I posted a top 30 prospect list at the beginning of the season, this is the annual pre-draft update, which runs 50 players deep.
| No. | Player | Pos. | Comments |
| 1 | Zach Britton | LHP | May have best sinker in minors; elite GB rate; improving command |
| 2 | Jake Arrieta | RHP | Overwhelming stuff; lacks command to be more than a #3 starter |
| 3 | Josh Bell | 3B | Struggling to hit LHP; should give up switch-hitting; lots of Ks |
| 4 | Brandon Erbe | RHP | Dominated at AA in ’09; struggling at AAA; showing improved control |
| 5 | Matt Hobgood | RHP | Plus CB and FB; stuff hasn’t translated to results in A ball; too many BBs |
| 6 | Caleb Joseph | C | Improving plate discipline and defense; hitting for power and average |
| 7 | L.J. Hoes | 2B | Elite on-base skills for his age; 2nd youngest player in Sally League |
| 8 | Jesse Beal | RHP | Plus-plus command and control; still filling out; room to add velocity |
| 9 | Mychal Givens | SS | Already 20 and only 7 games played in minors; plus-plus arm strength |
| 10 | Ryan Berry | RHP | Dominated with Shorebirds; plus curveball; should move quickly |
| 11 | Xavier Avery | CF | Elite speed; extremely raw at the plate and on the base paths; avg. arm |
| 12 | Luis Lebron | RHP | Plus-plus fastball; out for 2010 season with TJ surgery |
| 13 | Brandon Snyder | 1B | Struggling in AAA for 2nd straight year; stock dropping fast |
| 14 | Kam Mickolio | RHP | Can’t find his way out of AAA; has trouble staying healthy |
| 15 | Oliver Drake | RHP | Above avg. slider; still has room to fill out; improving FB command |
| 16 | Brandon Cooney | RHP | Back end bullpen guy if he throws strikes; plus slider; above avg. FB |
| 17 | Garabez Rosa | SS | Lacks patience at the plate; should move to 3B fairly soon |
| 18 | Jake Cowan | RHP | Potential for 3 plus pitches, FB, CB, CH; could become #2 starter |
| 19 | Steve Johnson | RHP | Fly ball pitcher; too many HRs; curveball flashes plus; avg. FB |
| 20 | Matt Angle | CF | Plus speed & defense; could be in Baltimore before the all-star break |
| 21 | Michael Ohlman | C | Not making contact at A-; walking a lot but too many Ks; only 19 |
| 22 | Troy Patton | LHP | Struggling at AAA for second time; looks more like a reliever than starter |
| 23 | Brandon Waring | 3B | Too many Ks at AA; looks more and more like a power bet off the bench |
| 24 | Cameron Coffey | LHP | Finally healthy; plus fastball; should make pro debut with Bluefield |
| 25 | Rick Zagone | LHP | High leg kick and deceptive delivery; starter now but should move to pen |
| 26 | Tyler Townsend | 1B | Hamstring issues have kept him on the DL; plus power & hit tool |
| 27 | Brett Jacobson | RHP | Straight FB but can reach upper 90′s; power curveball in mid 80′s |
| 28 | Randy Henry | RHP | May throw too many strikes; 30 strikeouts but 28 hits in 22.1 IP |
| 29 | Kyle Hudson | LF | Plus speed; below avg. arm strength; will have a tough time getting to bigs |
| 30 | Ashur Tolliver | LHP | Can touch upper 90′s with fastball; should move quickly in relief |
| 31 | Bobby Bundy | RHP | Can touch 96 with fastball; plus CB at times; may fit better in bullpen |
| 32 | Ryan Adams | 2B | Slugging second baseman; comparable to Brian Roberts |
| 33 | Pedro Beato | RHP | Move to the bullpen has been successful; fastball is finally back |
| 34 | Justin Dalles | C | Known for defense but bat has been a strength; trouble staying off DL |
| 35 | Aaron Wirsch | LHP | J. Jordan says his change was better than Matusz’s coming out of HS |
| 36 | Tyler Henson | LF | Can play 1B, 2B, SS, 3B and LF; looks like a future utility player |
| 37 | Rhyne Hughes | 1B | Solid defense; won’t hit enough to be more than a backup |
| 38 | Billy Rowell | 3B | O’s fans have been waiting for turnaround; improving on-base skills |
| 39 | Chorye Spoone | RHP | Not back to his old self but is having some success in AA; too many BBs |
| 40 | Ronnie Welty | RF | Above avg. power; K’s more than 25% of his ABs; 4th OF at best |
| 41 | Pedro Florimon | SS | 2009 season may have been a fluke; won’t hit enough to start in the majors |
| 42 | Brenden Webb | LF | Potential 5 tool outfielder; advanced approach at the plate for his age |
| 43 | Tyler Kolodny | 1B | Repeating A ball for 2nd season; demoted to SS A for disciplinary issues |
| 44 | Jarret Martin | LHP | O’s really liked this kid; drafted him in 2009 and 2010, signed in ’10 |
| 45 | Joe Mahoney | 1B | 6′ 7″; ability to hit for power and average; having a breakout season |
| 46 | Ryohei Tanaka | RHP | Two-seam fastball has tons of movement; fits better in the bullpen |
| 47 | Eddie Gamboa | RHP | Avg. fastball with some sink; could help in Baltimore fairly soon |
| 48 | Pat Egan | RHP | Excellent ground ball ratios; marginal stuff but could be a solid reliever |
| 49 | Tim Bascom | RHP | Touches 93-94; another current starter with the bullpen in his future |
| 50 | Tyler Kelly | 2B | Patient hitter; has more BBs than Ks over the last two seasons |
GREAT LIST, I thought Steve Johnson was a Bergy type of pitcher, to bad on the fly balls. I thought Ryohei Tanaka was an older Japanese pitcher?
Tanaka is a 27 year old Japanese pitcher, not that old.
Hobgood seems to be pitching better lately… Excited to see bell and arrieta with Britton possibly next year. Synder has been hot, he just needs to sustain the power and cut down on k’s. Good stuff on the list though
Thanks, Ben. I read something regarding Snyder and that he hates hitting at Harbor Park. I’m going to look into it and find some more details.
Time to pull Florimon off this list and the 40 man roster. He fooled everyone last year, but has returned to normal (.183 avg). Time for him to move over and let Miclat through.
Agreed. With Givens down and Florimon playing badly Miclat has emerged as our top SS prospect, maybe. We haven’t signed Machado yet.
Interesting…… Florimon was sent down to Aberdeen tonight for a rehab assignment. I haven’t seen his name on any recent DL list. Has he been injured or is this a transfer for him to work on some hitting issues?
By the way, he went 0 for 3 with one strikeout this evening against Brooklyn.
He’s been out for the last month and is on a rehab assignment with Aberdeen.