Prospect Pipeline

Though the 2014-15 international signing period officially began only last Wednesday, a majority of the top prospects in this year's class have already signed or agreed to sign with a major league club.

While most teams played by the rules and stayed within their allotted bonus pools, the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox opted to ignore spending limitations (at the cost of a future penalty) in order to sign many of the top-ranked prospects in this year’s class. 

The Chicago Cubs surprised the baseball world last month by selecting Kyle Schwarber out of Indiana University with the No. 4 overall pick in the first-year player draft.

Late last week we learned through a report by Ben Badler of Baseball America (h/t MLB Trade Rumors' Steve Adams) that another high-profile Cuban hitter, outfielder Yasmani Tomas, had defected in order to pursue a career in Major League Baseball.

This season already has featured promotions for some of baseball’s top prospects, as we’ve seen George Springer, Gregory Polanco, Marcus Stroman and Andrew Heaney receive call-ups to the major leagues, while big names such as Kris Bryant, Mookie Betts and Joey Gallo have moved up to higher minor league levels.

The 25-man rosters for the 2014 Futures Game were released Tuesday, via MLB, giving fans an idea of which prospects will be suiting up for the U.S. and World teams on Sunday, July 13.

Since its introduction in 1999, the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game has evolved into the hidden gem of All-Star weekend.

The event offers fans a unique opportunity to watch baseball’s brightest prospects on the same field.

With less than two weeks until the 2014-15 international signing period is set to begin July 2 (J2), teams are currently doing everything in their power to reach an agreement with one (or in some cases many) of the top amateur prospects in this year’s class.

Last year, both the Chicago Cubs and Texas Rangers willingly exceeded their respective bonus pools in order to sign some of the best-available talent. This time around, the New York Yankees are preparing to take things to a new level.

Back in October 2012, teenage phenom Shohei Otani had the baseball world buzzing with excitement after he expressed a desire to sign with an MLB team out high school in Japan rather than begin his career in Nippon Professional Baseball.

Due to the amount of attention paid to each organization's top prospects and early-round draft picks, many of the game's underrated prospects are perpetually obscured. Most of the time, these prospects are younger players housed in the low minors who still require considerable physical projection and time to develop. At the same time, there are countless prospects on the older side of the age curve that have dipped off the radar due to injury.

We're only a few days removed from the conclusion of the 2014 draft, but it's never too early to start looking ahead at what next year's class has to offer.

With the 2014 MLB Rule 4 draft less than a month away, it’s time to take a look at the top prospects in this year’s class.

The noticeable lack of impact hitters on board (especially from the college ranks) highlights the pitching-heavy nature of this year’s class, as teams will have an endless list of promising arms to choose from in the early rounds.