Selected by the Red Sox with the 39th overall pick in the 2011 draft, Anthony Ranaudo was expected to make a quick ascent to the major leagues. However, the 6’7” right-hander hit a roadblock during his sophomore campaign in 2011, as he battled a groin injury over the first few months of the season prior to being shut down for the season in July with shoulder fatigue.

Making up for lost time, the 23-year-old decided to pitch in the Puerto Rico Winter League during the offseason and began to look more like the pitcher the Red Sox envisioned when they drafted him a few years earlier. More importantly, he’s built upon that success this season at Double-A Portland while emerging as one of the top pitchers in the minor leagues.

Things have truly come full circle for Ranaudo, who turned in his best outing as a professional on Friday against Erie: 7.2 IP, 2 H, 13/2 K/BB.

Here’s a look at the rest of the hottest and coldest pitchers from every minor league level.

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Due to the amount of attention paid to each organization's top prospects and early-round draft picks, many of the game's underrated prospects are perpetually obscured. Most of the time, these prospects are younger players who are housed in the low minors and still require considerable physical projection. At the same time, there are countless prospects on the older side of the age curve who have dipped off the radar due to injury.

Here's a look at one "hidden gem" from each organization who could make a push for the major leagues in the coming years.

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In the wake of the 2013 First-Year Player Draft in early June, I re-worked my preseason top 50 prospects rankings to include several of the top draft picks. Additionally, because so many of the players on that list had already been promoted to the major leagues, I decided to include only prospects still active in the minor leagues. The result was a new and improved top 50 with a host of fresh faces cracking the top 10.

Here’s an updated look at how Prospect Pipeline’s top prospects have fared since the unveiling of the new rankings at the beginning of last week.

1. Oscar Taveras, OF, St. Louis Cardinals

2013 Stats: .309/.348/.456, 22 R, 14 XBH (4 HR), 5 SB, 21/9 K/BB (39 G)

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Major League Baseball’s 2012 rookie class was easily the best in recent memory, as well as one of the best in the history of the sport.

While Mike Trout and Bryce Harper stole the show and captured the rookie of the year award in their respective leagues, the talent pool extended well beyond those two players. In the National League, Wade Miley, Todd Frazier and Wilin Rosario blossomed into All-Star caliber, everyday players. Meanwhile, in the American League, Yu Darvish, Yoenis Cespedes and Manny Machado quickly emerged as stars in their own right, and have only furthered that reputation as sophomores this season.

Even though the 2013 rookie class isn’t as top-heavy compared to last year’s, it’s actually considerably deeper on both sides of the ball. Led by phenom Jurickson Profar, this year’s collection of young talent in the major leagues includes top-ranked prospects such as Shelby Miller, Yasiel Puig, Gerrit Cole, Julio Teheran, Chris Archer, Anthony Rendon, Jackie Bradley, Jr., Jose Fernandez, Nolan Arenado, and Jedd Gyorko. And there’s even more on the way, as highly regarded prospects Zack Wheeler and Wil Myers are both expected to make their respective debut in the major leagues on Tuesday.

But how will the 2014 rookie class stack up compared to previous years? Here’s a look at 10 prospects expected to make an impact in the major leagues next season.

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The SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game will never generate as much excitement as the All-Star Game, but it absolutely should.

Each year the event gives fans a preview of the sport’s top prospects, as 25 players are selected to play for the U.S. and World Team, respectively.

In 2012, the U.S. clobbered the World Team, 17-5, thanks to a relentless, 17-hit attack and a host of strong performances by baseball’s top pitching prospects. Last year’s game also served as the Nick Castellanos' coming out party, as the then 20-year-old—who had been recently promoted to Double-A—went 3-for-4 with three runs scored, a home run and three RBI, and was named MVP of the event.

Even though the 2013 Futures Game is over a month away, I thought I’d take a crack at predicting this year’s 25-man rosters for both the U.S. and World Team. Since only minor leaguers are eligible to participate in the game, I decided to omit prospects likely to reach major leagues between now and then such as Zack Wheeler, Wil Myers and Castellanos.

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Mastering the High-A Florida State League is usually a challenge for young hitters due to its pitcher-friendly parks and environment. However, somebody forgot to pass along that information to Miguel Sano.

The 20-year-old opened the season on fire at the more advanced level and is yet to lose steam. Through his first 56 games, Sano, whom I recently ranked as baseball’s No. 5 prospect, was batting .330/.424/.655 with 51 runs scored, 15 doubles, 16 home runs and nine stolen bases. And as a result of his overwhelming success, the Twins recently promoted the young slugger to Double-A.

Elsewhere on the Twins front, Byron Buxton continues to do amazing things. Ranked ahead of Sano as the No. 2 prospect, the 19-year-old is without a doubt the most exciting player in the minor leagues.

Here’s a look at the rest of the hottest and coldest hitters at every minor league level.

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North Carolina clinched a College World Series berth on Tuesday afternoon, as it defeated South Carolina, 5-4.

Their win also finalized the field of eight teams headed to Omaha this year: Indiana, Louisiana State, Louisville, Mississippi State, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Oregon State and UCLA.

The games begins on Saturday when Oregon State plays Mississippi State at 3 p.m. ET, followed by Indiana vs. Louisville at 8 p.m. ET.

On Sunday, North Carolina will take on North Carolina State at 3 p.m. ET, followed by LSU vs. UCLA at 8 p.m. ET.

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While it’s only been a few days since the conclusion of the 2013 First-Year Player draft, some teams have already announced the signing of their early-round selections.

For example, Baseball America reported that the Phillies and third-round pick Cord Sandberg have already reached an agreement on an over-slot signing bonus of $775,000 and that the Reds announced yesterday that they have come to terms with first-rounder Phil Ervin for $1,812,400, the recommended slot value for the No. 27 pick.

However, not every player will be an easy sign like Sandberg and Ervin. A majority of the players selected in the first round will likely hold out until the mid-July signing deadline with the hope of landing an above-slot bonus.

So, of the remaining unsigned draft picks, here’s a look at the players who figure to command the highest bonuses.

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