There’s no denying the Seattle Mariners have a number of infield options on the farm primed to push incumbents at the major-league level in the next year or two. In 2012, Brad Miller, Nick Franklin and Stefen Romero left strong impressions in Double-A. And while I don’t question the three as future big leaguers, are they true upgrades over what’s already in Seattle? Read the rest of this entry »
Seeing prospects in person is my passion. In 2012, I was fortunate enough to visit parks in five different leagues — collecting information and video on 200 legitimate prospects or more. The lists released over the next few weeks will highlight the best prospects I’ve seen in person at each position during the 2012 season. The rankings will be adjusted based on projected position at the major league level, not present position (in italics if ranking includes position shift). After writing the first three lists, I realized there’s really no way to keep statistical information out of the equation completely and focus on scouting/projection alone. This has caused me to hedge my bets a bit on high ceiling talents and focus more on the complete player. Additionally, understand this is not meant to be a complete list of the best prospects at each position across all of Minor League Baseball, but the best of what I’ve seen.
Previous Rankings:
The Catchers
The First Basemen
The Second Basemen
The Third Basemen
1. Carlos Correa, Houston Astros
Garin Cecchini, 3B, Boston Red Sox
Current Level: A-
2012 Top 15 Prospects Ranking: 3rd
Current Value: Improving
Cecchini, 21, is a left-handed-hitting third baseman who has hit very well since turning pro last year. He’s currently batting .301 with 14 steals in 16 attempts. He was a fourth round pick out of a Louisiana high school in 2010 and his power has yet to develop as expected with just one home run in 34 games. He’s showing good gap pop, though, with 13 doubles. He’s struck out a bit too much with 32 Ks and he has an OPS of just .524 against southpaw pitchers. Cecchini should spend the entire year in low-A working on the finer aspects of his game and will likely move fairly steadily through the system. If everything clicks, he could be a very successful big league player but patience is definitely required. Garin’s younger brother Gavin is set to become a first round draft pick during the 2012 amateur draft on June 4.