What does a Top 100 prospect mean?

Honestly, nothing.  A prospect being ranked in the Top 100 by any of the major publications is just an opinion, and not a promise.  There’s never any guarantees.

But generally, if a player makes a Top 100 ranking across all of MLB, there’s a hint that such a player goes from being a major league prospect to a potential impact player.  Teams need players of all types, but the Top 100 types go beyond that.  They could be the impact players.  The stars that teams need.

In some ways, they’ve become more valuable than ever.  These players used to be the key prizes in trades.  But in the past offseason, they’ve almost entirely been off the table.

This means that if a team is going to get Top 100 prospects, more than ever they need to draft or sign them, and develop them themselves.

So it’s worth looking at the players who get honored as Top 100 prospects, and perhaps see some future stars.

For the Giants this year, eight different players got honored with Top 100 rankings across the six different major publications: Baseball America, Baseball Prospectus, ESPN, FanGraphs, MLB Pipeline, and The Athletic.  However, there were two distinctive groups: The Consensus of three players that made every list, and then The Others, only one of whom made more than one list.

So here’s the Top 100s for the Giants this year.

THE CONSENSUS:

Marco Luciano

RANKINGS: BA: 12 – BP: 8 – ESPN: 7 – FG: 11 – MLB: 16 – TA: 31

What they’re saying:

Luciano is one of the game’s most electrifying prospects.

– Baseball America

Luciano has a shot for real defensive value and shows rare pitch selection and contact skills for someone with these loud raw tools, since they often just lean on their tools for so long that they don’t learn the skills (pitch selection, swing adjustability, etc.) that you need in the big leagues.

– ESPN

Because of how close you can sit next to the field there, you can feel the sonic force of bat-to-ball impact radiate into your body. When Marco Luciano connects, you feel it to your core. He is not normal…And while he already generates plenty of it, Luciano’s square-shouldered frame indicates more power might be coming.

– FanGraphs

No one has doubts that Marco Luciano is the Giants’ best prospect since Buster Posey…and maybe longer.  And there’s mostly a high consensus on him, ranking from #7 (from Kiley McDaniel of ESPN) to #16 (MLB), with the one outlier being Keith Law at The Athletic, ranking him back at #31.

There are still warnings of potential flameouts, but Luciano gains praise all around for the raw power and batspeed he generates, and his baseball IQ.  The biggest questions are of course around his defense, which could keep him at shortstop or land him at third, and there’s a serious split about the near-term future for him.  There are still questions about his hit tool, and mostly a desire to see him prove himself at higher levels.  But regardless of the questions, everyone agrees that his ceiling is above all-star, and to the level of true superstar.

Joey Bart

RANKINGS: BA: 41 – BP: 29 – ESPN: 32 – FG: 55 – MLB: 23 – TA: 41

What They’re Saying:

Bart only debuted out of need, and his lack of experience really showed, especially once pitchers adjusted to him and started pounding him with soft stuff away.

– The Athletic

Bart is a big, strong hitter who can impact the ball with tremendous force, but he still needs refinement.

– Baseball America

Bart has progressed from a high schooler with questions as to whether he could stay behind the plate to a potential Gold Glover. He has worked hard on his defense and has become a quality receiver who blocks balls well and displays a strong, accurate arm.

– MLB

Joey Bart got burned in the Majors in 2020 in a rushed debut, and some evaluators dinged him big-time for it, while others remain high on him.  MLB Pipeline kept him high at #23 (He was #11 in 2020), but Fan Graphs dropped him all the way to #55.  His time in the Majors led to major questions about his ability to adjust to big league pitching and handle hard pitches inside.

What has stood out is Bart’s adjustments in other ways.  When he was drafted, there were questions about his defensive ability.  But he has adjusted that, with MLB calling him out for Gold Glove potential since he moves well and has a strong arm.  He’s also long been praised for his game-calling ability and leadership behind that plate.

Heliot Ramos

RANKINGS: BA: 83 – BP: 32 – ESPN: 62 – FG: 61 – MLB: 82 – TA: 58

What They’re Saying:

Ramos doesn’t have one standout tool, but also doesn’t have any glaring weaknesses in his game.

– Baseball America

He’s an aggressive hitter who can be all-or-nothing at the plate, with good enough hand-eye coordination that he’ll hit for some average, and plus power even with a high strikeout rate.

– The Athletic

Built like a boulder stacked on two Iberico hams, Ramos is already slowing down, and he was an average runner in the 2019 Fall League.

– FanGraphs

Where Bart and Luciano both live on pure power, Ramos is a more well-rounded prospect by the evaluators.  His arm is his only consensus plus tool, but he’s at least average and mostly better in all his tools.  That keeps his ceiling a little lower than others, reflected in his mostly bottom 50 rankings, with the exception of Baseball Prospectus, ranking him highest at #32.  Baseball America has him the other direction, at 83.

The evaluators all agree on a few points, the biggest being that he’ll be a high strikeout hitter, but that he should make enough contact and hit with enough power that it won’t be a major concern.  Talking about his body, how it will affect his range and speed, was a bigger point of contention.  Some consider him still playable in center, others have doubts about his running skills even in a corner outfield spot.  Strikeouts and athleticism will be his most important maintenance issues in his career, but he is a fun, baseball-loving player and could be the heart of the new core.

THE OTHERS

Hunter Bishop

RANKINGS:  BP: 75 – MLB: 83

What They’re Saying:

Add in plus speed that he’s still learning how to get the most out of on the bases, and Bishop has 30-30 potential.

– MLB Pipeline

Hunter Bishop was the #10 overall pick, and the overall potential saw him temporarily make an appearance on Baseball America’s Top 100 midseason list, but he was bumped off after an underwhelming 2019 debut half-season, and no chance to prove himself in 2020.

The outfielder brings a very interesting combination of tools, with potential power, real speed and was named by Baseball America as being the top defender in the Giants system.  But his lack of a track record for connecting to his power in college and questions about his hit tool keeps him off the edge for other evaluators.

Seth Corry

RANKINGS: BA: 71

What They’re Saying:

He’s getting stronger and has shortened his arm stroke since high school, allowing him to repeat it more and giving him a little more deception. He may never have above-average control, but could get to average and succeed because his pure stuff will miss bats in the zone.

– The Athletic

Seth Corry gets the honor of being a rare pitcher in the Giants system to get a Top 100 ranking.  Corry’s reputation lives off his 2019 second half, when he went from good to unhittable, and showed his control could be brought under control.  He hasn’t had a chance in 2020 to keep the momentum going.

Corry’s future will depend on bringing that control back for 2021.  If he continues to throw in the mid-90s with his strikeout curveball and an average changeup, there’s a chance he’ll grace a few more Top 100 lists next year.

Luis Matos

RANKINGS: FG: 87

What They’re Saying:

Matos has a freaky ability to rotate and can move the barrel all over the hitting zone. He doesn’t have the typical, big-framed body projection that a lot of power/speed teenage outfielders do, but in some ways that’s a positive, as I think it makes him less likely to outgrow center field.

– FanGraphs

Luis Matos had a spectacular 2019, having such a standout season in the Dominican Summer League that he earned a rare midseason call-up from the DSL to the Arizona League.  His speed is a standout tool right now, and he’s got the defense right now to play center field, but he spent 2019 showing that his hitting and power are real.  Even if his game power is less home runs and a mix of doubles and triples with the round-trippers, that gives him a strong offensive ceiling.

The biggest knock on Matos has been that he’s only played at the lowest levels, and it’s hard for anyone who has mostly only played in the Dominican Summer League to crack anyone’s Top 100.  Matos was robbed by not having a 2020 season to keep his momentum, but a lot of eyes will be on him this season, and he has a real chance to be a consensus Top 100 guy with a good year.

Gregory Santos

RANKINGS: FG: 98

What They’re Saying:

If a college arm were to come out of the gate with stuff as good as Santos showed during Instructional League, they’d be the early-season favorite to go first in the draft.

– Fangraphs

Gregory Santos dealt with injuries in 2019, slowing down what was a breakout season for so many others, and missed 2020, but the scouting reports that came out of the instructional league in the fall wowed some, and none more than FanGraphs.  The Giants added him to the 40-man roster, and that 100 mph fastball has got some with high expectations. He’s also notable as the only player on this list the Giants acquired through trade, in the Eduardo Núñez deal.

The ranking by FanGraphs might make Santos the most divisive prospect in the system.  He was the last of five Giants prospects that FanGraphs ranked in their Top 100, ostensibly being who they would rank as the Giants #5 prospect.  On other lists?  Baseball America has him at #21 in the Giants system, and MLB at #17.  There’s a lot of risk in Santos, but at least one site sees him for his ceiling, and that’s where the debating of rankings happens.

Patrick Bailey

RANKINGS: ESPN: 100

What They’re Saying:

Bailey has a similar profile to Bart, just not quite as much upside: above-average raw power, defensive acumen, arm strength and intangibles, with some questions on the contact rate.

– ESPN

I’ve been hard on the Giants for the choice of another catcher in Patrick Bailey in the first round of the 2020 draft, but there’s a real point where I feel bad for Bailey.  It’s nearly impossible to find a prospect report for him that does not put him in the context of Bart, or comparing & contrasting the two.  (That is not seen in the Bart reports, of course.)

Bailey comes with one rare skill for a catcher, true switch-hitting ability, and an important but uncommon skill, which is strong defense.  There’s more debate about where he’ll land when it comes to his power and hitting ability.

Sitting at the 100 spot, he’s literally on the edge of the rankings, and if he is going to stay in the Top 100s or get on other lists, he’ll have to not only prove himself, but fend off the draftees of 2021, who usually get a few spots on next year’s list.  Bailey’s going to have an uphill road to stand out, but if he gets home runs from both sides of the plate, that will definitely help.