Jan. 29, 2010
Keith Law of ESPN.com and ESPN Scouts, Inc. recently released his top 100 Major League Baseball prospects heading into the 2010 season. He also included a list of 10 more prospects that just missed the final cut, including former Irish center fielder A.J. Pollock – 2009 MLB first round pick of the Arizona Diamondbacks.
According to Law, Pollock, amongst others, earned serious consideration but didn’t make the cut for one reason or another and included brief notes on why he wasn’t in the top 100 and a thought or two on his future.
“He could very well jump into the middle of the list next year. He’s an athletic college kid who plays in the middle of the field and handles the bat well. Arizona pushed several of its draftees aggressively in their first summers, and Pollock, like Matt Davidson and Bobby Borchering, didn’t have great results. I’ve said this elsewhere, but I could see Arizona adding four or five guys to next year’s master list.”
The rankings are limited to players who still have rookie eligibility; that means they have yet to exceed 130 at-bats or 50 innings pitched in the majors and have not yet spent 45 days on the active roster of a major league club, excluding call-ups during the roster expansion period after Sept. 1. Only players who have signed professional contracts are eligible. When ranking players, Law consider scouting reports on players — usually his own, supplementing with conversations with other scouts and front-office executives as needed — as well as performance, adjusted for age and context. He’s made one adjustment in my ranking philosophy, favoring higher-upside prospects over lower-ceiling prospects that are closer to the majors. This better reflects how these players are valued now by front offices and scouting departments and gives him a chance to deliver more information on prospects whose names or scouting reports might be new to you.
— ND —