Not quite sure how authoritative MLB.com is when it comes to prospects, but in their just-released Top 50 MLB Prospects list they rank Jesus Montero as the ninth-best in baseball, Gary Sanchez at #32 and Manny Banuelos at #35. This more or less lines up with what I think most of the Yankee faithful would consider the team’s top three prospects. Also, Dellin Betances just missed the top 50, ranking at #53.
It’s not only nice to see these kids get some mainstream attention, but also cool to see three products of the Yankee farm system make the top 50, especially since not every team has players that make the list — neither the Mets, Marlins, Brewers nor Athletics have a representative, and for all of Boston’s supposed vaunted farm system the Red Sox only had one — Jose Iglesias.
The Angels’ Mike Trout was ranked #1, followed by the Rays’ Jeremy Hellickson and the Nationals’ Bryce Harper. And it would appear that the hype surrounding the Royals’ system is justified, with four players — Mike Moustakas (#7), Eric Hosmer (#8), Mike Montgomery (#14) and Wil Myers (#16) — in the top 20 alone, and six out of the top 50 overall.
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0 Responses to Jesus Montero, Gary Sanchez and Manny Banuelos in MLB.com’s Top 50 prospects
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TIQ IQ
I would have put Harper at the top of that list if I had been making it. That kid is unreal. I am not sure we've seen anyone with that much natural power come along since Mantle.
Yes, he's immature and needs to lose the weird eye black. But if I was 18 and had the power to play in the Show already, I would be pretty cocky too.
I've heard good things about Trout, but I think Harper will be bigger.
As a Rangers fan, I hope that the hype around Martin Perez is still justified. He seems to have taken a step backward this year. That is understandable since he has been the youngest player at EVERY level he's been assigned to.
I hope Scheppers can make it to the big team this year but am afraid that his body is finally going to go boom as he is a big injury risk.
Since I am here, I will point out that I really like Texas' trading for Mike Napoli. He will help the Rangers a bit more than Frankie Francisco would have.
I know Napoli isn't a good catcher any more, but he can mash well enough to split time at 1b and DH when he isn't catching or waiting to pinch hit off the bench.
Having seen Harper play in the AFL this past fall, he has immense power, really good speed and a tremendous throwing arm. He also played a pretty decent RF for a first-timer and is very aggressive on the bases. He does have to quell some of his over-aggressiveness at the plate or the higher levels will eat him up with first pitch breaking pitches and change ups.
His power and throwing arm (Trout's arm is so-so) make him a better prospect right now than Trout.
Dean,
I'm not familiar with Perez — has he received substantial hype? A quick glance at his Fangraphs page shows a kid who appears to have struggled pretty badly in AA the last two seasons — there's really no way to sugarcoat a 1.68 WHIP in 99.2 innings. Not that initial struggles as a 19-year-old in AA is anything to lose too much sleep over, but his #23 ranking does seem a tad high based off his AA performance thus far.