I’ve been watching top prospect lists all winter and am ready to reveal the Tailgate Crashers Top 10 Prospects by Team. I’ve looked at other rankings and have arranged guys by those score and my own feelings on them. I’m releasing these by division; each team will have a top 10 with a quick note about the system and a sleeper. After all the division lists have been released, I’ll rank the organizations and give my top 100 prospects.
Second in line is the…
AL East
Blue Jays
1. Travis Snider
2. Brett Cecil
3. JP Arencibia
4. David Cooper
5. Justin Jackson
6. Brad Mills
7. Kevin Ahrens
8. Ricky Romero
9. Mark Rzepczynski
10. Brad Emaus
I think the top 3 guys of the system have the potential to be All Stars. Snider has already pushed Adam Lind out of the way and will be starting opening day. The next 5 guys have the potential to be major league regulars. I think this system is underrated. My sleeper is Ricky Romero. He’s a healthy season away from a major jump in these rankings.
Orioles
1. Matt Wieters
2. Chris Tillman
3. Brian Matusz
4. Jake Arrieta
5. Nolan Reimold
6. Brandon Erbe
7. Brandon Snyder
8. Billy Rowell
9. Chorye Spoone
10. David Hernandez
If Baltimore could sign the right free agents, they’ll be the next Rays. They have a very strong system right now. Wieters is one of the 2 best prospects in baseball. The next three could be in the rotation in that order in 2010. My sleeper is Billy Rowell. The former first round pick has fallen flat so far, but my gut is telling me he’ll have a good season.
Rays
1. David Price
2. Tim Beckham
3. Wade Davis
4. Reid Brignac
5. Desmond Jennings
6. Jeff Niemann
7. Jeremy Hellickson
8. Nick Barnese
9. Matt Moore
10. Jacob McGee
The Rays are almost a model organization now. They’ve been successful at finding talent in the draft, and they continue to do so. They’ll be able to continue to move players for other needs (see Edwin Jackson) because they have players at all positions developing. My sleeper here is Reid Brignac; he’s slipped on the prospect charts, but he’ll force his way into the Majors in the second half.
Red Sox
1. Lars Anderson
2. Michael Bowden
3. Daniel Bard
4. Josh Reddick
5. Junichi Tazawa
6. Nick Hagadone
7. Ryan Westmoreland
8. Michael Almanzar
9. Casey Kelly
10. Ryan Kalish
Pretty much everything I’ve said about Baltimore and Tampa Bay applies here. Good depth – check. Strong system – check. Pitching – check. Sleeper here is Junichi Tazawa; he was expected to be the first pick in the Japanese draft, but he told the teams he didn’t want to play in Japan. I’m thinking he’ll be a middle of the rotation starter in a few years.
Yankees
1. Jesus Montero
2. Austin Jackson
3. Dellin Betances
4. Andrew Brackman
5. Zach McAllister
6. Austin Romine
7. Mark Melancon
8. Phil Coke
9. Alfredo Aceves
10. Humberto Sanchez
While the system is better than it was 3 years ago, I still think it’s overrated. Montero and Jackson have a lot of potential, but it falls off quick. Betances could be great, but he’s still young. Most of the pitchers won’t make it past the bullpen. My sleeper is Humberto Sanchez. He was the main prospect in the deal that sent Gary Sheffield to Detroit. Sanchez is coming back from Tommy John surgery, so if the velocity is back, he’s got the potential to be the closer when Mariano retires.
