Buried Treasure Top 100 Prospects: #91-101

91. Jose Campos
Position: SP
Team: New York Yankees
 
Arguably the biggest trade in the offseason involved the Yankees sending their top prospect catcher Jesus Montero to the Mariners in exchange for their young stud pitcher Michael Pineda. Each team also got an extra player in the trade. The Mariners received Hector Noesi while the Yankees received pitching prospect Jose Campos. Campos's best pitch is his fastball, which sits in the low 90's and reaches as high as the mid 90's. Campos is also a good candidate to add velocity to his fastball – which also has heavy life – due to a skinny 6'4 frame that has room for added muscle. A slider and a curveball round on Campos's arsenal. The slider flashes plus largely due to late bite. The curveball is raw, but has a chance to be a weapon against left-handed hitters down the road. Campos also commands his pitches well. Based on his stuff and project-ability, Campos has a huge ceiling. His ability to refine his pitches and further improve his command will dictate if he reaches it.

Buried Treasure Top 100 Prospects: #81-90

81. Jeurys Familia
Position: SP
Team: New York Mets

Familia excites scouts and fans alike with premium stuff and project-ability. His fastball touches 99 mph on occasion and sits comfortably in the mid 90's. The heater also has nice sinking and cutting action to go along with it's plus velocity, making it a lethal pitch. Along with his fastball, Familia throws an average, but inconsistent breaking ball that flashes above-average. The Mets prospect rounds out his arsenal with a raw, fringy changeup that at times displays promising sinking action. At the moment, Familia is more of a thrower than a pitcher. He's raw, especially in the control and command department. In fact, Familia's upside is currently limited to a mid-rotation starter or power reliever if he's unable to refine his command. That said, Familia still does have a bit of time to develop and there's no denying his top-of-the-rotation stuff.

OT: March Madness

I'm currently watching Syracuse play Wisconsin and Michigan State battling Louisville in some Sweet Sixteen action.  Figured I'd use this blog to ramble about it a bit.  Oh, I'm also watching the Pittsburgh Penguins playing the Nashville Predators.  Speaking of the Pens, I'll start there.  The Pens are nasty, especially now that Crosby is (fingers crossed) healthy.  It's ridiculous he's the Pens third line center.  Obviously that's to keep line chemistry and it makes sense.  It would be foolish to break up Neal - Malkin - Kunitz.  Plus, Cooke and Kennedy are talented enough to play with Crosby; his talent isn't being "wasted."  Furthermore, the Penguins can put Crosby, Malkin, Kunitz, Neal, and Letang on the ice for a power play and that's just silly stupid.  Their defense is solid and Fleury has been playing well.  I'll go bold and say the Pens are the team to beat in the entire NHL.  As I write this, they are up 3-0.

Draft Preview: The Youngin's Part 2

Everyone loves youth.  Tony La Russa may disagree with that statement, but he's part of a small minority.  The younger the player, the more time he has to grow and to develop.  It means a higher ceiling, well at least a higher perceived ceiling.  Ultimately, a player is going to be drafted based on several factors other than the date on his birth certificate.  Still, when it comes to the draft, youth is never going to be looked at as a fault. 

Draft Preview: The Youngin's Part 1

Everyone loves youth.  Tony La Russa may disagree with that statement, but he's part of a small minority.  The younger the player, the more time he has to grow and to develop.  It means a higher ceiling, well at least a higher perceived ceiling.  Ultimately, a player is going to be drafted based on several factors other than the date on his birth certificate.  Still, when it comes to the draft, youth is never going to be looked at as a fault. 

In the 2012 draft class, seven prep players stand out as being both a top draft prospect and extremely young.  That list consists of Carlos Correa, C.J Hinojosa, Carson Kelly, Rhett Wiseman, Cody Poteet, Daniel Starwalt, and Anthony Alford.  Carlos Correa was part of my first mock draft and was also profiled earlier here.  C.J. Hinojosa and Carson Kelly (along with Correa) will be included in my mock draft 2.0.  That leaves Wiseman, Poteet, Starwalt, and Alford to profile.  Up first, Starwalt and Alford.

Daniel Starwalt - Daniel Starwalt is the youngest player in Baseball America's top 100 draft prospects that came out on the first of February.  Starwalt, who Baseball America ranks 81st, won't turn 18 until February 7th of 2013! The right-handed pitcher, who currently attends Granite Hills High School in El Cajon, California is an excellent prospect.  That's clear by his commitment to Stanford which should make him a hard player to sign, especially with the new CBA.  Starwalt might be good enough that some team will try, however.  He currently stands at an impressive 6'3, 210 lbs and throws two intriguing pitches.  The first is a fastball that already touches 95 mph and the second is a curveball that flashes a sharp break and late bite, while coming in on hitters in the 78-80 mph range. 

Anthony Alford - Anthony Alford is also young, hence why he's profiled in this article.  He'll turn 18 about a month after the draft on July 20th.  Alford is both an excellent baseball prospect and a coveted high school quarterback.  Baseball American ranks him 89th on their list and ESPNU ranks him as the 95th best player in the class of 2012 in football. From Petal, Mississippi, Alford is committed to play both football and baseball for his homestate Southern Mississippi.  The Golden Eagles will have to hope he ends up on campus and not in fall instructionals for a baseball team next year, because make no mistake, that's a strong possibility.  Alford is a tremendous athlete who should be able to play centerfield with ample arm for the position.  While Alford is very raw and is more of an athlete than a baseball player at this point, he does have a quick swing backed by plenty of raw power than will be intriguing to some team come June.

Extension Candidate Not Named Neil Walker

How about this guy?

I've said this a lot over the last week, but I'll say it again.  The Pirates signed Andrew McCutchen to an extension! Great news for the Pirates undoubtedly, but Neal Huntington's work is far from done.  Before the ink could even dry on McCutchen's contract the focus shifted to contract extension talks with second baseman Neil Walker.  MLB Trade Rumors immediately detailed what an extension would look like, seemingly justifying such a move. David Todd over at Bucs Dugout offered his theory that such an extension is probably a poor idea.  According to Walker himself, the talks haven't "gone very far" yet. 

#1 Prospect - Jameson Taillon

Very few big league clubs have a pitching talent like Gerrit Cole.  The Pirates are lucky to have two guys that can claim that elite status.  The second is my top Pirates prospect, Jameson Taillon.  Ultimately, it's not much of a surprise that Taillon is one of the top prospects in baseball.  His name was firmly placed on the map when the Pirates drafted him #2 overall back in 2010 as a prep pitcher out of the Woodlands High School in Texas, the same school that Kyle Drabek attended.  There wasn't much drama involved in signing Taillon, although he did wait until mid-August to forgo his commitment to Rice and instead take a 6.5 million dollar signing bonus.