2013 Fantasy Baseball: Top 10 Prospects From 2013 MLB Draft
Top Fantasy Baseball Prospects In 2013 MLB Draft
This past week fantasy baseball dynasty league owners were glued to their televisions as the 2013 MLB Draft was underway. The draft is a great way to find young stars to build a team around and this year's draft had some real five-star prospects.
First Round Recap:
1. Houston Astros – RHP Mark Appel
2. Chicago Cubs – 3B Kris Bryant
3. Colorado Rockies – RHP Jonathan Gray
4. Minnesota Twins – RHP Kohl Stewart
5. Cleveland Indians – OF Clint Frazier
6. Miami Marlins – 3B Colin Moran
7. Boston Red Sox – LHP Trey Ball
8. Kansas City Royals – SS Hunter Dozier
9. Pittsburgh Pirates – OF Austin Meadows
10. Toronto Blue Jays – RHP Phil Bickford
11. New York Mets – 1B Dominic Smith
12. Seattle Mariners – 3B D.J. Peterson
13. San Diego Padres – OF Hunter Renfroe
14. Pittsburgh Pirates – C Reese McGuire
15. Arizona Diamondbacks – RHP Braden Shipley
16. Philadelphia Phillies – SS J.P. Crawford
17. Chicago White Sox – SS Tim Anderson
18. Los Angeles Dodgers – RHP Chris Anderson
19. St. Louis Cardinals – LHP Marco Gonzales
20. Detroit Tigers – RHP Jonathan Crawford
21. Tampa Bay Rays – C Nick Ciuffo
22. Baltimore Orioles – RHP Hunter Harvey
23. Texas Rangers – RHP Alex Gonzalez
24. Oakland Athletics – OF Billy McKinney
25. San Francisco Giants – SS Christian Arroyo
26. New York Yankees – 3B Eric Jagielo
27. Cincinnati Reds – OF Phil Ervin
28. St. Louis Cardinals – LHP Rob Kaminsky
29. Tampa Bay Rays – RHP Ryne Stanek
30. Texas Rangers – SS Travis Demeritte
31. Atlanta Braves – RHP Jason Hursh
32. New York Yankees – OF Aaron Judge
33. New York Yankees – LHP Ian Clarkin
10. 1B Dominic Smith, New York Mets
1B Dominic Smith, New York Mets – New York grabbed Smith with the 11th pick and the first baseman has a powerful left-handed swing that is reminiscent of Will Clark. He has amazing balance throughout his swing and is the definition of a power hitter.
It is not hard to figure out why the Mets grabbed Smith in the first round, and that reason is Ike Davis. Davis was recently demoted to the minors, which has left the team without a long-term solution at the position. Smith will likely still be a couple years away from the show, but make no doubt about, he will make fantasy fans quickly forget the name Ike Davis.
9. OF Austin Meadows, Pittsburgh Pirates
OF Austin Meadows, Pittsburgh Pirates – Meadows is coming off a senior season at Grayson High School in which he had a .535 batting average, 14 doubles, one triple, four home runs, and 28 RBIs. His power numbers may not have been as jaw-dropping as scouts would have liked, but it is hard to argue with a kid that hit over .500.
Meadows will have all the time in the world to develop his power swing withAndrew McCutchen and Starling Marte roaming the outfield in Pittsburgh. Frazier is a natural outfielder, though, so expect him to make his MLB debut by 2015.
8. OF Clint Frazier, Cleveland Indians
3B Clint Frazier, Cleveland Indians – Frazier is another high school bat that went in the first round this year, but he is perhaps the best all-around hitting prospect. He has lightning quick bat speed and has mastered the art of sitting on a fastball. He has been compared to Mike Trout due to his natural hitting stance and above average speed on the bases.
7. SP Trey Ball, Boston Red Sox
SP Trey Ball, Boston Red Sox – Ball was a bit of a shocker by the Bo Sox in this year's draft, as most pundits had them picking Austin Meadows. However, at six-foot-six, Ball is a pure athlete. The high school talent from Indiana plays both ways, but has drawn the most praise this past year for his arm.
Ball was 6-0 with the New Castle Trojans this past year and amassed a jaw-dropping 93 K’s through 46 innings of work. He has a fastball that can be top out at 95 MPH on the radar gun, and considering that he is a southpaw, Ball will be one of the most coveted pitchers to come out of the entire draft.
6. 3B Colin Moran, Miami Marlins
3B Colin Moran, Miami Marlins – Moran is the best contact hitter in this draft class and has been the key contributor to North Carolina's top-ranked baseball team. Moran is leading the nation with 88 RBIs to along with an incredible .343 batting average.
The All-American has amazing bat speed, despite his unconventional swing. He is also very disciplined at the plate, but will need to work on perfecting his defensive skills at third. Moran has true 25-home run potential, though, so dynasty league owners should take a long look at the slugger.
5. SP Braden Shipley, Arizona Diamondbacks
SP Braden Shipley, Arizona Diamondbacks – Of all the pitchers selected in the draft this year, Shipley probably has the best raw stuff. His fastball has topped out at 98 MPH on the radar gun and averages around 93-95 MPH. The ball explodes out of his hand and the action on it is simply nasty.
Over his career at Nevada, Shipley went 17-7 with a 2.77 ERA and 203 strikeouts in 216 innings of work. He shot up prospect rankings in recent seasons and has quickly become one of the best arms in the nation.
4. SP Kohl Stewart, Minnesota Twins
SP Kohl Stewart, Minnesota Twins – Despite planning to be a quarterback with the Texas A&M Aggies, Stewart decided to pursue his baseball career instead. The fact that he has also been a football player will do wonders for his baseball career though. He will be a have a much tougher arm and the former signal caller will be a much more mobile on the bump.
Stewart has a mid-level fastball that averages 91-94 MPH on the radar gun. He also features a filthy slider that allowed him to fan 59 batters in 40 innings of work this year at St. Pius X. Dynasty league owners should consider Stewart a top-30 pitching prospect and one of the best arms in Minnesota's farm system.
3. 3B Kris Bryant, Chicago Cubs
3B Kris Bryant, Chicago Cubs – Chicago grabbed the two-time All-American third baseman from the University of San Diego second overall in this year's draft. Bryant hit .329 through his junior season, but his most glaring stat was the phenomenal 31 home runs he bashed. Bryant has the potential to be an Evan Longoria-like bat and the thumper fits in perfectly at Wrigley Field.
2. SP Jonathan Gray, Colorado Rockies
SP Jonathan Gray, Colorado Rockies – Gray is the one true workhorse in this draft class. He had a 10-2 record this year with a sizzling 1.59 ERA. His fastball lives in the upper-90s and has even been recorded over 100 MPH. Gray may not have drawn the attention of Mark Appel, but the Oklahoma Sooner hurler is perhaps the safest prospect in the entire draft.
1. SP Mark Appel, Houston Astros
SP Mark Appel, Houston Astros – After passing on Appel last year to draft SS Carlos Correa, Houston decided to grab the Stanford star first overall in the 2013 MLB Draft.
Appel once again dominated the Pac-12 this year. He finished with a 10-4 record and an untouchable 2.12 ERA. The six-foot-five righty has an above average fastball, but he also mixes in a filthy slider and a changeup that is slowly coming around. His fastball may not top out at 100 MPH, but Appel can hit 94 on the radar gun all day long.
Appel has true front-of-the-rotation stuff and will continue to be one of the highest owned prospects in all of fantasy.
