Junius Worth
David Kerr
Charlie Nehl
gawlowskib
Andrew Martin
Jonathan C. Mitchell
johnczech
Daniel Marino
Michael Schwartze
mlbdirtstaff
Spencer Schneier
William J. Tasker
The Baltimore Orioles have one of the best 1-2-3 prospect combos in the game but it gets a bit muddled after that with low-ceiling high probability guys and high-ceiling low probability guys. It’s a solid mix for a team that needs to develop from within but most of the top talent is at least a full year or more away from helping the big league club.
Below are my top 16 prospects with 2012 opening day age, position, and comments on each player. Below the top 16 is a small list of additional notable names. Enjoy.
| Player | Comments | |
| 1 | Manny Machado (19-SS) | One of my favorite position prospects and I believe he sticks at SS. He has a plus hit tool with the chance to develop 20+ HR power and speed to steal 20+ bases. Shows a mature approach for a teenager. |
| 2 | Dylan Bundy (19-RHP) | He is one of the best high school pitchers to come out of the draft since Josh Beckett and has legit ace potential. He has a power arm and polish for a kid his age and should be a quick mover. |
| 3 | Jonathan Schoop (20-2B/3B) | I think he can stay at 2B but has the arm for 3B. Has developing power that can be above-average and he makes a lot of contact. Needs to improve patience and improve against RHP. |
| 4 | Jason Esposito (22-3B) | A glove that could play today at 3B and could play at SS. His bat will need to improve if he wants to be an MLB regular but his glove is so good he should have at least a solid career as a utility infielder. I really like Esposito as a big league regular contending for Gold Gloves annually. |
| 5 | Nick Delmonico (19-3B) | He has the 3rd highest ceiling for offensive production in this system but has a long way to go to reach it. His older brother moved to catcher and there is some thought he could as well but reports I have read don’t make it seem likely since he has a lot of work to remain at 3B. If he can move to catcher he has star potential with his bat. |
| 6 | Bobby Bundy (22-RHP) | Dylan’s older brother has the chance to be a back of the rotation starter that can eat innings. He has decent control and repitoire but nothing rates plus in his arsenal. |
| 7 | Parker Bridwell (20-RHP) | He has the stuff and repitoire to be a #2-3 starter but the probability is low. Has a solid fastball that can reach 95 in short stints and a 4-pitch mix. He needs polish but I love the ceiling. |
| 8 | Daniel Klein (23-RHP) | Injuries have limited him to less than 40 pro innings in two seasons but his fastball/breaking ball combo and solid control could play in a big league pen in a year. |
| 9 | L.J. Hoes (24-OF) | His move to LF hurts his value but I like the skillset. Should be a plus glove in LF and makes solid contact with good patience. Love the approach and has speed to steal 30+ bases. Could be a 4th OFer but I think he can be a regular, even in LF. |
| 10 | Eduardo Rodriguez (19-LHP) | Has the ability to move into the top 5 here. Great command for an 18yr old and has good movement on his average velocity fastball. Curveball shows potential to be plus and change can be average. I considered him as high as 7 on this list. |
| 11 | Glynn Davis (20-OF) | Undrafted but has plus-plus speed and should stick in CF. He shows good patience but may lack the bat to be a regular. Big frame offers room for muscle to build power. |
| 12 | Joe Mahoney (25-1B) | Big kid with big power potential but needs to improve his approach at the plate. Athletic for a 6’6′ 240 kid and is a solid baserunner. Old for minors. Better chance he is Quad-A than MLB regular but has the potential for latter. |
| 13 | Gabriel Lino (18-C) | Defense is already plus and showed solid approach in small sample. Scouts believe the power will develop to above-average. Has easy potential to be a top-10 prospect soon. |
| 14 | Clayton Schrader (21-RHP | Power reliever with a great fastball/slider combo. Could move fast but needs to improve control. Max effort delivery could lead to injuries but one-inning stints should limit the injury potential. |
| 15 | Ryan Adams (25-2B) | Gap power and double-digit HR power but bad approach at the plate. He is big league ready and can play multiple positions. Good bench guy. |
| 16 | Mychal Givens (21-SS/RHP) | Drafted as a SS and can play the field but cannot hit and I believe he won’t, despite a decent approach. I always liked him as a pitcher and I think his career belongs on the mound. Pitched in my hometown Tampa and saw his fastball reach mid-90s on scout’s guns. |
A few more names to watch: Kyle Simon (RHP), Zachary Davies (RHP), Mike Wright (RHP)
I may catch a little flack for not having Xavier Avery anywhere on here but I simply do not like him as a prospect, at all. He has a horrible swing, horrible approach, and projects as a late-inning pinch runner or defensive outfield replacement. I could be wrong but I do not see more than that out of him.
-Jonathan C. Mitchell can be found writing about the Tampa Bay Rays at DRaysBay and you can follow him on twitter at @FigureFilbert. Be sure to follow MLBdirt at @MLBdirt
Filed under: On the Farm - Prospects Tagged: | Manny Machado, Prospects, Baltimore Orioles, Kyle Simon, Zach Davies, Mike Wright, Mychal Givens, Ryan Adams, Joe Mahoney, Clayton Schrader, Gabriel Lino, Glynn Davis, Eduardo Rodriguez, L.J. Hoes, Dan Klein, Parker Bridwell, Bobby Bundy, Nick Delmonico, Jason Esposito, Jonathan Schoop, Dylan Bundy, Xavier Avery, 2012 Top Prospects
Posted the Rays top prospects Nos. 6-10 yesterday: http://yossif.mlblogs.com/2011/11/29/rays-top-prospects-6-10/
And I also responded to your comment on the top 5 prospects post. I’m not sure if you read, but the rankings are actually not mine but MLB.com’s rankings. I just do the evaluations.
Gotcha.
Where is Townsend?
I had a feeling someone would ask about him. He was literally #20 on my list. He was a bit old for A-ball and I do not like his approach. He also struggles against LHP. He will have to rely on a high BABIP to have a decent enough OBP to be an average 1B in the bigs and I see him as a reserve right now. He needs to stay healthy all year too. He has potential to climb to the top 10 but I think he is too far off.
I don’t understand the struggling against lefties comment and there isn’t anyone in the organization as offensive as he is. The bb/k ratio is overridden by his numbers, Mahoney’s injury blocked him from moving up last year and his own injury ruined the rest of his year. All he needs is a healthy year.
Once he has that healthy year there will be more to evaluate him on. Until then I go by the reports I have read and the stats in small sample sizes. In short, he has top 10 prospect potential but is at least a full year of development away from reaching it. I cannot put him there right now with the reports I read on him.
In terms of timing of the development of the top 5, do you think the O’s current young core in the majors should be traded off to rebuild or is there a chance we see Wieters, Schoop, Machado, and Jones up the middle at some point?
I think there is a solid chance of seeing that group together. If I ran the O’s I would look into locking Jones and Wieters up. If Jones wants more than fair market then I consider trading him but only for MLB ready talent that can play with that core.
[...] MLB Dirt [...]
[...] Manny Machado (SS – BAL) [...]
[...] Avery (OF – Baltimore Orioles): I was incredibly harsh on Avery in my pre-season rankings and said he only had a future as a pinch-runner due to lack of plate discipline and a bad swing. [...]