Baseball Prospectus Ranks Top 11 Prospects

More prospect rankings out today, this time it’s Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus giving us his Top 11 prospects (plus four more).  The list itself is free, but the pay wall hits you after the in-depth coverage of prospect #1, Alcides Escobar.  Unlike a lot of other lists, Goldstein breaks his up into star-level tiers.

Escobar is the only 5-star prospect in his list, and Brett Lawrie is the lone 4-star player.  The full list is after the jump (click “Read More”).

Five-Star Prospects
1. Alcides Escobar, SS
Four-Star Prospects
2. Brett Lawrie, 2B
Three-Star Prospects
3. Mat Gamel, 3B
4. Wily Peralta, RHP
5. Cody Scarpetta, RHP
6. Jon Lucroy, C
7. Eric Arnett, RHP
8. Kyle Heckathorn, RHP
9. Kentrail Davis, OF
10. Angel Salome, C
Two-Star Prospects
11. Logan Schafer, OF

Four More:
12. Mark Rogers, RHP: Rogers’ stuff was outstanding after missing two years due to shoulder problems, but can he pitch more than three innings every five days?
13. Caleb Gindl, OF: He’s a small outfielder and very low on tools, but his production at the plate has been impressive.
14. Jake Odorizzi, RHP: He has advanced command and control for his age, but Odorizzi’s stuff has yet to take the expected step forward.
15. Zach Braddock, LHP: This power lefty took a big step forward with a move to bullpen; he has the ceiling of a set-up man.

Just a few of my thoughts on this:

• Hard to argue with a top three of Escobar, Lawrie, and Gamel, but I’m a little surprised Gamel is listed as a 3-star player.  I still have high hopes for his bat, but it can’t help that he doesn’t appear to have a solid defensive position.  Then again, that doesn’t seem to hurt Lawrie’s ranking.
• The list as a whole seems to reflect the general consensus that the Brewers’ system is lacking in the high-end prospects they’ve had the past few years, but there are still quite a few guys who could end up being solid everyday major leaguers.
• I’m actually a little surprised at the number of pitchers that made the list.  They’re all pretty far away from making an impact in the majors, but it does give us some hope for the future.  It looks like the focus on pitching in the past couple drafts has certainly paid off.