Prospect ranking season continued Tuesday with FanGraphs’ list of the top 200 prospects.
Kris Bryant topped FanGraphs ranking and the Cubs landed 11 total players among the top 200 prospects. For comparison, Keith Law had four Cubs in his top 100, seven Cubs ended up in Baseball Prospectus’ top 101 list and MLB Pipeline placed six Cubs prospects in its top 100 ranking.
The Cubs and Braves had the most players from one organization in FanGraphs ranking followed by the Red Sox, Reds, Mets and Rangers, each with 10 players in the top 200.
Kris Bryant (1), Addison Russell (3), Jorge Soler (13), Kyle Schwarber (21), C.J. Edwards (64), Albert Almora (92), Duane Underwood (124) and Pierce Johnson (125) were ranked in the first 142 players.
The backend of FanGraphs list, or the final 58, were grouped together without a numerical ranking, those prospects have a Future Value on the higher side of 45 and included Dan Vogelbach, Billy McKinney and Gleyber Torres.
Kiley McDaniel tiered his ranking by dividing the players by Future Value.
According to FanGraphs, Kris Bryant is one of two prospects with a Future Value (FV) of 70, the other is the Twins’ Byron Buxton. Addison Russell, at No. 3, was grouped along with LHP Julio Urias (Dodgers), SS Carlos Correa (Astros), SS/3B Corey Seager (Dodgers), RHP Lucas Giolito (Nationals) and LHP Carlos Rodon (White Sox) in the second tier with a 65 FV.
Kiley McDaniel did an excellent job with assigning a scouting grade to each of the prospect’s tools. McDaniel used the 20-80 scouting scale and explained 70 is plus-plus, 60 is plus, 55 is above average, 50 is average and 45 is below average, 80 is the top of the scale and does not need an explanation “because it’s so rare and special it doesn’t need another name.”
- Complete List of FanGraphs Top 200 Prospects for 2015 with Scouting Reports
- FanGraphs Top 200 Prospects: The Process and Introduction
Here’s how FanGraphs sees the Cubs’ prospects with current and possible future grades.
Kris Bryant, 3B (1)
Hit: 40/50+ Raw Power: 75/80 Game Power: 55/70 Run: 50/45 Field: 40/45+ Throw: 60/60 Future Value: 70
Addison Russell, SS (3)
Hit: 30/55 Raw Power: 60/60 Game Power: 30/55 Run: 55/55 Field: 50/55 Throw: 55/55 Future Value: 65
Jorge Soler, OF (13)
Hit: 50/60 Raw Power: 65/65 Game Power: 55/65 Run: 50/45 Field: 45/45+ Throw: 55/55 Future Value: 60
Kyle Schwarber, LF/C (21)
Hit: 30/55 Raw Power: 70/70 Game Power: 40/60 Run: 40/40 Field: 40/45+ Throw: 50/50 Future Value: 60
C.J. Edwards, RHP (64)
Fastball: 55/60 Curveball: 40/50 Changeup: 50/55 Command: 40/50 Future Value: 55
Albert Almora, OF (92)
Hit: 20/50+ Raw Power: 55/55 Game Power: 20/50 Run: 55/55 Field: 60/65 Throw: 60/60 Future Value: 50
Duane Underwood, RHP (124)
Fastball: 60/65 Curveball: 50/55 Changeup: 50/60 Command: 40/50 Future Value: 50
Pierce Johnson, RHP (125)
Fastball: 55/60 Curveball: 55/60 Changeup: 45/50+ Command: 40/45+ Future Value: 50
FanGraphs posted its list of the top 31 prospects in the Cubs’ system in late October. FanGraphs top 10 Cubs prospects for the 2015 season are Kris Bryant, Addison Russell, Jorge Soler, Kyle Schwarber, Albert Almora, C.J. Edwards, Duane Underwood, Pierce Johnson, Gleyber Torres and Billy McKinney.
2015 Cubs Prospect Rankings
- Cubs Land Seven Players in Baseball Prospectus’ Top 101 Prospect List
- Baseball America’s Top 31 Cubs Prospects for 2015
- Compiling the Cubs Prospects Lists
- FanGraphs Ranks the Top 31 Prospects in Cubs System
- Baseball Prospectus: 2015 Top 10 Cubs Prospects
- Minor League Ball’s Top Cubs Prospects for 2015
- Baseball America’s Top 10 Cubs Prospects for 2015
- Keith Law’s Top 10 Cubs Prospects for 2015
2015 Organizational Rankings
- Baseball Prospectus Ranks Cubs System the Best in the Game
- Cubs System Ranked No. 1 by Baseball America
- Cubs Retain No. 1 Spot in Keith Law’s Farm System Rankings
- Cubs Top The Sporting News Organizational Rankings