Top 100 Prospect Snubs: NL East

With the AL snubs out of the way, it’s time to look at the players in NL East organizations who couldn’t quite make the cut for this year’s top 100 prospects.

Atlanta Braves 

Top 100 Prospects: RHP Julio Teheran (#7), RHP Randall Delgado (#21), RHP Arodys Vizcaino (#55), SS Tyler Pastornicky (#100)

LHP Carlos Perez—Perez was just off my list at the time I made it, but upon more reflection, he’s probably more in the 150-200 range. A high-upside lefty, he’s still a bit too erratic to be a top 100 kind of guy.

SS Andrelton Simmons—He doesn’t strike out, so he should hit for average, but I’m not convinced that Simmons is going to be much more than another Alcides Escobar.

C Christian Bethancourt—His up-and-down track record and complete lack of plate discipline make him too much of a risk for my taste at this point.

New York Mets 

Top 100 Prospects: RHP Matt Harvey (#45), RHP Zack Wheeler (#51), RHP Jeurys Familia (#54)

OF Brandon Nimmo—I took a conservative approach with ranking draftees this year, so Nimmo was left out. Like any high school player, he carries a significant amount of risk, and he’s not quite at the elite talent level of someone like Bubba Starling to outweigh that. Like the other 2011 draftees I left off, he could certainly earn his way on with a strong full-season debut.

LHP Juan Urbina—Urbina pitched well in Rookie ball as an 18-year-old, and he gets good scouting reviews, but neither his stats nor his reports are strong enough to justify ranking such a raw, far-away pitcher in the top 100.

Washington Nationals

Top 100 Prospects: OF Bryce Harper (#3), 3B Anthony Rendon (#10), 2B Steve Lombardozzi (#66), LHP Robbie Ray (#81)

RHP Alex Meyer–Huge guy, huge upside, huge bust potential, a la Andrew Brackman. Another 2011 first-rounder, he’s got to show he can get the ball over the plate in pro ball. He’s a lot like a far less proven version of Dellin Betances.

LHP Matt Purke–Given the oddity of his pre-professional track record, there’s a lot of confusion regarding how good Matt Purke actually is. He also didn’t show well in the AFL (although that was obviously after I made the list). Overall, he’s another wait-and-see guy; he could be in the top 35 next year, or he could be mostly written off.

Philadelphia Phillies

Top 100 Prospects: RHP Trevor May (#34), RHP Julio Rodriguez (#67)

LHP Jesse Biddle—Biddle nearly made the list. I’ve never been a particularly huge fan, but he stacks up well compared to a lot of the snubs in terms of size, mechanics, arsenal, skillset, and statistics. His worse than 2/1 K/BB ratio in Low-A doesn’t impress, though; few pitchers that far from the majors can make a top 100 list without at least 2/1.

RHP Tyler Cloyd—A really interesting control artist, Cloyd posted a 138/22 K/BB across two levels, and he’s got a solid three-pitch mix. But he’s 24, doesn’t have “plus” stuff, and has yet to see Triple-A.

LHP Ervis Manzanillo—Possibly the worst prospect you’ll see on the snubs list. He’s kind of like Biddle, except his K/BB is even worse, he’s smaller, and scouts never mention him as a prospect. A deep sleeper, perhaps, but the only reason I even wrote his name down is because I thought “Well, here’s a guy with 8 K/9 in full-season ball as a teenager. That’s interesting.”

Miami Marlins 

Top 100 Prospects: OF Marcell Ozuna (#71), OF Christian Yelich (#94)

LHP Chad James—A lot like Biddle, in that I’ve never really been a fan, but he surprised me with how well he compared to a lot of the 100-200 guys. But, in the end, his 2011 performance doesn’t blow you away, and his arsenal doesn’t really advance his case.

RHP Jose Fernandez—2011 draftee, wait and see approach. You know the drill.

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