Tweet
41 Jordan Lyles - Very good minor league stats and very young for his leagues, but not considered to have ace potential. Amazingly, he's supposed to have a shot at being in the Astros' rotation on opening day.
42 Zach Britton - Reportedly has the best sinker in the minors. Should be in the O's rotation before long and if he's as good as expected they sure can use him.
43 Gerrit Cole - Along w Purke, one of the consensus 2 best pitchers in the 2011 draft. Always hard to rank an amateur player on this list, but reports on him seem good enough to rank him this high
44 Matt Purke - See above write-up for Cole.
45 Gary Sanchez - Great talent and the stats have matched the hype so far. BA's scouting report says his ceiling is higher than even Montero's. Probably very far away from MLB.
46 Mike Montgomery - The 2nd KC stud pitcher. Has been highly rated ever since being drafted, but health is a bit of a concern, as is makeup.
47 Martin Perez - Struggled in a good hitters' league, but experts remain convinced of his top of the rotation potential. Undersized, but experts are not concerned because of his outstanding mechanics.
48 Randall Delgado - Another of Atl's stud pitchers. Once again, that Atl rotation looks pretty crowded for the near future, but he could be good enough to crack it at some point.
49 Anthony Rizzo - Experts have always believed in his bat and noone's blocking him now that he's in SD. Also has a very good glove. But he'll be in MLB's worst hitters' park.
50 Chris (Vernon) Carter - Really struggled initially in MLB (0 for 33) but hit OK after that. Would appear destined for DH in Oak, altho the A's are trying him in LF, but seems a good bet to make the opening-day roster. Has always struck out a lot but also gets a fair amount of walks, too. Will really have to hit in MLB to keep a regular job and is not in the best hitters' park.
51 Michael Choice - Really flew up the draft boards last year and had very good pro debut. Big time power potential and also good speed but needs to work on plate discipline, altho he can draw a walk, as he led Div-I in walks last year.
52 Manny Banuelos - Experts believe in him as a top pitching prospect now, despite his small stature.
53 Yu Darvish - The consensus best pitcher in Japan. His projectibility and his FB velocity translate well to MLB. But he's never definitely said that he wants to come to MLB. But I would think if some team throws enough money at him, which I think would happen, he'd find it hard to refuse. Even if he comes, he's not a free agent until 2014 so he might not be posted until 2013. Difficult to rank him against the other prospects, but just outside the top 50 seems like a good place for him and Aoki, below.
54 Norichika Aoki - One of the best all-around position players in Japan. Like Darvish, not a free agent until at least 2014. Ichiro-lite?
55 Nolan Arenado - Very good stats in a pitchers' league and was young for his league. Scouts generally seem to like him. Fact that Coors Field is in his future boosts his stock some.
56 Matthew Davidson - Good stats and was very young for his leagues. Considered a better bet than Borchering to stick at 3B and his good BA scouting reports cause me to rank him this high.
57 Casey Kelly - Struggled last year, but experts still believe. And now his future is in the best pitchers' park.
58 Chris Archer - He zoomed up the prospect charts last year. But now that he's in TB, it might be hard to crack the rotation.
59 Simon Castro - Another very good year convinced the experts that he's a legit top prospect. May be in MLB later this year.
60 Trey (Kenneth) McNutt - Like Archer, he zoomed up the prospect charts last year. BA's report says he has similar profile to Archer. Lots of Ks.
61 Alex White - Highly rated coming out of college. Somewhat uncertain whether he'll be a starter but expected to make MLB sometime this year.
62 Cesar Puello - Another big SB guy that's expected to be a MLB regular. He also has good power potential, which has not shown up yet, and is a potential 5-tool guy.
63 Jason Kipnis - Considered to be a future MLB regular. Maybe not all-star caliber, but could be average to above in all categories, and some prefer him to Chisenhall.
64 Tsuyoshi Nishioka - Supposed to be the regular 2Bman in Minny. Think of Tad Iguchi-like stats, which is not bad at all in roto if you can get him cheaply.
65 Danny Espinosa - The 3rd of 3 minor leaguers w 20+ HRs and SBs. But like the other 2, his speed is supposed to be only solid-average. Was slated to be the Nats' opening-day 2Bman, but an injury may forestall that. But should be a regular soon.
66 Brent Morel - Expected to be the regular ChiSox 3Bman. Expected to put up close to average stats in all categories but SBs.
67 Matt Dominguez - Supposed to be a glove-first 3Bman but his offense has been OK, too, altho experts still question it. Will be Marlins' everyday 3Bman soon, if not on opening day.
68 Jackie Bradley - Another top-10 draft talent. Was the MVP of the CWS last year.
69 Taylor Jungmann - Another top pitching draft prospect expected to go in the top 10.
70 Jonathan Villar - Another big SB guy. Considered the future SS for the Astros and may not be all that far away from that. His plate discipline needs a lot of work.
71 Hak Ju Lee - Considered an outstanding glove. Bat is a question but his stats so far have been solid. Roto value is mainly in his SBs.
72 Trayvon Robinson - Another SB guy. I was surprised that BA didn’t rate him higher. There would appear to be room for him in the Dodger OF, particularly if they deal Kemp, but he'll have to compete w Sands, too, altho Robinson profiles as a CFer while Sands doesn’t.
73 Reymond Fuentes - Still another SB guy. Very good athlete and defender, he's probably very far away from MLB.
74 Zach Cox - Considered to have elite offensive potential. BA's report says he was the best pure hitter in the draft. Needs pro ABs.
75 Ben Revere - In my leagues, the first 70-75 guys usually are the ones I'm interested in drafting from. With Revere, we begin to get into the guys that I have more questions about and feel less comfortable drafting. He has always hit for a hi BA and his value is mainly in that and his SBs. Appears ready for MLB now, altho there doesn’t appear to be room for him in Minny now w Span, Cuddyer and D. Young in the OF. And supposedly his arm is very weak. So it's very questionable how much playing time he'll get unless someone gets hurt.
76 Dayan Viciedo - His plate discipline is still bad but the other stats look good and he's very still young. There didn’t appear to be room for him currently w the ChiSox now that they signed Dunn and resigned Konerko, but the Sox supposedly are moving him to the OF now. That would appear rather crowded also w Rios and Quentin at the corners.
77 Fernando Martinez - When healthy, he hits but he hasn’t been healthy nearly enough or else he might already be the Mets' starting LFer. Could he be that on opening day this year?
78 Wilmer Flores - His bat started to live up to the hype last year, but he appears destined to wind up at either corner OF or even 1B. It remains to be seen whether his bat will be considered strong enough for that position.
79 Craig Kimbrel - A strong closer candidate in Atl, but Venters reportedly is the favorite. Great K-rate (14.8/9 as a pro!) but needs better control.
80 Tanner Scheppers - Really got hit in a brief trial as a starter last year, but was very good in relief. Could be the closer in Texas if Feliz becomes a starter, which reportedly they'll try to do.
42 Zach Britton - Reportedly has the best sinker in the minors. Should be in the O's rotation before long and if he's as good as expected they sure can use him.
43 Gerrit Cole - Along w Purke, one of the consensus 2 best pitchers in the 2011 draft. Always hard to rank an amateur player on this list, but reports on him seem good enough to rank him this high
44 Matt Purke - See above write-up for Cole.
45 Gary Sanchez - Great talent and the stats have matched the hype so far. BA's scouting report says his ceiling is higher than even Montero's. Probably very far away from MLB.
46 Mike Montgomery - The 2nd KC stud pitcher. Has been highly rated ever since being drafted, but health is a bit of a concern, as is makeup.
47 Martin Perez - Struggled in a good hitters' league, but experts remain convinced of his top of the rotation potential. Undersized, but experts are not concerned because of his outstanding mechanics.
48 Randall Delgado - Another of Atl's stud pitchers. Once again, that Atl rotation looks pretty crowded for the near future, but he could be good enough to crack it at some point.
49 Anthony Rizzo - Experts have always believed in his bat and noone's blocking him now that he's in SD. Also has a very good glove. But he'll be in MLB's worst hitters' park.
50 Chris (Vernon) Carter - Really struggled initially in MLB (0 for 33) but hit OK after that. Would appear destined for DH in Oak, altho the A's are trying him in LF, but seems a good bet to make the opening-day roster. Has always struck out a lot but also gets a fair amount of walks, too. Will really have to hit in MLB to keep a regular job and is not in the best hitters' park.
51 Michael Choice - Really flew up the draft boards last year and had very good pro debut. Big time power potential and also good speed but needs to work on plate discipline, altho he can draw a walk, as he led Div-I in walks last year.
52 Manny Banuelos - Experts believe in him as a top pitching prospect now, despite his small stature.
53 Yu Darvish - The consensus best pitcher in Japan. His projectibility and his FB velocity translate well to MLB. But he's never definitely said that he wants to come to MLB. But I would think if some team throws enough money at him, which I think would happen, he'd find it hard to refuse. Even if he comes, he's not a free agent until 2014 so he might not be posted until 2013. Difficult to rank him against the other prospects, but just outside the top 50 seems like a good place for him and Aoki, below.
54 Norichika Aoki - One of the best all-around position players in Japan. Like Darvish, not a free agent until at least 2014. Ichiro-lite?
55 Nolan Arenado - Very good stats in a pitchers' league and was young for his league. Scouts generally seem to like him. Fact that Coors Field is in his future boosts his stock some.
56 Matthew Davidson - Good stats and was very young for his leagues. Considered a better bet than Borchering to stick at 3B and his good BA scouting reports cause me to rank him this high.
57 Casey Kelly - Struggled last year, but experts still believe. And now his future is in the best pitchers' park.
58 Chris Archer - He zoomed up the prospect charts last year. But now that he's in TB, it might be hard to crack the rotation.
59 Simon Castro - Another very good year convinced the experts that he's a legit top prospect. May be in MLB later this year.
60 Trey (Kenneth) McNutt - Like Archer, he zoomed up the prospect charts last year. BA's report says he has similar profile to Archer. Lots of Ks.
61 Alex White - Highly rated coming out of college. Somewhat uncertain whether he'll be a starter but expected to make MLB sometime this year.
62 Cesar Puello - Another big SB guy that's expected to be a MLB regular. He also has good power potential, which has not shown up yet, and is a potential 5-tool guy.
63 Jason Kipnis - Considered to be a future MLB regular. Maybe not all-star caliber, but could be average to above in all categories, and some prefer him to Chisenhall.
64 Tsuyoshi Nishioka - Supposed to be the regular 2Bman in Minny. Think of Tad Iguchi-like stats, which is not bad at all in roto if you can get him cheaply.
65 Danny Espinosa - The 3rd of 3 minor leaguers w 20+ HRs and SBs. But like the other 2, his speed is supposed to be only solid-average. Was slated to be the Nats' opening-day 2Bman, but an injury may forestall that. But should be a regular soon.
66 Brent Morel - Expected to be the regular ChiSox 3Bman. Expected to put up close to average stats in all categories but SBs.
67 Matt Dominguez - Supposed to be a glove-first 3Bman but his offense has been OK, too, altho experts still question it. Will be Marlins' everyday 3Bman soon, if not on opening day.
68 Jackie Bradley - Another top-10 draft talent. Was the MVP of the CWS last year.
69 Taylor Jungmann - Another top pitching draft prospect expected to go in the top 10.
70 Jonathan Villar - Another big SB guy. Considered the future SS for the Astros and may not be all that far away from that. His plate discipline needs a lot of work.
71 Hak Ju Lee - Considered an outstanding glove. Bat is a question but his stats so far have been solid. Roto value is mainly in his SBs.
72 Trayvon Robinson - Another SB guy. I was surprised that BA didn’t rate him higher. There would appear to be room for him in the Dodger OF, particularly if they deal Kemp, but he'll have to compete w Sands, too, altho Robinson profiles as a CFer while Sands doesn’t.
73 Reymond Fuentes - Still another SB guy. Very good athlete and defender, he's probably very far away from MLB.
74 Zach Cox - Considered to have elite offensive potential. BA's report says he was the best pure hitter in the draft. Needs pro ABs.
75 Ben Revere - In my leagues, the first 70-75 guys usually are the ones I'm interested in drafting from. With Revere, we begin to get into the guys that I have more questions about and feel less comfortable drafting. He has always hit for a hi BA and his value is mainly in that and his SBs. Appears ready for MLB now, altho there doesn’t appear to be room for him in Minny now w Span, Cuddyer and D. Young in the OF. And supposedly his arm is very weak. So it's very questionable how much playing time he'll get unless someone gets hurt.
76 Dayan Viciedo - His plate discipline is still bad but the other stats look good and he's very still young. There didn’t appear to be room for him currently w the ChiSox now that they signed Dunn and resigned Konerko, but the Sox supposedly are moving him to the OF now. That would appear rather crowded also w Rios and Quentin at the corners.
77 Fernando Martinez - When healthy, he hits but he hasn’t been healthy nearly enough or else he might already be the Mets' starting LFer. Could he be that on opening day this year?
78 Wilmer Flores - His bat started to live up to the hype last year, but he appears destined to wind up at either corner OF or even 1B. It remains to be seen whether his bat will be considered strong enough for that position.
79 Craig Kimbrel - A strong closer candidate in Atl, but Venters reportedly is the favorite. Great K-rate (14.8/9 as a pro!) but needs better control.
80 Tanner Scheppers - Really got hit in a brief trial as a starter last year, but was very good in relief. Could be the closer in Texas if Feliz becomes a starter, which reportedly they'll try to do.
Comment