And you thought that listing 45 prospects was enough for me today? Think again, my friends. I'm going to start getting through some AL Central teams today, as we look forward to releasing a duo of top-100 lists from me and fellow BtB contributor Dave Gershman. Also, don't forget that me and Dave will be doing side-by-side lists for a few of the top farm systems in the game- Kansas City, Toronto, Tampa Bay, Atlanta and the Yankees. So don't get too flustered we get through the AL East and you start thinking, "Where the hell are the other three teams, you knucklehead?"
Also, there are links to the other top-15 lists at the bottom of the page, and thanks for reading.
CHICAGO WHITE SOX
1) LHP Chris Sale
2) 3B Brent Morel
3) OF Jared Mitchell
4) SS Eduardo Escobar
5) RHP Jacob Petricka
6) 1B/3B Dayan Viciedo
7) RHP Addison Reed
8) C Miguel Gonzalez
9) OF Trayce Thompson
10) RHP Anthony Carter
11) OF Brandon Short
12) C Josh Phegley
13) RHP Gregory Infante
14) SS Tyler Saladino
15) C/1B Tyler Flowers
This is obviously a very weak system. Morel is a nice player and potentially solid long-term regular at third base, but there's minimal star power and that's just not what you want from your No. 2 prospect. Mitchell certainly brings some impact potential to the table, but we still have to see where he's at after missing 2010, particularly given how much of his game relied on speed and athleticism. Sale is a elite pitching prospect, so at least they have one guy that other teams can really salivate over, but generally speaking this is one of the worst farm systems in the game. White Sox fans are probably somewhat used to this by now, though; Chicago is routinely rated among the worst farm systems in the game.
CLEVELAND INDIANS
1) 3B Lonnie Chisenhall
2) LHP Drew Pomeranz
3) 2B Jason Kipnis
4) RHP Alex White
5) RHP Jason Knapp
6) OF Nick Weglarz
7) RHP Joe Gardner
8) OF LeVon Washington
9) RHP Bryce Stowell
10) SS Tony Wolters
11) LHP Nick Hagadone
12) 2B/OF Cord Phelps
13) C Chen-Hsui Chen
14) RHP Kyle Blair
15) C Alex Lavisky
Considering how bad the Indians are going to be this year, you'd expect fans to be able to turn to the farm system for some hope. And while they certainly can, this system is also somewhat underwhelming on some levels. They have a strong top five, but they also don't have any one elite can't-miss guy; there's nobody that really deserves an A-grade. Chisenhall, Kipnis and Weglarz are presumably expected to help anchor the next contending Indians lineup. Pomeranz, White and Knapp all have true impact potential as pitchers. But the list begins to dip pretty quickly after those six guys, and frankly I don't love their array of high-risk/high-reward guys at the lower levels. It's a decent system, but I'd be somewhat frustrated right now if I was a Cleveland sports fan. Notice how I did that without even mentioning Le-You-Know-Who.
DETROIT TIGERS
1) RHP Jacob Turner
2) 3B Nick Castellanos
3) OF Daniel Fields
4) LHP Andy Oliver
5) 3B Francisco Martinez
6) LHP Casey Crosby
7) LHP Daniel Schlereth
8) RHP Chance Ruffin
9) OF Avisail Garcia
10) LHP Drew Smyly
11) OF Danry Vasquez
12) RHP Brayan Villareal
13) RHP Jose Ortega
14) RHP Bruce Rondon
15) OF Casper Wells
Another system that's pretty top-heavy. Turner and Castellanos are excellent prospects, and I really like Fields, but in general this system dips pretty quickly. The team's 5-6-7 prospects all have clear question marks; scouts differ on Martinez's upside, Crosby's health track record is horrid, and Schlereth is a power reliever but may not necessarily be closer material. One thing you can't complain about is the club's ability to recognize and sign elite talent in the draft's early rounds; Castellanos, Ruffin, Turner and Oliver were all first- or second-round picks in the past two drafts.