Scouting The Sally Top-25 Baseball Players Scouted: August Edition
One of my initial ideas when starting Scouting the Sally was to keep a detailed list of the top-25 prospects I’ve scouted in the minor leagues to share with readers and help gauge the quality of talent seen on a regular basis. On the old site, I had a sidebar with links to the to reports on the top-25 which fell by the wayside when Scouting the Sally was upgraded last season.
From here out, I’ll be updating the top-25 monthly, or as a new prospect pushes his way onto the list. Remember this is NOT a top-25 overall prospects list. I ONLY focus on prospects I’ve seen in person. Originally, my criteria was to simply rank based on what I saw at the time they were scouted. However, memories and feelings grow and fade and I decided to tweak the format.
To rank, I simply conducted a mock draft based on the following four criteria and ended at 30 players.
- Scouting the Sally video & reports
- Level of performance since prospect was scouted
- Age versus level
- Tools early, production late
Along with these updated rankings, I’ll also be updating the “TOP-25-SCOUTED” tab under the masthead so that ONLY reports from players included show up there. It’s an area of the site in need of a little TLC.
I’ve also shared the Google Doc I will be using as a work area with the public.
| Rank | Player Name | Pos. | Organization | Level | +/- | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mike Stanton | RF | Florida Marlins | MLB | +1 | Wrote he could challenge Bonds for HR title. How can that NOT be #1? |
| 2 | Jason Heyward | RF | Atlanta Braves | MLB | -1 | Looks like a lost year for Heyward compounded by poor decision making regarding his continued development. |
| 3 | Bryce Harper | RF | Washington Nationals | AA | Same | Has been very so-so in Double-A until you consider he should have officially signed today! |
| 4 | Jurickson Profar | SS | Texas Rangers | A | +1 | What was an excellent full season debut is now propelling him to a top-10 prospect overall. |
| 5 | Julio Teheran | P | Atlanta Braves | AAA | -1 | Moving right along... Footloose and fancy free! |
| 6 | Freddie Freeman | 1B | Atlanta Braves | MLB | Same | Expected to be a great glove, moderate bat player. Present performance has been the opposite. |
| 7 | Danny Hultzen | P | Seattle Mariners | NA | Same | Had Hultzen signed early, he'd be competing with Trevor Bauer for first 2011 draftee to the show. |
| 8 | Travis D'Arnaud | C | Toronto Blue Jays | AA | +5 | Initial ranking in the top-15 raised some eyebrows. Now, I can argue he's the best catching prospect in the game. |
| 9 | Jesus Montero | C | New York Yankees | AAA | Same | I really want to believe Montero is just bored with the level of competition. I'm pretty perplexed by his lack of production. |
| 10 | Anthony Rizzo | 1B | San Diego Padres | AAA | Same | Back to mashing in triple-A, but his struggles prove how tough the transition is to MLB. |
| 11 | Manny Banuelos | P | New York Yankees | AAA | +1 | Continues to post strong overall numbers at an exceedingly young age. Not dominating, but excellent progress nonetheless. |
| 12 | Jameson Taillon | P | Pittsburgh Pirates | A | New | Not as polished as advertised, but perfect combination of size/velocity to start from. |
| 13 | Zack Wheeler | P | New York Mets | A+ | -2 | Best prospect dealt at the trade deadline. Off to a great start as he likely approaches his innings limit. |
| 14 | Jarrod Parker | P | Arizona Diamondbacks | AA | New | Raw stuff and velocity was more impressive than I expected. Should burst onto the scene in 2012 in a big way. |
| 15 | Xander Bogaerts | SS | Boston Red Sox | A | +10 | Exactly 2 players have posted higher ISO as an 18-YO in the Sally since 1995 - Mike Stanton and Adrian Beltre. Wow! |
| 16 | Anthony Gose | CF | Toronto Blue Jays | AA | -1 | Gose has offensive flaws, but glove + SB's + developing power = recipe for long and fruitful big league career. |
| 17 | Rubby De La Rosa | P | Los Angeles Dodgers | DL | -9 | TJ for Rubby wasn't entirely unexpected due to mechanics, but a shame nonetheless. Look for him to return in 2013. |
| 18 | Desmond Jennings | CF | Tampa Bay Rays | MLB | +4 | Looking like my Roto Hardball piece could have been reduced to two words - "He's Bored!" |
| 19 | Dayan Viciedo | UT | Chicago White Sox | AAA | -5 | Looked ready to contribute in Chicago, but disastrous July/August are hurting his chances |
| 20 | Casey Kelly | P | San Diego Padres | AA | -4 | Everybody seems to be waiting for Kelly to take a huge step forward, but it just hasn't happened yet. |
| 21 | Nolan Arenado | 3B | Colorado Rockies | A+ | -2 | Having a bad August, but a 2/4 K/BB ratio in 50 August at bats speaks to very bad luck. |
| 22 | Logan Morrison | OF | Florida Marlins | AAA | -5 | #FreeLoMo! I don't agree with everything he says, but there's just no way the Marlins front office can spin this into anything but an embarrassing situation. |
| 23 | Robert Erlin | P | San Diego Padres | AA | -3 | Erlin's value receives the best value bump of any prospect dealt at the deadline. Command/Control in SD = gold in spite of fly ball tendencies. |
| 24 | Jed Bradley | P | Milwaukee Brewers | NA | -6 | While every draft pick would benefit from signing quickly, Bradley could have really accelerated his timetable considering he's not as polished as the top college arms. |
| 25 | Randall Delgado | SP | Atlanta Braves | AAA | -1 | Unscored upon in two AAA starts earning a promotion. VERY nice year overall and just about ready for a spot in a big league rotation. |
| Honorable Mention | ||||||
| 26 | Arodys Vizcaino | P | Atlanta Braves | MLB | -1 | Shaky debut (totally expected), but two strong outings since. Looking like the RHP answer out of the Braves pen. |
| 27 | Mike Minor | P | Atlanta Braves | MLB | -1 | Definition of mid-rotation workhorse. Not much more to say at this point. |
| 28 | Yonder Alonso | UT | Cincinnati Reds | MLB | New | Every time I see Alonso swing the bat, I'm left wondering why he doesn't post monster batting average numbers with more power. |
| 29 | Jonathan Singleton | 1B | Houston Astros | A+ | -8 | Performing better after moving to the Cal League, but who doesn't? Great buy low for the Astros as he was untouchable at last year's deadline |
| 30 | Neil Ramirez | P | Texas Rangers | AA | -7 | Battling some arm issues while walks have continued to creep upward. Started with a bang, ending with a fizzle. |
Dropped out – Sebastian Valle (C-PHI), Christian Bethancourt (C-ATL), Edward Salcedo (3B-ATL)
Enjoy the piece? Be sure to follow Scouting the Sally on Twitter, check out our YouTube Channel, and friend us on Facebook! We’d also love to hear from you in the comments section!
Comments
One Response to “Scouting The Sally Top-25 Baseball Players Scouted: August Edition”Trackbacks
Check out what others are saying about this post...[...] one earned run and two hits over five innings pitched. The outing was impressive enough for me to rank him in the top-15 amongst players I’ve ever had the opportunity to [...]