Kuzul

It’s hard to believe that we’ve already reached the one-quarter mark for the 2013 season.However, with most teams having played around 40 games, league standings and stats are now relevant and based on something other than a small sample size.With that being said, it’s only appropriate to take this opportunity to reflect on the performances of the game’s top Rookie of the Year candidates. As you will see, the collection of the talent in the National League is infinitely better than the American’s. Though it may not be long until there’s an infusion of young players through the AL.So, here’s a look at the respective stocks of the current top rookies in the major leagues.  American League1. Oswaldo Arcia, OF, Minnesota Twins2013 Stats: .276/.315/.460, 9 XBH (3 HR), 13 RBI, 27/5 K/BB (24 G)After he went 1-for-3 in his major-league debut on April 15, the Twins sent Arcia back to ...

When the 2013 season started, the MLB rookie class looked sketchy, to say the least. There were several notable names worth keeping an eye on, but there was a huge red flag they had to overcome to succeed in the big leagues. Now, more than one month into the season, we can safely say that a lot of questions about this group of rookies has been answered. Even if there is a long way to go, we can gauge where the candidates stand. Going over the top Rookie of the Year candidates coming into the year, here is where their stock stands as we get deeper into May and the summer months. We will start with the American League candidates and shift to the National League in the second half. Note: All stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted. Begin Slideshow

One of the unique parts about the Major League Baseball draft, particularly the high school prospects, is a lot of them don't just focus on baseball. As much as we love the sport and think anyone would be foolish to waste their time doing anything else, young athletes have other interests that can be of great benefit, both from an educational and financial standpoint, which play a role in their futures. We have seen in the past draftees leverage their ability to attend college on a football scholarship to get a better deal from the MLB team that took them.The new collective bargaining agreement, which instituted the ridiculous draft slot, has hurt teams trying to negotiate because they can't spend a lot of money on one pick without hurting their chances of signing other draftees. But the allure of a six- or seven-figure signing bonus can do a lot to sway an 18-year-old ...

Now that we have entered the month of May, you are going to start hearing a lot of chatter about prospects who will be getting the call to the big leagues. Major league clubs won't come out and admit it, but they want to keep their top players in the minors to delay their arbitration clocks and gain another year of control. It is a smart financial strategy, though it can hurt your playoff chances come October. For instance, last year, the Los Angeles Angels kept the corpse of Vernon Wells in left field and sent Mike Trout back to Triple-A to start the year. Wells was awful, as expected, for a month, leading to Trout being called up and having the season he had. But because the Angels started out the year so slowly, they missed the playoffs by four games. The odds of Trout alone being worth four wins in one ...

It’s only a little over a month into the Major League Baseball season—meaning all statistics still represent a small sample size—but many of the game’s top rookies are off to a hot start. At the same time, there are several highly regarded young players who have struggled—some even mightily—to begin the season. While some of them will be encouraged to work through their scuffles in the majors, others will face an inevitable demotion if they don’t right turn things around in a hurry. With so many notable prospects starting the season in the major leagues, it’s never too early to speculate about the Rookie of the Year Award. Therefore, I will break down the race in each league on a weekly basis this season with a detailed look at certain prospects' stock. Here’s a look at how some of the top rookies have fared through the first three weeks of ...

With the first month of the minor league season nearly in the books, it's time to reflect on the early-season performances of Prospect Pipeline's Top 50 prospects.While there are plenty of top prospects off to a hot start at their respective levels, there are countless others who have struggled in the early going. As you will see, injuries have impacted numerous prospects in the Top 50.While prospects such as Dylan Bundy and Adam Eaton are yet to appear in a game this season, prospects such as Christian Yelich and Jake Marisnick, who both opened the season on the disabled list, have finally returned to the field.Meanwhile, top-catching prospect Travis d'Arnaud, who was acquired by the Mets in the offseason R.A. Dickey deal, may have to wait until after the All-Star break to make his big league debut, as a non-displaced foot fracture has him sidelined until at least the ...

Limited to only 44 games last season after suffering an ankle fracture in his second professional game, Anthony Rendon resuscitated his prospect stock this spring with an excellent showing in major league camp. Appearing in 13 games, the 22-year-old batted .375/.412/.875 with four doubles and four home runs and received extensive playing time at the hot corner. More importantly, Rendon asserted that, despite his limited experience, his bat was close to being ready for the major leagues. However, with Ryan Zimmerman blocking his path, it was widely known that only an injury could get Rendon to the majors before September. Unfortunately, the Rendon insurance policy came into play far earlier than expected this season, as the Nationals were forced to call up their top prospect from Double-A after placing Zimmerman on the 15-day disabled list for a strained left hamstring.Luckily, among all position prospects, Rendon stands a legitimate chance at ...

The most dangerous words to use when scouting and evaluating talent are ceiling and upside. Major League Baseball teams are loaded with players, both in the big leagues and throughout the minors, with plenty of both that have been unable to reach it. When you use those words—and when fans read them—they think that is the final word on what a player will be. Upside and ceiling are the best possible outcomes for a player. The number of players who actually reach that level is miniscule. There are more than 4,000 players scattered throughout the minor leagues, a vast majority of whom have the ceiling of an average or better big leaguer. But what makes baseball such a great game—and one of the hardest to evaluate—is watching how players make adjustments as they move up the minor league ladder. All that being said, here are the position players in each organization with the greatest ...

Simply because a prospect is deemed ready for the major leagues does not mean they’re guaranteed an everyday role with their respective organization. If only it was that easy. In most cases, even the game’s more revered prospects are blocked at their natural position at the major league level. While the aforementioned scenario may normally result in the exploration of a trade involving the blocked prospect, some teams are understandably reluctant to part with such a big piece of their future without exhausting all other options. As a result, teams have no choice but to consider a position change, both as a means of addressing a deficiency in their big-league lineup and in ensuring they harvest their young players' long-term value. So far this season, prospects Jurickson Profar and Anthony Rendon have emerged as the leading candidates to be moved from their natural position on the left side of the ...

With the 2013 First-Year Player Draft scheduled for June 6-8, college players will have the next six weeks to boost their stock with the hope of having their name called on Day 1. But as is the case every year, any number of things can happen between now and then. For instance, a prospect who’s expected to go in the first round could suffer an injury and, as a result, fail to receive the exposure that would have otherwise solidified them as a top pick. At the same time, the weeks leading up to the draft also offers the less-heralded, under-the-radar draft prospects a final chance to make a lasting impression.Here’s a look at five college players who continue to skyrocket up the draft board.Begin Slideshow