The two things everyone loves about the off-season are hot-stove rumors and prospect lists. The beginning of Spring Training marks the end of hot-stove season — outside a very lonely Kyle Loshe — and gives us our first glance at the young phenoms we spend the off-season debating. Today, let’s look at teams that have the best one-two pitching punches coming down the prospect pipeline.
I can honestly say that I fell in love with this system while researching it for the Top 15 list. It is one of the most underrated systems in the game and I am a huge fan of the organization’s 2012 amateur draft. The club has a collection of high ceiling arms and bats as well as some potentially useful high floor players.
#1 Oscar Taveras (OF)
| Age | PA | H | 2B | HR | BB | SO | SB | AVG | OBP | SLG | wOBA |
| 20 | 531 | 153 | 37 | 23 | 42 | 56 | 11 | .321 | .380 | .572 | .411 |
Opening Day Age: 20
2012 Level: AA
Acquired: 2008 international FA
Projected 2013 level: AAA/MLB
I first stumbled upon Taveras in late 2010 shortly before he became a Top 100 prospect contender for prospect analysts everywhere, and have yet to lose my enthusiasm for his future to this day. He’s been criticized in the past for having a unique approach and non-traditional hitting mechanics but he continues to defy odds because they work for him.
Prior to playing on the biggest stage in professional baseball almost all ball players must take the long bus rides, live off late-night fast food runs and toil in the near obscurity that can be minor league baseball. For some players on the 2012 playoff clubs those memories are a little fresher than for others. With work well under way on the 2012-13 Top 15 Prospects lists at FanGraphs – due to begin in early November – I thought it might be fun to look back and see what I wrote about those players during the previous three annual prospect reviews. Below are excerpts from what was originally written.
No longer Albert Pujols‘ club, the Cardinals 2012 roster consists of a number of young players developed internally. The organization does an outstanding job of balancing higher-priced veterans with (often complementary) younger contributors. The strong in-house development has been very evident on the pitching staff during the club’s playoff run and post-season success.
Bobby Bundy, RHP, Baltimore Orioles
Current Level: AA
2012 Top 15 Prospects Ranking: 5th
Current Value: Leveled Off
Dylan Bundy’s big brother started to realize his potential in 2011 at high-A ball but he’s found the going much tougher at double-A in 2012. Bundy, 22, posted a 2.75 ERA in 121 innings last year but his ERA has jumped to 5.46 in 59.1 innings this season. He’s been inconsistent with three good starts and three bad starts in his last six appearances. His strikeout rate has dropped more than 1 K per nine innings from 2011 and his walk rate has increased by more than one base-on-balls per nine. At 6’2” 215 lbs, and with a solid repertoire, Bundy has the chance to develop into a workhorse in a big league starting rotation but he could end up in the bullpen if he cannot become more consistent.