NATIONAL LEAGUE

TOP 50 HITTING PROSPECTS
5 Cameron Maybin FLA OF A- He’s alive! .382 with 5 HR in June. Another month of that and he’s in Florida.
6 Andrew McCutcheon PIT OF A- .289/.377/.446. 19 SB and a respectable 82% contact rate. Will replace either Bay or Nady.
7 Colby Rasmus STL OF A Finally some signs of life – .316 in June with 2 HR. 0.67 EYE on the year.
8 Andy LaRoche LAD 3B A- Will play against move lefties and some righties. Superutility role (1B, 3B, 2B).
10 Chase Headley SD OF A- Callup is sounding imminent if you read the SD papers. Could have immediate impact.
12 Jason Heyward ATL OF A- 6′4″, 220 and he’s only 18? Off to a great start to his career – .329/.383/.504 – 7 HR, 8 SB.
14 Matt Gamel MIL 3B A- .278 in May but just .158 in first 10 games of June. Bat will be fine, but can he stick at SS?
18 Angel Villalona SF 3B A- .234 AVG and .23 EYE but as you know, this is all about projection when a guy is 17.
25 Jordan Schafer ATL OF B+ .257 with 3 HR in 9 G since his return from HGH suspension. Maybe he didn’t need the juice?
26 Bryan Anderson STL C B .355/.405/.467. Power should come, but will defense be there?
29 Matt Antonelli SD 2B B The Andruw Jones of AAA this year. 2-for-28 in June is about on par with his April/May. Demotion?
31 Michael Burgess WAS OF B .243 ISO but 77 K in 60 games suppresses AVG to .257. Just needs time.
34 J.R. Towles HOU C B Astros could no longer carry his anemic bat. Don’t give up hope in keeper leagues.
42 Chin-Lung Hu LAD SS B Glove good, bat not so much. Gets demoted to make room for Angel Berroa. What happens in ‘09?
43 Josh Vitters CHC 3B B Demoted to short-season ball and will begin season there on 6/17. Has been rehabbing hand inj.
47 Neil Walker PIT 3B B Hitting better this month but drafting of Pedro Alvarez clouds Walker’s future.

TOP 50 PITCHING PROSPECTS
1 Clayton Kershaw LAD SP A Debut has gone as expected (inconsistent command). Not sure what happens on Schmidt’s return.
5 Max Scherzer ARI SP A 9:6 K:BB in 9.2 relief innings with 4.66 ERA. He’ll return to rotation eventually, back to the minors for now.
6 Homer Bailey CIN SP A He’s probably not going to blossom until next year, but should still stick in the rotation.
7 Jarrod Parker ARI SP A- D-backs taking the cautious approach – Parker averaging just 4.4 IP/GS. 2.0 BB/9 great to see.
10 Tommy Hanson ATL SP A- Does have a 5.06 ERA in AA but that’s due to one bad start. He’s still an elite SP prospect.
15 Carlos Carrasco PHI SP B+ 11 ER in 12.1 innings over his last two starts. 72 K in 73.2 innings on the year.
21 Jamie Garcia STL SP B+ 2.29 ERA and 18:6 K:BB in last three starts. STL may not be able to keep him down for much longer.
25 Joe Savery PHI SP B+ 3 ER or less in each of last four starts but 61:32 K:BB on the year = too many BB.
29 James McDonald LAD SP B 3 ER or less in each of last 7 GS. 68 K in 67.1 innings on the season.
32 Madison Bumgarner SF SP B Numbers continue to be eye-popping: 2.20 ERA, 64:10 K:BB in 57.2 innings.
34 Ross Detwiler WAS SP B Has allowed 17 hits over his last 9.2 innings. Control also erratic in disappointing first full season.
37 Matt Latos SD SP B Last year’s 11.8 K/9 in rookie ball hasn’t carried over quite yet, but he’s still settling in.
39 Jordan Zimmerman WAS SP B A bit erratic since AA promotion – 16 BB, 31.1 innings, but he’s a fast riser.
42 Scott Elbert LAD SP B Finally back, in a relief role to build arm strength. 2 2/3 scoreless so far.
45 Ryan Tucker FLA SP B 1.41 ERA gets him the promotion from AA. Won 1st start despite 5 BB but deserves a look.

Recent Debuts
Ryan Tucker FLA SP 21 B 1.41 ERA gets him the promotion from AA. Won 1st start despite 5 BB but deserves a look.
Garrett Mock WAS SP 25 B- Hit hard in big league debut by Giants (really) and sent down shortly thereafter.
Mitch Boggs STL SP 24 C+ Good enough to win his debut but struck out zero in that one. #5 SP at best.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

OP 50 HITTING PROSPECTS
2 Matt Wieters BAL C A Cold spell over – 10-for-21 in last 6 G. .340/.438/.588. Needs a promotion soon.
4 Travis Snider TOR OF A- He’s okay after LD to the head. .273/.373/.459 in AA. 12 HR on the year though 84 K in 63 G.
9 Jeff Clement SEA C A- .378 w/ 5 HR in last 10 G. You’d think the Mariners could use a guy like that.
13 Mike Moustakas KC SS A- .300/.343/.570 with 5 HR in May after hitting .190 with 1 XBH in all of April.
15 Reid Brignac TAM SS A- .323 in May but drew just 3 BB all month. Just .224 in June, but 4 BB. Needs a huge June.
16 Austin Jackson NYY OF A- Opened June w/ a 7 RBI game. .135 ISO keeps us wondering when the power will come.
19 Desmond Jennings TAM OF A- Pretty good in 10 games following back injury: .393/.541/.571 with 3 SB in 10 G.
21 Jed Lowrie BOS SS B+ .359 with a homer in June but may be nothing more than David Eckstein if he can’t hit for more power.
28 Ben Revere MIN OF B Carlos Gomez who? .409/.460/.556 with 21 SB and 1.08 EYE. A true breakout.
30 Lars Anderson BOS 1B B .914 OPS but just 2 HR since April despite playing in the CAL league. EYE = .82.
32 Taylor Teagarden TEX C B Now down to .237 in AAA but 19 BB to 93 AB has him with .377 OBP. Still not too encouraged.
38 Beau Mills CLE 1B B .238 with 2 HR in June. For the year: .259/.364/.444. .72 EYE and 28 XBH.
41 Max Ramirez TEX C B Has cooled off in June w/ .258 AVG after .394 May. .430 w/ runners on base.
49 Jesus Montero NYY C B 6′4″ at age 18 makes you wonder if he can stick at catcher. Bat will play elsewhere though.

TOP 50 PITCHING PROSPECTS
2 David Price TAM SP A So he’s human – 3 R, 11 H over 5+ innings in his last start. 1.16 ERA in four starts.
3 Rick Porcello DET SP A 5.75 ERA in his last four starts. K/9 still suprisingly low at 5.5.
4 Clay Buchholz BOS SP A Fingernail was healed. Heads to AAA to work on consistency of his fastball. He’ll be back.
8 Jacob McGee TAM SP A- 3.00 ERA since a 5.32 April. Hasn’t been as dominant this year (8.2 K/9) as last (11.3).
9 Wade Davis TAM SP A- 6 ER in 2 IP last time out. 54:28 K:BB a far cry from last year’s 169:51.
12 Chris Tillman BAL SP A- 9 K in first June start (5 IP), but 30 BB in 58.2 innings probably attributable to his youth.
13 Nick Adenhart LAA SP A- 43 hits in 27.1 innings since returning from poor big league stint. Still quite young though.
14 Gio Gonzalez OAK SP A- 4.9 BB/9 is his big problem. Also 27 hits in last 19.1 innings.
17 Jeremy Hellickson TAM SP B+ 2.26 ERA and a pretty good 76:5 K:BB in 67.2 innings. Ratio was 106:34 last year.
20 Jordan Walden LAA SP B+ 2.91 ERA, 56:20 K:BB in 69.2 innings. Flying under the prospect radar a bit it seems.
28 Justin Masterson BOS SP B Placeholder for Dice-K has bumped up his trade value with 2.59 ERA in four starts.
31 Michael Bowden BOS SP B 1.45 ERA and 54:6 K:BB (wow) over last nine starts.
33 Aaron Poreda CHW SP B 2.2 BB/9 good, 5.6 K/9 not so much. He’s been solid, but upside may not be as more than a No. 4.
36 Brett Cecil TOR SP B Last 2 GS (11 IP): 1 ER, 6 H, 13:1 K:BB. Lefty with No. 3/4 starter upside.
47 Fautino de los Santos OAK SP B Well it was serious as de los Santos is out for the year after Tommy John surgery. Too bad.
49 Daniel Cortes KC SP B 3.52 ERA but 35:19 K:BB in 38.1 innings is a ratio that needs a little work.

Recent Debuts
Michael Hollimon DET 2B 25 C+ .250 in 184 AAA ABs, but a surprising 12 HR. Only 14 HR in 490 AB a year ago.
Chris Carter BOS 1B 25 C+ 2-for-3 in his debut. May have some value in AL-only leagues as Ortiz’s sub.