Snell leads Baseball Prospectus top-10 prospect list

Thursday, Baseball Prospectus released its top-10 prospect list (and related content) for the Rays, and it's free for everyone.

Here is the list, but I would recommend clicking the link to get all the reports.

1. LHP Blake Snell
2. SS Willy Adames
3. RHP Brent Honeywell
4. RHP Taylor Guerrieri
5. OF Garrett Whitley
6. SS Adrian Rondon
7. SS Daniel Robertson
8. C Justin O'Conner
9. 3B Richie Shaffer
10. RHP Jacob Faria

To summarize, Christopher Crawford and the BP Prospect Team says this:

Usually when a system sees marked improvement, it’s from trades or drafts. In the case of Tampa Bay, it’s just a bunch of guys getting a lot, lot better at baseball.

That's a good assessment. In the top 10, I would say Snell, Guerrieri, Shaffer and Faria fit that description the best.

BP also offers five players it describes as interesting. I'm not sure if these are supposed to be player Nos. 11-15, and my personal assumption is now. Those five players are as follows:

• OF Justin Williams: "Justin Williams has plus-plus power potential. Justin Williams has walked 49 times in over 1,000 plate appearances. Which one of of these do you think is a bigger factor in Justin Williams’ stock?"
• C Chris Betts: "I was enamored with Betts for most of the 2015 draft season—he ranked 18th in our final top 125 MLB Draft Prospect list—but others were less enthralled, with one scout calling him a 'rich man’s Gregg Zaun.' I think that scout is insane."
• 1B/OF Jake Bauers: "There’s no law that says a first baseman has to hit for power, but it puts a lot of extra pressure on Bauers’ hit tool."
• RP Brandon Koch: "Still, as a guy with two 65 pitches that he throws for strikes and the stuff to murder-death-kill right-handed hitters, you would definitely have to say that Koch is interesting."
• RHP Cameron Varga: "When he’s at his best, he’ll show two plus pitches, led by a 92-95 four-seam fastball that has some sink and good plane. He’ll also show a 12-6 curveball with good shape and spin, but he doesn’t always finish the delivery, so that will range from a 40-to-60 offering, depending on the day."

If you're wondering where Casey Gillaspie is, they have your answer:

If Gillaspie played any position but first base, he would have made the top 10, but he doesn’t, so he didn’t. The 2014 first-round pick shows a smooth stroke from both sides of the plate, and while there’s not a ton of bat speed, his ability to stay in the zone and his strong understanding of that zone make the hit tool above average.

They close with a nice feature that BP is known for on their prospect pieces -- the best players in the organization under 25:

1. CF Kevin Kiermaier
2. LHP Blake Snell
3. SS Willy Adames
4. RHP Erasmo Ramirez
5. IF Nick Franklin
6. RHP Brent Honeywell
7. RHP Taylor Guerrieri
8. OF Garrett Whitley
9. SS Adrian Rondon
10. SS Daniel Robertson

Again, I would go check out BP for all of the information they offer. Few offer as much information as their staff.