Finishing Up My Top 10 Prospects

The Top 100 2014 Prospects was announced yesterday, with some new guys and some old guys entering and remaining in the top 10. My top 10 looks a little bit different, mostly because I did not include players that will most likely be starting in the MLB on Opening Day. However, the biggest jump was Jonathan Singleton, who MLB ranked as the 50^th best prospect, and I ranked him as the 6^th best.

Looks like we’re not getting along that much.

But here are the top 10 prospects, just posted yesterday, according to the MLB:

10. Francisco Lindor

9. Kris Bryant

8. Carlos Correa

7. Javier Baez

6. Taijuan Walker

5. Archie Bradley

4. Miguel Sano

3. Oscar Taveras

2. Xander Bogaerts

1. Byron Buxton

Minus Singleton and the MLB players, our lists look pretty even. That being said, let’s look at my #2 and #1 prospects of 2014.

2. Archie Bradley, RHP, Diamondbacks

When you question which pitcher to take among prospects, it’s always between Archie Bradley and Taijuan Walker. Honestly it’s a toss-up. If the team needs to win now, they would most likely take Walker. If not, probably Bradley. Either way, Bradley has tremendous stuff. The difference between Walker and Bradley is that Bradley has a better changeup.

Bradley, drafted in the first round (7^th overall) in the 2011 draft, a draft stacked with young talent, but Bradley emerged as one of the best pitchers there. He’s more of a fastball-curveball pitcher, but it’s his ability to get groundballs and use a variety of pitches that makes him a good pitcher.

 

In 2013, Bradley went 14-5 with a 1.84 ERA, allowing players to a .215 average and striking out 162 in 152 innings pitched. After such a great minor league season, the Diamondbacks might call him up sooner than expected. Once estimated to come in in 2015, Bradley might just come this summer.

He’s a high school state champion with other prospect Dylan Bundy, and might just be the next great in Arizona. The D-Backs had the chance to grab Masahiro Tanaka, but unfortunately came up short. It might not hurt them too much; Bradley soon might be the ace for Arizona. When you already have a guy like Patrick Corbin in the system, it’s a very good sign for Arizona.

1.   Byron Buxton, OF, Twins

The choice is almost unanimous. Byron Buxton is the best prospect in baseball. Who do scouts compare him to? Try Mike Trout. In fact, both put up almost identical stats when they were in single-A ball.

Buxton was drafted in the first round (2^nd pick) of the 2012 draft to the Minnesota Twins, and at only 20 years old, Buxton is ranked number one for the second straight year in a row. Here’s why.

Buxton has all around hitting, power, speed, plus has a great arm and is a talented outfielder. Last season, he batted a combined .334/.424/.520 with 12 home runs, 77 RBI’s, 18 triples, and 55 steals. He only had 19 doubles, but that’s because he is so fast and can stretch things into triples.

Buxton ranks top 5 in almost every category in the minor leagues, especially in speed and in the field. You look at all of the great potential players in this class, and Buxton combines all of them. Scouts consider Buxton as even better than Trout, or at least Trout with a little more power.

The Twins are playing Buxton conservatively, and we won’t see him until 2015. But he is only 20 years old, so entering the MLB at 21 is still very good. I like comparing him to a young Vladimir Guerrero, an MVP who remains as one of the greatest Cuban hitters of all time. Plus, like Buxton, Guerrero has a cannon for an arm.

The Twins’ future looks bright. Buxton and Sano is a great combo, and, with Joe Mauer and others, they could have the best hitting in baseball soon. Unfortunately, their problems last year were with pitching, but we’ll talk about that later.

Overall, nine Boston Red Sox were on the top 100, with the Astros and Cubs tied in second with seven. The Astros, Red Sox, Cubs, Pirates, and Twins are ranked as the top five farm systems, in order.

Breaking it down, here are my top 10 prospects:

10. Kris Bryant, 3B, Cubs

9. Gregory Polanco, OF, Pirates

8. Carlos Correa, SS, Astros

7. Noah Syndergaard, RHP, Mets

6. Jonathan Singelton, 1B, Astros

5. Andrew Heaney, LHP, Marlins

4. Miguel Sano, 3B, Twins

3. Javier Baez, SS, Cubs

2. Archie Bradley, RHP, Diamondbacks

1. Byron Buxton, OF, Twins

Think someone else should have been on the list? Email me at statsbuddy42@gmail.com to let me know, I’d love to hear the feedback.

-Evan Boyd