MLB Draft

After hitting 27 home runs over his first three minor-league seasons, Wil Myers exploded for 37 home runs last year in 134 games between the Royals’ Double-A and Triple-A affiliates. Although he had always showcased plus raw power to all fields with a quick, explosive swing and exceptional extension after contact, his mature plate discipline prevented its utilization.

This past offseason featured an unprecedented number of blockbuster trades involving top-ranked prospects.

First, the Kansas City Royals dealt top prospects Wil Myers and Jake Odorizzi, as well as Mike Montgomery and Patrick Leonard, to the Rays in exchange for right-handers James Shields and Wade Davis.

On Friday night, Stanford ace Mark Appel beat Utah in front of a contingent of eagle-eyed scouts who were closely watching Appel in preparation for the 2013 MLB draft.

If there’s one young hitter capable of making a successful jump from Double-A to the major leagues, it’s Oscar Taveras.

With spring training slowly winding down, prospects continue to be cut from big league camp on seemingly a daily basis. While players already on their teams' 40-man rosters have been optioned to a specific level, a majority of prospects have received an assignment to minor league spring training.

According to Eric Fisher of SportsBusiness Journal, Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association could reach an agreement to implement some form of a global draft as early as June 1.

In 2010 the San Francisco Giants won the World Series with the best homegrown rotation in recent memory. Drafted and developed by the organization, Matt Cain, Tim Lincecum and Madison Bumgarner were each at the forefront of the team’s immensely successful season.

Before that it was the Oakland A’s “Big Three” of Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder and Barry Zito, who combined for 234 wins in the same starting rotation from 2000 to 2004.

Every season there are first-round draft picks who, within a matter of a few years, emerge as stars in the major leagues. While the trend can in part be attributed to a player’s corresponding selection—higher draft picks are perceived to have more potential—the soaring failure rate among baseball prospects suggests that a draft pick’s potential value is in the eye of the beholder. 

Although the Milwaukee Brewers have a relatively deep farm system with many players close to the major leagues, it’s devoid of a true impact prospect. Rather, it’s top heavy with numerous high-floor players, many of whom are on pace to reach the major leagues in either 2013 or 2014.

Headed into the 2012 season, the Minnesota Twins’ farm system was arguably among the worst in the game.

What a difference a year can make. Entering spring training, the organization houses five top-100 prospects with more on the way.