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Diamondbacks Top 100 Prospects

With all seasons at an end here's my list of the Top 100 prospects in the Diamondbacks system. It includes anyone that still maintains rookie status.

Chris Owings makes it to #2 on my season-ending Top Prospects list
Chris Owings makes it to #2 on my season-ending Top Prospects list
Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

Some real shakeup at the top of my season end prospects list. There's some legit talent coming up the pipeline with most of it being pitching, though a few position players are worth noting. I've moved Chris Owings all the way up to the #2 spot behind Archie Bradley. I just feel he has the most major league talent of anyone else on the list. He showed he can handle the shortstop position at the highest level and even demonstrated some plate discipline in his short sample size, something he didn't always do in the minors.

Jake Barrett climbs all the way to the #3 spot as he had a dominating year and should be ready for a prominent spot in the bullpen next year, something the team desperately needs. Skaggs drops to number 4 on the list and I didn't drop him further because he could easily fix a few mechanical issues in the off-season and put himself right back in the conversation for a rotation spot next spring.

Braden Shipley really came on in the final month and flashed some of the talent everyone saw in him when he was drafted in the first round. His arrival in Visalia next year will be the true test of his ability. Holmberg holds onto the #6 spot and everyone will be watching him to see if he can take one more step to go from his very good AA season to the show. Jake Lamb gets the #7 rating and had he not missed half the season with a wrist injury might be even higher. He'll get to Mobile next year and another .900+ OPS season and he'll be in the 2015 third base conversation.

I have Davidson at #8 and some might argue with him being placed below Lamb since he's already in the show at roughly the same age. I just feel Lamb has more all-around hitting ability (if a little less power) and a better glove than Davidson. Aaron Blair and Andrew Chafin round out the Top 10, two pitchers who both could climb higher on the list with steps forward in 2014.

Big fallers include our top catchers Stryker Trahan and Michael Perez. Trahan didn't impress in Missoula like I thought he should, though he wasn't exactly terrible. And Perez was aggressively placed in Visalia to start the year and was completely overwhelmed before eventually being sent back to South Bend. But his psyche must have been damaged and we'll see where he's placed next year and how he responds.

Rank Prospect Pos 2013 Level Age* JB Rating Comments
1 Archie Bradley LHP AA 21 95 Rotation spot for 2014
2 Chris Owings SS Majors 22 88 Super sub or trade bait?
3 Jake Barrett RHP AA 22 88 Ready for bullpen spot
4 Tyler Skaggs LHP AAA 22 87 Needs to find his fastball
5 Braden Shipley RHP A 21 87 Showed he has talent
6 David Holmberg LHP AA 22 86 Can he take one more step?
7 Jake Lamb 3B A+ 22 86 If healthy best 3B in system
8 Matt Davidson 3B Majors 22 82 Getting his chance now
9 Aaron Blair RHP A 21 82 Solid start to pro career
10 Andrew Chafin LHP AA 23 81 Still going forward
11 Justin Williams OF A 18 80 Dude can hit
12 Jimmy Sherfy RHP A 21 80 Could be on Barrett's heels
13 Joe Munoz SS Rookie 19 78 Showed high pick might be legit
14 Daniel Palka 1B A- 21 78 Looks like a pro hitter
15 Stryker Trahan C Rookie 19 77 Flattened out a bit this year
16 Matt Stites RHP AA 23 76 Ready to see what the fuss is
17 Brandon Drury 3B A 21 76 Looking like a good one
18 Jose Herrera C DSL 16 75 Top Int'l catcher signed
19 Michael Perez C A 21 74 Couldn't handle A+
20 Daniel Gibson P A 21 74 Solid reliever, could move fast
21 Andrew Velasquez SS/2B A 19 72 Still holding his own for age
22 Chuck Taylor OF Rookie 20 70 Came on some this year
23 Jamie Westbrook SS AZL 18 70 Good start to career
24 Zeke Spruill RHP AAA 24 69 Behind other top prospects
25 Kevin Munson RHP AAA 24 68 Hot and cold
26 Ender Inciarte OF AA 22 65 Flattened out this year
27 Nick Ahmed SS AA 23 65 Rebounded from slow start
28 Ben Eckels RHP A- 19 64 Still has a chance
29 Felipe Perez RHP Rookie 19 62 Maybe doesn't miss enough bats
30 Eury De La Rosa LHP AAA 23 62 Fringe majors reliever
31 Anthony Meo RHP A+ 23 61 Struggled all year
32 Sean Jamieson SS A+ 24 60 Good season but older
33 Gerson Montilla 2B A+ 23 59 Flashed some power this year
34 Brad Keller RHP Rookie 18 59 Good first pro season
35 Fidel Pena 2B A 22 58 Solid not spectacular
36 Michael Bolsinger RHP AAA 25 56 Opened a few eyes in AAA
37 Evan Marshall RHP AAA 23 56 Took a small step forward
38 Andrew Barbosa LHP A+ 25 55 Flashed some talent
39 Zach Esquerra OF A- 22 54 Showed power but injured
40 Evan Marzilli OF A+ 22 53 More glove than bat
41 Patrick Schuster LHP A+ 22 52 Should hit AA next year
42 Cesar Carrasco OF A 19 51 Has some tools
43 Colin Bray OF Rookie 20 51 Athletic CF
44 Seth Simmons RHP A+ 24 50 Solid but old for level
45 Socrates Brito OF A 21 50 Still looking for breakout
46 R.J. Hively RHP A+ 24 48 Solid reliever
47 Chase Anderson RHP AAA 25 47 Hit his ceiling
48 Alfredo Marte OF AAA 24 46 Power disappeared
49 Alex Glenn OF A 22 45 Steady but no breakout
50 Jose Martinez RHP A- 19 45 Scouts like his power arm
51 Matt McPhearson OF AZL 18 44 Struggled in AZL
52 Blake Perry RHP A 21 43 Flashed but not enough
53 Sergio Alcantara SS AZL 17 42 They like his glove
54 Jose Queliz C Rookie 21 40 Breakout season
55 Fernery Ozuna 2B AZL 17 40 Made it off the island
56 Kevin Medrano 2B A 23 39 Just keeps hitting
57 Cody Wheeler LHP A+ 24 38 Erratic but lots of Ks
58 Bradin Hagens RHP AA 24 37 Far as he can go?
59 Charles Brewer RHP AAA 25 36 Got his 15 minutes
60 Breland Almadova OF A 22 35 Can he keep going
61 Ryan Doran RHP A- 23 35 Showed some talent
62 Jacob Cordero SS AZL 19 34 Scouts like his tools
63 Dane McFarland OF AZL 18 33 Extremely raw athlete
64 Michael Freeman SS AA 26 32 Found his ceiling
65 Jesse Darrah RHP A 23 32 Too inconsistent
66 Rudy Flores 1B A 22 31 Big power, big Ks
67 Henry Garcia LHP A 23 20 Huge K/BB numbers
68 Ryan Court 3B AA 25 30 Jumped 2 levels but old
69 Tom Belza OF/3B A+ 24 30 Steady eddy
70 Brandon Sinnery RHP A+ 23 30 A+ was a little tough
71 George Roberts 1B A- 23 30 Had some good games
72 Rossmel Perez C AA 24 30 Not enough stick
73 Jose Jose LHP A 23 30 Level jump was rough
74 Brad Allen RHP A+ 24 30 Had some good starts
75 Yeisson Rosario OF AZL 21 30 Next year will be his chance
76 Daniel Watts LHP A+ 23 30 Could not handle A+ at all
77 Kaleb Fleck RHP A+ 24 30 Solid relief season
78 Keon Broxton OF AA 23 30 AA was a bridge too far
79 Tyler Green RHP A+ 21 30 Injured most of the year
80 Jonathan Griffin 1B A+ 24 25 Couldn't hit AA pitching
81 Raul Garcia SS DSL 18 25 Coming stateside soon?
82 Brian Billigen OF Rookie 23 25 Needs to take a step
83 Derek Eitel RHP AA 25 25 Solid AA arm
84 Taylor Siemens LHP A+ 24 25 Missed entire season
85 Garrett Webber INF AA 24 25 Solid AA player
86 Silvino Bracho RHP Rookie 21 25 Showed some closing skills
87 Willy Paredes RHP A+ 24 25 Not done just yet
88 Jake Mayers 3B Rookie 23 25 Old for the level
89 Alexander Carreras LHP A+ 23 25 Missed entire season
90 Chase Stevens RHP Rookie 23 20 Very up and down
91 Kyle Winkler RHP A 23 20 Got demoted to A
92 Ronnie Freeman C A+ 22 20 Nothing special here
93 Justin Van Grouw RHP Rookie 23 20 Okay start to pros
94 David Nick 2B AA 23 20 Found his ceiling
95 Keith Hessler LHP A+ 24 20 A+ might be his ceiling
96 Ryan Kinsella 1B A- 21 20 Maybe something there
97 Justin Bianco OF Rookie 21 20 Hanging on by a thread
98 John Pedrotty RHP A 22 20 Out with arm injury
99 Michael Lang OF A 24 20 Hanging around
100 Matt Helm 1B/3B A+ 22 20 Mr. Irrelevant

Rating System

90-100 Outstanding prospect. All-Star potential.
80-89 Very good prospect. Potential feature player with above-average production.
70-79 Solid prospect. Has a chance of becoming a starting ML player.
60-69 Good prospect. Has a chance of making it to the majors.
50-59 Average prospect. Could still make it with further development.
40-49 Borderline prospect. Can’t be written off yet but odds are against.
30-39 Long shot prospect but has some talent.