2015 MLB Draft: Scouting Reports for Top Major League Baseball Prospects

The 2015 MLB amateur draft doesn't offer a can't-miss, marquee headliner. None graced the cover of Sports Illustrated as a high schooler, and none are expected to morph into MVP-caliber superstars.

Then again, no prospects are tougher to peg than baseball's youngsters. Mike Trout lasted to pick No. 25 in 2009, which is nothing considering Albert Pujols fell to the 13th round 10 years earlier.

No scout carries all the answers, but they're not all cliche-spewing caricatures yelling at Brad Pitt for subverting common convention. They tend to know a thing or two about baseball's incoming recruits, so let's take a look at what they're saying about the brightest prospects.

Brendan Rodgers, SS, Lake Mary HS (Fla.)

In a class led by college standouts, high school shortstop Brendan Rodgers will vie for top selection. Not to be mistaken for the Liverpool manager, Rodgers nets a No. 1 prospect ranking from MLB.com and ESPN Insider Keith Law.

Although Law predicted the Arizona Diamondbacks would snag Vanderbilt shortstop Dansby Swanson with the first pick, he envisions Rodgers as the better all-around talent:

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Still the top prospect in the class for me, a true shortstop with feel to hit and the potential for average or better power down the road. Questions about his bat (such as his bat speed) seem spurious given how well he hit velocity all of last summer, garnering well more than 100 at-bats against the best prep pitchers in the country, with excellent results.

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There are questions about Rodgers sticking at shortstop or moving elsewhere like many top prospects from the past. Yet Baseball America's J.J. Cooper sees him as a legitimate high-level prospect with a long future manning the scarce position:

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This is a down year for the top of the draft, but Rodgers is a legitimate top-of-the-draft talent, not just the best of a bad lot.

A righthanded hitter, Rodgers has plus raw power and an advanced hitting approach that gives him a chance to be an above-average hitter with above-average power. Rodgers has more present strength than most top high school shortstops. As one scouting director explained, his body looks like that of a college shortstop. Some scouts worry that he may outgrow the position, but he has the body control, soft hands and above-average arm that leads many scouts to believe he will remain at shortstop as he matures.

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Grantland's Michael Baumann also spoke highly of Rodgers: "He’s not a burner, but he can run, field, and throw well enough to play the position competently. If you can do those things and hit as well as the Florida State commit can, you’re going to be a first-division starter for years and years and years."

No draft hopeful has a higher ceiling than Rodgers, a teenager with all the tools and talent to deliver in a big way. Yet it remains to be seen if the Diamondbacks prefer a more polished, MLB-ready shortstop in Swanson or Louisiana State's Alex Bregman.

Kolby Allard, LHP, San Clemente HS (Calif.)

Injuries are an all-too-common problem for big league pitchers. While the influx of damaged arms may leave inflicted organizations timid to take any chances, a crop of high-reward injury risks are available for the taking this draft.

Brady Aiken, last year's No. 1 pick who is back in the fold after undergoing Tommy John surgery, leads the fray. Less frightening for clubs, lefty Kolby Allard missed most of his senior season with a stress reaction in his back. ESPN Insider Eric Longenhagen discussed the issue with Baumann.

“I get mixed opinions on what his back injury might mean long-term,” Longenhagen said. “Some medical professionals I’ve talked to worry it could be chronic, others think it’s a blip. At least it isn’t his arm.”

He also called Allard a "Julio Urias starter kit," referring to the Los Angeles Dodgers' 18-year-old pitcher ranked as MLB.com's No. 6 prospect. Touted as the No. 8 overall draft prospect by Bleacher Report's Mike Rosenbaum, the 6'2" southpaw offers a fastball that reaches the mid-90s along with a promising curveball.

FanGraphs' Kiley McDaniel passed along a more encouraging note on Allard's health. "I’ve also heard generally positive things about prep LHP Kolby Allard," he wrote. "The sense is that teams aren’t worried long-term about his back and, even though he won’t throw before the draft, that he should go in the same range as Aiken, likely the 15-25 range."

Law has Allard going as high as No. 6 to the Minnesota Twins, an aggressive move for a team in need of impact arms. It'd take a spotless medical update for someone for someone to take him inside the top 10.

Carson Fulmer, RHP, Vanderbilt

Bradley Leeb/Associated Press

Scouts are all over the place on Vanderbilt's Carson Fulmer. The potential first pitcher off the board places No. 3 behind Rodgers and Swanson in MLB.com's overall rankings. Rosenbaum rates him No. 5 behind right-handed pitcher Dillon Tate. Law, however, is low on Fulmer, ranking him No. 43 overall. 

During his junior year, Fulmer registered a 1.82 ERA and 152 strikeouts through 114 innings. Smaller than most pitching prospects at 5'11", he is still a power arm with a blazing fastball and sharp breaking pitches.

"He's a pitching version of Joe Frazier—he keeps coming at you," Vanderbilt head coach Tim Corbin said, per MLB.com's Andrew Simon. "He's coming through the hitter. … He's just an elite competitor."

Some scouts fear what Baumann described as "a delivery that could charitably be called 'unique' and less charitably called 'a mess.'" McDaniel, on the other hand, doesn't foresee as much of a problem:

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He’s pitched at 93-95 mph with an above-average to plus curveball and above-average changeup for all three years at Vanderbilt and all the way back to his high school days, as well. His delivery in high school included a significant head whack, which is much less pronounced now, along with a more up-tempo delivery. Fulmer has never been hurt, even after shifting midseason in 2014 from the bullpen to the rotation, regularly going over 100 pitches in his starts (126 last weekend) and throwing last summer for Team USA.

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Players come in all different packages, so not every ace needs to look like Clayton Kershaw or Matt Harvey. After mowing down SEC batters all year, Fulmer should earn a top-10 selection, falling no further than the Chicago Cubs at pick No. 9.