Prospect Pipeline

With the NCAA regionals set to begin on Friday, fans will soon have the opportunity to view some of the top draft prospects in the 2015 class, whether it is college shortstops Dansby Swanson and Alex Bregman, prep outfielder Daz Cameron, left-handed pitcher Tyler Jay or right-hander Carson Fulmer.

Because the baseball season is so long, it's often unwise to put too much stock in early-season performances before teams and players have a chance to find themselves. This is particularly true for prospects, who can be even more volatile while needing even more time to figure things out.

The other angle, however, is that these young players have provided less to go on in their still-nascent careers—they are prospects for a reason—making any noticeable change in production that much more stark.

The Carlos Correa countdown is on. The Houston Astros—check that, the AL West-leading Houston Astros, who sport the best record in the American League at 18-8 entering play Tuesday—suddenly find themselves in a position where promoting their young shortstop and No.

It’s hard to not get excited when projecting the future impacts of baseball’s top prospects. Unfortunately, with that excitement usually come unreasonable expectations, which, when not met, can cause younger players to be unfairly perceived as “disappointments.”

The Chicago Cubs aren’t messing around.

Back in spring training, before the real fake games began, as it were, we provided two sets of sleepers. It's time for a few more.

The first was a batch of 25 names to know, primarily for shallow leagues. The second set comprised 20 more players who qualified as even deeper sleepers.

The 2015 Minor League Baseball season kicked off Thursday, with games being played across all four full-season levels. The day was full of standout performances from many of baseball’s most promising young hitters.

Making his full-season debut with Low-A Greenville, 2014 first-round draft pick Michael Chavis (No. 26 overall) cranked a game-tying home run in the seventh inning and then came back in the ninth to deliver a walk-off double.

The hype and excitement that surrounded Yoan Moncada and his decision to sign with the Boston Red Sox in February have turned mostly to anticipation and expectation as the Cuban phenom embarks upon his first season in America.

With all the access and information—and accessible information—out there now compared to even a few short years ago, it's harder that ever to come across a prospect who can truly be classified as "unknown." But we'll try to highlight a batch of somewhat-off-the-radar youngsters who are primed to take a big step in their development in 2015.

One of the hottest topics of this spring training centers around Kris Bryant, the Chicago Cubs' uber-prospect who is blowing up and lapping the field with nine home runs during the exhibition season so far.