Tracking the MLB's Top Prospects, Pt. 1: Nos. 1-10

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6. Madison Bumgarner, LHP, San Francisco Giants organization

Law is big on this 19-year-old who finished last year pitching for Class A Augusta. Bumgarner began the year pitching for the San Jose Giants, another Class A club in the Giants organization. He dominated there, going 3-1 with a 1.48 ERA in five starts. He also held hitters to a .217 batting average. Not wanting to hinder his development any further by pitting him against lesser talent, Bumgarner was sent packing eastward and is now playing for Double A Connecticut. In his first start on May 17 for the Defenders, Bumgarner went six strong innings and struck out nine while allowing just one hit. Law predicts that, at this rate, the youngster will be in San Francisco “at some point in 2010.”

7. Lars Anderson, 1B, Boston Red Sox organization

According to Law, first base is loaded with plenty of prospects, but Anderson has benefited by being younger than most of them at 21. He finished last season with Double A Portland of the Eastern League. He started back there this season and has struggled to this point, only hitting .233 as of May 17. In his last 10 games, he has hit just .189 with five RBI and eight strikeouts. On the season, he has struck out 32 times and has an on-base percentage of .310. This contrasts greatly with his career OBP of .410. All good hitters, especially young ones, go through stretches such as this one. Hopefully, he will emerge from it without his progression to the majors suffering any damages.

8. Buster Posey, C, San Francisco Giants organization

Posey went fifth overall in last year’s first-year player draft to the Giants and has already developed into one of the top catching prospects. The former FSU Seminole is currently handling the pitching staff for Class A Advanced San Jose and is hitting .287 on the year with 63 total bases accumulated to go along with 22 RBI and even three steals. Yes, catchers can swipe a base every now and then, as well. Besides, Posey has those fresh college legs. As those legs and knees gather more innings caught, however, expect the number of steals to fall or disappear altogether. Steals aside, Posey has a nice future ahead of him as an MLB catcher.

9. Tommy Hanson, RHP, Atlanta Braves organization

This 22-year-old is literally one injury away from making his first start in the Majors and continues to make his case for getting that call up. In eight games started this year for Triple A Gwinnett of the International League, Hanson is holding hitters to a .172 batting average with a 1.70 ERA in 47.2 innings pitched. He does only have a 2-3 record to show for his efforts, but the big wigs in Atlanta are most likely not keeping a tally of his wins and losses.

The Braves are currently in third place in the NL East with an even record of 18-18 as of May 18. They have the second lowest amount of runs allowed in the division behind the New York Mets. Their rotation is bolstered by the arrival of veterans such as Derek Lowe and Javier Vazquez. The youngster from last year, Jair Jurrjens, leads the staff with an ERA of 2.08. If the rotation suffers any injuries, the Braves will have to determine if Hanson is ready for his big league debut.

10. Rick Porcello, RHP, Detroit Tigers

Law was not kidding when he wrote that the Tigers are usually aggressive with their prospects. Porcello, just 20 years old, finished last year in Top Class A Lakeland. This year, he found himself in the top of the class, starting for the Detroit Tigers. So far, he’s fared well in seven starts, going 4-3 with a 3.86 ERA. He has the stuff to blow guys away and rack up the Ks, but part of the reason why he was on the fast track to the Majors was because of his ability to develop into a ground ball pitcher with a good two-seamer. The Tigers might have found a shining light to reverse their starting rotation horrors from last season.

To read more of Stan's work at Baseball Reflections, be sure to follow this link. Baseball Reflections cover almost every major league teams as well as top stories and opinion articles. Check out the rest of our work at www.baseballreflections.com.

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