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.
On to the…
NL Central
Astros
1. Jason Castro
2. Brian Bogusevic
3. Bud Norris
4. Jordan Lyles
5. Ross Seaton
6. Chris Johnson
7. Felipe Paulino
8. Drew Sutton
9. Samuel Gervacio
10. Chia-Jen Lo
Hands down, the weakest system in baseball. When your second best prospect is attempting a Rick Ankiel impersonation, it shows that there isn’t much there. It’s hard to pick a sleeper here, so I’ll go with Felipe Paulino. He’s got limited MLB experience, so if he can build on that, he’s a solid #5 starter.
Brewers
1. Alcides Escobar
2. Mat Gamels
3. Brett Lawrie
4. Jeremy Jeffress
5. Angel Salome
6. Lorenzo Cain
7. Jake Odorizzi
8. Jon Lucroy
9. Cutter Dykstra
10. Cole Gillespie
Even after trading Matt LaPorta for the CC Sabathia rental (and second round pick), the Brewers still have a few elite prospects. The top 5 can all be great contributors, while the next 3 have a good shot to be regulars. My sleeper pick is Jake Odorizzi; he’s young, but has middle of the rotation potential. I’d expect him up in 2012.
Cardinals
1. Colby Rasmus
2. Brett Wallace
3. Chris Perez
4. Daryl Jones
5. Bryan Anderson
6. Jason Motte
7. Jess Todd
8. Jaime Garcia
9. David Freese
10. Jon Jay
This is the system I know best in baseball; I probably could have done a top 50. They’ve come a long way since Jeff Luhnow took over the drafts. Rasmus is a star in the making, and Wallace could be too if he can stick at third. My sleeper is Jon Jay; he’s a pure centerfielder. He’ll stick at a corner though with the Cardinals since Colby’s bat profiles more as a corner outfielder.
Cubs
1. Josh Vitters
2. Jeff Samardzija
3. Andrew Cashner
4. Ryan Flaherty
5. Jay Jackson
6. Hak-Ju Lee
7. Dae-Eun Rhee
8. Starlin Castro
9. Wellington Castillo
10. Tyler Colvin
The Cubs are in the bottom 3rd of systems. Vitters and Samardzija will be stars and Cashner will be a regular, but I don’t like what they have after that. Flaherty and Jackson could be alright players, but after that there really isn’t a whole lot (at this time). My sleeper is Tyler Colvin; he’s got the potential to jump up the list.
Pirates
1. Pedro Alvarez
2. Andrew McCutchen
3. Jose Tabata
4. Bryan Morris
5. Neil Walker
6. Robbie Grossman
7. Jordy Mercer
8. Jeff Sues
9. Evan Meek
10. Shelby Ford
The Pirates scored big time getting Pedro Alvarez in the draft; it’s a sign that the current management is moving the franchise in the right direction. This system should be full of top prospects (or more young stars in the MLB roster), but most of their picks have been wasted on signability rather than talent. At this point, they are middle of the pack; if they continue to draft and make smart trades, it should jump up. My sleeper is Neil Walker. The former catcher has slid down the rankings the last few years, but I expect him to get a shot if/when Andy LaRoche fails this season.
Reds
1. Yonder Alonso
2. Todd Frazier
3. Drew Stubbs
4. Chris Valaika
5. Neftali Soto
6. Josh Roenicke
7. Zach Stewart
8. Kyle Lotzker
9. Juan Francisco
10. Yorman Rodriguez
I think the Reds system is a little underrated. They’ve produced some good players in the last year, and have more that are moving up the system. Alonso is solid, but may be without a position if Joey Votto continues to improve. My sleeper is Todd Frazier; there are questions about his defense, but I think he’ll either stick at third or move to the outfield.
