2015 Dbacks Top 60 Prospects: Year End

I finally got around to completing my year-end Top 60 Prospects List and it won't take long to see there are a LOT of changes from the last time I did these. We had former Top 20 guys fall completely off the list. We had guys come out of nowhere and vault into the Top 10. We had some graduations, some trades, some acquisitions and of course the 2015 draft class.

What hasn't changed is my number one overall prospect is still Aaron Blair. Blair has done nothing to earn a demotion from the lofty spot and is simply as ready for a major league gig as you can be. I expect him to compete for a rotation spot next spring.

Jumping into the number 2 spot is number one overall draft pick Dansby Swanson. Swanson showed off his talent in helping to lead Hillsboro to a Northwest League title and is probably headed to Visalia next year, where a good performance might earn him a ticket to Mobile before season's end. That would have him knocking on the door of the majors as early as 2017.

Number 3 goes to Braden Shipley who had a so-so first half then really came on in the second half with a string of strong performances. It's not a major stretch to think he could find himself in the rotation sometime in 2016 as well.

Number 4 is a total newcomer to the list in second baseman Jamie Westbrook. He's not a big guy at 5-9, 170, but he's a year younger than Swanson at just 20 and blew the doors off the California League with a combination of power, speed and defense from a middle infield spot.

Another middle infield hotshot jumped up to number 7 in shortstop Isan Diaz who was the Pioneer League MVP at the age of 19. The list contains as many as 25 players who actually have some major league potential including youngsters like Brad Keller, Matt Railey, Marcus Wilson and Austin Byler. The 2015 draft class also landed several pitching prospects to the list who could jump up quickly with strong 2016 campaigns such as Alex Young, Taylor Clarke and Ryan Burr.

Some of the names who fell from grace and didn't even make it into the Top 60 includes Stryker Trahan, Alex Glenn, Michael Perez and Blake Perry. And there are others who had precipitous falls and are in danger of falling off as well including Jimmie Sherfy, Jake Barrett, Matt McPhearson and Will Locante.

The strength of the list is in the number of middle infield prospects who are showing extraordinary talent with four in the Top 10. Eight starting pitching prospects landed in the Top 20 though it's debatable if any of them rate as number one starters. Overall the minor league ranks look very healthy with a nice mix at all the positions without any glaring holes like we might have seen in the past.