Corey Seager is baseball’s No. 1 prospect, according to MLB.com
For the first time since 2013, someone other than Byron Buxton is rated the No. 1 prospect in baseball, at least according to MLB.com’s official rankings.
The top spot now belongs to Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager, who moved up from the No. 8 spot on the MLB Pipeline preseason list from 2015.
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The announcement was made during a live special which aired on MLB Network on Friday night. Seager takes over the top spot after enjoying a huge 2015, which included a late-season stint with the Dodgers that earned him playing time against the New York Mets in the NLDS.
Seager hit .293/.344/.487 with 18 homers, 37 doubles and 76 RBI over 125 games between Double-A Tulsa and Triple-A Oklahoma City. For the Dodgers, Seager hit .337/.425/.561 with four homers and eight doubles over 27 games. Because he didn’t log more 130 at-bats or spend 45 days on the active roster, Seager maintains his rookie and prospect status, making him the preseason favorite NL Rookie of the Year.
Buxton dropped to No. 2 in the rankings after struggling to breakthrough during the 2015 season. The 22-year-old outfielder appeared in 46 games for Minnesota last season, hitting just .209/.250/.326 with two home runs and two stolen bases. He would have lost his rookie status with two more at-bats.
The top five was rounded out by Lucas Giolito of the Washington Nationals, Julio Urias of the Dodgers and J.P. Crawford of the Philadelphia Phillies.
It’s important to remember these names too, because NL and AL Rookie of the Year winners Kris Bryant and Carlos Correa ranked second and third on this list last season. The impact of these players will be felt, and it could come sooner than later.
Among the other notable items from Friday’s reveal:
Rebuilding Phillies place seven prospects in Top 100
The Phillies are going all-in to rebuild and the early returns are looking good.
Philadelphia led the way with seven prospects in the Top 100, including four who were acquired in their recent Cole Hamels and Ken Giles’ trades. That includes former No. 1 overall draft pick Mark Appel, who fell from No. 30 in last season’s ranking to No. 70. Perhaps the change of scenery will do him some good.
The Cubs, Rockies and Twins followed close behind with six prospects in the Top 100. Seven teams had at least five prospects, including the Rangers, Dodgers, Pirates and Astros, four playoff teams from last season.
Rangers have the highest quality prospects
The Texas Rangers farm system ranked No. 1 in MLB.com’s prospect points standings, which assigns points to each team based on where their prospects finished. For example, Seager earned 100 points for the Dodgers as the No. 1 prospect. Buxton earned the Twins 99 points as No. 2, and so on the down line. The Rangers top prospect was slugger Joey Gallo, who came in at No. 9.
The Rockies are next with 325 points. The Dodgers (319), Red Sox (316) and Braves (302) complete the top five.
Shortstops rule… again
Last year shortstops dominated the Top 50 with seven making an appearance. Since then, Correa, Francisco Lindor and Addison Russell all graduated to the big leagues, but the position is still stronger than ever with 13 appearing in this year’s Top 50.
[Elsewhere: Dodgers bring back Howie Kendrick: Three points to consider]
Seager and Crawford lead the way as top five prospects. Behind them are Orlando Arcia (No. 6, Brewers), Dansby Swanson (No.8, Braves), Trea Turner (No. 11, Nationals), Brendan Rodgers (No. 12, Rockies), Alex Bregman (No. 22, Astros), Franklin Barreto (No. 23, A’s), Gleybor Torres (No. 28, Cubs), Ozzie Albies (No. 29, Braves), Jorge Mateo (No. 30, Yankees), Raul Mondesi (No. 37, Royals), Tim Anderson (No. 47, White Sox)
That is one deep position.
Strong 2015 Draft Class
We don’t always see top draft picks turn into immediate impact prospects, but the 2015 first round is looking strong. Of the top eight picks, six ranked among the top 38 prospects.
That includes No. 1 overall pick Dansby Swanson, who ranks No. 8 of the prospects list. Brendan Rodgers (third overall, Rockies) in No 12, Alex Bregman (second overall, Astros) is No. 22, Andrew Benintendi (seventh overall, Red Sox) is No. 25, Dillion Tate (fourth overall, Rangers) in No. 36 and Carson Fulmer (eighth overall, White Sox) is No. 38.
Chances are we’ll see several of them make their major-league debuts in 2016.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813
