MLB: The Top Ten Prospects in Baseball

10. Austin Meadows, OF, Pittsburgh Pirates

Austin Meadows was the 9th overall pick in the 2013 draft by the Pirates out of high school in Georgia. Coming into this season, the toolsy outfielder was rated consistently among the three major rankings, rated #22 by Baseball America, #20 by MLB.com, and #22 by Baseball Prospectus.

Meadows has been a lot of tools and not a ton of production to this point, with 2015 being his best year as he hit .310/.360/.420 with 7 home runs and 21 steals. This year, though, Meadows has leaped forward, showing tremendous skills on top of his tools, waiting on the best pitch in an at bat rather than just swinging at the first good pitch of an at bat. The results have been obvious, as while his batting average has been down a bit due to an initial slump once he got to AAA, Meadows has combined between AA and AAA to hit .296/.346/.592 with 8 home runs and 10 triples (!!) along with 11 stolen bases.

Meadows has already made things a bit uncomfortable for the Pirates. His presence was part of what helped to push Josh Bell from the outfield to first base, and now with superstar Andrew McCutchen only owed a guaranteed $15M after this season and only signed at most through 2018, the Pirates are seriously considering the idea of trading their 4-time top-5 MVP finisher, and 5-time All-Star, to open a spot for Meadows rather than trading away Meadows’ tremendous talent.

Meadows will be part of trade rumors all summer along with his teammate at the beginning of the season,

, a top 100 prospect in his own right. However, I would be surprised to see the Pirates making that move outside of an incredible run in July to get them into the playoff race again. This offseason will be interesting to see how the Pirates solve their outfield glut!

9. Blake Snell, LHP, Tampa Bay Rays

Snell was a compensatory first-round pick (#52 overall) by the Rays in 2011. He progressed as the Rays like to move their pitchers, advancing one level at a time before last season when he didn’t allow a single run in his first 4 appearances, 21 innings at high-A. After being promoted to AA, he continued dominating, and didn’t slow down at AAA either. Overall, he made 25 appearances, 23 starts, throwing 134 innings, with a 1.41 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, and 53/163 BB/K ratio. This incredible performance led to Baseball America ranking Snell #12, MLB.com ranking him #14, and Baseball Prospectus #21.

Snell has a four-pitch arsenal that he utilizes. He has a fastball that sits from 90-93, peaking at 95, and his long arms at 6’4 (and 180 pounds listed, though he’s filled out more since that listing) allow him to get good reach toward the plate, making his velocity play up even further. He has good late sink on the fastball.

His three off speed offerings are what set Snell apart. His change is essentially his fastball, but 10-13 MPH slower, with a mirror of break, even. His slider has great bite that rides in hard on right-handed hitters. The curve has become his major weapon against lefties, as he’s adjusted his grip to spin the ball more like a sinker than a true curve, so he gets curve depth through great wrist action on a pitch that spins like a sinking fastball that bites in on left-handed hitters.

That pitch combination from the left hand side is a tremendous combination, and his mechanics are easy and loose. The one thing that he has struggled some with in the minors is poorly maintained mounds where he can’t get his feet right in his motion, but that won’t be an issue for him in the major leagues.

Snell is four starts into his major league career at this point, and he’s showing very well thus far. He’s a great example of an organization being patient with a developmental arm and it paying off big, as Snell was never a regarded prospect at all before 2015, and now he’s one of the biggest in the entire game!

Next: #8 & #7

8. Alex Bregman, SS, Houston Astros

Bregman was the 2nd overall selection in the 2015 draft by the Astros out of Louisiana State. He came into the season with mixed reviews from various rankers, due to many believing the Astros selected Bregman as a cost-saving measure rather than taking the “best player” in that slot. Baseball America ranked Bregman #42, MLB.com ranked him #22, and Baseball Prospectus ranked him #39.

He didn’t see a moment of rookie ball after being drafted, as the Astros immediately sent him to A ball in the Midwest League, and he finished the season at high-A in his draft year, combining to his .294/.366/.415 with 4 home runs and 13 stolen bases with a 29/30 BB/K ratio. In his first full season after being drafted, the Astros aggressively started him at AA Corpus Christi, and it was obvious quickly that he was not overmatched whatsoever in the league. He’s been raking offensively to such a level that the Astros are having to consider moving Bregman to other positions to get him to the majors THIS year, one year after being drafted, as shortstop is occupied by some Carlos Correa guy who’s kind of talented.

Bregman has recently been promoted to AAA, and his season stats sit at .307/.425/.582 with 15 home runs and 5 stolen bases and a ridiculous 44/28 BB/K ratio. He has played 11 games at third base this year in a move to get him experience at other positions, and he very well could work his way up to the majors before the end of July if he hits well with AAA Fresno.

7. Dansby Swanson, SS, Atlanta Braves

In one of the most incredible moves of the offseason, the Arizona Diamondbacks traded Swanson to the Braves as part of their trade for Shelby Miller roughly 6 months after selecting him first overall in the 2015 draft out of Vanderbilt University. Swanson was highly regarded around the industry as well, ranked as the #17 prospect before the season by Baseball America, #8 by MLB.com, and #27 by Baseball Prospectus.

As I’ve mentioned earlier, the Braves already had an elite shortstop prospect in Ozzie Albies, so many wondered how the team would handle the two, both of whom were likely to go to the same level in 2016. In spring training, both played 2B and SS at various times, some times together, sometimes in combination with other players, and in the end, Swanson was originally assigned to high-A Carolina. That did not last long as Swanson pushed his way to AA Mississippi before the end of April, hitting .333/.441/.526 with 12 doubles and a homer along with 7 steals and a 15/13 BB/K.

After he got to Mississippi, though, he began to struggle, and specifically, he really struggled with strikeouts, and he’s got 39 in 230 plate appearances at Mississippi. However, he’s shown more power at Mississippi, and his line sits at .272/.348/.422 with 5 home runs, 4 triples, and 3 steals. Recently, the Braves demoted Ozzie Albies from AAA Gwinnett to Mississippi to have him play second base next to Swanson.

Swanson gets a lot of comparisons to

due to his calm, steady leadership on the field and his calm approach at the plate. He also does very well hitting with a calm, mature approach as well. He may not be the most elite shortstop in range or arm, but much like Jeter, he makes very few errors in judgement at the position, and he and Albies together would be a remarkable middle infield both offensively and defensively.

Next: #6 & #5

6. Joey Gallo, 3B, Texas Rangers

Possibly one of the most exciting guys to watch in batting practice in all of baseball, majors or minors, Gallo’s 6’5, 230 pound frame can absolutely rocket balls to all fields with a powerful left-handed swing. Now, he just needs the Rangers to find some way to get him a chance to use that swing in Texas.

Gallo was a first round selection in 2012 out of high school in Las Vegas. Interestingly enough, he and Bryce Harper played little league baseball together (Bryce also played with Kris Bryant, if you want to talk about unfair little league duos). In just 260 plate appearances in his draft season, Gallo hit 22 home runs, immediately showing the incredible power he possessed. He’s been on the radars of prospect folks ever since, and this past offseason, he was a consensus top 10 guy, rated #10 by Baseball America, #9 by MLB.com, and #8 by Baseball Prospectus.

While he’s not going to be an elite defensive third baseman, he’s solid at the hot corner, and the Rangers have found that his solid arm also plays well in left field, but thus far, they’ve not found a home for him at either spot in their big league club. He’ll certainly have some heavy strikeout numbers due to his highly leveraged swing, but he also has a decent eye, as well, walking in over 17% of his plate appearances in AAA this season.

Gallo is likely to use up his rookie eligibility this season, so this will be his last season on lists like this, but he could be part of a trade in July if the Rangers don’t see a spot for him in their lineup in the next few seasons.

5. Tyler Glasnow, RHP, Pittsburgh Pirates

Coming into 2016, Glasnow was regarded as that guy that had all the electric stuff, but he needed to become a pitcher rather than a thrower. Baseball America ranked him #14, MLB.com had him #10, and Baseball Prospectus had him #11.

He repeated Indianapolis this season after finishing this year and the huge (6’8, 225 pounds) righty stepped up his performance even further, though his walk rate seemed to stay higher than desired. He’s racked up a 1.70 ERA with a 1.16 WHIP and a 51/105 BB/K over 90 innings. He’s currently the next guy the Pirates would likely bring up for their rotation.

Glasnow does have some issues with his repeatability in his delivery, and that’s the primary issue in his command problems, though I don’t see that anywhere near as much this year. What I see this year is Glasnow is working a ton on utilizing the low zone, and it seems he is getting squeezed frequently. At 6’8, he throws upper 90s with ease, and his athleticism and size allows him to explode toward the plate, and his height allows him to get on top of an elite fastball and have it sitting heavy in the zone.

His offspeed stuff has really played up this season. I’m a big fan of his curve ball, a hard curve that doesn’t have huge depth, but it has hard break, and Glasnow is using it very well around thigh-high where it finishes just below the knees, and breaks late and heavy. This makes him near impossible to drive the ball on. His change has looked much better this season, and while it doesn’t break like the fastball, he does have great arm action on the change, which makes it effective. I’ve noted the change moving to the arm side and out of the zone more than a few times, so I wonder if he isn’t getting some cut action to his change that he’s not used to commanding at this point.

Glasnow’s stuff is incredibly unhittable at this point this season, and I truly believe just getting a consistent major league strike zone would lower his walk rate dramatically in the half-dozen starts of his that I’ve seen this year. He’s very possibly the most exciting pitcher I’ve seen throw in the minor leagues this year by performance.

Next: #4 & #3

4. Orlando Arcia, SS, Milwaukee Brewers

Signed out of Venezuela in 2011, Arcia worked his way up the system without much notice until he flashed some incredible leather and handled the bat fairly well in high-A at age 19 in 2014. Last year, he was moved up to AA, and his season opened a lot of eyes, as he hit .307/.347/.453 with 8 home runs, 52 extra base hits, and 25 steals along with that continued elite shortstop defense. The rankings took note, as Baseball America ranked him #8, MLB.com #6, and Baseball Prospectus #12.

Arcia right now has major-league caliber shortstop defense, and he probably wouldn’t hurt the Brewers offensively too badly with his bat right now, but they also know that he has the ability to be something special if they are patient, so they acquired Jonathan Villar this offseason via trade from the Astros to give them a level of security so as to not force Arcia to the major leagues.

Arcia is putting together a very solid season with AAA Colorado Springs, hitting .266/.317/.387. While that’s not elite offensive numbers by any means, Arcia has hit 6 home runs and 5 triples while also stealing 12 bases, and that defense is still elite. While Arcia has been hit by the BABIP gods in June, leading to a .235 batting average (his BABIP is around .260, and he’s been a .320 guy his whole career, something common for a guy with his speed), but he’s walking at a much better rate in June, and that’s most important as Arcia’s likely going to be a top of the order hitter, so taking pitches will be vital.

3. Julio Urias, LHP, Los Angeles Dodgers

The next two guys could be flipped depending on your preference, and I really wouldn’t argue too hard either way. Urias was the #4 prospect according to Baseball America before the season, #4 by MLB.com, and #6 by Baseball Prospectus. He was signed out of Mexico by the Dodgers, and from the moment he arrived, he’s been above his age by far, making his debut at age 16 in full-season A ball and pitching to a 2.48 ERA with an 11.1 K/9 ratio.

Urias has moved through the minor leagues quickly, and after a two-start introduction to the PCL last year, the Dodgers sent Urias to Oklahoma City for a season of the PCL this season, and it’s shown to be no match whatsoever for Urias, as he has racked up a 1.10 ERA and 0.78 WHIP while posting an 8/44 BB/K ratio over 41 innings, making one spot start for the big club in April before he was called up for good in June. He’ll be ineligible for this list by the end of the season, but fits just under the eligiblity at midseason.

Urias works around the zone with a fastball that sits 91-94 but can run up to 97-98, a change that is considered by some as the best from a lefty since Johan Santana with incredible late movement along with a 12-15 MPH speed difference from the fastball, a looping curve ball that breaks very well and gets a ton of swings, and a slider that doesn’t have deep break, but the hard break it does have creates weak contact.

The pitch that Urias “struggles” with locating the most is actually his change up as he gets just a ridiculous amount of movement on the pitch, and sometimes it does move more than even he’s expecting. He can place his looping curve within the zone, something many guys with a looping curve struggle to do. So far the biggest struggle he’s seen at the big league level is when he’s missed his spot with the change, as evidenced by his most recent start against the Brewers where he got his first major league win, but did such with 6 walks allowed.

Next: #2 & #1

2. Lucas Giolito, RHP, Washington Nationals

Giolito was considered the top talent in the 2012 draft, but Tommy John surgery the spring of his senior year of high school led to him falling to the 16th overall selection, where the Nationals were willing to meet his bonus demands to keep him out of college. He’s been ridiculously good ever since. This past offseason, the Nationals top prospect was ranked the #5 overall prospect in baseball by Baseball America, #3 by MLB.com, and #3 by Baseball Prospectus.

Giolito has been slowly adding innings as the Nationals have handled his progression well. He worked from 36 2/3 innings in 2013 to 98 in 2014, 117 in 2015, and will likely not cross 150 in 2016. He started the season late to help manage those innings, a practice the Nationals also did in 2015. He’s put up a 3.17 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, and 34/72 BB/K ratio over 71 innings.

Giolito has a fastball that sits in the 95-97 range and can touch triple digits. His curve ball is a 12-6 curve with a sharp break, and many have said it’s even tougher to hit than his triple digit fastball. His change has good sinking motion, and he is working on when to use it in counts to get weak contact. Giolito works very well low in the zone with his stuff.

To put it plainly, if I were to rank the best pitches in the minors by pitch, Giolito would own two of them, his fastball and curve, and that’s what puts him over Urias for me and at #2.

1. Yoan Moncada, 2B, Boston Red Sox

To move past two pitchers already in the major leagues, Moncada would need to be quite impressive, and impressive he certainly has been. Signed out of Cuba before the 2015 season, Moncada started his professional career with Greenville in the South Atlantic League, hitting .278/.380/.438 with 8 home runs and 49 stolen bases. The solid offensive line in his first exposure to those in the prospect world led to a #3 overall ranking from Baseball America, #7 from MLB.com, and #7 from Baseball Prospectus.

However, what that solid line covered up to some degree last season was that Moncada struggled in the field at second base, a position that he wasn’t tremendously familiar with. He flashed solid range, but his footwork around the bag and the angle working from second to first seemed to be something he struggled with in his throws. He has a very strong arm, considered a possible third base option, but even though he had previous experience at second base in Cuba, he looked as if the game in the U.S. moved quicker than he was used to in Cuba.

This season has been a night and day difference on defense, however, and he’s made monster strides on offense as well. Moncada is still making errors at second, but his footwork is much better, and he is much, much more relaxed in the field. I’m still not sold that he isn’t a future third baseman, but for now, he has more value playing up the middle, so the Red Sox will keep him there.

His bat has taken step forwards as well, as he’s hit .301/.408/.496 with 6 home runs and 37 stolen bases. He’s increased his walk rate by 3%, from a healthy 11% to 14%, and he’s even reduced his strikeout rate, though by only 1%. When watching Moncada, what you quickly notice at the plate is that he has the ability to adjust to whatever is being thrown to him, and he is comfortable with any style of pitcher – whether it be the fireballing pitcher with triple-digit heat or a junkballer, mixing up various offspeed offerings.

The big thing to note with Moncada is the difference in his body. I’m not going to get awkward here or anything, but Moncada came to the U.S. after multiple years working to get into the country and get cleared to be signed, and he wasn’t in top condition (which makes the 49 steals in 81 games all the more impressive). However, he showed up this spring looking as if he’d just finished up with a magazine cover shoot. He’s not just added “show” muscle either. He’s more flexible and has worked to increase his explosive strength, which he believes has allowed him to drive balls more consistently, and his numbers show just that, as he has 37 extra base hits in roughly 35 less plate appearances than he hit 30 extra base hits last season.

Next: 2016 Draft Winners and Losers

Moncada has been rumored in trade talks, but it would be remarkable to see the Red Sox move him without an incredible return, as his talent and play on the field both have warranted his selection as my top prospect in the entire game.