MLB's New Blood: The Top 6 Up-and-Coming Franchises
The Nationals' Bryce Harper is baseball's No. 1 prospect, according to Baseball America. He is followed by Angels prospect Mike Trout.
What team will come out one year and prove that it is the next Tampa Bay Rays? The Rays were last in the American League East with a 66-96 record in 2007. The following year is when their stars finally shined. We saw bright stars like Carl Crawford, B.J. Upton and Evan Longoria take the Rays to a first-place finish in the AL East in 2008 with a 97-65 record.
This list doesn't necessarily reflect this season but could be down the road.
What team will be the next Tampa Bay Rays?
The sixth team was tough to pick. It could Oakland, Pittsburgh or Cleveland. Count all of these teams in with No. 6.
No. 6: Pittsburgh Pirates
1 of 6
Andrew McCutchen, Neil Walker, Pedro Alvarez and Jose Tabata of the Pirates haven't played a full season together as a team. Last year was McCutchen's first full year in a Pirates uniform. Walker, Alvarez and Tabata came up in the midst of last season.
Tabata is a hit machine. After the All-Star break last season, Tabata was second in the NL in hits. He already has 13 hits and has a current 10-game hitting streak.
Walker is a switch-hitting second baseman who has converted from catcher and third base. He is very athletic and has shown power and RBI numbers last season. He has had a good start to this season as well, batting .300 with two HRs and nine RBI.
Alvarez has a lot of power but tends to struggle with contact. He has the capability of putting up monster HR and RBI numbers, but the strikeouts are a little worrisome.
The Pirates have three prospects in the top 100 in MLB.
Jameson Taillon, RHP—He is the 11th-best prospect in MLB. He was the Pirates' first-round choice, second overall out of high school.
Tony Sanchez, C—46th-best prospect in MLB. He is known for his defense rather than his offense, although he has shown he is a better hitter than people thought. He is batting .311 with 12 HR and 85 RBI in three seasons. He broke his jaw last season, which stalled his numbers significantly.
Stetson Allie, RHP—79th-best prospect in MLB. This guy may have had the best fastball coming out of last year's draft. He is a flamethrower. Scouts may think that maybe he would be best suited as a closer, but the Pirates are hoping he can be a starter.
There are a few glaring holes in the future in the Pirates lineup/rotation: shortstop, catcher, right field, first base and pitching.
They have the first pick in the 2011 draft. They need to pick wisely. Scouts think that they will draft Anthony Rendon from Rice.
Somebody needs to peak through this season in right field. Whether it's Andrew Lambo, Starling Marte or Gorkys Hernandez, somebody needs to step up and fill the void.
If they can find a shortstop and have players fill the major-league roster from the minors, the Pirates could be formidable sooner rather than later.
No. 5: Washington Nationals
2 of 6
Presuming that Stephen Strasburg comes back and is healthy again, the Nationals are a team that has created a ton of buzz. They weren't shy about giving out money this offseason. Who's to say they won't do that down the line?
The Nationals have four top-100 prospects.
Bryce Harper, OF—The No. 1-rated prospect in baseball.
Danny Espinosa, SS/2B—66th-best prospect.
Derrick Norris, C—72nd-best prospect.
Wilson Ramos, C–95th-best prospect.
The Nationals have spent some money this year in free agency. They will need to keep adding young talent in drafts and trades. Mix those young talented players with Ryan Zimmerman and Jayson Werth, and the team becomes better instantly.
They need to add pitching depth, though. Strasburg is great, but he needs help. If they add pitching and a few more pieces, the Nationals could contend in the relative future. Plus, nobody really knows how the injury will affect Strasburg down the line. His status will determine if the Nationals are ready to take the next step.
No. 4: Toronto Blue Jays
3 of 6
The Blue Jays play in the toughest division in baseball (AL East). If they played in the AL West, possibly they could make the playoffs. Instead, they are constantly on the brink of being a contender but generally end up with another winning record that doesn't generate playoff appearances.
The Blue Jays have four prospects in the top 100.
Kyle Drabek, RHP—He is the 29th-best prospect in MLB. So far this season, Drabek is 1-0 with a 1.38 ERA.
Travis D'Arnaud, C—36th-best prospect.
Brett Lawrie, 2B—40th-best prospect.
Deck McGuire RHP—95th-best prospect.
J.P. Arencibia has already entered MLB, and he provides a presence in the lineup. Jose Bautista has been solid in the middle of the lineup as well.
Pitching has been key to the success of the Blue Jays. If they keep acquiring talent, they can be a force down the road.
.png?w=256)
No. 3: Baltimore Orioles
4 of 6
Buck Showalter has done an amazing job since taking over in the summer of last season. He has provided the fundamentals that the Orioles have been lacking.
This team, like the Pirates, has some of its best talent in the majors right now—Nick Markakis, Adam Jones and Matt Wieters just to name a few.
The Orioles have just two prospects in the top 100.
Manny Machado, SS—He is the 14th-best prospect.
Zach Britton, LHP—28th-best prospect. Britton is 2-0 on the young season.
The reason why the Orioles are on this list is because they have shown that they want to win relatively soon. They went out and got Derrek Lee, Mark Reynolds, J.J. Hardy and Vladimir Guerrero. The pitching staff has been great so far.
Most of their core is in the big leagues as we speak. The Orioles could be a team that contends in the upcoming years.
No. 2: Tampa Bay Rays
5 of 6
Could Tampa Bay be the next Tampa Bay? I know the Rays were in the playoffs last season, but this season doesn't look as promising.
Let's say that they finish below .500 this season. What happens then? Do they trade some pieces away?
If they don't, it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. If they kept some of their young guns and held off for a while, they could bounce back relatively soon.
The Rays have seven prospects in the top 100.
Jeremy Hellickson, RHP—He is the sixth-best prospect in MLB. He is starting for the Rays this season. His progress and evaluation should hint to whether he can be a top-tier talent, and I have no doubts that he will be one of the best pitchers in the AL one year.
Matt Moore, LHP—15th-best prospect.
Desmond Jennings, OF—22nd-best prospect.
Chris Archer, RHP—27th-best prospect.
Jake McGee, LHP—71st-best prospect.
Josh Sale, OF—88th-best prospect.
Hak-Ju Lee, SS—92nd-best prospect.
If these prospects gel well with the players on the current roster, the Rays can bounce back in a year or two if this season doesn't go well.
No. 1: Kansas City Royals
6 of 6
Kansas City has the best minor-league depth in MLB. They have nine prospects in the top 100 and five in the top 20.
Eric Hosmer, 1B—He is the eighth-best prospect in MLB.
Mike Moustakas, 3B—Ninth-best prospect.
Will Myers, OF/C—10th-best prospect.
John Lamb, LHP—18th-best prospect.
Mike Montgomery, LHP—19th-best prospect.
Christian Colon, SS—51st-best prospect.
Danny Duffy, LHP—68th-best prospect.
Jake Odorizzi, RHP—69th-best prospect.
Chris Dwyer, LHP—83rd-best prospect.
This list has four position players, four left-handed pitchers and one right-hander.
Prospects don't bring results. These players have to pan out and perform. If the Royals can trade, draft well and continue to build prospects, they can make some noise soon.
The likelihood of all of these prospects working out perfectly isn't high, but I am sure that at least half will. Once these players filter up to the major leagues, the Royals can most certainly be the next Rays.
.png?w=480)
