Baseball Prospectus Names Top 11 Prospects
Five-Star Prospects
1. Carlos Carrasco, RHP
Four-Star Prospects
2. Michael Taylor, RF
3. Kyle Drabek, RHP
Three-Star Prospects
4. Travis D’Arnaud, C
5. Lou Marson, C
6. Jason Donald, SS
7. Dominic Brown, OF
8. J.A. Happ, RHP
9. Zach Collier, RF
10. Jason Knapp, RHP
11. Anthony Hewitt, 3B
Just Missed: Travis Mattair, 3B; Drew Naylor, RHP; Joe Savery, LHP
Ranking Challenges: There were many. How real was Michael Taylor’s season? How do you rank so many unproven talents with so much raw ability? How to balance the two Double-A stars who have scouting reports that fall below the kind of numbers they put up?
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Tim’s Thoughts: If they’re ranking Taylor second and giving him four-star status (51-100 nationally), then his 2008 must’ve been real. The two AA stars are Marson and Donald; I’d rate Marson higher than his current fifth, but I don’t mind Donald at six. So far the only bone of contention with Marson has been power, and that doesn’t need to appear yet; moreover, catchers don’t necessarily need power.
I am surprised D’Arnaud went before Marson, too. The latter has already proved himself in higher leagues; how can you deny it?
