It’s no secret that I’ve been a big fan of the moves that Houston Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow has been making. He’s done an outstanding job of turning the organization around despite having almost nothing to work with. Astros fans will not see immediate results at the big league level but the organization – including the front office, scouts, and minor league development staff – have done an amazing job of infusing talent into the system.

Today’s trade with the Toronto Blue Jays will add even more talent to the organization and the 10-player deal (called the most boring 10-player deal ever) is being highly underrated from Houston’s perspective and will no doubt positively impact the club for a long time. Although Luhnow did not acquire an A-level prospect in the deal, he acquired three B-level prospects and a sleeper.

My first impression of this trade is that Toronto GM Alex Anthopoulos – referred to as a ninja by many Toronto fans as well as the media for his stealth-like moves – may have made a panic trade and served up too much talent for three so-so pitchers with big league experience.

Let’s breakdown the minor league players involved:

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Brian Goodwin, OF, Washington Nationals
Current Level: A
2012 Top 15 Prospects Ranking: 5th
Current Value: Value Up

The 34th overall pick of the 2011 draft, Goodwin signed for $3 million out of a Miami junior college. He’ll turn 22 in late 2012 so it’s a little surprising that he’s still in low-A ball after 57 games. The speedy outfielder is hitting .322 and has 43 walks compared to 39 strikeouts. His wRC+ of 169 suggests high-A (or possibly double-A) may not be far away. Along with his speed and solid defensive skills, Goodwin has shown promising power (.209 ISO). He could be ready to establish himself in the Nationals’ outfield at some point in 2014.

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I stated last week that I had no plans to release a mid-season top prospects list, but the popularity of the Top 100 prospects review series forced me to reconsider. So I spent the weekend compiling an updated Top 50 prospect list.

The prospect ranks are a little thin this year, with teams leaning on young talent more — and more prospects, in general, appear to be spending less time in the minors before getting thrown into the big league fire.

With this particular list the Top 25, or so, prospects are set pretty firmly in my mind while the latter half of the list is very interchangeable and there are 10-15 players leftover who could easily slide onto the list with much argument.

Please note, the list does not include any 2012 draft picks or prospects currently playing in the Majors.

1. Jurickson Profar, SS, Texas Rangers
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We’re wrapping up the review of my pre-season Fangraphs Top 100 Prospects list. You can read the previous three parts of this series by clicking the links below:

Prospects 100-76
Prospects 75-51
Prospects 50-26

25. Arodys Vizcaino, RHP, Atlanta: Vizcaino was haunted by elbow injuries in previous years and finally succumbed to Tommy John surgery at the beginning of the year. He should return to full strength in 2013 and it will be interesting to see if Atlanta views him as a long-term starter or reliever. (Value Down)

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This week we’re reviewing the annual pre-season Top 100 prospects list that originally ran in mid-March. Below you’ll find prospects 50 through 26 in the original order they appeared. Yesterday, we looked at prospects 75-51.

50. Josh Bell, OF, Pittsburgh: Bell opened 2012 in low-A ball but injured his knee in late April and had surgery. He has yet to return but the injury should not be a long-term concern. (Value Static)

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This week we’re reviewing the annual pre-season Top 100 prospects list that originally ran in mid-March. Below you’ll find prospects 75 through 51 in the original order they appeared. Yesterday, we looked at prospects 100-76.

75. Taylor Guerrieri, RHP, Tampa Bay: The 24th overall selection during the 2011 draft, Guerrieri was held back in extended spring training by the ultra-cautious Tampa Bay Rays. The right-hander has 14 strikeouts, one walk and an above-average ground-ball rate in 13.0 innings. (Value Static)

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Creating the annual FanGraphs Top 100 prospect list is always harder than it seems – much more difficult than the Top 15 prospect lists. Ranking the best prospects in baseball requires comparing apples to oranges to pears to plums, with hitters versus pitchers, triple-A hitters versus short-season prospects, and raw Latin players versus advanced college athletes. With that said it gets a little bit easier each year and three months later I remain quite happy with the 2012 list.

Below you’ll find prospects 100 to 76. We’ll look at 51-75 on Wednesday.

100. Garin Cecchini, 3B, Boston: The young third baseman is 30-for-33 in steal attempts but his power has yet to develop so it remains to be seen if he has the skill set for the hot corner. (Value Up)

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Tyler Anderson, LHP, Colorado Rockies
Current Level: A
2012 Top 15 Prospects Ranking: 8th
Current Value: Down

The 20th overall selection of the 2011 draft, Anderson was known as a fairly polished college pitcher who had a modest ceiling but was expected to move quickly through the system and offer Colorado big league help in short order. The organization kept Anderson out of game action after he signed late in 2011 and then assigned him to A-ball to begin 2012 when he missed the start of the season due to injury. After 11 starts the southpaw is still in low-A ball and his numbers have been modest. He’s shown excellent control with just 17 walks in 64.1 innings (2.15 BB/9) but he’s struck out just 37 batters (5.06 K/9). Anderson, 22, looks like a back-of-the-rotation starter unless he makes some unexpected adjustments.

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L.J. Hoes, OF/2B, Baltimore Orioles
Current Level: AAA
2012 Top 15 Prospects Ranking: 13th
Current Value: Underrated

Hoes doesn’t have the highest ceiling but he could develop into a solid role player. A 2008 third round draft pick out of a Washington high school, the prospect has spent much of 2012 in center field but he can play all three outfield spots and has experience at both second and third base. Hoes, 22, doesn’t have much power at all but he can steal a few bases, takes walks and doesn’t strike out much. He’s split 2012 between double-A and triple-A and is nearly ready to contribute at the big league level.

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Matt Dominguez, 3B, Miami Marlins
Current Level: AAA
2012 Top 15 Prospects Ranking: 6th
Current Value: Down

Dominguez was a 2007 first round draft pick and one of three prep third basemen taken in the first 12 picks of that draft – including his high school teammate Mike Moustakas. The latter player is now the regular third baseman for the Kansas City Royals while Dominguez (and Josh Vitters of the Cubs) continues to struggle to reach his potential. Although he’s a good defender, the Marlins prospect just does not hit well enough to warrant a big league promotion; in his second year at triple-A he has a wRC+ of just 61. Perhaps it’s time to do something radical and try his strong arm on the mound?

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