I’ll be honest, I don’t really know how to expand on this. All I know is that an idea popped into my head while I was working on something else earlier – “Hey,” this idea said, “it’d be interesting, if completely random and meaningless, to look at Baseball America’s Top 100 prospect list for each year and see which player and rank corresponds with each year.” – and when that happens, it’s often best to just go with it. So that’s what I did.
What you see below is pretty simple: Juden, for example, was the 90th-ranked prospect in 1990, Alvarez was 91st in 1991, and so on. Just a little bit of fun on a Sunday morning, a chance to call attention to some players we don’t always take the time to remember, some who are currently in the spotlight, and some who have a ton of potential going forward.
1990: Jeff Juden, Astros (-0.9)
1991: Wilson Alvarez, White Sox (24.3)
1992: Julian Vasquez, Mets (DNP)
1993: Preston Wilson, Mets (5.2)
1994: B.J. Wallace, Expos (DNP)
1995: Carl Everett, Mets (18.4)
1996: Joe Fontenot, Giants (-0.8)
1997: Bobby Estalella, Phillies (2.9)
1998: Jackson Melian, Yankees (DNP)
1999: Trot Nixon, Red Sox (19.6)
2000: Kenny Kelly, Devil Rays (-0.2)
2001: Josh Hamilton, Devil Rays (20.2)
2002: Mark Prior, Cubs (13.1)
2003: Jose Reyes, Mets (29.3)
2004: Edwin Jackson, Dodgers (10.7)
2005: Joel Guzman, Dodgers (-0.5)
2006: Francisco Liriano, Twins (8.3)
2007: Evan Longoria, Devil Rays (24.1)
2008: Franklin Morales, Rockies (0.9)
2009: Madison Bumgarner, Giants (5.4)
2010: Carlos Santana, Indians (6.1)
2011: Jameson Taillon, Pirates (DNP)
2012: Gerrit Cole, Pirates (DNP)
Photo: What’s Up Duck?
