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Keith Law released an updated ranking of his Top 50 MLB Draft Prospects today, and answered a lot of follow up questions in his chat. Law's top 3 are Appel-Manaea-Meadows, but after that, I find most of his rankings to be a little bizarre.
- The first ranking which surprised me was Ryne Stanek at four. Before the season, it was common to see Stanek in the top 10, but it's hard to ignore the miserable start to his 2013 season.
- Clint Frazier at seven? He has done nothing to lower his stock this season – if nothing else, he's raised his stock. Did Keith miss "The Clint Frazier Show"?
- Braden Shipley at 10 is as high as I've ever seen him ranked. Same thing with Chris Anderson at 12.
- A guy I profiled on TCB this morning, Billy McKinney, comes in at 27. Law cites his high floor as the reason for his ranking – which I get – but I find it hard to believe that he's a top 30 prospect, due to his relatively low upside.
- Kevin Ziomek at 37 is a little low for my taste. Law cites concern about his arm action and ability to stick at starter for his low ranking.
- Phillip Ervin is not ranked on the top 50, which is insane to me. I'm a bigger Ervin fan than most, but there's no world where he should rank outside the top 50. The only blemish he has is his size.
If you want to see the top 50 in its entirety, you have to be an ESPN Insider. Side note: in Law's chat, he said Rodon would "probably" go second overall in this year's draft, which again, is something I disagree with.
Rob (PVD)
Where would Carlos Rodon rank if he was in this draft class?
Klaw (12:12 PM)
First or second. Probably second, but if you want to argue first, I'm open-minded.
Here's what he had to say about his low ranking of Clint Frazier:
Kevin (Florida)
You aren't all in on the Clint Frazier bandwagon? Could he really fall to the Red Sox at 7th?
Klaw (12:13 PM)
I have him in the top ten - that's pretty "all in" for me. He just doesn't have the upside of Meadows - Frazier is shorter, smaller, and absolutely has to play a corner.
Law also answered a question about a guy we profiled recently, Jordan Sheffiled (who didn't make his Top 50):
JB (Dallas)
Was Jordan Sheffield close to making your Future 50? He seems to have the same mid-90's, hammer curve profile that Sonny Gray had coming out of high school. Concerned about his command/control?
Klaw (12:31 PM)
Velocity isn't quite there, and he's 5'11" without fastball plane. Odds are he's a reliever - I think that's probably what Gray is at this point too.
What do you guys think of Law's top 50?