Looking at how Dodgers’ prospects rank, globally

Prospect season is just about over. We’re roughly three weeks from Opening Day, so that makes sense. I’ve released my Top 100 Dodgers prospects, while others have released their Top 10 and overall Top 100 lists over the last couple months.

For this exercise, I looked at those global top prospects lists that included some of the Dodgers’ best prospects. For Baseball America, ESPN, FanGraphs, and MLB.com, the rankings are out of 100. For Baseball Prospectus, it’s 101. For Minor League Ball, it’s 200. That last one kind of skews the rankings a bit, but even without it, the rankings are almost the same.

Dodgers On Top 100* Lists

Player	BA	BP	ESPN	FG	MiLB	MLB	Avg
Bellinger	7	26	6	13	13	12	12.8
Alvarez	26	23	46	12	18	49	29
Verdugo	58	66	31	42	52	61	51.7
Buehler	NR	94	40	74	142	93	88.6
Calhoun	92	NR	NR	89	103	82	91.5
Toles	NR	NR	NR	NR	100	NR	100
Diaz	NR	90	NR	NR	117	NR	103.5
Sheffield	NR	NR	NR	NR	135	NR	135
Stewart	NR	NR	NR	NR	178	NR	178

Editor’s Note: BA = Baseball America, BP = Baseball Prospectus, ESPN = Keith Law, FG = FanGraphs, MiLB = Minor League Ball, MLB = MLB.com

Cody Bellinger is the top prospect in the organization. He ranked as the best among the Top 10s as well as the Top 100s. The rankings vary from being a Top 6/7 guy by ESPN and Baseball America to as “low” as 26 by Baseball Prospectus.

Following him is a guy who is sure to rank higher come next season in Yadier Alvarez — although, a No. 29 overall ranking is nothing to sneeze at. He has top-of-the-rotation stuff and could be among baseball’s best in a year’s time.

Alex Verdugo is firmly entrenched as the clear No. 3 in the organization and nearly a Top 50 global prospect. He could also rise by this time next season.

Then, things fall off a bit. Despite a No. 40 overall ranking by Keith Law (ESPN), Walker Buehler still checks in near the end of this list (thanks in part to a No. 142 ranking by John Sickels at Minor League Ball). He only has five professional innings pitched, so it isn’t an unreasonable ranking by any means. He’s a candidate to jump if he has a big 2017 season.

Willie Calhoun is about where he’s supposed to be. If he was a legitimate second baseman — even a fringy defender — he’d rank higher. He’s a Top 100 prospect based solely on his bat. He’s going to hit, but will the value of his bat fall a bit if he has to move to the outfield?

Andrew Toles placed on just one list — and at No. 100 on Sickels’ list. This’ll probably the only time he appears here. Yusniel Diaz got a little bump from BP and could be a consensus Top 100 guy with a strong 2017 season. Jordan Sheffield could also be that kind of guy if he performs well this season. Brock Stewart isn’t the sexiest prospect, but I believe in him more than most. Still, I’m not sure he’s a Top 100 global prospect at this rate (and the rankings reflect that).

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Like with the Top 10 summary, let’s see where Jose De Leon would have fallen on this list.

• BA: 29
• BP: 38
• ESPN: 73
• FG: 44
• MiLB: 8
• MLB: 33

As you may have guessed, he’d have been third on this list and had an average ranking of 37.5. Tampa Bay got a really good prospect.

OK, I’m about burned out on prospect rankings. Let’s get to some real baseball — and fast.