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.
This week we start with the…
AL Central
Indians
1. Matt LaPorta
2. Carlos Santana
3. Adam Miller
4. Nick Weglarz
5. Beau Mills
6. Hector Rondon
7. David Huff
8. Lonnie Chisenhall
9. Kelvin de la Cruz
10. Carlos Rivero
The system got a lift last season by trading Casey Blake, CC Sabathia, and Paul Byrd – LaPorta and Santana came in those deals. Miller has potential to be an ace if healthy. My sleeper here is Lonnie Chisenhall; he’s made some bad choices in college, but I expect him to make a large leap forward this year.
Royals
1. Mike Moustakas
2. Eric Hosmer
3. Daniel Cortes
4. Kila Ka’aihue
5. Daniel Duffy
6. Tim Melville
7. Dan Gutierrez
8. Michael Montgomery
9. Carlos Rosa
10. Blake Wood
The Royals have really started to draft well; they got 2 first round caliber players last draft with only 1 first round pick. The first 3 have the potential to play every day (or every fifth day for Cortes). Ka’aihue saw some MLB action last year, but is blocked by similar players. The sleeper here is Tim Mehlville; drafted out of high school, he’s got great stuff on his pitches. He was expected to go in the first round, but injuries and bonus demands dropped him to the Royals in the fourth round.
Tigers
1. Rick Porcello
2. Ryan Perry
3. Brett Jacobson
4. Casey Crosby
5. Wilkin Ramirez
6. Jeff Larish
7. Cale Iorg
8. Cody Satterwhite
9. Scott Sizemore
10. Dusty Ryan
This is a weak system; most of the better prospects were used to bring in Miguel Cabrera and Edgar Renteria. Now, after Porcello, they have mostly questions marks. My sleeper for the Tigers is Ryan Perry; I think he’ll end up in the MLB bullpen by the end of the year.
Twins
1. Aaron Hicks
2. Ben Revere
3. Wilson Ramos
4. Danny Valencia
5. Jose Mijares
6. Shooter Hunt
7. Kevin Mulvey
8. Angel Morales
9. Carlos Gutierrez
10. Anthony Swarzak
The Twins system hasn’t seem like it has been bad in 10 years; it’s still that way. Hicks and Revere will be stars. Any of the rest of the list could be regulars. I’m a big fan of Anthony Swarzak as a sleeper; he’s got something to prove after failing a drug test last year. I expect to see him in Minnesota in 2010.
White Sox
1. Gordon Beckham
2. Aaron Poreda
3. Tyler Flowers
4. Brandon Allen
5. Jordan Danks
6. Dayan Viciedo
7. John Shelby Jr
8. Chris Getz
9. Clayton Richard
10. Dexter Carter
Another weak system. Beckham and Poreda look good, and Flowers and Danks have some potential. It’s hard to say how Viciedo will end up; if a few years, he could be the next big Latin American Prospect, or he could be the next has been trying to get back in winter ball. My sleeper is Chris Getz; he’s got a shot to be the starting second baseman this season.
