Nice catch. The subscriber story was posted to the RSS feed a little too early as the last minute touches were being put onto the next 25. Stewart was on an earlier version of the next 25, but was just edged out in the final version that’s also going into the magazine.

Fernando Martinez misses for eligibility reasons?

Why did you decide to omit the players currently in the Majors, yet are still considered to be prospects? (Tommy Hanson, for one.)

Has Brandon Snyder put himself into contention for Top 100 contention?

I don’t understand how a great prospect like Mat Latos is left off the top 25. Derrick Norris is also puzzling, he is only in Low A ball but the numbers are monsterous.

Good list overall. I was surprised that Freddie Freeman and Tim Beckham both ranked ahead of Josh Vitters, though.

I thought Neftali Feliz and Alcides Escobar should be 10 and 11 and Logan Morrisan and Freddie Freeman should be 13 and 14 .

What White Sox prospects would have been in consideration or have a shot at top 100? Flowers, Hudson, Viciedo, Danks??

My take on some of these questions: Lincoln and Owens would be under consideration, just hard to think of it in a vacuum, and since neither of those guys were strong considerations for the Top 25 (at least not for me), I didn’t ask the scouts I talked to about either of them. Latos is quite close, he was in the discussion in the 21-25 range; for me his makeup is a big question mark, has been since he was an amateur. Norris’ defensive stats are actually terrible; he leads the SAL in passed balls and errors by a C. He has average defensive tools but doesn’t focus on defense. He’s a catcher; he needs to focus on defense. It’s at the top of the profile for every team at that position. He also is a 26-50 guy, and closer to 26 than 50, but the defensive questions for me are substantial. Just talked to another scout about that very point today. On the Cubs, Jackson would be more 51-100 for me. Cashner over Castro, though I’m impressed with Castro’s season. Jackson versus Cashner would be a great debate; I’d take Jackson because for me, Cashner’s a reliever, not a starter. Jim Callis and I are podcasting on this today; if you want us to address a question in the podcast, shoot me an email in the next half-hour, podcast@baseballamerica.com.

How close was Hector Rondon? He is the only name I’m surprised isn’t mentioned. And was the list completed before his 6 IP of no-hit ball in AAA yesterday?

I don’t understand what people see in Jason Castro. I’ve seen him play several dozen times in Stanford and before he was promoted out of the CAL, and I just don’t see it.

Andrew Lambo and Todd Frazier still make the top 100?

What about Chris Heisey? His 1st half was redonk…

I know he is far away but where would You rank Wilmer Flores

Does the Orioles trio of young arms remind you of the A’s Mulder, Hudson and Zito?

Just curious what Bud Norris (AAA Round Rock) from making the cut. He leads the PCL in ERA and Ks.

No love from Austin Romine? He’s been raking and is the real catcher of the future, not Montero.

Romine has a .316 OBP and nearly 4 times as many SO as BB. He’s a solid prospect I suppose, but not even close to top 25 material.

I’m glad to see Heyward take is much deserved spot at #1 and I love the aggressive ranking of Freeman. Assuming his power develops as expected, he should be a great all around 1B some day.

How could Montero be rated 3rd when there are serious issues about his catching ability? Shouldn’t all aspects of a players game figure into these ratings?

Who’s the better RF/1B combo: Heyward and Freeman or Stanton and Morrison?

montero’s bat is that special.

Uhh, Hello?

My name is Thomas Neal and you forgot about me.

And has my buddy Angel Villalona really fallen that far in 6 weeks?

How close was Manuel Banuelos of the Yankees to making the list his numbers are nice!

Just curious where Jemile Weeks and Dayan Viciedo fall at this point.

Villalona ranked as the No. 44 prospect in the game entering the season. He’s still a good prospect, but he’s not one of the 25 best prospects in baseball.

Josh Thole? Kid is RAKING in AA and is only 22! I know…I should just be happy with the Mets prospects that are in the list but it’s getting harder and harder to grasp for something positive right now…

Travis Wood and Peter Bourjos???
These two seem to really fly under the BA radar!

Have you guys heard of Alex Liddi?!?!?
20-year old raking in hi-A, a triple-crown candidate with tons of experience already doesn’t crack the top-50??? I know he plays in the rarified air of the CAL league, but come on!

So Josh Vitters is now considered a lesser prospect than he was entering the season, even though he’s having a HUGE season and has been promoted??? How do you guys figure? I don’t understand his ranking at this time?!?!?

I believe Freeman will be a star in a year or two. Can you update us on his numbers for this year so far? I assume he is still at Myrtle Beach?

MJ,

Yes, of course we’ve heard of Alex Liddi. We’d heard of Liddi back in 2006, although I’m assuming you threw all those ?!?! in there to signify mock outrage. We ran our list by multiple scouts inside the game and not one of them believed that Liddi was one of the top 25 prospects in the game right now. Now that doesn’t mean he may not eventually climb to that point, but right now, he’s not there in our opinion.

I’m sort of pining for the days when Alan Matthews started off the podcasts “Hello baseball’s brightest fans”, and also last summer when the comment section was down. (Faux) “You mean my 27 year old slow-pitch buddy didn’t make the Top 25?!?!?!?”

dude, I can’t wait to see San Jose play down in Lake Elsinore later this season. What a loaded roster!

Callis had Vitters ranked 37, Lingo 46, and Manuel 42 in the ‘09 top-50 according to the Prospect Handbook…on this list you guys just created, he’s #49. That looks like regression to me…just saying…

Ugh..I agree with Joe LeCates. Comments should go back to subscribers only.

I do see the ABC order now, thanks…but “shot down?” No one at BA can defend Travis Wood and Alex Liddi not even being ranked in their team’s respective top-30 list according to the ‘09 handbook. And you guys keep saying Bourjos has to prove himself at higher levels, his bat still has questions, and his pitch recognition is a concern…his numbers this year, and for his career, are far better than a lot of these guys on the list. He’s been proving himself since the day he was drafted, and still is just 22 at AA. I know it’s a tough list to come up with, and I love the discussions that follow…keep up the banter–I’ll go round-for-round w/anyone!

The truth is, Liddi did make the first cut of the Mariners’ Top 30 I put together. Boy, do I ever regret omitting him now. What happened was, Seattle Rule 5′d Jose Lugo and then traded for Mike Carp, Maikel Cleto and Ezequiel Carrera, a series of transactions that pushed Liddi just outside the 30. At any rate, here is the previously unavailable Liddi capsule I wrote last fall:

29. Alex Liddi, 3b
Born: Aug. 14, 1988. B-T: R-R. Ht.: 6-4. Wt.: 176. Signed: Italy, 2005. Signed by: Wayne Norton/Mario Mazzotti.
After a promising 2006 debut, which included hitting .313 to rank fifth in the Arizona League batting race, Liddi struggled through two years in the Midwest League. He batted just .240/.306/.365 in 249 games for Wisconsin, but the Mariners believe his opposite-field swing and the wind current at Appleton’s Fox Cities Stadium cut into his production. Other MWL observers criticized him for not making the necessary adjustments. Either way, Liddi has improved in the second half of each of the past two seasons, compiling a .706 OPS in that time compared to a first-half mark of .655. (The MWL average was .695.) Lean and athletic at 6-foot-4, Liddi shows impressive strength and power to center and right-center field. It seemed to observers that he was often feeling for the ball, but with his smooth swing, he has a chance to hit for average as he matures. He’s an average runner. Liddi has a plus arm, soft hands and enough agility to make plays at third base, but some wonder if he’ll outgrow the position. Liddi receives uniformly high marks for his work ethic, but he would do much to reassure his believers by playing well at high Class A High Desert in 2009 as a 20-year-old.

Zach McAllister? I can’t figure out why he’s never been regarded as a top prospect (#6 on the NYY list, but behind Betances and Brackman), when all he’s ever done is deal, get guys out, and win at every level. He’s now dominating AA at 21. Surely, he’ll crack the top-50 by season’s end?

How can Eric Young Jr.’s season not get him in the top fifty? His skill set seems quite unique. What’s his upside…?

I loved Freeman going into the year, but you gave him a very low preseason rank of #87. He has most certainly not done enough yet this year to warrant a jump from #87 to #11 (70 games 6HR .447 SLG 34 RBI – decent, solid numbers, especially for his age, but not jump off the page numbers). Is this mid-season rank just you coming to the realization that he was ranked too low to begin the year?

Clay Buckholz is the best minor league picture in baseball and soon might be the best in the Big Leagues. Remember he still holds a no hitter in the bigs, suffered some setbacks and is dominatiing for the Triple A BoSox. Have you ever seen this kid pitch? amazing. I have seen many but this kid is better already than what is in the Bigs.

Josh Vitters, Mat Latos and Casey Kelly did not make the top 25? I think at least Vitters should have been there over Jason Castro or Michael Saunders.

Was Chris Heisey, Reds (AAA/AA) even considered?

Re: Latos, he’s obviously a guy, we just thought there were 25 better when makeup, future ceiling and likelihood to reach that ceiling are all factored in. The makeup is a big, big issue for me personally and it came up in the meeting.

I don’t know why people get so riled up over BA’s lists. By now they should realize that they heavily favor 1st rounders and are more accurate as reflections of CURRENT performance than predictions of future performance. For example Pablo Sandoval wasn’t even in his teams top 30 in the 08 BA Prospect Handbook and now he’s one of the best young MLB hitters

Other than age, it’s hard to fathom how Dom Brown, on the DL in high Class A for two months (Sistine Chapel ceiling, True Value tools, one assumes), is rated 6 spots ahead of EL Triple Crown contender (6-6, 250, 17 steals in 21 attempts, arm compared to Ellis Valentine) Michael Taylor. Is there something you guys don’t understand about the wall-to-wall numbers this athlete has put up at three levels the past season and a half? Or are you still being influenced by Taylor’s disappointing Stanford career?

JM, I think us not having ranked Sandoval for two years reflects that the Giants didn’t like him, and that we didn’t do enough those two years to go outside the org for sources. The two previous years, he ranked 27th and 15th; I did those lists and recall scouts or managers outside the system liked Sandoval better than the Giants did.

Very good list B.A. I have a question about why Michael Taylor is so low. This guy is claerly one of the best hitters in he minors now and he is way better than Alonso, Castro, and Beckham. He should be in the top 15 with ease. I know your list is based on ceiling, but Taylor is legit.

Bill, When you say “other than age” you’re glossing over a two-year age difference between Brown and Taylor. Both of them made the Top 25, but Brown rates higher because he’s producing one level behind in one of the toughest hitters leagues in baseball despite being two years younger, plus he’s a better athlete with better speed, a better arm and an equal hit tool. What are we not understanding? Taylor’s ranked as the 23rd best prospect in baseball, that’s a sign we respect him, not that we don’t like him.

This is coming from a White Sox fan, but where the hell is Andrew Cashner? His combined stats from High-A and AA: ERA – 1.39; WHIP – 1.06; 1 HR given up in 14 starts…and he’s doing all this while making a transition from a reliever to a starter.

Where is Scott Sizemore or Alex Avila? Are they close? In the conversation?

i guess u guys are sitting on an upcoming wilmer flores article. i think he’s the mets #1 prospect.

How about a list of guys who are DROPPING? Where would Carlos Carrasco fit in? Is he still considered an elite prospect?

John, I appreciate your response regarding Flores. I guess the only difference is that I think Flores is actually having a very good year, when his performance is evaluated within its context (a 17-year-old playing against much older competition in the SAL).

I have a very difficult time believing Tim Beckham being ahead of Wilmer Flores (and what gives? No Flores at all?)… who is that kidding? Flores > Beckham.

acording to this list the yankees system is better that boston the yanks have the #3 prospect and a 26-50 one and boston has 2 26-50 PROSPECTS not major leagers now that were minor leagers a year ago like bukholtzs (misspelled) beside Lars anderson and Clay Buckholtz what prospects does boston have.

and shut up about the yankees buying a team right know that yankees have 10 imported players

boston has 14 imported players so if any team is buying a team its boston

Also wondering, where does Dee Gordon fit in?

wheel,

if bucholz WERE eligible, he wouldnt be number one. that would go to tommy hanson…

Excellent list.
My only changes would be to move Stanton to number 1, and Posey to number 2.