RANK PLAYER POS. ORGANIZATION #AGE 26 Jake McGee LHP Tampa Bay Rays TOP '07 LEVEL: AA (Montgomery) 21 McGee is not as polished or advanced as teammate Wade Davis, but he is not far behind in reality or in the rankings. At the moment, his only plus pitch is his fastball, 92-96 mph (a 60 on the scouting scale) and coming out of his hand late to left-handed hitters. He still has some room to fill out, and it wouldn't be shocking to see him sitting at 95 mph in a few years. His curve and change both are below average, so while he has blown away hitters with his fastball to date, that's not going to continue to work in Double-A or Triple-A. He holds his velocity deep into games, so he projects as a starter down the road, but he won't get there as quickly as Davis or David Price. 27 Jordan Schafer CF Atlanta Braves TOP '07 LEVEL: A (Myrtle Beach) 21 Schafer isn't Grady Sizemore, but not many players are. He is an excellent athlete and has the strength in his arms to hit for average and power, but he has some mechanical issues. His load at the plate is a little too deep, and he doesn't have the bat speed to overcome it, so he commits early and often ends up way out in front. He also gets too pull-conscious in games, despite showing a good whole-field approach in batting practice. On the plus side, the ball comes off his bat well, and if he can shorten up his swing, he should see improvement in his contact and long-term in his power output. He plays a strong center field with an above-average arm. I don't project him as a top-shelf center fielder right now, but he is ranked this high because he has the physical tools to become one with some work on his swing. 28 Lars Anderson 1B Boston Red Sox TOP '07 LEVEL: A (Lancaster) 20 The Sox ponied up for Anderson late in the 2006 draft, and he already is a better prospect than either of their first-round picks from that year. He is a left-handed hitter who projects to hit for average and power with great OBPs. His plate discipline and pitch recognition are outstanding for a prospect of any age, much less a soon-to-be 20-year-old in high Class A ball. He has a simple swing and takes a direct path to the ball, so he can let it travel and use the entire field. He shows plus raw power in batting practice, and he has room to fill out and become a 30-plus home run hitter once he changes his approach to pull balls middle-in, but that might not come for another year or two. He also is a good defensive first baseman and a fringe-average runner. A big year at Double-A would push him up to the top 10 for next offseason. 29 Adam Miller RHP Cleveland Indians TOP '07 LEVEL: AAA (Buffalo) 23 Miller is a potential No. 1 starter if he can keep his arm attached at all its various joints. Last year, he strained a flexor tendon in his finger and then had a sore elbow, limiting him to just 65 innings in the regular season and 13 unsuccessful innings in the Arizona Fall League. He also has had shoulder trouble in the past. When healthy, Miller has a four-seamer that sits in the mid-90s and a two-seamer in the low 90s, and he holds his velocity through 90-100 pitches. His slider already is a big league out pitch, up to 88 mph with a hard, late break, and his command has been good in the past. That No. 1 starter is somewhere under the medical dossier, screaming to get out. 30 Johnny Cueto RHP Cincinnati Reds TOP '07 LEVEL: AAA (Louisville) 22 Cueto doesn't get the hype of Homer Bailey because he doesn't have the same big pitcher's build, but his stuff is almost as good as Bailey's, and he might be more advanced as a pitcher. Cueto is small and squatty but strong, and he has a smooth, easy arm action that produces fastballs anywhere from 91 to 96 mph with good life up in the zone. His changeup is his best secondary pitch, with good sink and tail and excellent arm speed, while his slider flashes plus with a hard tilt but still is inconsistent. He works quickly and aggressively but does not yet have the command to succeed in the majors, especially since his fastball is somewhat true and he could be homer-prone if he doesn't work on the margins of the strike zone. If his command doesn't improve, he will be a potentially dominant closer down the road, but he also could end up a solid No. 2 starter. 31 Elvis Andrus SS Texas Rangers TOP '07 LEVEL: A (Myrtle Beach) 19 Atlanta pushed Andrus very aggressively while he was in its system, moving him to high Class A ball at an age when most prospects are still in short-season ball. His baseball skills are slowly catching up to his tremendous athletic ability, and if Texas manages him carefully, the Rangers have a potential star on their hands. Andrus has a very easy, almost effortless swing, and the ball flies off his bat. He has an advanced approach for such a young hitter, working the count, making the pitcher throw strikes and using the entire field. There is average power to come, and he is a plus runner who needs some work reading pitchers. He is an excellent defensive shortstop with quick reactions and good range in both directions, as well as a strong and accurate arm. He should be hitting at or near the top of the Rangers' order by 2011. 32 Geovany Soto C Chicago Cubs TOP '07 LEVEL: Majors 25 It might not have made any difference in the playoffs, but the Cubs would have clinched their division a few days sooner had they handed Soto the catcher's job after they shipped Michael Barrett (parcel post, no less) to San Diego. Instead, they gave the remains of Jason Kendall the job, costing themselves on offense and defense. Soto has plus raw power, keeping his weight back extremely well, and he has the upper-body strength to take pitches middle-out and pull them out to left-center. He can get too pull-happy, but he has shown the ability to shorten up and go the other way, and his pitch recognition is solid. He has a strong arm and average receiving skills. There was no justification for playing Kendall over Soto, and now Soto's path is clear to play every day and make a run at the NL rookie of the year award. 33 Jason Heyward CF/RF Atlanta Braves TOP '07 LEVEL: Rookie (Danville) 18 Atlanta loves to take local high school products in the draft, but the Braves had no business getting Heyward, a top-10 talent, at No. 14. He is a strong 6-foot-4 outfielder with room to add even more strength, and he has a solid approach and huge power in his future. He is a good athlete who projects as a plus right fielder with a strong arm, but Atlanta should consider giving him one full year in center before moving him. He has good plate coverage, especially down, but because he sets up with the bat out from his body, he has to work on covering the ball in. Don't be surprised if he goes all Jay Bruce on the minors over the next two years. 34 Brandon Wood 3B Los Angeles Angels TOP '07 LEVEL: Majors 23 Wood's star is steadily dimming as his numbers drop and the strikeouts mount. What we know for certain about Wood is he has raw power, projecting as a 70 on the 20-80 scale; he has excellent bat speed and accelerates through the ball with good extension, producing huge pull power. On the other hand, his aggressiveness at the plate and a tendency to fly open with his front shoulder (thus getting him under the ball too much) have led to declining averages and OBPs as he has moved up the system, and those weaknesses will only be further exploited in the majors. He also needs to improve his two-strike approach and learn to use the whole field. On defense, he has soft, quick hands and good footwork with a plus arm; he should be a well-above-average defender at third, and it's not out of the question that he could play short, although he probably will outgrow the position. 35 Carlos Gomez OF Minnesota Twins TOP '07 LEVEL: Majors 22 Gomez can fly and will be one of the fastest players in the majors once he is there for good. The rest of his game needs work, as his substantial tools don't translate into immediate major league success. He has a very quick bat but relies on his wrists and hands, hitting off his front foot too often and never getting his weight back to drive balls, so he makes contact but right now doesn't project to hit for power. In the field, he is more advanced, running down balls in all directions in center field and showing a 60-65 arm on the 20-80 scale. He missed most of the second half of the 2007 season due to a broken hamate bone in his hand, an injury that can linger into the following season, so his short-term projection isn't bright, but he has star potential if he is given time and instruction. 36 Jarrod Parker RHP Arizona Diamondbacks TOP '07 LEVEL: H.S. (Indiana) 19 Parker offered the best package of any high school pitcher in this draft. A 6-foot right-hander from rural Indiana, he sports a 92-97 mph fastball and a hard 83-86 mph slider with outstanding tilt. He worked primarily as a two-pitch pitcher in high school, but he has an average changeup with decent fading action and flashes a curveball with good depth, giving reason to believe he will have a repertoire at least three pitches deep in the majors. He has a very quick arm and a clean delivery, and his only problem is his height, or lack thereof, which means he struggles to work down with his fastball and can get under his slider at times. Of course, Roy Oswalt is shorter than Parker, and he has done all right for himself, so there's plenty of cause for optimism in Arizona. 37 Matt LaPorta LF/1B Milwaukee Brewers TOP '07 LEVEL: A (West Virginia) 23 LaPorta had more raw power than any other bat in the 2007 draft, so despite his other limitations, Milwaukee took him with the seventh overall pick. The Brewers sent him to the Sally League, where he smoked 10 homers in just 102 plate appearances. LaPorta has light-tower pull power, getting good extension through the ball, but he can get too pull-conscious and roll over on soft stuff away. He projects as a classic "three true outcomes" player -- drawing walks, hitting homers and striking out often -- but not as someone who will hit for a great average. The Brewers talked about LaPorta as a left fielder, but his future is at first base, where he should be an above-average defender. 38 Daric Barton 1B Oakland A's TOP '07 LEVEL: Majors 22 People who didn't read or didn't understand Moneyball would refer to Barton as a Moneyball player, because he gets on base and isn't a great athlete. He was a first-round pick by St. Louis, which traded him to Oakland in the Mark Mulder deal, so it's hard to argue that the market undervalued his skills (which was the real point of the book). Now, Barton would be highly coveted by a number of clubs because he is big league ready and has a very advanced approach at the plate. The question is his power, which projects in only the 15-20 homer range, light for a first baseman. That increases the pressure on Barton to put up OBPs in the low .400s to provide sufficient offensive value. He has a good enough eye and good enough plate coverage to do it. 39 Nolan Reimold OF Baltimore Orioles TOP '07 LEVEL: AA (Bowie) 24 Reimold's biggest problem as a pro has been staying on the field. He suffered foot and back injuries tied to weightlifting in 2006, then missed half of 2007 with a strained oblique. When he has been on the field and at full strength, however, he has hit for average and power and shown good patience. He has a simple swing and stays back well on the ball, hitting hard line drives to all fields. He doesn't have huge raw power like Matt LaPorta, but he should hit 20-plus homers consistently because he makes so much hard contact and has good loft in his swing. He has plenty of range to be plus in left or right field and has an average arm. He should be an above-average regular in the majors, posting consistently strong OBPs. 40 Taylor Teagarden C Texas Rangers TOP '07 LEVEL: AA (Frisco) 24 Teagarden was drafted out of the University of Texas as a plus defensive catcher who might hit a little. He blew out his elbow after signing and required Tommy John surgery, but he has developed into a better offensive player than the Rangers could have hoped for. He has a strong base at the plate and centers the ball extremely well, peppering the middle of the field with line drives, staying back well on breaking balls and showing a good two-strike approach. His main remaining question mark is his arm, which finally showed signs of a full recovery in Arizona. It's not a swing or hitting plan that is going to produce more than doubles power, but a catcher who works the count, hits lots of singles and doubles, and has a plus arm and good receiving skills will be one of the top 10, maybe top five, catchers in the game. 41 Manny Parra LHP Milwaukee Brewers TOP '07 LEVEL: Majors 25 Parra had spent most of his pro career battling arm injuries before a mostly healthy 2007 that saw him throw a perfect game and throw more than 100 innings in a season for just the second time. He would have set his career high had it not been for a broken thumb suffered at the end of August, ending his season. He has a solid three-pitch mix, including a slightly above-average fastball at 89-94 mph with some run, a slurvy breaking ball he buries down and in to right-handed hitters, and a solid-to-average changeup at 81-83 mph. His arm is quick, but there is some effort and length in his delivery, which might explain all the arm problems he has had. He projects as a No. 3 starter if he can stay healthy and refine his command. 42 Carlos Gonzalez CF/RF Oakland A's TOP '07 LEVEL: AAA (Tucson) 22 Gonzalez, the centerpiece of Oakland's haul in the Dan Haren trade, still has not seen his performance catch up to his tools. He has a smooth, simple, left-handed swing that should generate a ton of contact, but he is too pull-oriented and leaves himself exposed on the outer half. He already has 55 power and projects to have more as he fills out, but he will need to continue to work on his pitch recognition and approach to get to that level. On defense, he played mostly right field in the Arizona system, which was chock-full of center fielders, but he could return to center in the Oakland organization, giving him some star potential. He has an average arm for right field, but he gets good reads off the ball and should be fine in center if the A's choose to put him there. 43 Chase Headley 3B San Diego Padres TOP '07 LEVEL: Majors 23 Headley was one of the best performers in the minors in 2007, raising his profile from a potential No. 2 hitter (due to his extraordinary strike-zone judgment) to a potential middle-of-the-order bat. He has outstanding hand-eye coordination to go with that plate discipline, and that has more than made up for average bat speed to date, although you still will catch him cheating on better fastballs. He showed newfound power in 2007, the result of an offseason weight-training program, although even with the added muscle, he probably is limited to a 20-25 home run ceiling in the majors. His defense at third base is no worse than average and would be a significant improvement over Kevin Kouzmanoff's, making rumors of Headley's move to left field to accommodate the stone-handed Kouzmanoff silly. 44 Jeff Clement C Seattle Mariners TOP '07 LEVEL: Majors 24 Clement is the same hitter today he was in college -- an extremely pull-oriented hitter with a hammer-throw swing and a big weakness on pitches middle-out. But his power is big enough that if he can provide Mike Piazza-like defense behind the plate, he will be an everyday catcher in the majors. Clement, a left-handed hitter, does show the potential to at least use the left-center gap, but he might be too old to change a one-note approach. Behind the plate, Clement is barely adequate as a receiver or a thrower, and he has had on-and-off elbow trouble that gives us reason to think he won't be anything more than that. Catchers who can pop 25-plus homers are rare commodities, so look for Clement to end up a starter somewhere. 45 Ian Kennedy RHP New York Yankees TOP '07 LEVEL: Majors 23 Kennedy's stuff alone would put him in the lower reaches of this list. He is here because he has superb command of average or fringe-average stuff, so superb that he is going to succeed in the majors where many guys with superior stuff will fail. He works with a fringe-average fastball that touches 90 mph on occasion but mostly falls in the 87-88 mph range, and he commands it to all four edges of the zone. His best secondary pitch is his changeup, slightly above average with some tailing action, but it works extremely well because he keeps his arm speed consistent. His curve is solidly average as well. Kennedy repeats his delivery as well as any prospect on this list, commands all of his pitches and has a great feel for pitching. With plus stuff, he would be in the top 10 overall, but with his stuff, he will have to settle for an upside as a borderline No. 3 starter or a great No. 4 starter. 46 Michael Main RHP Texas Rangers TOP '07 LEVEL: A (Spokane) 19 Main, one of the top two-way talents in the 2007 draft, could have been a first-rounder as a hitter but was a definite first-rounder off the bump. On his best days, he will pitch 95-96 mph and hit 98 mph, and on his worst days, he will pitch at 92-95 and hit 97. His power curve has a sharp downward bite, and he is becoming more consistent with the pitch, while his changeup also is showing progress. He is a superb athlete who probably could serve as a fifth outfielder in the big leagues if the manager were willing to be clever with his bench. Main repeats his delivery well, and with improvement in his command and secondary pitches, he has a shot to develop into a No. 1 starter. Right now, he projects as a No. 2 or 3. 47 Mike Moustakas SS (?) Kansas City Royals TOP '07 LEVEL: Rookie (Idaho Falls) 19 Moustakas was an exciting two-way prospect in the draft and had a lot of hype in late spring because of his performances as a hitter and pitcher. He is up to 97 mph off the mound with a sharp slider that projects as plus, but he is short (in baseball terms) with a non-traditional build for a pitcher, so the Royals took him as a position player. He has great bat speed and good hand-eye coordination with a solid two-strike approach. He has line-drive power and projects to hit for average and doubles rather than homers. His biggest problem is the lack of a clear position. He's not a shortstop, and he's only going to get bigger, which might preclude second base as well. He could slide to third base, given his arm strength, but the hot corner is occupied in Kansas City, and conceivably, he could become too big to stay anywhere in the infield. The Royals have indicated they don't wish to push him behind the plate, a position for which he is ideally built, as the transition would push back his ETA a year or two. The positional question holds down his value as a prospect. 48 German Duran 2B/3B Texas Rangers TOP '07 LEVEL: AA (Frisco) 23 Duran wasn't a highly regarded hitting prospect out of Texas Christian University in 2005, going in the sixth round, 16 picks behind potential 2008 first-rounder Lance Lynn. But he exploded on the scene in 2007 with strong showings in Double-A, the Futures Game and the Arizona Fall League. He has a very quick bat and takes a short path to the ball, centering very well. He is so strong up top that he drives balls out to left and left-center, helped by excellent follow-through in his swing. He has plenty of arm for third base and has average range at second base, giving the Rangers plenty of flexibility on his future position. 49 Reid Brignac SS Tampa Bay Rays TOP '07 LEVEL: AA (Montgomery) 22 After a huge 2006 season, Brignac regressed at the plate in 2007, but he still projects as an everyday shortstop in the majors. His setup at the plate is unusual, with his hands starting high and back over his shoulder, which takes away some of the benefit of his plus bat speed by creating length in his swing. He doesn't keep his body in line with his swing -- he mistimes his hips, and he doesn't keep his head steady. So why is he here? Because he is strong with quick wrists, good bat speed, above-average power and good range at shortstop. He will be an offensive shortstop in the majors, and he is athletic enough to improve somewhat in the field, which would make him a borderline All-Star. 50 Hu Chin-Lung SS Los Angeles Dodgers TOP '07 LEVEL: Majors 24 Hu has an incredible combination of defensive ability and instincts that should net him a long career in the majors. His ceiling is entirely determined by how much he hits, and the jury on that one is still out. He has good bat speed and excellent bat control, putting the ball in play and trying to pepper the outfield with line drives. He needs to show this year that he can turn on some hard stuff inside. He never is going to hit for power, and his OBPs always will be driven by batting average. In the field, Hu is a wizard and a future fan favorite. He has plus range in both directions and a strong, accurate arm. But best of all is his natural feel for the game and constant awareness of game situations. If he keeps getting stronger, he should be an All-Star shortstop at the big league level who competes for Gold Gloves.
