2023 CBA Top 80 Prospects
After a… controversial first rankings, BSPN is proud to present its second annual Top Prospects post. Plenty of newcomers made the list after an especially deep talent pool forced the CBA to have two drafts instead of one. The Last Ranked column indicates the number of spots a player has gained or lost over the course of the year.
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Ranking | Player | Team | Points | Last Ranked |
80 | SP Brian Latimer | IND | 1 | NR |
79 | CL Brian Ayre | DAL | 2 | NR |
78 | SP Song-I Kim | DC | 3 | NR |
77 | SP Elias Mera | CAR | 4 | NR |
76 | SS Jose Perez | BAP | 5 | NR |
75 | SP Sean Schaefer | POR | 6 | -43 |
74 | 3B Chad Collins | BAP | 7 | -19 |
73 | SP Scott Bradford | IND | 8 | NR |
72 | 1B Ricky Soto | DC | 9 | NR |
71 | CF Bill Santos | SAC | 10 | NR |
70 | SP Kenny DeWitt | LA | 11 | -60 |
69 | SP Carlos Rodriguez | SLC | 12 | NR |
68 | C Bobby Stutz | BAP | 13 | NR |
67 | CF Jeremy Munroe | CHI | 14 | NR |
66 | RP Danny Scarlett | ARI | 15 | -8 |
65 | LF Chris Goglin | WCH | 16 | NR |
64 | SS Sean Chase | PHI | 17 | +15 |
63 | SP William Stannard | FLA | 18 | -21 |
62 | SP Jeff Dunham | DC | 19 | -34 |
61 | 3B Josh Green | PHI | 20 | NR |
60 | 1B David Bache | PHI | 21 | NR |
59 | CF Noah Hicks | LA | 22 | NR |
58 | SP Jose Lopez | AUS | 23 | -27 |
57 | SP Dane Goldfarb | LA | 24 | -41 |
56 | SP Daniel Marston | OKL | 25 | NR |
55 | CL John Neuman | HOU | 26 | NR |
54 | CL David Bonilla | SAC | 27 | -13 |
53 | SP Juan Sanches | IOW | 28 | NR |
52 | 1B Bill Bischoff | MIA | 29 | NR |
51 | 3B John Weatherford | MIA | 30 | -5 |
50 | 2B Josh Martin | DAL | 31 | NR |
49 | CL Alberto Cerna | SLC | 32 | NR |
48 | 3B Justin Bryant | LA | 33 | -29 |
47 | 1B Justin Roberts | PHI | 34 | NR |
46 | SP Tony Borrero | SAC | 35 | -34 |
45 | RF Ricardo Garcia | BOS | 36 | NR |
44 | 1B Danny Fernandez | BAP | 37 | NR |
43 | CL Jerry Ortiz | BOS | 38 | +26 |
42 | RP Luis Aguilera | LA | 39 | NR |
41 | CL Leo Ramirez | IOW | 40 | NR |
40 | 3B Mike Frantz | DC | 41 | NR |
39 | 2B Matt Duncan | NY | 42 | NR |
38 | SP Sergio Avena | WCH | 43 | -11 |
37 | RP Curt Benjamin | OKL | 44 | NR |
36 | 1B Sean Brodmerkel | DC | 45 | NR |
35 | C Dave Torres | DC | 46 | 0 |
34 | SP Pat Kenny | BRK | 47 | -17 |
33 | 1B Oscar Herrera | CAR | 48 | NR |
32 | RF Juan Salazar | AUS | 49 | NR |
31 | SS Ernie Horton | DC | 50 | +23 |
30 | SP Matt Eldred | DC | 51 | +13 |
29 | SP David Williams | LA | 52 | NR |
28 | CL Dave Conklin | LA | 53 | -2 |
27 | 1B Lorenzo Morales | IOW | 54 | +13 |
26 | 1B Rafael Medina | IND | 55 | NR |
25 | 1B Teo Nederlof | SAC | 56 | NR |
24 | SS Andy Rodriguez | BAP | 57 | NR |
23 | 1B Mario Rosales | WCH | 58 | NR |
22 | SP Alberto Cruz | CAR | 59 | NR |
21 | LF Francisco Ramirez | DC | 60 | -10 |
20 | CF Soong-Yong Kim | POR | 61 | -11 |
19 | CL Jose Perez | NY | 62 | NR |
18 | 1B Guan-Pei Yao | BAP | 63 | NR |
17 | CF Ezequiel Ortiz | BOS | 64 | -9 |
16 | RP Chris Allen | BAP | 65 | -1 |
15 | SP Omar Luna | DC | 66 | -9 |
14 | CF Ken Karbach | DC | 67 | -7 |
13 | 1B Dermott Main | DC | 68 | NR |
12 | CF Tom Bridges | BRK | 69 | NR |
11 | CL Billy Kearns | DC | 70 | +14 |
10 | CL Estaban Sanchez | OKL | 71 | NR |
9 | CF Efrain Rodriguez | DET | 72 | NR |
8 | 3B Kyle Shepherd | DET | 73 | NR |
7 | SP Jesse Buchert | DET | 74 | -2 |
6 | SP Tony Varela | CIN | 75 | NR |
5 | 1B Ryan Wright | MEX | 76 | -1 |
4 | SP Seth Paddock | MIA | 77 | NR |
3 | CF Justin Jordan | DC | 78 | NR |
2 | LF Orlando Burgueno | MEX | 79 | +19 |
1 | CF Chris Cochran | DET | 80 | +1 |
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Team | Points | Number of Prospects | Prospect List |
DC | 670 | 13 | 3, 11, 13, 14 ,15, 20, 30, 31, 35, 36, 40, 62, 72 |
BAP | 247 | 7 | 16, 18, 24, 44, 68, 74, 76 |
LA | 234 | 7 | 28, 29, 42, 48, 57, 59, 70 |
DET | 225 | 4 | 1, 8, 9 |
MEX | 155 | 2 | 2, 5 |
AUS | 146 | 2 | 7, 32, 58 |
OKL | 140 | 3 | 10, 37, 56 |
BOS | 138 | 3 | 17, 43, 45 |
MIA | 136 | 3 | 4, 51, 52 |
SAC | 128 | 4 | 25, 46, 54, 71 |
IOW | 122 | 3 | 27, 41, 53 |
WCH | 117 | 3 | 23, 38, 65 |
BRK | 116 | 2 | 12, 34 |
CAR | 111 | 3 | 22, 33, 77 |
NY | 104 | 2 | 19, 39 |
PHI | 92 | 4 | 47, 60, 61, 64 |
CIN | 75 | 1 | 6 |
POR | 67 | 2 | 20, 75 |
IND | 64 | 3 | 26, 73, 80 |
SLC | 44 | 2 | 49, 69 |
DAL | 33 | 2 | 50, 79 |
HOU | 26 | 1 | 55 |
FLA | 18 | 1 | 63 |
CHI | 17 | 2 | 67, 78 |
ARI | 15 | 1 | 66 |
With these rankings, you may start off going, “What? Bay Area dropped off a cliff! What is wrong with these rankings?” Well, players must not have been in the major leagues at the time of the rankings. With time spent in between writing and publishing, there may be a few discrepancies, but most of these players are prospects. Scott Golden? Would have been #1, but already has been pitching in the Premier League (and killing it, might I add), so he was not eligible for this list.
We start off right where we left off last year – DC ahead, but this year takes it with a cushion. With 14 prospects cracking the top 80, DC’s farm contains 1 out of every six prospects on this list, and has a future major league roster in the minors. They have the same number of prospects as the next two teams on this list – notably, Los Angeles and Bay Area – but don’t have as many top prospects as Detroit. Jeff Dunham took a dive, dropping 34 spots in the new rankings, which worries a few fans with that fifth rotation spot looming with an empty hole. However, with a strong middle of the lineup forming in Justin Jordan, Ken Karbach, and Dermott Main, along with good pitchers like Omar Luna, Matt Eldred, and Billy Kearns, DC looks poised to start a run for promotion in the upcoming years.
Bay Area comes up next, and you can tell that their overall points took a hit due to their callups of Todoroff and Shinkle. Chances are they slide into the #2 spot if not for those callups, as Mike Todoroff, Tyler Shinkle, and Hector Diaz continue to be slotted into the Bay’s roster. They picked up great pieces in Guan-Pei Yao and Andy Rodriguez in the draft, and teams can’t forget about Chris Allen coming out of the bullpen. The future is soon around the bay.
Next up is LA, which barely got edged by the Pandas in terms of prospect quality. LA’s bullpen looks to be in good hands, with David Williams, Dave Conklin and Luis Aguilera coming in to slam the door at the end of the game. The rest of their prospects, though, seem to be suffering. Their lone hitter, Justin Bryant, fell 29 spots. Their top starter, Dane Goldfarb, fell 41 spots in the rankings. However, perhaps their biggest flop is SP Kenny DeWitt – in just over a year with LA, he’s fallen 60 spots, from 10 to 70. Scouts are saying that mechanics became inconsistent and led to a jerky delivery, causing his potentially hall of fame level pitches to flatten out. We can only hope that LA finds what’s wrong with DeWitt and corrects it.
Detroit has an interesting farm system – we only take the best of the best. They’ve got #1, #8, and #9, certain to be stars in the CBA for years to come. The rest of their system is pretty bare after the trades for Tovar, and the picks they sent for Shepherd and Golden won’t allow them to restock quickly. With their great record, we can see Detroit staying up at the top in points, but not in the number of prospects. Newcomers Kyle Shepherd and Efrain Rodriguez take the list by storm and propel Detroit to the second spot.
Remember when people said that Miami wouldn’t be any good this year? They’re showing us all wrong, and they’ve got the fifth ranked farm to boot. The majority of those points come in Seth Paddock, who was called up to the Bronze League and has been pitching well. Outside of that, first basemen Justin Roberts and Bill Bischoff presume to be future 1B and DH of the team, while 3B John Weatherford appears to be destined to hold down the hot corner.
Mexico City rides the strength of two prospects to the sixth spot on the rankings. We all knew entering the season that Ryan Wright would be producing soon, as the superstar 16 year old who was drafted in the first round of the inaugural draft was days away from playing. It turns out he would be loaned later in the season to play in the majors. Super prospect Orlando Burgueno was a smart pickup in the move that brought Kamar Alston as the main piece to Mexico, and that trade that once seemed lopsided for LA now seems to have an obvious winner with Mexico City.
OKC seems to be focusing on their pitching, as relievers Esteban Sanchez and Curt Benjamin head the list. SP/RP Daniel Marston follows up, but the dynamic duo at the end of the pen will help the Mammoths escape the ice age that they’re trapped in.
Boston enters the fray at eighth, and they’ve got an interesting set of prospects to look at. CF Ezequiel Ortiz dropped nine spots due to his inability to produce at the plate, while RF Ricardo Garcia, the mistake pick, continues to show the big bat potential out in right field. Closer Jerry Ortiz can’t be slept on, as he moves up the rankings and shows that one day he will be able to produce at the back of the pen.
The big scouting discovery Teo Nederlof starts off the list for Sacramento, with a big bat that rivals first round selections Guan-Pei Yao, Dermott Main, and Ryan Wright. After that, International Free Agent signing Tony Borrero stays around the midpoint of the rankings, while closer David Bonilla should anchor the pen. Sacramento took Bill Santos in this draft, and he looks to be a nice piece in the outfield for years to come.
Rounding out the top 10 is Iowa, with 1B Lorenzo Morales anchoring the lineup. Their future pitching isn’t too rough either, with closer Leo Ramirez for the back of the pen and starter Juan Sanchez to anchor their rotation.
Other notable pieces of information to look at: Cincinnati made a big move when it traded for Tony Varela – he now provides a big piece to build around for the future of the bleak Cincinnati farm. Wichita lost points it would have wanted, but still has starter Sergio Avena to lead their rotation. Brooklyn’s Pat Kenny dropped 17 spots, but still projects to be a good starter, while the player they traded up to take at #2, Tom Bridges, enters the list at #12 overall. Carolina’s three big IAFA signings make the list at #22, 33, and 77. Philadelphia’s rebuild may be slow, but their selections of Josh Green and David Bache point them in the right direction. For Dallas, Danny Crews aged out of prospect eligibility, leaving them lower in the rankings than one might think they should be. The four teams that did not contain a prospect in this list were Denver, Midwest, San Diego, and Atlanta.
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