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.
And finally, the…
AL West
Angels
1. Jordan Walden
2. Nick Adenhart
3. Hank Conger
4. Trevor Reckling
5. Will Smith
6. Peter Pourjos
7. Kevin Jepsen
8. Mark Trumbo
9. Sean O’Sullivan
10. Anthony Ortega
I’m a little torn on this system; they guys at the top are going to be stars. From 5 down, they have tons of potential but I’m worried that the potential won’t develop like everyone hopes. If they do, the Angels will continue to thrive; if not, they’ll just have to buy more players. My sleeper is Hank Conger; injuries have slowed him down, but look for him to take over the catching duties in 2010.
Athletics
1. Brett Anderson
2. Trevor Cahill
3. Michael Inoa
4. Gio Gonzalez
5. Aaron Cunningham
6. Adrian Cardenas
7. Jemile Weeks
8. Sean Doolittle
9. Vin Mazzaro
10. Henry Rodriguez
This system had slipped a little until Billy Beane worked more of his magic; Anderson, Gonzalez, Cunningham, and Cardenas came through trades. The system is full of players who will make it to the majors. My sleeper is Gio Gonzalez; he got a taste of the majors last year, but I’m expecting him to make an impact in the rotation this year.
Mariners
1. Greg Halman
2. Carlos Triunfel
3. Phillipe Aumont
4. Michael Saunders
5. Josh Fields
6. Juan Ramirez
7. Adam Moore
8. Michael Pineda
9. Jharmindy DeJesus
10. Mario Martinez
The Mariner’s top 5 look good, but it gets thin after that. Fields should be a quick mover as a college reliever. My sleeper is Phillipe Aumont; he’s got some time before he makes Seattle’s rotation, but look for a huge step forward this year.
Rangers
1. Neftali Feliz
2. Derek Holland
3. Justin Smoak
4. Elvis Andrus
5. Taylor Teagarden
6. Martin Perez
7. Michael Main
8. Engle Beltre
9. Julio Borbon
10. Max Ramirez
Baseball America’s top ranked Minor League System. A few teams would have their top players be lucky to make it into this top 20. Everyone’s heard of the catching depth, but they also have some great pitchers. My sleeper is Julio Borbon; he’s going to jump up to Triple A this year and could get a whiff of the majors in September.
