Here are the Rays that managed to crack the Baseball America Top 100 list:
6. Desmond Jennings, OF18. Jeremy Hellickson, RHP34. Wade Davis, RHP35. Matt Moore, LHP54. Reid Brignac, SS67. Tim Beckham, SS68. Alex Colome, RHP
Considering the Rays had only five prospects in Baseball America's Top 100 list last year (and graduated one of them in David Price) and did not have a high first-round draft pick this past season, I'd say it's pretty impressive that they managed to have so many players make this list. It speaks to the depth of talent in the Rays' minor league system and the front office's emphasis on player development.
For comparison's sake, here are the 2009 Baseball America rankings for the prospects not named David Price:
28. Tim Beckham32. Wade Davis78. Reid Brignac80. Desmond Jennings
Jennings, Hellickson, and Moore certainly climbed a long way in a year, while Beckham has had the largest tumble. Davis is about status quo, though, and Brignac improved his ranking with a strong showing in Triple-A last year.
Of course, the big question in my mind is: should Jennings be ranked higher? Here on DRaysBay we heard from Frankie Piliere last month, who ranked Jennings as the number three prospect in all of baseball. I think that in the end, it doesn't matter if you rank Jennings at two, four, or nine. Regardless of the exact rank, once you get into the single-digits you're looking at players that have top-tier talent and the potential to become stars.
For the list of the Top 10 Rays prospects according to Baseball America, go here.
FreeZo update:
Below is a comparison of where various top 100's have Rays prospects ranked. Included are Baseball America, Keith Law, Frankie Pilliere, and projectprospect.com:
|
BA |
KL |
FP |
PP |
|
|
Jeremy Hellickson |
18 |
17 |
10 |
77 |
|
Wade Davis |
34 |
15 |
17 |
28 |
|
Desmond Jennings |
6 |
6 |
3 |
2 |
|
Matt Moore |
35 |
81 |
- |
- |
|
Tim Beckham |
67 |
29 |
77 |
- |
|
Reid Brignac |
54 |
- |
- |
- |
|
Alex Colome |
68 |
- |
- |
- |
|
Matt Sweeney |
- |
68 |
- |
83 |