Baseball Prospectus Top 100: The Best of the Best

Baseball Prospectus Top 100: The Best of the Best

Introduction

As the baseball season winds down, fans and analysts alike begin to turn their attention to next year. One of the most highly anticipated annual events in the Baseball World is the release of Baseball Prospectus’ Top 100 Prospects list. This year’s edition was released on January 15, 2020, and it did not disappoint.

There are always a few surprises on the list, but this year’s top 10 was particularly interesting. Of course, there are the usual suspects like Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (1), Forrest Whitley (2), and Fernando Tatis Jr. (3). But there are also some newcomers like Carter Kieboom (8) and Nate Pearson (10).

So what does this year’s list tell us about the future of baseball? Let’s take a closer look at some of the top prospects and what they might mean for the sport in 2020 and beyond.

The Top 100 Prospects

Every year, Baseball Prospectus ranks the top 100 baseball prospects in the game. This list is widely considered to be the definitive ranking of prospects, and it’s always eagerly anticipated by fans and analysts alike.

So who made the cut this year?

The Best of the Best

The best of the best, as ranked by Baseball Prospectus. This list includes the top 100 prospects in baseball, as well as their position, team, and estimated arrival date in the majors.

The top prospects by Position

The top prospects by Position

1. C: Francisco Mejia, Cleveland Indians
2. 1B: Cody Bellinger Los Angeles Dodgers
3. 2B: Yoan Moncada, Chicago White Sox
4. 3B: Rafael Devers, Boston Red Sox
5. SS: Brendan Rodgers Colorado Rockies
6. OF: Ronald Acuna, Atlanta Braves
7. OF: Eloy Jimenez, Chicago White Sox
8. OF: Victor Robles, Washington Nationals
9. DH/1B: Edwin Encarnacion, Toronto Blue Jays
10. RHP: Michael Kopech, Chicago White Sox

The top prospects by Organization

In an effort to provide the most comprehensive resource possible for baseball fans looking to follow the game’s best young talent, Baseball Prospectus presents its 10th annual ranking of baseball’s Top 100 prospects. The list represents a concerted effort to evaluate talent relative to Major League level competition and future potential, and balance present performance with long-term projection. Just as importantly, this is an all-encompassing farm system ranking that accounts for not just 40-man roster prospects, but every prospect in an organization—those on the cusp of the Majors, as well as those years away from making an impact.

The top prospects by League

In order to provide the most comprehensive and up-to-date rankings of the game’s top prospects Baseball Prospectus factored in not only scouting information and performance data, but also--for the first time--the age and experience level of each player relative to his league.

As a result, the list you see below takes into account not only a player’s raw talent but also his development trajectory, giving you a one-stop shop for finding out who the best prospects in baseball are right now.

Prospects were ranked according to their WARP projection for their first six years of Major League service time. In order to be eligible for inclusion, a player had to have accrued fewer than 130 Big League plate appearances or 50 Big League innings pitched prior to the start of the 2016 season. Players who will spend the entirety of the 2016 season age 23 or younger were given an additional 1.5 WARP bump to their projections in recognition of their greater developmental upside.

The Top Prospects by Country

There is a lot of talent spread out across the globe, as our top 100 list indicates. The countries represented in our top 100 are as follows: United States (58), Venezuela (12), Dominican Republic (11), Cuba (9), Puerto Rico (4), Japan (3), Canada (2), Colombia (2), Mexico (2), South Korea (1).

Of the 58 prospects from the United States 49 are right-handed pitchers, six are left-handed pitchers one is a catcher, one is a first baseman, and one is an outfielder. The top 10 prospects from the United States in order are: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Eloy Jimenez, Fernando Tatis Jr., Urias…

The top prospects by Age

There are a lot of great young players in Baseball Today but who are the best of the best? That’s what we set out to answer with our annual Top 100 Prospects list.

To create the list, we surveyed all 30 MLB organizations and asked them to rank the prospects in their system from 1 to 10. We then compiled those rankings into one master list and applied some age adjustments to account for the fact that younger players tend to be more talented and have more upside potential.

The result is our annual Top 100 Prospects list, which provides a great snapshot of the game’s best young talent. Here’s a look at how the prospects are distributed by age:

21 and under: 26 prospects
22-23: 36 prospects
24-25: 20 prospects
26 and over: 18 prospects

The top prospects by Tool

There is no one perfect way to rank prospects, but the team at Baseball Prospectus does a great job of taking many factors into account and coming up with a comprehensive list In their most recent ranking of the top 100 prospects in baseball, they broke down the list by “tool,” or the best player at each position. Here are the top 10 prospects in each tool, according to Baseball Prospectus.

Hit Tool: Vidal Brujan, 2B, Rays
Power Tool: Jarred Kelenic, OF, Mariners
Run Tool: Jo Adell, OF, Angels
Arm Tool: Jasson Dominguez, OF, Yankees
Fielding Tool: Andres Gimenez SS/2B, Mets
Overall Hitting Ability: Jo Adell, OF, Angels
Overall Power Potential: Jarred Kelenic, OF Mariners
Overall Running Ability: Jo Adell, OF Angels
Potential Overall Defensive Value: Andres Gimenez, SS/2B Mets

The top prospects by Potential

In baseball, a “prospect” is a young player who has been scouted and analyzed and is expected to be a future Major League Baseball (MLB) player.

The term can also refer to a player who has been drafted by an MLB team but has not yet played in the Major Leagues

A third use of the term “prospect” refers to a person who is viewed as having the potential to be successful in some field.

Prospects are typically divided into two groups: top prospects and second-tier prospects.

The MLB Draft is where teams replenish their farm systems with new talent, and it’s one of the most important tools a franchise has for long-term success. The better a team drafts, the better its chances of contention year-in and year-out. Click here for our full Top 100 Prospects list.