Crystal Ball: Future Trade Targets v. 1.0

This is the beginning of a series that identifies potential trade targets for the Pirates in the future. Explained is the reasoning behind why the Pirates should look to make a big splash in the trade market in the next few years. This version of the series includes Dylan Bundy, Manny Machado, and Chris Sale.  Immediately after the jump is the primer I will use for the entire series.

Buried Treasure Top 100 Prospects: #1-10

1. Mike Trout 
Position: CF
Team: Los Angeles Angels

Justin Upton, B.J. Upton, Adrian Beltre, Andrew Jones, Edgar Renteria, Alex Rodriguez, Ivan Rodriguez, Ken Griffey Jr., Juan Gonzalez, and Gary Sheffield.  Along with Trout, those 10 players are the entirety of an exclusive club of players who hit a homerun during their respective age 19 seasons.   Excluding the Upton brothers, who are still in the midst of their careers, Trout will end up with at least 38.7 fWAR as long as he doesn’t finish as the ‘worst’ player on this list, behind Juan Gonzalez.  Using the same list of players (excluding the Upton brothers again), if Trout becomes an ‘average’ player, he will end his career with 67.9 fWAR.  Granted, hitting a homerun at a certain age is a seemingly arbitrary statistic, and it is to a degree, but getting to the majors that fast is impressive and indicative of incredible talent.  Trout managed to do that on the back of his impressive hit tool, good plate discipline, and blazing speed that allows him to be an elite defensive centerfielder.  As absurd as it sounds, 67.9 fWAR doesn’t seem too much of a stretch. 

Early MLB Draft Big Board

For more on the 2012 MLB Draft click here.

Earlier, I posted my early 2012 MLB mock draft.The thing about a mock draft is it doesn't accurately portray the author's ranking of draft-eligible talent.  My mock draft was no different, as I tried mto predict how the draft would actually pan out based on several factors, including organizational philosophies and consensus talent perception.  To explain that last bit, I offer an example involving ASU SS Deven Marrero.  MLB.com has him as their #3 draft prospect and for me he barely fits inside my top 10.  Speaking of top 10, that's what I'll be posting including brief reasoning of 'why' for each player.