Feb 14, 20216 min read

2021 Top 100 Prospects by The Athletic

The Athletic released their annual Top 100 Prospect List this week with the scouting and research led by Keith Law, formerly of ESPN. Law is notorious for placing extreme value on up the middle talent which will be apparent as you make your way through the list which is dominated by catchers, shortstops, athletic outfielders and pitchers.

While the list probably leans the furthest away from being fantasy focused, the up the middle talent tends to find their way onto big league rosters in key roles due to their well-rounded talents. In turn, this leads to annual at-bats at the big league level which certainly is a key asset in the RDBL.

The list is headlined again by Mt. Diablo Devils shortstop Wander Franco who topped each of the first two top 100 lists this off-season. Franco looks ready to make the leap to the big leagues at some point in 2021 with GM Jason Watson hoping for a 2022 activation.

Law is a big fan of the Spokane Fightin' Fish Farm System, placing six prospects from the group in the Top 100 which topped all RDBL clubs. The group is headlined by Casey Mize (11th) who debuted in 2020 and will look to earn a big league rotation spot in Spring Training.

The Alamo Short Stacks, Honolulu Hammerheads and Mt. Diablo Devils were next in line, each having five representatives. The Stacks were led by MacKenzie Gore (2) who was ranked as the best pitching prospect in the Minors while Jarred Kelenic (4) finished closely behind. The Hammerheads were loaded as well Cristian Pache (3), Alex Kiriloff (7) and Ian Anderson (15) all in the Top 15.

The Athletic Top 100 Prospects

1. SS Wander Franco, Mt. Diablo Devils

2. LHP MacKenzie Gore, Alamo Short Stacks

3. OF Cristian Pache, Honolulu Hammerheads

4. OF Jarred Kelenic, Alamo Short Stacks

5. RHP Nate Pearson, Idaho Taters

6. C Adley Rutschman, Cloverdale Clovers

7. OF Alex Kiriloff, Honolulu Hammerheads

8. SS CJ Abrams, Free Agent

9. OF Dylan Carlson, Free Agent

10. 1B Andrew Vaughn, Meinert Hops

11. RHP Casey Mize, Spokane Fightin' Fish

12. RHP Triston McKenzie, Lunatic Fringe

13. 3B Ke'Bryan Hayes, Idaho Taters

14. 3B Austin Martin, Free Agent

15. RHP Ian Anderson, Honolulu Hammerheads

16. RHP Luis Patiño, Mt. Diablo Devils

17. LHP Daniel Lynch, Cloverdale Clovers

18. 1B Spencer Torkelson, Idaho Taters

19. C Francisco Alvarez, Free Agent

20. RHP Edward Cabrera, Free Agent

21. RHP Matt Manning, Idaho Taters

22. LHP Tarik Skubal, Free Agent

23. OF Corbin Carroll, Free Agent

24. OF Julio Rodriguez, Spokane Fightin' Fish

25. RHP Sixto Sanchez, Lake Merced Goutfish

26. SS Jazz Chisholm, Honolulu Hammerheads

27. SS Bobby Witt, Jr., Asti Grape Stompers

28. RHP Hunter Greene, Asti Grape Stompers

29. RHP Forrest Whitley, Meinert Hops

30. LHP Asa Lacy, Free Agent

31. SS Marco Luciano, Alamo Short Stacks

32. SS Ronny Mauricio, Free Agent

33. LHP Brendan McKay, Mission Viejo Maulers

34. OF Riley Greene, Free Agent

35. 2B Vidal Brujan, Asti Grape Stompers

36. OF Brandon Marsh, Spokane Fightin' Fish

37. OF Kristian Robinson, Maltese Falcons

38. C Luis Campusano, Free Agent

39. RHP Josiah Gray, Free Agent

40. RHP Max Meyer, Free Agent

41. C Joey Bart, Burlingame Blue Ducks

42. C Bo Naylor, Free Agent

43. OF Zac Veen, Free Agent

44. OF Leody Taveras, Mt. Diablo Devils

45. OF Randy Arozarena, Free Agent

46. SS Royce Lewis, Maltese Falcons

47. RHP Logan Gilbert, Free Agent

48. RHP Clarke Schmidt, Free Agent

49. LHP DL Hall, St. Joseph Jokers

50. LHP Matt Liberatore, Spokane Fightin' Fish

51. OF Brennen Davis, Free Agent

52. IF Xavier Edwards, Free Agent

53. RHP Michael Kopech, Cloverdale Clovers

54. RHP Emerson Hancock, Alamo Short Stacks

55. RHP Grayson Rodriguez, Free Agent

56. SS/2B Jeter Downs, Free Agent

57. 3B Nolan Gorman, Mission Viejo Maulers

58. OF Heliot Ramos, Maltese Falcons

59. OF Josh Lowe, Free Agent

60. OF Robert Hassell, Free Agent

61 OF Alek Thomas, Free Agent

62. RHP Spencer Howard, Cloverdale Clovers

63. RHP Jordan Balazovic, Free Agent

64. SS Braden Shewmake, Las Vegas Aristocrats

65. LHP Reid Detmers, Free Agent

66. OF Jasson Dominguez, Alamo Short Stacks

67. RHP Luis Garcia, Free Agent

68. C Ivan Herrera, Free Agent

69. RHP Shane Baz, Free Agent

70. C William Contreras, Honolulu Hammerheads

71. LHP Seth Corry, Free Agent

72. LHP Brailyn Marquez, Free Agent

73. RHP Quinn Priester, Free Agent

74. IF Michael Busch, Free Agent

75. C Diego Cartaya, Mt. Diablo Devils

76. OF George Valera, Spokane Fightin' Fish

77. LHP Ryan Weathers, Free Agent

78. SS Tyler Freeman, Free Agent

79. RHP Alex Manoah, Free Agent

80. C Keibert Ruiz, Mission Viejo Maulers

81 RHP Deivi Garcia, Mt Diablo Devils

82. LHP Ryan Rolison, Burlingame Blue Ducks

83. RHP Jhoan Duran, Free Agent

84. LHP AJ Puk, Meinert Hops

85. OF Heston Kjerstad, Free Agent

86. 3B Nolan Jones, Burlingame Blue Ducks

87. 1B Triston Casas, Free Agent

88. 3B Jonathan India, Spokane Fightin' Fish

89. OF JJ Bleday, Free Agent

90. RHP Matt Allen, Free Agent

91 SS Geraldo Perdomo, Free Agent

92. C Alejandro Kirk, Free Agent

93. OF Jarren Duran, Free Agent

94. OF Pete Crow-Armstrong, Free Agent

95. OF Garrett Mitchell, Free Agent

96. SS Brice Turang, Free Agent

97. OF Taylor Trammell, Mission Viejo Maulers

98. SS Orelvis Martinez, Free Agent

99. SS Brayan Rocchio, Free Agent

100. LHP Nick Lodolo, Las Vegas Aristocrats

Free Agents (50)