Another off-season, another set of scoops standings ranking baseball's best reporters based on their success reporting major league deals. In using MLB Trade Rumors' fantastic resources to figure out who scooped what, and who scooped who, I've yet again put together a stat board but, instead of it being for players, it's for those who work around the players. Baseball's team and national reporters put in countless time day after day attempting to break news and report deals to their readers but, aside for simply being credited for breaking a particular story, they rarely get ongoing recognition for their work. Although this formula and thought process is far from perfect, it does just that.

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In step one of the "How to land a job in baseball" series I discussed how cultivating sources can be huge for anyone attempting to break into the business. A well-established source can generally go a long way toward helping one reach his or her goals but, clearly, it’s not the only way. Here we are, finally, at step two which is a primer on how bloggers and other members of media outlets can obtain a job in baseball by writing and analyzing baseball on the interwebs.

The blogosphere is constantly flooded with advanced analysis on hundreds of different sites and blogs. When a really good article is published on whatever blog it may have been posted on readers use Twitter, Facebook and other social media platforms to share or promote to their readers/followers. And what pushes most bloggers to keep on writing, especially myself, is the notion that at least a few of the readers browsing through their blog are front office executives and other important baseball people.

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Last week, I previewed my new series involving the steps necessary to land a job in baseball, specifically in baseball operations. I highlighted the importance of several steps that are crucial in the process, and now its time to discuss the number one: cultivating sources and connections. Although it isn't impossible, netting your dream job in baseball likely involves the help of several current employees who are familiar with you and your work. Whether you blog, work in media relations or claim some sort of intriguing baseball talent it's important to have recognition from highly regarded folks within the business, or at least ones who can help you achieve your goals in the sport.

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• Tier 1 (4 points): Major League Star -- Number One Starter
• Tier 2 (3 points): Stand Out/Above Average Regular -- Number Two/Exceptional Three Starter
• Tier 3 (2 points): Solid, Average, Every Day Regular -- Number Three/Solid Four Starter
• Tier 4 (1 point): Bench/Below Average Regular -- Borderline Four/Number Five Starter/Relief Pitcher

Philadelphia Phillies -- 29 points

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• Tier 1 (4 points): Major League Star -- Number One Starter
• Tier 2 (3 points): Stand Out/Above Average Regular -- Number Two/Exceptional Three Starter
• Tier 3 (2 points): Solid, Average, Every Day Regular -- Number Three/Solid Four Starter
• Tier 4 (1 point): Bench/Below Average Regular -- Borderline Four/Number Five Starter/Relief Pitcher

Washington Nationals -- 33 points

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• Tier 1 (4 points): Major League Star -- Number One Starter
• Tier 2 (3 points): Stand Out/Above Average Regular -- Number Two/Exceptional Three Starter
• Tier 3 (2 points): Solid, Average, Every Day Regular -- Number Three/Solid Four Starter
• Tier 4 (1 point): Bench/Below Average Regular -- Borderline Four/Number Five Starter/Relief Pitcher

Texas Rangers -- 33 points

Tier 1

Yu Darvish: RHP
Jurickson Profar: SS
Martin Perez: LHP

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• Tier 1 (4 points): Major League Star -- Number One Starter
• Tier 2 (3 points): Stand Out/Above Average Regular -- Number Two/Exceptional Three Starter
• Tier 3 (2 points): Solid, Average, Every Day Regular -- Number Three/Solid Four Starter
• Tier 4 (1 point): Bench/Below Average Regular -- Borderline Four/Number Five Starter/Relief Pitcher

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim -- 29 points

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• Tier 1 (4 points): Major League Star -- Number One Starter
• Tier 2 (3 points): Stand Out/Above Average Regular -- Number Two/Exceptional Three Starter
• Tier 3 (2 points): Solid, Average, Every Day Regular -- Number Three/Solid Four Starter
• Tier 4 (1 point): Bench/Below Average Regular -- Borderline Four/Number Five Starter/Relief Pitcher

Seattle Mariners - 32 points

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• Tier 1 (4 points): Major League Star -- Number One Starter
• Tier 2 (3 points): Stand Out/Above Average Regular -- Number Two/Exceptional Three Starter
• Tier 3 (2 points): Solid, Average, Every Day Regular -- Number Three/Solid Four Starter
• Tier 4 (1 point): Bench/Below Average Regular -- Borderline Four/Number Five Starter/Relief Pitcher

Oakland A's -- 30 points

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• Tier 1 (4 points): Major League Star -- Number One Starter
• Tier 2 (3 points): Stand Out/Above Average Regular -- Number Two/Exceptional Three Starter
• Tier 3 (2 points): Solid, Average, Every Day Regular -- Number Three/Solid Four Starter
• Tier 4 (1 point): Bench/Below Average Regular -- Borderline Four/Number Five Starter/Relief Pitcher

Minnesota Twins -- 30 points

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• Tier 1 (4 points): Major League Star -- Number One Starter
• Tier 2 (3 points): Stand Out/Above Average Regular -- Number Two/Exceptional Three Starter
• Tier 3 (2 points): Solid, Average, Every Day Regular -- Number Three/Solid Four Starter
• Tier 4 (1 point): Bench/Below Average Regular -- Borderline Four/Number Five Starter/Relief Pitcher

Cleveland Indians -- 24 points

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• Tier 1 (4 points): Major League Star -- Number One Starter
• Tier 2 (3 points): Stand Out/Above Average Regular -- Number Two/Exceptional Three Starter
• Tier 3 (2 points): Solid, Average, Every Day Regular -- Number Three/Solid Four Starter
• Tier 4 (1 point): Bench/Below Average Regular -- Borderline Four/Number Five Starter/Relief Pitcher

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• Tier 1 (4 points): Major League Star -- Number One Starter
• Tier 2 (3 points): Stand Out/Above Average Regular -- Number Two/Exceptional Three Starter
• Tier 3 (2 points): Solid, Average, Every Day Regular -- Number Three/Solid Four Starter
• Tier 4 (1 point): Bench/Below Average Regular -- Borderline Four/Number Five Starter/Relief Pitcher

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• Tier 1 (4 points): Major League Star -- Number One Starter
• Tier 2 (3 points): Stand Out/Above Average Regular -- Number Two/Exceptional Three Starter
• Tier 3 (2 points): Solid, Average, Every Day Regular -- Number Three/Solid Four Starter
• Tier 4 (1 point): Bench/Below Average Regular -- Borderline Four/Number Five Starter/Relief Pitcher

Possibly one of the more underrated systems in baseball, Kansas City's farm still consists of top tier and semi-impact talent. Despite a combination of injuries and promotions setting the organization back a bit prospect-wise, the Royals quietly possess one of the game's best systems. The Royals have at last found themselves to be a legitimate contender in a weak American League Central and this is largely due to their strong foundation of impact level prospects that have made their way through the system over the past couple of seasons. The Hosmer, Moustakas and Duffy group is already up and now, Royals are expecting to see the likes of Mike Montgomery and Wil Myers make their way to Kansas City.

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• Tier 1 (4 points): Major League Star -- Number One Starter
• Tier 2 (3 points): Stand Out/Above Average Regular -- Number Two/Exceptional Three Starter
• Tier 3 (2 points): Solid, Average, Every Day Regular -- Number Three/Solid Four Starter
• Tier 4 (1 point): Bench/Below Average Regular -- Borderline Four/Number Five Starter/Relief Pitcher

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Like the Orioles system, the gold of the Red Sox farm lies strongly on the 2011 draft. They spent a ton of money last year, so you can't really blame them. In any case, this is probably the weakest the system has been for several years, but still makes a case for one of the top ten in baseball. Here are the rankings:

• Tier 1 (4 points): Major League Star -- Number One Starter
• Tier 2 (3 points): Stand Out/Above Average Regular -- Number Two/Exceptional Three Starter
• Tier 3 (2 points): Solid, Average, Every Day Regular -- Number Three/Solid Four Starter
• Tier 4 (1 point): Bench/Below Average Regular -- Borderline Four/Number Five Starter/Relief Pitcher

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Our next set of prospect rankings features the Rays, with a few slight changes made to the way this is set up. After doing some thinking, I realized that if I'm going to be giving readers a 50% outlook on a prospect, it's not worth it. That's why I'm going to nix my 150-word scouting reports on these players. I'm doing this because during the season I compile numerous amount of full scouting reports. Say, reports with tool grades and much more in-depth analysis and, again, there are certain players I haven't yet seen. Also, I don't want to shy away from the focus of these rankings, which is impact and roles going forward. But I'll still be ranking each team. So here we go...

• Tier 1 (4 points): Major League Star -- Number One Starter
• Tier 2 (3 points): Stand Out/Above Average Regular -- Number Two/Exceptional Three Starter
• Tier 3 (2 points): Solid, Average, Every Day Regular -- Number Three/Solid Four Starter
• Tier 4 (1 point): Bench/Below Average Regular -- Borderline Four/Number Five Starter/Relief Pitcher

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The Blue Jays were the first team I ranked in the brand new BtB Prospect Rankings, and now it's time to tackle team number two: the Orioles. If you missed my explanation on how these rankings work, you can find it by clicking here. That said, I'm going to include the "tier" key in every ranking post. Here it is:

• Tier 1 (4 points): Major League Star -- Number One Starter
• Tier 2 (3 points): Stand Out/Above Average Regular -- Number Two/Exceptional Three Starter
• Tier 3 (2 points): Solid, Average, Every Day Regular -- Number Three/Solid Four Starter
• Tier 4 (1 point): Bench/Below Average Regular -- Borderline Four/Number Five Starter/Relief Pitcher

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Schoop has a steady, balanced swing with lots of lift. His swing has some leverage, but most of all has a consistent bat plain and is very upright. He's has some holes, but with quick wrists and good contact skills he gets bat-to-ball fairly easily. Schoop's best tool could very well be his power. With quick wrists and plenty of bat speed he's able to generate power which, as some have noted, could translate to 25-35 home runs at the big league level.

He doesn't have much loft to his swing, but he drives the ball well and has the ability to hit to all fields. He has a good eye at the plate, one that isn't overly aggressive. He stays back and has good pitch recognition, hence he can walk a fair amount.

With lots of arm strength but not the softest of hands, Schoop is best suited for third-base. He's played both the hot corner and shortstop, although he doesn't have enough range to stick up-the-middle. Schoop has good baseball instincts but he tends to speed up at times, causing him to rush and not pick up the ball cleanly. He's got some things to work on before he'll be Baltimore bound, but Schoop is on the fast track and could spell a bright future for the O's

Dylan Bundy, a big and strong Oklahoma native features two well-above average pitches with nice feel for a third and fourth. His fastball has been known to sit in the mid-high 90's, occasionally touching 99. He throws it for strikes and aside from just controlling the zone, he commands it. His curve is also plus and he throws it for strikes at 75-78. It has nice depth and fade and, while he has a slider too, it isn't as polished as his curve.

He repeats his mechanics which is ever-so important for a young pitcher considering many other things stem off that, such as command and ability to fool batters. Number one starters are said to only be in that category if they have plus command and plus velocity of two different pitches. There's a decent chance that Bundy qualifies for three pitches, which is absurd.

Bundy is an excellent athlete and is said to have reminded some scouts of Zack Greinke on the mound with his natural athletic frame, despite being a somewhat different pitcher. Aside from projection within his arsenal, Bundy has some physical projection too. He's already very strong but is still filling out.

Additionally, he's advanced for his age and level. There's a decent chance we'll see Bundy pitching for Delmarva when the season begins, which is a big jump for someone beginning pro-ball. Many think he's ready for the challenge.

Parker Bridwell is a young projectable right-hander for the Orioles with consistency issues within his mechanics but top of the rotation stuff. When I saw him last season, he was very rangy. He was sitting 91-92 with his fastball touching as high 95 and as low as 88. Although he was rangy, his fastball had some outward run and was getting hitters flailing. Scouts have noted his fastball to be very projectable, especially as Bridwell progresses and physically matures. Standing at 6'5, Bridwell has lots of size and although his arm slot is spotty at times, he generally has a decent plain on his fastball. Other than a fastball, he features a slider and a change in the works. Despite neither being plus pitches, they aren't that bad either. He just doesn't use them as much as he should.

One thing I noticed in Bridwell that I very much liked was his mound presence. He's a competitor with moxy and intensity on the mound. He's a Texan as well, which some scouts have found a trend in within start pitchers. Regardless, he works fast and contains some intimidation while pitching. He also carries himself well on the mound, something especially rare amongst younger pitchers. Bridwell isn't afraid to empty the tank which is a reason for some of his immediate success in pro ball.

The key for Bridwell going forward will be to refine his mechanics and continue tightening up his velocity and command. He can obviously throw 95, but it's important that he does so while avoiding 88. Of course, all of his early flaws are common for young pitchers, and hey, youngsters also flash similar stuff to that of Bridwell. But not many have the intangibles and arm strength that Bridwell has, and that's makes him pretty special.

There are few things in life that I enjoy more than reading material on prospects. Scouting reports, notes, primers, etc. I love 'em all. Whenever writers can enlighten their readers on players whom they have no chance of seeing during the regular season, it's widely considered to be indispensable to their knowledge. And to be completely honest, that's one of the main reasons for my enjoyment of writing such material. However, if there is one type of material that I've always gauged at, it's simple, flavorless top prospect rankings.

Over the years, prospect junkies have found prospect rankings to be the best possible way to enhance the knowledge of their readers. Some sites and magazines feature scouting reports on certain players, or maybe just an entry discussing a certain team's system, and by no means are those painful to read. The painful ones are those that simply discuss a player's attributes based on statistics alone or the ones that don't diverge in to a player at all. But even the best prospect rankings are somewhat bland.

I never found a top prospect ranking system useful at all really, because all that really does is say that in a system in which you're not aware of the prospect depth or lack thereof, Prospect A has a brighter future than Prospect B because he's listed higher on the list. There's basically no information to conclude why or why not Prospect A should be separated from Prospect B and, if so, why?

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Here's a scouting report on Blue Jays prospect Justin Nicolino.

Justin Nicolino is a projectable left-hander with pitchability and enough stuff to get batters swinging. He's more of a finesse guy than a power guy, but he still manages to throw a fastball that touches the mid-90's at times. Nicolino repeats his delivery and throws strikes. Additionally, he's able to mix his pitches and control the zone with his fastball and curve, even when behind in the count.

Nicolino throws at an over-the-top arm slot from the left-side. There isn't anything in his mechanics or repertoire that would suggest he couldn't stick in the rotation, and his arm motion isn't injury warranting either. the 2010 draft pick has risen quickly through the system, and is expected to continue to progress quickly this season.

Here's a scouting report on Blue Jays prospect Deck McGuire.

Deck McGuire is a big right-hander with good downhill action on his pitches. Although he has a slow arm motion, McGuire features deception and decent command. McGuire's mechanics are difficult to watch at times, but he gets the ball out of his hand quick and follows through nicely.

He controls his fastball more than he commands it, but it has nice bite and late, natural sink to it. In one late-season start that in which I saw McGuire, he got rather frustrated after getting out of tune in the middle innings, which involved giving up two runs. He quickly got himself back on track and lasted until the 7th inning.

McGuire doesn't throw that hard, but his velocity lasts until the later innings. Although I still think (along with others) that he was a slight overdraft, I can envision McGuire being a solid 4th or 5th starter for the Jays. He isn't too far away.

Here's a scouting report on Blue Jays prospect Drew Hutchison.

Drew Hutchison is a slim right-hander with an assortment of pitches and tons of pitchability. When I saw him in several late season starts, I imagine he was a bit tired out due to his six-month workload in 2011, but he still managed to get batters swinging on a plus-slider and change-up. Hutchison didn't throw harder than 94 in front of me, but I've been informed by scouts that he was sitting in the mid-to-high 90's during the early months of the year.

Hutchison has some release point problems but has deception and has shown to get batters out even when his best stuff isn't there. He is never going to be a guy to blow hitters away, but he gets enough K's to suggest his whiff rate in the majors will be enough. It's unclear what type of impact Hutchison will have on the Jays going forward, but I can imagine he'll at least be an adequate #4.

Here's a scouting report on Blue Jays prospect Adonys Cardona.

Adonys Cardona is a raw, projectable right-hander for the Jays already with a fastball that scouts can dream on. He's still only 17-years old, but features a fastball that sits 90-93 and has touched the mid-90's. Scouts have labeled lots of projection on his fastball and curve, two pitches that are expected to be above average once he fills out and gains more velocity.

Cardona's mechanics have warranted some concern in the past, but his arm motion is free and easy and displays terrific arm speed when throwing his fastball. He has feel for a change-up, but it's nowhere near close to becoming a plus pitch. Cardona has showed inconsistency in terms of his release point in the past, but like his other correctable issues, he'll progress through the system and tighten up as he moves along.

Here's a scouting report on Blue Jays' prospect Aaron Sanchez.

Despite some struggles in his first full season of pro ball, Aaron Sanchez is still regarded as one of the best pitching prospects in the Jays' system. Sanchez features a fastball that regularly touches the mid-90's, a curveball with plenty of depth and inward cut and a change-up in the works. He gets a lot of whiffs with his fastball but he speeds up at times and tends to loose his feel for it. In addition, he relies on it too often to get batters out.

His curveball has a lot of projection as it's already a solid pitch. He doesn't have great command of his curve but he controls it and gets batters swinging. Sanchez has a slim frame and projects to fill out a bit. He's wirey but has a smooth, free and easy delivery and doesn't warrant much injury concern. Sanchez throws at an over-the-top release point with a steady, downhill plain. The key for Sanchez will be to slow down a bit, as he sped up his delivery too often in 2011. That kind of inconsistency was a reason for some of his struggles last year.

Sanchez, a bulldog and competitor on the mound, isn't even 20-years old yet and already made his way to Lansing, so the there's absolutely no rush. If anything, he's on the fast track.

Here's a scouting report on Blue Jays' outfield prospect Anthony Gose.

There are few prospects in baseball who are as athletic and talented as Anthony Gose. Gose is a plus-runner and defender with all of the skills to become a plus-hitter too. He's a strong and physical athlete who has shown glimpses of superstardom in the past, but he hasn't yet put everything together. Gose has been very inconsistent at the plate since he's been in pro ball but really tightened things up in 2011.

Gose has lots of movement in his swing but has a quick bat. His swing isn't very leveraged but he has decent power and is very quick out of the box when he makes contact. He swings and misses way too often but when he makes contact it's usually solid. He gets too out in front of off-speed pitches and at times has trouble catching back up to fastballs.

Gose has good baseball instincts and gets solid reads in the outfield. He has an excellent arm as well (he threw 97 from the left side in high school). Gose has been known to be a bit silly and lackadaisical but has told me several times that he felt more mature and grown up during the 2011 season. His makeup was a question in the past but is less of one now. Gose has all the skills to be a star, he just needs to turn them into tools.

Here's a scouting report on Blue Jays' prospect Jake Marisnick.

Like Travis d'Arnaud, Jake Marisnick is also a 1st tier talent. Not only would I project all five of his tools to be above average, but they could all likely around the 60 area, too. Marisnick, who still has some physical projection, is a fantastic athlete. He runs extremely well and covers a lot of ground in the outfield. His arm is plus and is continuing to develop more accurary on his throws. He gets out of the box well and displays 65-70 speed while running the bases.

Marisnick has nice bat speed and hits to all fields. He gets inside of pitches quite well and swings right through the zone. His power is continuing to develop and projects to have 60+ power when it's all said and done. Marisnick has good baseball instincts which can be seen by his reads and aggressive charges at batted balls. He's a strong, thin-bodied kid who is continuing to develop star-like tools.

I asked a high-ranking official in the Blue Jays organization to describe Marisnick in a few words. The official replied, "five tool player."