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Another prominent prospect list is published, and once again Francisco Lindor and Clint Frazier are highly rated. On Wednesday ESPN posted Keith Law's farm system rankings, which examine the overall talent level and depth of each MLB team's collection of prospects. The Indians were at #17 on that list (up two spots from 2013). Thursday, Law's top 100 prospect list was made available (subscription required).
There's lots of good commentary on all of the prospects listed, and if you've got an ESPN Insider subscription, there's no better use of it than reading Law's lists.
In case you missed it, we've also gotten MLB.com's top 100 list (featuring three Indians), along with Baseball Prospectus' top 101. Baseball America and John Sickels at Minor League Ball are among those whose lists are not yet available, but at this point it's pretty clear who the Tribe's top guys are.
Here are Law's rankings and brief samples of his commentary:
#6: Francisco Lindor
Law calls Lindor a "Glove Glove-type of defender." Such praise for Lindor's glove feels almost commonplace at this point, and while nothing is certain, I think there's every reason to have great confidence in him being one of the best fielders in the game. The difference between Lindor being a good player and a great one would be his offense, and Law says he expects Lindor to hit well from both sides of the plate.
"He'll be an All-Star thanks to grade-70 defense and OBPs up near .400 with plenty of doubles and 20-plus steals a year."
I'll take it!
#45: Clint Frazier
Law says Frazier has the second-best bat speed in organized baseball. Law says he expects Frazier to end up a left fielder, because he's an average runner and his arm isn't good enough for right. He adds that Frazier needs to work on recognizing off-speed stuff, but that his bat projects well for any position.
"He has to hit to have value, but he's got an All-Star ceiling if he improves his recognition."
If you've got access, you really should go and read the rest.
Today bring's Law's top ten prospects for each American League team (subscription required).
Lindor and Frazier are followed by: Dorssys Paulino (SS), Trevor Bauer (RHP), Cody Anderson (RHP), Jose Ramirez (2B), Tyler Naquin (OF), Tony Wolters (C), Mitch Brown (RHP) and Carlos Moncrief (OF).
I like seeing Moncrief. His name hasn't appeared on a ton of these lists, but I've got high hopes for him.
As with his top 100, Law provides in-depth commentary on his choices for the Indians, and their system as a whole. No fair giving too much away, but here's a taste:
"Danny Salazar... looks like he will be, at worst, a good mid-rotation starter and flashes the kind of stuff in his fastball and splitter that could make him an ace."
That would be nice.
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