#37 Will Middlebrooks

Boston Red Sox

DOB: 9/9/1988

Previous Rank: NR

ETA: 2012

Middlebrooks collected most of his at-bats for Double-A Portland in 2011.  As a 22-year-old across three levels, including 16 games in the International League, Middlebrooks slashed .285/.328/.506.  Obviously from those numbers, plate discipline is a big issue with Middlebrooks because he does not really have any.  He only walked 26 times in over 450 plate appearances, and that kind of reckless use of his time at the dish makes predicting offensive success in the AL East pretty tough.

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#40 Hak-Ju Lee

Tampa Bay Rays

DOB: 11/4/1990

Previous Rank: N/R

ETA: 2013

Lee was signed as an 18-year-old out of South Korea and was sent to Tampa from the Cubs in the Matt Garza deal.  He likely will prove to be the most valuable chip that was traded in that deal except for maybe Garza himself.  Lee is an exceptional fielder, arguably the best shortstop in the Minors today in terms of what he is capable of in the field.  He has phenomenal range and a plus arm with outstanding instincts and feel for the position.  His bat is behind and he will never provide the thump to be the consistent all-star that some other shortstop prospects likely will.

Lee is going to approach a .300 average in at least a season or two.  In 2011 across two stops including 100 at-bats in the Southern League with Montgomery, Lee posted a .292/.365/.416 slash line with 33 swipes and 37 XBH’s.  He will probably never approach a 20-bomb Major League season, but he runs well and can stretch for a handful of extra bags each year beyond a replacement level guy.

We expect Lee to begin 2012 as a 21-year-old shortstop in Double-A with a chance to reach the Show later in the season or open the 2013 season as the starter at Tropicana.  If we’ve learned anything, though, it’s that Tampa is more than willing to be aggressive with promotions especially in years in which they are in contention.  We expect Tampa to be very competitive in 2012 too.

As usual, the Flagrant Fan continues to churn out impressive work.  One of my daily must-read sites, the Fan also does a great job maintaining order as the President of the Baseball Bloggers Alliance’s General Chapter.  Yesterday he wrote about the Yankees’ catching situation and how Jesus Montero’s bat needs to be in the everyday lineup in 2012.  And you know what? I couldn’t agree with the Fan more.

Mike Newman of Scouting the Sally and FanGraphs explores Bill James’s 2012 projections for Paul Goldschmidt—a player Newman’s personally scouted—and more specifically, his .382 wOBA, which would place him in elite company.  Keep your eyes peeled for an upcoming Q&A with Mike, who has scouted many of baseball’s most exciting prospects in the Sally.

Also at FanGraphs, you can read a Q&A with Eric Hosmer in which he thoroughly discusses his swing and overall approach to hitting. (Sometimes I have to resist the urge to post links to every FanGraphs article; what an absolutely phenomenal site.

As we gradually unveil our Post-2011 Top 50 Prospects, I’d like to draw attention to Seedlings to Stars, who are also in the midst of their own prospect countdown.  However, their Top 100 is a bit more ambitious and really well done.  Just today we named Zack Wheeler as our No. 41 prospect, while at S2S, he was just ranked No. 51. I’m excited to see how our Top 50 rankings compare.

One of my colleagues and good buddies MJ Lloyd—a fellow staff writer at Tomahawk Take and a newly appointed staff writer at Halo Hangout—shares his thoughts on Mike Trout’s loss of rookie status for 2012.  As he contends, it really doesn’t matter. Trout will be an impact player whether he’s considered a rookie or not.

#41 Zack Wheeler

New York Mets

DOB: 5/30/1990

Previous Rank: N/R

ETA: 2014

Wheeler was traded straight up for Carlos Beltran in July and was sent immediately to High Class A St. Lucie where he posted a 2.00 ERA with a 31:5 K:BB ratio in 27 innings.  Those numbers were considerably better than those from the 88 innings he threw in the California League before the trade.  Nevertheless, Wheeler immediately became the top prospect in the Mets organization, and at just 21 years of age, he should be in the rotation at Citi by 2014.

Wheeler features a fastball that sits consistently around 94-95 mph with the ability to reach back for 97 mph.  His best secondary pitch is a true 60 curveball with good 12-6 shape and about 15 mph off of the heater.  His third pitch is a changeup that is far behind the other two pitches at this point due primarily to an inability to maintain arm speed or slot.  The pitch has arm side life with sink, though, and has a chance to be a useable pitch with just minor improvement.

His 6-foot-4 frame is lanky and projectable and might still allow him to pick up a tick on the fastball.  Wheeler should begin the year in Double-A and might push that ETA up a bit, but the Mets are the worst team in the East and have no business rushing either Wheeler or Harvey in our opinion.  The good news for fans in Queens is that the Mets appear to finally have real pitching prospects with real top-of-the-rotation upside.

#42 Yasmani Grandal

Cincinnati Reds

DOB: 11/8/1988

Previous Rank: N/R

ETA: 2013

Grandal, a product of the Miami Hurricanes program, had a monstrous year behind the dish across three stops, culminating with four games in the International League to close the season out.  He even has collected 12 at-bats in the Arizona Fall League.  Grandal, a switch hitter, was selected 12^th overall in 2010, and in his first full professional season in 2011 slashed .305/.401/.500 as a 22-year old.  He should start the year in the high Minors with a chance to break in at some point during 2012.  The more realistic scenario likely has him cracking the lineup in Cincinnati in 2013 or somewhere else via a trade since Grandal is behind Devin Mesoraco on the depth chart, a consensus top-20 prospect.

Still, Grandal’s glove typically receives better grades as does his arm than Mesoraco’s.  Scouts prefer Grandal’s ability from the left side of the dish a little better than from the right, but he’s plus from both sides.  With a full season behind the dish in the Show, Grandal could amass 20 bombs and approach a .300 average with good on-base skills and above average defense.  That sounds a lot like Victor Martinez to me, especially when considering that he hits from both sides.  Grandal is the kind of big-upside backstop that every club would like to see in the high Minors.