Each weekday during the minor-league season, FanGraphs is providing a status update on multiple rookie-eligible players. Note that Age denotes the relevant prospect’s baseball age (i.e. as of July 1st of the current year); Top-15, the prospect’s place on Marc Hulet’s preseason organizational list; and Top-100, that same prospect’s rank on Hulet’s overall top-100 list.

Victor Alcantara, RHP, Los Angeles Angels (Profile)
Level: Low-A   Age: 21   Top-15: N/A   Top-100: N/A
Line: 87.0 IP, 48-79 BB-K, 64 H, 4.03 ERA

With the recent trade for the Padres’ Huston Street, the Angels all but emptied their minor league system. Read the rest of this entry »

Each weekday during the minor-league season, FanGraphs is providing a status update on multiple rookie-eligible players. Note that Age denotes the relevant prospect’s baseball age (i.e. as of July 1st of the current year); Top-15, the prospect’s place on Marc Hulet’s preseason organizational list; and Top-100, that same prospect’s rank on Hulet’s overall top-100 list.

Pierce Johnson, RHP, Chicago Cubs (Profile)
Level: Class-A/Double-A   Age: 23   Top-15: 6th   Top-100: 77th
Line: 54.1 IP, 35-46 BB-K, 32 H, 3.48 ERA

The Chicago Cubs organization has one of the stronger minor league systems in baseball — but that’s on the strength of its hitting prospects.

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Each weekday during the minor-league season, FanGraphs is providing a status update on multiple rookie-eligible players. Note that Age denotes the relevant prospect’s baseball age (i.e. as of July 1st of the current year); Top-15, the prospect’s place on Marc Hulet’s preseason organizational list; and Top-100, that same prospect’s rank on Hulet’s overall top-100 list.

Archie Bradley, RHP, Arizona Diamondbacks (Profile)
Level: Triple-A/Double-A   Age: 21   Top-15: 1st   Top-100: 5th
Line: 46.2 IP, 38 K, 26 BB, 45 H, 3.66 ERA

Bradley is a talented pitcher.

The 21-year-old hurler entered the season as the No. 1 ranked pitcher on FanGraphs Top 100 Prospects list. He recently placed second amongst pitchers behind Seattle’s Taijuan Walker on the mid-season update. Keep in mind that he missed significant time during the first half due to an elbow injury and you have a good idea of just how talented this Oklahoma native truly is.

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It’s a good time to be a talented (and cost-effective) young professional baseball prospect.

We’ve seen quite a few members of the pre-season Top 100 Prospects list graduate to the Majors. Clubs appear to be accelerating the development of top prospects and leaning heavily on them right out of the chute; freshman and sophomore players can be found playing key roles on the top teams in each division.

Some of the players still eligible for the list will become ineligible for the offseason Top 100 list when, in the second half, the front office comes calling. Prospects that could get the call include: Francisco Lindor (Indians), Taijuan Walker (Mariners), Archie Bradley (Diamondbacks), Aaron Sanchez (Blue Jays), Noah Syndergaard (Mets), Joc Pederson (Dodgers), and even Dylan Bundy (Baltimore).

So who sits atop the heap at the midpoint of the 2014 season? Let’s have a look….

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Each weekday during the minor-league season, FanGraphs is providing a status update on multiple rookie-eligible players. Note that Age denotes the relevant prospect’s baseball age (i.e. as of July 1st of the current year); Top-15, the prospect’s place on Marc Hulet’s preseason organizational list; and Top-100, that same prospect’s rank on Hulet’s overall top-100 list.

Christian Walker, 1B, Baltimore Orioles (Profile)
Level: Double-A   Age: 23   Top-15: N/A   Top-100: N/A
Line: 374 PA, .307/.366/.542, 20 HR, 8.6% BB, 19.5% K

Summary
With Chris Davis suffering through a disappointing season, Christian Walker is picking a perfect time to develop into one of the better first base prospects in the minors.

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Each weekday during the minor-league season, FanGraphs is providing a status update on multiple rookie-eligible players. Note that Age denotes the relevant prospect’s baseball age (i.e. as of July 1st of the current year); Top-15, the prospect’s place on Marc Hulet’s preseason organizational list; and Top-100, that same prospect’s rank on Hulet’s overall top-100 list.

Mookie Betts, IF/OF, Boston Red Sox (Profile)
Level: AA/AAA/MLB   Age: 21   Top-15: 4th   Top-100: 59th
Line: .345/.437/.520, 8 HR, 29 SB, 51-33 BB-K (MiLB)

The Boston Red Sox organization has one of the best minor league systems in baseball and it’s been on full display in 2014. Xander Bogaerts, a 21-year-old middle infielder, opened the year with the big club. Jackie Bradley, 24, has seen significant playing time. Third baseman Garin Cecchini received a cup of coffee in the Majors despite experiencing a bit of a down year at Triple-A. These players ranked one-two-three, respectively, on the Red Sox’s Top 10 prospects list at FanGraphs prior to the 2014 season.

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Each weekday during the minor-league season, FanGraphs is providing a status update on multiple rookie-eligible players. Note that Age denotes the relevant prospect’s baseball age (i.e. as of July 1st of the current year); Top-15, the prospect’s place on Marc Hulet’s preseason organizational list; and Top-100, that same prospect’s rank on Hulet’s overall top-100 list.

Domingo Santana, OF, Houston Astros (Profile)
Level: AAA Age: 21 Top-15: 8th Top-100: N/A
Line: .304/.383/.502, 13 HR, 5 SB, 40-99 BB-K

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Each weekday during the minor-league season, FanGraphs is providing a status update on multiple rookie-eligible players. Note that Age denotes the relevant prospect’s baseball age (i.e. as of July 1st of the current year); Top-15, the prospect’s place on Marc Hulet’s preseason organizational list; and Top-100, that same prospect’s rank on Hulet’s overall top-100 list.

Dalton Pompey, CF, Toronto Blue Jays (Profile)
Level: A+/AA   Age: 21   Top-15: 13th   Top-100: N/A
Line: .312/.393/.461, 6 HR, 29 SB, 36-58 BB-K

Summary
Pompey is one of the fastest-rising prospects not only in the Jays system but minor-league baseball, in general. He’s also likely to be a hot commodity during trade talks at the July deadline approaches.

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Each weekday during the minor-league season, FanGraphs is providing a status update on multiple rookie-eligible players. Note that Age denotes the relevant prospect’s baseball age (i.e. as of July 1st of the current year); Top-15, the prospect’s place on Marc Hulet’s preseason organizational list; and Top-100, that same prospect’s rank on Hulet’s overall top-100 list.

Marco Gonzales, LHP, Cardinals (Profile)
Level: A+/AA   Age: 22   Top-15: 6th   Top-100: N/A
Line: 76.1 IP, 67 H, 78/18 K/BB, 1.89 ERA, 2.34 FIP

Summary
Can lightning strike twice for the Cardinals? After seeing 2012 first rounder Michael Wacha rocket to the Majors in 2013, Marco Gonzales — the 19th overall selection of the ’13 draft — will attempt to duplicate his injured teammate’s success.

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Each weekday during the minor-league season, FanGraphs is providing a status update on multiple rookie-eligible players. This particular Prospect Watch feature will focus on prospect notes from around the minors — focusing on both top prospects and sleepers.

On the surface, the Chicago White Sox have seen solid returns from their 17th overall pick from the 2013 amateur draft. Tim Anderson, a shortstop, is hitting .303 with solid gap pop and some base running aptitude thrown in for good measure. Unfortunately, his plate discipline leaves something to be desired. He carries a shockingly-bad 61-7 K-BB rate through 61 High-A ball games. Anderson’s on-base percentage is bound to bottom out if (when) his BABIP of .379 normalizes.

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