Few divisions in baseball have benefited as much from top-level prospects over the past few seasons.
Just take a look at the World Series champion San Francisco Giants, who were led to the title on the bat of Buster Posey and the arm of Madison Bumgarner.
Drop one rung down in the standings, and you’ll find a team, the Padres, who were guided by a fantastic season by Mat Latos, who if healthy the entire 2010 season would have been worthy of some Cy Young attention.
Move on to the Rockies, and you’ll find Carlos Gonzalez, a former top prospect in three different organizations and star of the Rockies 2010 season. Car-Go warranted serious MVP consideration as the Rockies made a late push for the wild-card.
Move even further down, and you’ll find a Dodger’s effort boosted by rookie John Ely and the usual consistent efforts from homegrown players Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier.
And last but not least, the Diamondbacks, where former top prospects Daniel Hudson and Barry Enright emerged as major pieces in Arizona’s rebuilding effort.
2011 should be another banner year for the NL West in the prospect race. There are several top-notch talents ready to arrive on the scene and once again play major roles and potentially impact the pennant race.
Let’s meet them, the top 25 prospects in the National League West.