes everyone, raves about the 2006 Golden Spikes winner. He's on the fast track to the bigs and will soon be Cain's partner in crime. However, their system falls off a cliff pretty quickly after him.
2) Nate Schierholtz,
3) Jonathan Sanchez,
4) Kevin Frandsen,
5) Dan Ortmeier
Seattle Mariners
Jeff Clement Started off slow, but is picking up the pace and is still their top talent. We haven't seen the real Clement yet. Jones made a great impression in the Majors though, so it's another close one.
2) Adam Jones,
3) Brandon Morrow,
4) Bryan LaHair,
5) Mark Lowe
Tampa Bay Devil Rays
Delmon Young I feel like a kid in a candy store when reviewing this system. The best assortment of talent around. Yes, Delmon's maturity needs a boost, but he's still their top talent, as he showed in his long awaited callup. It's a CLOSE race for 2nd place between the towering inferno and the miracle kid, but I'll take the cannon. If he stays healthy, he's unstoppable.
2) Reid Brignac,
3) Evan Longoria,
4) Jeff Niemann,
5) Jacob McGee
Texas Rangers
John Danks I maintain he has a higher ceiling than any of them.
2) Eric Hurley,
3) Thomas Diamond,
4) Joaquin Arias,
5) John Mayberry
Toronto Blue Jays
Adam Lind In a system devoid of noteworthy bats or arms, Lind clearly shines like the diamond in the rough that he is. But lest we forget, this new kid Snider had the most impressive debut of the entire first round class.
2) Travis Snider,
3) Ricky Romero,
4) Brandon League,
5) Curtis Thigpen
Washington Nationals
Kory Casto Another practically barren system, now that Zim is rocking DC, but Casto is their best bat. Likewise, Balester is their best arm.
2) Collin Balester,
3) Larry Broadway,
4) Christopher Marrero,
5) Garrett Mock
