By Mike Berardino
November 14, 2007

Baseball America's Top 10 Prospects lists are based on projections of a player's long-term worth after discussions with scouting and player-development personnel. All players who haven't exceeded the major league rookie standards of 130 at-bats or 50 innings pitched (without regard to service time) are eligible. Ages are as of April 1, 2008.

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TOP TEN PROSPECTS

1. Chris Volstad, rhp 2. Brett Sinkbeil, rhp 3. Ryan Tucker, rhp 4. Sean West, lhp 5. Gaby Hernandez, rhp 6. Chris Coghlan, 2b 7. Matt Dominguez, 3b 8. Aaron Thompson 9. Mike Stanton, of 10. Gaby Sanchez, 1b

BEST TOOLS

Best Hitter for Average Chris Coghlan Best Power Hitter Mike Stanton Best Strike-Zone Discipline Chris Coghlan Fastest Baserunner John Raynor Best Athlete Mike Stanton Best Fastball Ryan Tucker Best Curveball Gaby Hernandez Best Slider Brett Sinkbeil Best Changeup Aaron Thompson Best Control Graham Taylor Best Defensive Catcher Brett Hayes Best Defensive Infielder Matt Dominguez Best Infield Arm Robert Andino Best Defensive Outfielder Scott Cousins Best Outfield Arm Brett Carroll

PROJECTED 2011 LINEUP

Catcher Brett Hayes First Base Miguel Cabrera Second Base Chris Coghlan Third Base Dan Uggla Shortstop Hanley Ramirez Left Field Josh Willingham Center Field John Raynor Right Field Jeremy Hermida No. 1 Starter Dontrelle Willis No. 2 Starter Anibal Sanchez No. 3 Starter Chris Volstad No. 4 Starter Brett Sinkbeil No. 5 Starter Josh Johnson Closer Ryan Tucker

TOP PROSPECTS OF THE DECADE

Year Player, Position 2007 1998 Mark Kotsay, of Athletics 1999 A.J. Burnett, rhp Blue Jays 2000 A.J. Burnett, rhp Blue Jays 2001 Josh Beckett, rhp Red Sox 2002 Josh Beckett, rhp Red Sox 2003 Miguel Cabrera, 3b Marlins 2004 Jeremy Hermida, of Marlins 2005 Jeremy Hermida, of Marlins 2006 Jeremy Hermida, of Marlins 2007 Chris Volstad, rhp Marlins

TOP DRAFT PICKS OF THE DECADE

Year Player, Position 2007 1998 Chip Ambres, of Mets 1999 Josh Beckett, rhp Red Sox 2000 Adrian Gonzalez, 1b Padres 2001 ^Garrett Berger, rhp Atlantic Lg. 2002 Jeremy Hermida, of Marlins 2003 Jeff Allison, rhp Marlins 2004 Taylor Tankersley, lhp Marlins 2005 Chris Volstad, rhp Marlins 2006 Brett Sinkbeil, rhp Marlins 2007 Matt Dominguez, 3b Marlins ^ Second round

LARGEST BONUSES IN CLUB HISTORY

Josh Beckett, 1999 $3,625,000 Adrian Gonzalez, 2000 $3,000,000 Livan Hernandez, 1996 $2,500,000 Jason Stokes, 2000 $2,027,000 Jeremy Hermida, 2002 $2,012,500

MARLINS LINKS

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Stop us if you've heard this before: The Marlins continue their push for a new baseball-only stadium but haven't let that fruitless pursuit interrupt their quest to stockpile young talent for the future.

While the major league club suffered through an injury-marred season under first-year manager Fredi Gonzalez, dropping to 71-92 and last place in the National League East for the first time in eight years, the top levels of the organization enjoyed rare stability. Owner Jeffrey Loria followed the disappointment of 2007 by locking up four key members of his baseball operations staff through 2015.

Loria promoted general manager Larry Beinfest to president of baseball operations, with assistant general manager Michael Hill moving up to the titular role of GM. Beinfest and Hill will retain the same basic duties, with the new titles merely an attempt to head off potential inquiries about future positions elsewhere. Player-personnel guru Dan Jennings and scouting-and-development czar Jim Fleming also received identical extensions as Florida doled out uncommon security to its leading baseball thinkers.

This was Loria's way of letting his top advisers know he believes they're on the right track, even if the results on the field in 2007 failed to show that. Despite fielding the majors' second-lowest payroll at $32 million, the Marlins again boasted some of the top young talent in the game. Hanley Ramirez, in particular, built on the gains of his rookie-of-the-year season, putting himself in the same sentence as Jose Reyes and Jimmy Rollins for shortstop supremacy in the National League.

On draft day, the Marlins picked 12th and added a player who one day could play alongside Ramirez as Miguel Cabrera's eventual successor: California prep third baseman Matt Dominguez. They signed Dominguez, who hails from Beinfest's alma mater, Chatsworth (Calif.) High, for $1.8 million just before the Aug. 15 deadline.

It was the first time since taking Jeremy Hermida with the 11th overall selection in 2002 that Florida had gone away from its pitching-first approach to the draft. Scouting director Stan Meek called out names of position players with his first four selections, adding California prep outfielder Mike Stanton in the second round, Fresno CC catcher Jameson Smith in the third and UC Irvine outfielder Bryan Petersen in the fourth. Internationally, the Marlins proceeded cautiously amid stunning inflation but did sign Venezuelan shortstop Miguel Torres for $250,000.

The attempt to restock the organization with position talent seemed wise, especially considering the mound-heavy flavor of the Marlins' Top 10 Prospects list. Their best five prospects and six of the top eight are pitchers. Four of those arms came from the first and supplemental first rounds of the 2005 draft: Chris Volstad (No. 1), Ryan Tucker (No. 3), Sean West (No. 4) and Aaron Thompson (No. 8).

In the minors, Florida again struggled to produce victories as many of its top prospects were pushed along or even promoted to the majors. The farm system produced a cumulative mark of 323-367 (.468), with no affiliate reaching the playoffs and only three managing winning records. That was a slight improvement over 2006, when the affiliates won at a .465 clip and just one topped the .500 mark.

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