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I'm digging the Jennings portion of this article. 
Breaking Down The Best Tools In The Top 100
By Jim Callis
February 23, 2010
CHICAGO—With our annual Top 100 Prospects list, we celebrate the best talents in the minor leagues. This year, we're also identifying each prospect's best individual tool and rating it on the standard 20-80 scouting scale.
This, of course, raises the question: Which of the game's elite prospects have the best tools? To get those answers, we surveyed a half-dozen player-personnel officials.
For scouts and fans alike, the most eye-catching tool is the power in a hitter's bat or a pitcher's arm. There's a reason scouts lug radar guns to games, and why teams put home run distances and pitch velocities on their scoreboards. So let's start there.
Three of our Top 100 Prospects earned 80 grades for their fastballs: Stephen Strasburg (Nationals), Neftali Feliz (Rangers) and Aroldis Chapman (Reds). All three have reached 100 mph or higher, with Strasburg and Chapman parlaying their heat into eight-figure contracts and Feliz using his to limit big league hitters to a .124 average in his debut last summer.
Our experts gave Strasburg a slight edge over Feliz, crediting him with the most consistently overpowering velocity and Feliz with having the most explosive fastball. Chapman doesn't throw as hard as often or command his fastball as well as Strasburg and Feliz do.
"Strasburg can throw an 8 fastball forever; he's very unique," said one American League club official, using the simplified 2-8 scale which has no half grades. "Feliz has the best strikeout fastball. Chapman doesn't throw as many 8 fastballs as the other guys, but has good angle and deception when he does."
Identifying baseball's best power-hitting prospect proved more difficult. There's a difference between raw power and usable power. The majority of our experts agreed that Mike Stanton (Marlins) has the most natural strength, but there was little consensus as to who will provide the most home run production in the major leagues.
It could be Stanton, whose 67 homers over the last two years are tied for the minor league lead. It could be Jesus Montero (Yankees) or Jason Heyward (Braves), who also can pulverize baseballs and are more polished hitters, or Pedro Alvarez (Pirates) or Chris Carter (Athletics), who have brute strength but like Stanton also have holes in their swings.
We'll give the nod to Montero, who's stronger than Heyward and is a better pure hitter than the other candidates.
Ackley's Bat Stands Out
Though Heyward and Montero combine the ability to hit for average and power better than any other prospects, our experts tabbed a player who has yet to have an official professional at-bat as the best natural hitter in the minors. Dustin Ackley's (Mariners) pure hitting talent made him the No. 2 overall pick in the 2009 draft, and several scouts regarded him as the best college hitting prospect in at least two decades.
"Ackley's pure feel to hit is at the high end," a National League evaluator said. "As compared to the other candidates, I believe Ackley has the better chance at winning a batting title, though I give Heyward the edge in overall offensive impact."
Two members of our Top 100 Prospects list graded as 80 runners: Desmond Jennings (Rays) and Dee Gordon (Dodgers). Jennings was the only minor leaguer to amass 50 extra-base hits and 50 steals last season, while Gordon led the low Class A Midwest League with 73 steals. Gordon might win a footrace, but Jennings knows how to use his speed better on the bases (he was caught stealing just seven times in 2009, compared to Gordon's minor league-high 25) and in the field.
Jennings was a clear choice as the best defensive outfielder, and he may push B.J. Upton from center field to right in Tampa Bay this season. A junior-college football all-American as a wide receiver, Jennings is also adept at catching baseballs from gap to gap. Aaron Hicks (Twins) has the physical ability to be Jennings' equal in center field one day, but he isn't as refined yet.
Tony Sanchez (Pirates) may have been a surprise as the No. 4 overall choice in the draft last June, but his defense alone would have made him a legitimate first-round pick. His soft hands, strong arm and blocking skills make him the best defensive catcher in the minors.
"Tony Sanchez is ready to catch in the major leagues today," the NL executive said, "and would quickly gravitate toward the upper end of major league catch-and-throw guys."
Among the players on the Top 100, Alcides Escobar (Brewers) is the top defensive infielder. With smooth actions, incredible range to both sides and a strong arm, he turned in several highlight plays after taking over at shortstop for Milwaukee last August.
Yet the consensus among our experts was that Red Sox shortstop Jose Iglesias is the best defensive shortstop prospect in the game. He didn't make the Top 100 and hasn't played in an official game since signing an $8.25 million deal in September, but scouts who saw him play in the Arizona Fall League can't say enough about his quick hands and feet.
The best arm among Top 100 position players belongs to Hicks, who drew interest as a pitcher when he showed off a 94-97 mph fastball in high school. If he quickens his release and improves his accuracy, he could have an 80 arm—almost unheard of for a center fielder.
That Sinking Feeling
Zach Britton (Orioles) doesn't dazzle on the radar gun like Strasburg, Feliz or Chapman, but his 88-92 mph fastball stood out for our panel, who anointed it the best sinker in the minors. It's a heavy pitch with late sink and run, and Britton can carry the life on his sinker into the late innings as a starter. He had a 3.4 groundout/airout ratio last year, when he was the high Class A Carolina League pitcher of the year as a 20-year-old.
Phillippe Aumont's (Phillies) sinker ranks right with Britton's. He throws his harder, at 92-95 mph, though some scouts noted that he traded movement for velocity when the Mariners made him a full-time reliever in 2009. After acquiring him as the centerpiece of the Cliff Lee trade, Philadelphia will move him back to the rotation this season.
Determining which pitcher throws the meanest curveball was another close call. Kyle Drabek (Blue Jays) consistently throws a hard bender with tight spin and locates it in the strike zone. Drabek and Strasburg both have power curves that rate as 70 pitches, but Drabek does a better job of staying on top of his while Strasburg's sometimes morphs into more of a slurve.
The best slider in the minors will be on the shelf in 2010 while Jarrod Parker (Diamondbacks) recovers from Tommy John surgery. Parker throws his slider in the low 80s with good tilt and two-plane depth. The next-best sliders belong to a pair of first-round picks from the 2009 draft, Kyle Gibson (Twins) and Drew Storen (Nationals).
The top changeup artists all stand out for their well-rounded repertoires. Brian Matusz (Orioles) has lived up to his billing as the top pitcher in the 2008 draft thanks to his plus-plus changeup—as well as his curveball and slider, both of which drew votes as ranking among the best in the minors, and a low-90s fastball that touches 95. Feliz can make a case for having one of the most devastating changeups and fastballs. Martin Perez (Rangers) flashes fastball, curveballs and changeups all worthy of 70 grades at times.
Two pitchers stood above the rest in terms of their command and feel. Mike Leake (Reds) isn't big and has average velocity, but he went eighth overall in the 2009 draft because of his ability to mix five distinct pitches: four-seam fastball, sinker, curveball, slider and changeup. "He can do so many different things with the ball," a second AL executive said.
Casey Kelly, who turned down a football scholarship to play quarterback at Tennessee and spent his first two pro seasons dabbling at playing shortstop, is a more talented athlete with nice feel for better stuff. He throws a tick harder than Leake and can cut and sink his fastball while locating it on either side of the plate. His curveball and changeup both have the chance to be plus pitches, and he has advanced command of both.
Breaking Down The Best Tools In The Top 100
By Jim Callis
February 23, 2010
CHICAGO—With our annual Top 100 Prospects list, we celebrate the best talents in the minor leagues. This year, we're also identifying each prospect's best individual tool and rating it on the standard 20-80 scouting scale.
This, of course, raises the question: Which of the game's elite prospects have the best tools? To get those answers, we surveyed a half-dozen player-personnel officials.
For scouts and fans alike, the most eye-catching tool is the power in a hitter's bat or a pitcher's arm. There's a reason scouts lug radar guns to games, and why teams put home run distances and pitch velocities on their scoreboards. So let's start there.
Three of our Top 100 Prospects earned 80 grades for their fastballs: Stephen Strasburg (Nationals), Neftali Feliz (Rangers) and Aroldis Chapman (Reds). All three have reached 100 mph or higher, with Strasburg and Chapman parlaying their heat into eight-figure contracts and Feliz using his to limit big league hitters to a .124 average in his debut last summer.
Our experts gave Strasburg a slight edge over Feliz, crediting him with the most consistently overpowering velocity and Feliz with having the most explosive fastball. Chapman doesn't throw as hard as often or command his fastball as well as Strasburg and Feliz do.
"Strasburg can throw an 8 fastball forever; he's very unique," said one American League club official, using the simplified 2-8 scale which has no half grades. "Feliz has the best strikeout fastball. Chapman doesn't throw as many 8 fastballs as the other guys, but has good angle and deception when he does."
Identifying baseball's best power-hitting prospect proved more difficult. There's a difference between raw power and usable power. The majority of our experts agreed that Mike Stanton (Marlins) has the most natural strength, but there was little consensus as to who will provide the most home run production in the major leagues.
It could be Stanton, whose 67 homers over the last two years are tied for the minor league lead. It could be Jesus Montero (Yankees) or Jason Heyward (Braves), who also can pulverize baseballs and are more polished hitters, or Pedro Alvarez (Pirates) or Chris Carter (Athletics), who have brute strength but like Stanton also have holes in their swings.
We'll give the nod to Montero, who's stronger than Heyward and is a better pure hitter than the other candidates.
Ackley's Bat Stands Out
Though Heyward and Montero combine the ability to hit for average and power better than any other prospects, our experts tabbed a player who has yet to have an official professional at-bat as the best natural hitter in the minors. Dustin Ackley's (Mariners) pure hitting talent made him the No. 2 overall pick in the 2009 draft, and several scouts regarded him as the best college hitting prospect in at least two decades.
"Ackley's pure feel to hit is at the high end," a National League evaluator said. "As compared to the other candidates, I believe Ackley has the better chance at winning a batting title, though I give Heyward the edge in overall offensive impact."
Two members of our Top 100 Prospects list graded as 80 runners: Desmond Jennings (Rays) and Dee Gordon (Dodgers). Jennings was the only minor leaguer to amass 50 extra-base hits and 50 steals last season, while Gordon led the low Class A Midwest League with 73 steals. Gordon might win a footrace, but Jennings knows how to use his speed better on the bases (he was caught stealing just seven times in 2009, compared to Gordon's minor league-high 25) and in the field.
Jennings was a clear choice as the best defensive outfielder, and he may push B.J. Upton from center field to right in Tampa Bay this season. A junior-college football all-American as a wide receiver, Jennings is also adept at catching baseballs from gap to gap. Aaron Hicks (Twins) has the physical ability to be Jennings' equal in center field one day, but he isn't as refined yet.
Tony Sanchez (Pirates) may have been a surprise as the No. 4 overall choice in the draft last June, but his defense alone would have made him a legitimate first-round pick. His soft hands, strong arm and blocking skills make him the best defensive catcher in the minors.
"Tony Sanchez is ready to catch in the major leagues today," the NL executive said, "and would quickly gravitate toward the upper end of major league catch-and-throw guys."
Among the players on the Top 100, Alcides Escobar (Brewers) is the top defensive infielder. With smooth actions, incredible range to both sides and a strong arm, he turned in several highlight plays after taking over at shortstop for Milwaukee last August.
Yet the consensus among our experts was that Red Sox shortstop Jose Iglesias is the best defensive shortstop prospect in the game. He didn't make the Top 100 and hasn't played in an official game since signing an $8.25 million deal in September, but scouts who saw him play in the Arizona Fall League can't say enough about his quick hands and feet.
The best arm among Top 100 position players belongs to Hicks, who drew interest as a pitcher when he showed off a 94-97 mph fastball in high school. If he quickens his release and improves his accuracy, he could have an 80 arm—almost unheard of for a center fielder.
That Sinking Feeling
Zach Britton (Orioles) doesn't dazzle on the radar gun like Strasburg, Feliz or Chapman, but his 88-92 mph fastball stood out for our panel, who anointed it the best sinker in the minors. It's a heavy pitch with late sink and run, and Britton can carry the life on his sinker into the late innings as a starter. He had a 3.4 groundout/airout ratio last year, when he was the high Class A Carolina League pitcher of the year as a 20-year-old.
Phillippe Aumont's (Phillies) sinker ranks right with Britton's. He throws his harder, at 92-95 mph, though some scouts noted that he traded movement for velocity when the Mariners made him a full-time reliever in 2009. After acquiring him as the centerpiece of the Cliff Lee trade, Philadelphia will move him back to the rotation this season.
Determining which pitcher throws the meanest curveball was another close call. Kyle Drabek (Blue Jays) consistently throws a hard bender with tight spin and locates it in the strike zone. Drabek and Strasburg both have power curves that rate as 70 pitches, but Drabek does a better job of staying on top of his while Strasburg's sometimes morphs into more of a slurve.
The best slider in the minors will be on the shelf in 2010 while Jarrod Parker (Diamondbacks) recovers from Tommy John surgery. Parker throws his slider in the low 80s with good tilt and two-plane depth. The next-best sliders belong to a pair of first-round picks from the 2009 draft, Kyle Gibson (Twins) and Drew Storen (Nationals).
The top changeup artists all stand out for their well-rounded repertoires. Brian Matusz (Orioles) has lived up to his billing as the top pitcher in the 2008 draft thanks to his plus-plus changeup—as well as his curveball and slider, both of which drew votes as ranking among the best in the minors, and a low-90s fastball that touches 95. Feliz can make a case for having one of the most devastating changeups and fastballs. Martin Perez (Rangers) flashes fastball, curveballs and changeups all worthy of 70 grades at times.
Two pitchers stood above the rest in terms of their command and feel. Mike Leake (Reds) isn't big and has average velocity, but he went eighth overall in the 2009 draft because of his ability to mix five distinct pitches: four-seam fastball, sinker, curveball, slider and changeup. "He can do so many different things with the ball," a second AL executive said.
Casey Kelly, who turned down a football scholarship to play quarterback at Tennessee and spent his first two pro seasons dabbling at playing shortstop, is a more talented athlete with nice feel for better stuff. He throws a tick harder than Leake and can cut and sink his fastball while locating it on either side of the plate. His curveball and changeup both have the chance to be plus pitches, and he has advanced command of both.
