Prospect Pipeline

One of my favorite activities as both a scout and prospect analyst is identifying potential breakout candidates—both pitching and position prospects. Typically, the process involves combing the low minors for raw, high-upside talent, as statistics don’t always tell the whole story.

Headed into Tuesday's game against the Tampa Bay Rays, the New York Yankees held a one-game lead in the American League East over the Baltimore Orioles. With a 21-9 record since the beginning of August, the O’s are one of baseball’s hottest teams, especially after taking two of three games from the Yankees last weekend.

As part of the new collective bargaining agreement, the signing deadline was moved from August 15 to July 13, forcing teams to sign their draft picks at least a month earlier than previous years.

In 2011, 98 of the 331 players drafted within the first 10 rounds were still unsigned headed into deadline day (August 15). This year, as a result of the new, accelerated signing deadline, only 17 of the 338 players selected in rounds 1-10 remained unsigned headed into July 13.

As we enter the final two months of the Major League Baseball season, there will undoubtedly be more high-profile prospects being recalled. Last week we saw Oakland A's right-hander Dan Straily make his major league debut after seemingly appearing in this segment every week.

Now it's time to once again look at some of the hottest pitchers from each minor league level.

With the 2012 MLB first-year player draft now in the books, and with prospects signing left and right due to the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, baseball fans will get an early look at many of their team’s new players.

But how early can we expect to see some of these players? While some of the college players that were drafted may only be a year or two away, there are many prep players who are still years away from making an impact at the big-league level.

Growing up, every kid is told by their parents and coaches that with enough hard work and dedication, they could one day play in the major leagues. While it’s a nice thought, it’s a bit misleading and far from the truth.

After previewing the 10 best catchers in the 2012 draft class earlier today, Prospect Pipeline’s draft coverage continues with a preview of the top draft prospects at second base.

While the 2012 draft class has tons of depth at some positions such as pitching (but what draft doesn’t?) and outfielders, it’s incredibly slim at others.

As I mentioned last week, the crop of shortstop prospects is less than impressive, and I think the fact that the Pirates have been linked to Arizona State’s Deven Marrero at No. 8 overall is a testament to this notion.

As I mentioned in my first mock draft, the second installment would offer an expanded view of the first round, including the full supplemental round.

It’s been a rough week for the Tampa Bay Rays, and it’s only Tuesday.

Earlier today we learned that Evan Longoria could miss six to eight weeks after injuring his hamstring during an awkward slide on Monday night.