Starting 9: Top MLB prospect team of the 2010s
With the decade of the 2010s now complete on the field of play, it’s a good time to look back at the top MLB prospects of the decade. Just because a player was a top MLB prospect doesn’t mean he’ll have an elite major league career, and with many mentioned here, I think that will show to be true!
2010’s MLB Top Prospect Team
Catcher – Jesus Montero
Yankees fans were fairly insufferable at the opening of the decade when it came to their MLB prospect adorning the top of prospect lists. Jesus Montero was the rare catcher receiving top-10 notice, something he held for three straight seasons with Baseball America from 2010-2012 and appeared to be the next big guy to follow Jorge Posada in the Bronx.
Montero’s production was worthy of that note as well, hitting .337/.389/.562 with 17 home runs in just 92 games between High-A and Double-A in 2009 to draw the 2010 ranking as a 19-year-old. He followed that up with seasons of .289/.353/.517 and .288/.348/.467 the next two seasons in AAA at 20 and 21 with 39 combined home runs.
Montero was traded to the Seattle Mariners before the 2012 season, and his size forced him off the catcher position, and his bat was never to the point of an MLB first baseman or designated hitter. He’s spent the last two seasons in the Venezuelan Winter League, but he didn’t find regular-season work in 2019 in Mexico or minor league baseball at age 29.
First Base – Cody Bellinger
The son of former MLB backup Clay Bellinger, Cody Bellinger was known for his impressive defense at first base and the ability to also handle center field as well over his first couple seasons in the minor leagues, hitting for a good average, but seeing most of his power in the form of doubles.
He changed that perception in 2015 with a swing change that brought him 33 doubles and 30 home runs in the California League, but he struck out 150 times over 544 plate appearances and hit just .264, so some were questioning whether that would be a long-term viable swing change. Bellinger showed everyone that it certainly was, improving his plate discipline in his second season with the swing, pounding out 26 home runs in the upper levels of the minors and keeping his strikeouts under 100 over 477 plate appearances. The batting average remained stable, but the power repeating began to show this was real.
Bellinger then went out in the Arizona Fall League in 2016 and hit .314/.424/.557, flashing power with contact, giving prospect rankers an idea that he could be something special, and after ranking #54 for Baseball America entering 2016, he jumped to #7 entering 2017. He beats out Eric Hosmer for this spot.
Second Base – Yoan Moncada
While the thought was initially to move one of the significant list of shortstop prospects to second base for this list, Yoan Moncada was one of the few true second basemen that made multiple top-100 lists in the decade. Not only did he make the lists, but he was also significant on those lists, ranking 3rd in 2016 and 2nd in 2017 for Baseball America.
His minor league production was certainly worth the hype. After being a very highly-paid import from Cuba, Moncada hit .278/.380/.438 in Low-A in 2015 with 8 home runs and 49 stolen bases. He followed that up in 2016, working his way all the way up to the major leagues, hitting .294/.407/.511 between High-A and Double-A with 31 doubles, 15 home runs, and 45 steals.
The Red Sox moved Moncada after that season in the deal that brought Chris Sale to Boston. After struggling to some degree his first two seasons in Chicago, Moncada had one of the quietest elite seasons in recent memory this past year for the White Sox. He put up an impressive .315/.367/.548 line with 34 doubles, 25 home runs, and 10 stolen bases at just 24 years old.
Third Base – Miguel Sano
The debate at third base was the longevity of Miguel Sano over the brief brilliance of Kris Bryant, who was top-15 in the only two lists he appeared on, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who had high ranks in three top-100 lists. In the end, though, six top-100 lists took the cake along with Sano coming into the game as one of the highest-desired Latin American prospects in many years, with the movie Pelotero (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1885335/) even based on him!
Before he played his first professional game, Sano was already a top-100 prospect, ranked as high as #35 by Baseball Prospectus before he’d even played an inning. He didn’t disappoint, slugging 90 home runs in 379 games over the four years that impacted those prospect rankings. He was about to make his major league debut in 2014 when his elbow popped and he missed the 2014 season with Tommy John surgery, yet he was still ranked the #13 prospect in the game before the 2015 season.
Sano has seen his ups and downs as a professional, certainly showing prodigious power, but struggling with plate discipline, contact issues, and keeping his body weight under control to remain at third base. That’s kept him from playing 120 games or coming to the plate 500 times in any professional season, but he’s also hit 118 home runs over 486 MLB games (39 per 162 games).
Shortstop – Carlos Correa
This may have been the toughest position to decide. Choosing Carlos Correa meant that I took him over two guys who were once the top prospect in the game (Jurickson Profar and Corey Seager) as well as a guy like Francisco Lindor, who appeared on more top-100 lists. Correa ended up being the choice here due to his status as a prospect in his three lists, ranking in the top 15 all three lists for Baseball America and not finishing below 30 in a list for any of the three services I sourced (MLB Pipeline, BA, and BP).
Correa certainly performed to earn that praise after being the 2012 top overall pick in the MLB draft, though injury cut short what was a brilliant year in the Cal League for him, where he put up 28 extra-base hits and 20 steals in essentially a half-season. Little did we know then that would become something to expect for Correa, who has been elite when healthy as a pro (35 doubles, 30 HR, 10 SB per 162 games with 129 OPS+), but he’s exceeded 110 games just once in his MLB career.
Left Field – Eloy Jimenez
This was the toughest choice, really being the third spot in the outfield. Eloy Jimenez beat out Kyle Tucker, who had four top-100 selections but never cracked a BA top-10, Mike Trout, who had two elite prospect seasons and three top-100 selections, and Oscar Taveras, who had a similar resume to Trout. Eloy won out due to having three seasons in the top-10 with BP, three in the top-15 with both BA and Pipeline.
In all reality, it’s surprising that Jimenez did not get a top-100 mention in another season, as he really showed well in 2015 in the Northwest League, with stories of balls he hit in that league still legend among teams in the league. Instead, he made his top-100 debut after a 2016 season where he posted a .900+ OPS in Low-A and then held his own in the Arizona Fall League. The following season he was traded midseason from one Chicago organization to the other, finishing with a top-5 ranking and following that with another top-5 ranking before 2019.
Jimenez’s 2019 rookie season opened with struggle and injury, but he finished strong, hitting .308/.342/.575 with 14 home runs over 52 games in August and September.
Center Field – Byron Buxton
When you are in over the top player to come to baseball in at least 50 years and perhaps ever, you were one impressive prospect. Byron Buxton certainly fits that bill, as he was widely regarded as the top player in the 2012 draft, selected 2nd overall by the Twins. He was a top-10 player in rankings in his draft season, which is fairly incredible to consider.
Buxton then followed that with three straight seasons ranked either #1 or #2 on each of the three provider’s list that I viewed from 2014-2016. He produced the stats to earn that praise as well, hitting .334/.424/.520 with 19 doubles, 18 triples, 12 home runs, and 55 stolen bases in 2013 as a 19-year-old across two A-ball levels. Injuries slowed his 2014 and 2015 season, combining for just 103 games between the two years, but he posted 14 doubles, 15 triples, 11 home runs, and 28 stolen bases in those 103 games.
Injuries have marred Buxton’s time in the majors. Arguably the greatest centerfield defender since Andruw Jones left the game, Buxton often finds himself injured on the defensive side of the ball and not fully healthy at the plate. He’s had flashes of brilliance, and even in his injuries, he’s put up 16 home runs and 25 steals per 162 games. If he could stay healthy, it’d be fun to watch what he could do. He’s still just going to be 26 in 2020.
Right Field – Bryce Harper
Not one other player in the decade repeated as the top overall prospect at Baseball America. That clinched Bryce Harper for the outfield spot for me. What’s incredible to consider is that his top ranking coming into 2011 was entirely based on being the top overall draft pick in the 2010 draft and 9 games in the Arizona Fall League, where he hit .343/.410/.629.
Harper had just one full season in the minor leagues, and he was incredible in 2011, hitting .297/.392/.501 with 17 home runs and 26 stolen bases. He followed that up with a second year in the AFL, hitting .333/.400/.634 with 6 home runs and 4 steals.
While he earned the richest free-agent contract in MLB history last offseason, many could argue that Harper’s only given glimpses of stardom and otherwise been a good, but not elite, player. He’s hit .276/.385/.512 over his career with 33 home runs and 13 stolen bases per 162 games.
Rotation – Dylan Bundy, Lucas Giolito, Matt Moore, Alex Reyes, Julio Teheran
In choosing the rotation, I ended up with four righties and one lefty, though that was more by form than by choice. We’ll address them alphabetically.
Dylan Bundy is a guy that shows the volatility of pitchers in lists as he dropped from #15 to #48 between two years for BA while BP moved him up from #15 to #8 in the same season. Bundy was tremendously productive in the minor leagues after making a showcase pair of appearances in 2012 at the end of his first full year. He then went through Tommy John surgery and struggled to come back, eventually falling off lists before having a productive rookie year in 2016. He appeared in five BP lists and peaked at #2 with both BA and Pipeline going into 2013. He’s had an up-and-down pro career with Baltimore, posting a 7.8% walk rate and 22.9% strikeout rate to go with a 4.67 ERA and 1.33 WHIP over 614 1/3 career innings.
Across all three sites I sourced for this piece, Lucas Giolito made 5 top-100 lists, including two seasons inside the top-10 overall on each list. Giolito was brilliant after returning from Tommy John that he had just after being drafted by the Nationals, making the majors in 2016 with the club before the team then sent him to Chicago as part of the trade for Adam Eaton. Giolito had struggled to find his footing in the majors, but 2019 was his breakthrough year, as he posted a 3.41 ERA and 1.06 WHIP over 176 2/3 innings with a 57/228 BB/K.
Few remember this, but before the 2012 season, there was a legitimate debate among three players for the #1 overall spot. Many remember Bryce Harper and Mike Trout competing for that spot, but few remember that Matt Moore was the other pitcher in that mix, actually ranking #1 overall for both Pipeline and BP. Moore had three seasons inside the top-50 overall in the Rays system, including two minor league seasons with 200+ strikeouts. Incredibly, he’s never reached that level in the major leagues as injuries and wavering stuff due to those injuries have plagued his pro career, with a career 4.51 ERA and 1.40 WHIP over 894 2/3 innings with four organizations.
Originally from New Jersey, Alex Reyes went to the Dominican to go through the Latin American signing process, and he immediately was one of the best prospects in the game. Reyes has appeared on six top-100 lists with BP, ranking as high as #1 overall for BP before the 2017 season. Injury before the 2017 season ended up being difficult for Reyes to come back from, and he’s still working his way back, but he’s now exceeded rookie innings limits, so he won’t make any further prospect lists.
The final spot in the rotation did end up going to Julio Teheran, and it was a tough choice among Teheran, Shelby Miller, and Julio Urias. What led to Teheran getting the nod is that Teheran had the run as a top-5 overall prospect for two straight seasons in the middle of his four straight top-100 seasons. Miller had as many seasons but never had as high a ranking in any season and Urias was in fewer lists. Teheran was 18-21 in the four playing seasons that determined his rank on these lists. He’s not been an elite starter in the majors, but he’s quietly been a very reliable starter over his career, making 30 starts in the majors for seven straight seasons now, with a career 3.67 ERA and 1.21 WHIP.
So what do you think? Would you argue any players over the last decade for any of these spots? Comment below!!
Benjamin Chase
After 6 years of writing for FanSided on various sites and offering contributions to various other websites, family changes have encouraged me to start this site. I spend a ton of time watching baseball at all levels, but I love watching minor league baseball on milb.tv as I'm hours away from the closest minor league team. This is an effort of all those games I enjoy on a daily basis!
