2013 Top 10 Fantasy Prospects: Chicago Cubs

Welcome to Prospering Through Prospects' 2013 Top 10 Fantasy Prospects series: an in-depth look at every minor league name you'll need to know as you build up your dynasty leagues, restock your keepers and aim for value plays in redraft leagues as well. For a primer on the series, check out this piece, and for a list of all organizations check here. As always, comments, questions and criticisms are welcome!

Overview: A combination of high draft picks, international signings and savvy trades have left the Cubs with one of the best farm systems in the game. The majority of their Fantasy-relevant talent is at least another season removed from the majors, though, and many of their highest-upside players look more ready to surface in 2015 or 2016. 

Strengths: Depth. The Cubs have 16 or 17 players you could reasonably make a case for as Top 10 names, and many would find their way onto a Top 200 prospect ranking. They have a nice mix of role players (Brett Jackson, Josh Vitters, Junio Lake) who are ready now and high-upside players (Javier Baez, Jorge Soler, several young pitchers) who will contribute later. They're also deep at shortstop, outfield and right-handed pitching. 

Weakness: Proximity and probability. The Cubs are in a unique position in that many of their prospects have a wide gap between their ceilings and floors. Baez, Soler, Jackson, and nearly every pitcher on this list fit the bill, as do exciting youngsters such as Arismendy Alcantara and Jemeir Candelario. It's among the biggest "boom-or--bust" systems in the game. 

Josh Vitters isn't going to be a star, but he figures to be of passing Fantasy relevance at least for 2013. Photo by mwlguide.

CHICAGO CUBS TOP 10 LIST

1) Javier Baez, SS 
Categories: HR, RBI, AVG, OBP, R

When you read scouting reports on Baez, terms such as “Gary Sheffield-like bat speed” and “70 power” pop up. Pair that with a shot to stick at shortstop, at least early in his career, and you get a potential Fantasy monster: albeit a high-risk one. He's essentially where Xander Bogaerts was a year ago, but with less refinement yet even more raw talent. ETA: 2015

2013 Top 10 Fantasy Prospects: San Francisco Giants

Welcome to Prospering Through Prospects' 2013 Top 10 Fantasy Prospects series: an in-depth look at every minor league name you'll need to know as you build up your dynasty leagues, restock your keepers and aim for value plays in redraft leagues as well. For a primer on the series, check out this piece, and for a list of all organizations check here. As always, comments, questions and criticisms are welcome!

Overview: The Giants have done a phenomenal job developing homegrown arms such as Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain and Madison Bumgarner recently, and remember that top Mets prospect Zack Wheeler was largely developed by San Francisco as well. That bodes well for the organization, as the majority of its best minor leaguers right now are starting pitchers. The picture becomes more grim on the offensive side of the ball, where San Francisco's system is among the weakest in the game. 

Strengths: Pitching. Kyle Crick, Clayton Blackburn, Chris Stratton and Mike Kickham project as the next wave of impact Giants pitching talent, although only Crick profiles as someone who can pitch near the front of a rotation. Chris Heston, Erik Surkamp and Martin Agosta have lower ceilings but could serve as back-end rotation pieces soon. 

Weaknesses: Hitting. Gary Brown is the team's best offensive prospect by a longshot, yet he's not a lock to make my Top 100 list. Players such as Andrew Susac, Joe Panik and Francisco Peguero profile more as a backups than starters, while toolsier players like Mac Williamson and Gustavo Cabrera are still far away. 

Gary Brown may not profile as the elite-level CF he once did, but his speed can still be useful to Fantasy owners. Photo by SD Dirk. 

SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS TOP 10 LIST

1) Kyle Crick, RHSP
Categories: K, W, ERA, WHIP

The Giants have yet another impact SP success story on their hands with Crick, who has No. 2 upside if he can better harness his command. The fastball/slider combo is beautiful, and he has a good build and delivery. He's a stud in the making and is easily the best prospect the Giants have had since Zack Wheeler left town. ETA: 2015

2013 Top 10 Fantasy Prospects: San Diego Padres

Welcome to Prospering Through Prospects' 2013 Top 10 Fantasy Prospects series: an in-depth look at every minor league name you'll need to know as you build up your dynasty leagues, restock your keepers and aim for value plays in redraft leagues as well. For a primer on the series, check out this piece, and for a list of all organizations check here. As always, comments, questions and criticisms are welcome!

Overview: The Padres' system was ravaged by injury in 2012, with Casey Kelly, Robbie Erlin, Joe Wieland, Corey Spangenberg, Joe Ross, James Darnell and others all missing significant portions of the season. The good news is that none of the injuries suffered by those players figures to linger into 2013, and the Padres still boast one of the deepest systems of the game. Given their home ballpark, pitchers obviously get the bump over hitters from a Fantasy perspective.

Strengths: Pitching and depth. Seven of the Top 10 and 10 of the Top 15 players on this list are pitchers, and many of them project to be damn good ones. Petco can make an average pitcher, like Erlin, into a good one, a good one, like Kelly, into a great one and a great one, like Fried, into a monster. Fantasy owners should be excited.

Weaknesses: Impact hitters. Rymer Liriano is a potential stud and I'm higher on him than some, but other than that no one in this system profiles as a great Fantasy bat. Gyorko should be decent but loses some appeal at 3B, Spangenberg and Jace Peterson are somewhat one-dimensional players and Austin Hedges is not nearly the same prospect for Fantasy as he is in real life. 

Rymer Liriano isn't the safest bet to reach his lofty ceiling, but he's a potential six-category Fantasy threat, even in Petco Park. Photo by SD Dirk. 

SAN DIEGO PADRES TOP 10 LIST

1) Rymer Liriano, OF
Categories: HR, SB, RBI, AVG, R, OBP

Liriano is an absolute tool shed with All-Star upside but a modest chance of reaching it. You can dream on a .280 average with 25 homers, 20 steals and plus RF defense, but his power hasn’t shown up yet and he has some on-filed maturity issues. He possesses the highest upside of any position player in the Padres system, though, and he could be a Fantasy force even in Petco. Despite the gaudy MiLB numbers, don't expect more than 20 SB per season. ETA: 2014

2013 Top 10 Fantasy Prospects: Los Angeles Dodgers

Welcome to Prospering Through Prospects' 2013 Top 10 Fantasy Prospects series: an in-depth look at every minor league name you'll need to know as you build up your dynasty leagues, restock your keepers and aim for value plays in redraft leagues as well. For a primer on the series, check out this piece, and for a list of all organizations check here. As always, comments, questions and criticisms are welcome!

Overview: 2012 was an interesting season for the Dodgers' farm system, as they lost a good amount of talent through trades yet acquired some his ceiling players through international signings and the draft. Names such as Allen Webster, Ethan Martin, Jerry Sands and Rubby De La Rosa (if eligible) likely would've all made this list if still with the organization, but all are playing elsewhere. Conversely, the two players with the highest upside -- Yasiel Puig and Corey Seager -- were added in 2012, and give the system a much needed infusion of talent. 

Strengths: Useful role players. Guys like Joc Pederson, Zach Lee, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Alex Castellanos and Onelki Garcia won't win you Fantasy leagues, but they can certainly contribute to winning squads. Puig and Seager, on the other hand, are potential Top 50 Fantasy names.  

Weaknesses: Upside. A lot of the Dodgers' first round picks -- see Lee, Chirs Reed and Chris Withrow -- haven't panned out as expected, although they're not devoid of talent. The system is also very shallow, with a big drop off in talent after the first four (or possibly five) names on this list.

Zach Lee may not be an ace in the making, but that doesn't mean he can't be useful to your Fantasy team. Photo by mwlguide. 

LOS ANGELES DODGERS TOP 10 LIST

Yasiel Puig, OF
Categories: HR, SB, RBI, AVG, R

Puig is a physical specimen with four above average to plus tools, but scouts still aren’t sure exactly how the pitch recognition and swing will play. He’s got obvious upside as a Nelson Cruz-type all-around Fantasy force, though. How he'll find playing time in the current Dodgers outfield remains to be seen, though I suppose L.A. could go with some sort of super-platoon in either left or right field. ETA: 2014

2013 Top 10 Fantasy Prospects: Colorado Rockies

Welcome to Prospering Through Prospects' 2013 Top 10 Fantasy Prospects series: an in-depth look at every minor league name you'll need to know as you build up your dynasty leagues, restock your keepers and aim for value plays in redraft leagues as well. For a primer on the series, check out this piece, and for a list of all organizations check here. As always, comments, questions and criticisms are welcome!

Overall Impressions: The Rockies possess one of the most unique farm systems to assess from a Fantasy perspective, as their home ballpark seriously hinders the value of pitchers and boosts the value of hitters. Thankfully for Fantasy owners, those strengths match up well with many of Colorado's top prospects right now, as there's a nice mix of potential offensive Fantasy contributors strewn throughout the Rockies system. The Rockies were also boosted by a strong 2012 draft that saw them nab the second, 11th and 15th players on this list. You can skip this entry if you're looking to improve your WHIP or ERA, but if offense is your cup of tea there's plenty of promise here.  

Strengths: Positional depth. Seven of the Top 10 and nine of the Top 15 prospects on the list are hitters, which is partially due to the Coors effect and partially due to their natural talent. There's a nice mix of power hitters and speeders, high risk/reward and low ceiling/safe players and talents at many different positions. 

Weaknesses: Pitching. Colorad's developed an affinity for soft-tossing lefties, such as Tyler Anderson, Edwar Cabrera, and Jayson Aquino and such player are unlikely to contribute much to the Fantasy world. Players such as Chad Bettis, Tyler Matzek and Peter Tago have more upside, but are not good bets to succeed.

Kyle Parker's impressive power would make him an attractive Fantasy option should he come to call right field at Coors his home. Photo by mwlguide. 

COLORADO ROCKIES TOP 10 LIST 

1) Nolan Arenado, 3B
Categories: AVG, HR, RBI, R, OBP

The Arenado hate coming off of one mediocre year is a little intense, especially considering his home ballpark. Maybe he’s not a star, but Arenado’s hit and power tools have plus potential and he should be ready by June. Don’t give up on him, and expect a significant 2013 impact as well once Chris Nelson falls back to Earth. ETA: 2013

2013 Top 10 Fantasy Prospects: Arizona Diamondbacks

Welcome to Prospering Through Prospects' 2013 Top 10 Fantasy Prospects series: an in-depth look at every minor league name you'll need to know as you build up your dynasty leagues, restock your keepers and aim for value plays in redraft leagues as well. For a primer on the series, check out this piece, and for a list of all organizations check here. As always, comments, questions and criticisms are welcome!

Overall Impressions: The Diamondbacks' farm system was in better shape when the offseason began, with Top 20 prospect Trevor Bauer still intact and the promise of a major haul coming in return for Justin Upton. Now Bauer is gone, replaced by Fantasy non-factor Gregorius, and the package Arizona received for Upton is quite underwhelming. Had they nabbed Taijuan Walker and Nick Franklin from the Mariners, this could've been a Top 5 system. Instead, they're more like a Top 12.

Strengths: Pitching depth, with four or five probably back-end starters. A nice cast of fourth outfielders and flawed but promising infielders.

Weaknesses: Upside from position players -- most profile as regulars, not stars. Lack of promising arms  in the low minors, aside from Archie Bradley.

Chris Owings has flaws, but he's the highest-upside shortstop in the system from a Fantasy perspective. Photo by mwlguide.  

ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS TOP 10 LIST

1) Tyler Skaggs, LHSP
Categories: K, W, ERA, WHIP

Skaggs isn’t a future ace, but he’s among the best LHSP prospects in the game thanks to his upside and floor. He’s a little homer prone, but can be a No. 3/4 Fantasy SP For a long time and he’s ready now. Skaggs is relevant for those in redraft leagues too, although don't bank on him for outstanding immediate results. ETA: 2013

PTP's 2013 Fantasy Top 10 Lists: An Introduction

Welcome to Prospering Through Prospects’ 2013 Top 10 Fantasy prospect series: an in-depth look at every minor league name you need to know as you build up your dynasty leagues, restock your keepers and aim for value in redraft leagues as well.

This page will simply serve as a primer, letting you know what to expect from the series, my qualifications as a prospect analyst and how I determine these Fantasy-specific rankings.

Each organization will include a rundown of a farm system’s Top 10 Fantasy prospects, complete with a 75-word explanation of the ranking, an estimated time of arrival in the majors and a list of the Fantasy categories in which I expect that player to be helpful. The order in which the categories are listed is meant to suggest the categories in which I expect the player to be most useful, and only a standard 6x6 category base comes into play (HR, R, RBI, AVG, OBP, SB and W, K, ERA, WHIP, HLD, SV).

With that out of the way, let's tackle the obvious: Fantasy rankings are different from traditional MLB prospect rankings for several reasons.