In a 3-year stretch from 2007 to 2009, Chad Qualls was one of the better (and most underrated) relievers in baseball, tossing 208.1 innings of 3.11 ERA ball while posting excellent component ratios (8.4 K/9, 2.2 BB/9, 0.82 HR/9, and a ground ball rate north of 56%). He served as Brad Lidge's setup man in Houston in 2006 and 2007, and looked poised to take over for the erstwhile Astros and Phillies closer when Pat Gillick and Ed Wade pulled the trigger on this deal in November 2007, but was himself dealt to the Diamondbacks just a month later in a deal for Jose Valverde.

Somewhat ironic, then, that Qualls currently occupies the the middle relief spot that Lidge might himself have possessed had he and the Phillies been able to come to an agreement. As it is, Lidge now finds himself in our nation's capital on a 1-year, $1 million deal, while Ruben Amaro inked Lidge's former bullpen mate to a 1-year, $1.15 million contract inside of a week later.

So what are the Phillies getting in Qualls? Tough to tell, as he's been the poster boy for reliever volatility over the past few years, but let's take a look at what we've got beneath the jump.

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Called up to the majors on Thursday, Phillies prospect Michael Schwimer had to wait until Sunday to make his debut, and it wasn't under the normal circumstances under which you'd expect a young reliever to be eased in. With Roy Halladay's day over after a lengthy rain delay, Schwimer was tasked with protecting a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the 6th inning, and it didn't exactly get off on the right foot, with Danny Espinosa taking Schwimer's second pitch deep and gone to center field to tie things up. The big righty would settle down shortly thereafter, though, striking out the side in order in the 7th, and spinning another scoreless frame in the 8th. His final line: 3.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 4 K. Schwimer was understandably frustrated with himself for letting the lead slip away, but overall it was a successful debut for a guy who has certainly earned his major league shot.

So now is a good time to ask: what does Schwimer project to be? His statistical profile over the course of his career is nearly flawless, but he's never had one real knockout pitch that made would make scouts think of him as a high leverage reliever. But he showed yesterday how he's had success: he mixes his pitches well, changes the eye level of hitters, and generally has excellent pitchability. The two areas for concern: (1) even throwing on a downward plane at 6'8", he doesn't get a ton of grounders; and (2) he's struggled a bit against lefties this year. He's never had problems against left handed hitters before 2011, but they went 2-for-3 off of him in his debut, so it's something worth monitoring going forward.  To me, Schwimer looks more like a guy with a ceiling of "solid set up man" than "shutdown closer," but for six cost-controlled years, he should prove to be a really nice asset for the organization.

As for guys still in the minors, check below the jump for 10 capsules.

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The MLB Draft process is vastly unlike its counterparts in the other four major sports, and today serves as yet another example of why. While draftees in, say, the NFL haggle over bonuses, we all know they're going to sign eventually -- but with baseball, whether or not a draftee winds up signing is very much an open question. The focus of the prospecting world will be on Gerrit Cole, Anthony Rendon and the like, to see whether they sign and how much of a bonus they get if they do, but every team is working feverishly to get as many draftees signed as possible.

If you're familiar at all with the draft, then you know that the commissioner's office promulgates a recommended slotting system for all draft picks, and prefers teams to hold off on announcing above slot deals until the days leading up to the deadline. This creates a mad rush of signing news in mid-August, as any of you who frequent Baseball America or MLB Trade Rumors have probably seen.

With respect to the Phillies, it remains to be seen how active of a deadline day we are likely to see. Phuture Phillies has been keeping tabs on this in great detail over the course of the summer, so if you're looking to play a little catch up, I'd highly recommend the resources he's put together over there. By way of summary, here are the Cliffs Notes:

• Sandwich round pick (39th overall) Larry Greene Jr. and 2nd round shortstop Roman Quinn are likely to sign, and quite frankly, it's surprising it's taken them this long.
• 6th rounder Zach Wright, a junior catcher from East Carolina, will not be signing.
• The Phillies have kept an open dialogue with a number of other prep and juco products, including 5th rounder Mitch Walding (an athletic shortstop), 15th rounder Ryan Garvey (Steve's son, and a well regarded hitter), 17th rounder Jesen Dygestile-Therrien (a juco Canadian right hander), and 27th rounder Brandon Shull (a southpaw from Iowa). There's been no real indication how much money the organization has to spend, so these guys could just be backup plans in case something falls through with Greene or Quinn, or the budget could be big enough to sign a bunch of the later round guys.

Once the draft class has taken shape, we'll actually be able to take stock of how the Phillies did, meaning that I can write my long overdue draft wrap up. So be sure to look for that in the next few days.  In the meantime, just like last year, we'll be honoring this year's signing deadline day by taking a look at some bonus babies from years past. Check below the jump for updates on a number of draftees from 2006 through this year.

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We took a look over the weekend at the trio of prospects the Phillies shipped out to acquire Hunter Pence, and now, we want to take a minute to focus on who's still here. Most importantly, Domonic Brown is still a Phillie, and Ruben Amaro insisted that Brown was never available in the first place. Obviously we here at TGP are relieved to hear that, and while Brown isn't prospect eligible anymore, he's still a 23-year old who's in Triple-A and is a big part of the club's future, and I think it's helpful to take a minute to analyze what we've got.

Brown was a raw but talented athlete when he was drafted in 2006, so the organization has brought him along relatively slowly, as your classic "one level per year" type of guy. He spent 2006 in the short season Gulf Coast League, 2007 in the short season New York-Penn League, 2008 in the Low A South Atlantic League, and started 2009 in the High A Florida State League. On that schedule, he'd have spent most of 2011 in the Triple-A International League, but he hit well enough to earn some midseason promotions starting in 2009, so let's cherry pick some stats from that point onward, paying particular attention to the plate discipline numbers (i.e., BB% and K%):

It's pretty clear to see what happened here: Brown tore up the FSL, and held his own while adjusting to the Eastern League. Sent back to Reading to start 2010, here's what happened:

The jump in Brown's Double-A numbers from 2009 to 2010 is astounding. Upon promotion, he fared well in Triple-A and less well in the majors, and just like in 2009, we can see the adjustment period reflected primarily in the plate discipline numbers. Injured to begin 2011, he spent just a brief time in Triple-A, and returned there over the weekend, and while there are obvious caveats about small sample size, let's see what happened:

Once again, a year of consolidation means that Brown has had zero difficulty in hitting Triple-A pitching. Furthermore, the best news about his major league sample is that while he's been just a tick above league average as an offensive player overall, he's controlled the strike zone surprisingly well. If we analyze this through the lens of Brown moving one level per year, 2011 is his Triple-A year, and he's absolutely killing it at the level while holding his own in the majors.

While it's obviously not quite as simple as the above numbers hint at, the trend is very clear, and very encouraging. Brown certainly has some things to work on (most notably his glove work), but given the proper amount of time to adjust, he's proven that he can hit pitching at any level. There's absolutely no reason to panic or rush to snap judgments on a kid with obvious talent and less than 300 major league plate appearances. Dom will be up in September, he'll be penciled in as the starting left fielder in 2011, and unless something goes wrong, he'll be a stalwart of the Phillies lineup for years to come.

With that, I think it's time to move on to the guys who do still have prospect eligibility. The departures of Jarred Cosart and Jonathan Singleton make it a good time to reassess the minor league system and see what's left on the farm. Check below the jump as we give a post-trade deadline snapshot of the Top 10 Phillies prospects.

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WholeCamels has already handled the trade overview and some follow up thoughts, FuquaManuel collected the smorgasbord of viewpoints on the deal, and the rest of the gang has been at it in the comments (thankfully the taco pal deal was reversed when Eric Simon failed his physical), so I figured it's my turn to step up to the plate. We know what Hunter Pence is bringing to the table, and we've read enough about these prospects the past few days to have an idea of what the Astros are getting. But as someone who follows the minor leagues pretty closely -- and I know a lot of our readers here are as crazy as I am in this regard -- I want to take a chance to climb on my soap box and bid a proper adieu to Jarred Cosart, Jonathan Singleton, and Josh Zeid (and, of course, Mr. To Be Named Later).

So check below the jump for a breakdown on what the Phillies are giving up, how this compares to the other blockbuster packages Ruben Amaro has put together, and some final wrap up thoughts. And as a heads up, Monday morning's prospect roundup will include some thoughts on Domonic Brown, as well as a look at the reshuffled top ten prospects in the system.

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Two items to kick off this week's roundup. First, if you haven't had the chance, please check out the Fanposts that Romero and The Dark have written recently on their trips to see the BlueClaws and Threshers, respectively. Pieces like this are always appreciated, as in season scouting reports are often difficult to come by, and the numbers can only tell us so much.

The second item follows from a change that Fangraphs made to their hitter statistics last week: changing K% to calculate strikeouts as a percentage of plate appearances instead of at bats. This makes K% and BB% consistent with each other, and as David Appelman notes, it's not a change that drastically alters the numbers to the point where our frame of reference changes.  I've gone ahead and updated the site Prospect Primer to reflect the change.

With that said, let's get on with the show. Check below the jump for updates on some of the organization's athletic young outfielders (of course), a pair of older, bat first prospects, and a Canadian right-hander who tossed a gem of a game on Saturday.

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We're at the ceremonial midway point of the major league season, but we're even further along than that in the minor league season -- there are just eight weeks of box scores left. Let's not waste any time, then, and jump right into the fray by discussing the title reference...

Joe Savery, 1B/LHP, Reading: Savery's first year as a full-time hitter has been moderately successful, with the 2007 1st round pick hitting .292/.353/.404 thus far. Interestingly enough, though, he hasn't been playing full-time since his promotion to Double-A, and has actually taken back to the mound, surrendering just 6 hits and 1 run in 8 innings across 5 appearances, while walking none and striking out 11. He doesn't profile as a major leaguer either as a first baseman or a pitcher, so it's fair to wonder is his usage pattern the last few weeks portends some sort of Brooks Kieschnick LOOGY/PH role for Savery. Truthfully, that may be his best path to the majors at this point.

There are, of course, nine more write ups below the jump.

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While early July is when most of the country gets its Independence Day on (the national holiday, not the awesome movie), the prospect junkies actually turn their attention overseas, with July 2 representing the first day that clubs can sign 16-year olds who will turn 17 by the end of the following season. If the MLB Rule 4 Draft is often tough to follow because of unfamiliarity with the names involved, the Latin American signing frenzy is even more of a mystery, with little in the way of scouting reports on all but the top prospects.

It's because of this uncertainty that it's difficult to pass any kind of judgment on what teams do during this period, but from a general standpoint, I'm happy with the way the Phillies handle their business here. While the Rangers and others clubs have made some huge splashes in the last few days, the Phillies haven't yet gotten involved in the market. They've tended, over the last few years, to sign guys months later, and to spread their budget on mid-level and low level guys who command no more than a few hundred thousand dollars a pop. It's a diversification of risk tact, and while it'd be nice to add the Miguel Cabreras and Jesus Monteros to your system, there's a ton of inherent risk with giving millions of dollars to 16-year olds who aren't anywhere near fully developed.

Baseball America had linked the organization to a trio of Venezuelan names: outfielder Carlos Tocci, left-hander Carlos Rodriguez, and right-hander Antonio Senzatela. Tocci isn't eligible to sign until he turns 16 next month, and it doesn't look like the others have signed elsewhere at this point, so we'll try to keep an eye on these names.

In the meantime, check below the jump for a look at some signings made by the club over the past few years.

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One interesting aspect of keeping tabs on prospects is the fact that while it's nearly impossible for a hitting prospect to come out of nowhere to put themselves on the prospect radar, the same isn't entirely true of pitchers. Put another way, it's pretty difficult for position players to suddenly pick up some game-changing new skill -- you don't suddenly develop massive power, or a keen eye at the plate, overnight -- but on the flip side, a pitcher can tweak his mechanics and suddenly find an extra 5 mph on his fastball, or learn a new secondary pitch that makes his other stuff play way up.  Now, obviously this doesn't happen all the time, but it happens enough that we're well served to cast a wider net in running through potential pitching prospects than potential hitting prospects.

In that spirit, there are three names below the jump here -- Mike Nesseth, Tyler Cloyd, and Lisalberto Bonilla -- who I haven't yet discussed in a Prospect Roundup, but who are nonetheless worth keeping tabs on. So if you're interested to see what they're bringing to the table, and want to check in on some of the more usual suspects, read on... 

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The start of the New York-Penn League last Friday, and the Gulf Coast League today, is a sobering reminder that I have still yet to produce any sort of draft recap for the blog, a fact for which I apologize. WholeCamels has already pointed you in the direction of Phuture Phillies' excellent (and extensive) coverage, and while it would be impossible (and redundant) for me to put something that detailed together, I still want to put together a piece looking at the thing holistically. The issue with doing that this year is that the club took a lot of high schoolers this time around -- so while we normally have to wait until the signing deadline on August 15 to make any sweeping judgments, that's even more the case in 2011. Still, it's in the works, I can promise you that much. 

In the meantime, there was some pretty substantial roster shuffling at Lehigh Valley and Reading, and the first four names below the jump each found themselves promoted over the past few days. Let's check in on them, along with some other prospects (including some guys from Williamsport), and finally join the "Free Erik Kratz" movement.

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Of all the names Jim Salisbury and others threw out there leading up to the 2011 MLB Draft, Larry Greene was not among them, but that didn't stop the Phillies from popping the burly high school outfielder from Georgia with the 39th overall pick.

Ranked 75th overall by Baseball America, Greene is a 6'2", 235-lb. manchild whose best tool is -- surprise! -- his raw power. BA's writeup said that he dominated "modest" competition in south Georgia but really struggled in showcase events against better velocity. As with any power hitter not named Albert Pujols, his swing is a bit long, but he's apparently put on prodigious displays of power in batting practice, which makes sense for a guy with his size and his uppercut swing plane. He's drawn comparisons to Ryan Howard for his raw power, and BA dropped a Russell Branyan comp on him as well.

The downside, as you might divine from the two comps above, is that Greene's one tool is basically his only tool: he's not much of an athlete, and many scouts think he'll eventually have to move from left field to first base. And while it sounds like he could be a scary power threat, it remains to be seen if his pure hitting ability will allow him to use that raw power in game situations as he starts to face more quality pitching.  "[A]ggressive free-swinger" is not one of my favorite phrases to read in a scouting report, and Jason Churchill and Keith Law's report (ESPN Insider) mentions that power potential but calls Greene "incredibly high-risk".

Personally, I'm a bit skeptical of the pick -- guys who project at the bottom of the defensive spectrum as 18-year olds have to hit a ton to provide value, so there isn't much wiggle room here. That said, I'm in no position to completely rail against it, since the Phillies scouts have seen Greene a few more times than I have, and clearly this is a guy they really like. They obviously figured he wouldn't be around at 66 (their next pick), and they must certainly have liked him better than Andrew Chafin, Andrew Susac, Jackie Bradley, Jr., and some of the other rumored targets who were still on the board.  Like any draft, how the Phils do with their remaining 50 picks will outweigh any one selection, so for those of you crazy enough to care about this, tune in tomorrow as the lightning round begins, and we'll judge the draft as a whole when all is said and done.

Below: Greene taking some batting cage cuts during the 2010 Aflac All-American practice session.

Continuing on in our MLB Draft crash course, we'll move from one local kid (Lancaster county catcher Cameron Gallagher) to another.

H:6'4"

W: 210

Throws: R

Kevin Comer is a right-handed pitcher from Seneca High School in Taberbacle, New Jersey. He's has had a bit of a strange senior season, throwing a limited number of innings and puzzling scouts with a dropoff in his stuff. At his best, he throws in the low 90s, and as a good athlete with a projectable frame, it's not unreasonable to project improved (and more consistent) velocity down the line. Both his curve and change up have shown potential, and he earns high marks for his makeup.

I'm not able to embed a video here, but I can link you to this video from Baseball Beginnings. With the obvious caveat that I'm not a scout, and know next to nothing about scouting, you can see what the draw is with Comer: he's lanky and has pretty easy arm action, so you can project him as a starter if he's able to hone his secondary pitches.

Baseball America only ranks Comer #102 overall in its Top 200, and popping him with the 39th overall selection would be something of a surprise, but the Phillies have never been afraid to go against the grain, especially when there's a local kid they feel they know well (see, e.g., Biddle, Jesse, and Knapp, Jason). Jim Salisbury is on record as saying that the Phillies have "serious interest" in Comer, and if it turns out Comer's their guy, we have to assume that they've done their due diligence on his bonus demands. The club has signed players away from Vanderbilt before -- Anthony Hewitt back in 2008 -- but as James from Phuture Phillies noted the other day, Vanderbilt tends to get their guys, and we can't be sure if slot money at 39 would be enough to convince Comer to turn pro. Area scouts seem to think that Comer wants to go to college, but it could just be posturing, so we'll have to see what indications Comer's camp gives after he gets selected.

Thoughts: Comer does fit the mold of what the Phillies look for in their young starters, but Marti Wolever is on record as saying that the club is focusing on adding left-handed pitching to the system, so given that and the possible signability issues, I'd be a bit surprised to see Comer go to the Phils at 39.

We're less than a week away from the start of the 2011 MLB Draft, so it's time to kick it into gear around these parts. I haven't been as up-to-date on the draft coverage this year as in years past, but given where the Phillies pick (#39 overall is their first selection), I'm going to lean a little more heavily on the experts for the analysis, and do a little less amateur prognostication.

In the meantime, Phuture Phillies has a couple of pieces up on some potential targets at 39, along with some discussion on the Phillies' general draft philosophy and the unpredictable nature of the draft in general (see here and here). They're lengthy, but well worth a read if this sort of stuff interests you.

To keep with the general draft theme, let's make this a bit of a special prospect roundup -- we'll go back 5 years to take a look at the Phils' 2006 draft haul. Check below the jump to get started.

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The 2011 MLB Draft is fast approaching (and we'll, of course, have more on that in the coming weeks), but it's not the only way that the club can add talent to the organization. Baseball America pointed out that the Phillies signed Australian catcher Liam Bedford in late April, the latest in a series of signings that the club has made on the world's smallest continent. It sounds like Bedford will join the Gulf Coast League Phillies for the 2012 season, so we'll try to keep tabs on him then.

In the meantime, let's check in on some of the other Aussies in the organization, along with fresh-off-the-DL Brody Colvin, a trio of Lakewood outfielders, and some others. Hopefully it won't take you as long to read this Prospect Roundup as it took the Threshers to play last night's game...

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For the 7 people that read these things on Monday morning, I apologize for the two week hiatus. The Internet is now back up and running in the PhillyFriar household, so no excuses this time around.

You've probably already seen the Jesse Biddle game report that Five-Tool Tool* shared with us via Fanpost, but if you haven't had a chance yet, be sure to check it out. It's good news in there, and confirms a lot of what we've heard before -- Biddle's rough around the edges, but the tools are all there.

*Nice guy, that Five-Tool Tool, taking time out of his day to share that on a Phillies blog. Mets fans may not be as classy as Braves fans -- no one is, of course -- but this moved the group up a collective notch in my book.

Anyway, let's get down to brass tacks: check below the jump for an update on the toolsy toolshed 2008 1st rounder, Lakewood's ace, and the reason behind the ridiculous picture to the right.

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Somewhere between running his big league scoreless innings streak to 21 and looking a bit like a badass superhero, Vance Worley has grabbed a bigger share of the early season spotlight than one might (rightfully) have expected. With Joe Blanton's elbow impingement not as serious as initially feared, this might have been Worley's last start with the big club for the time being (assuming, of course, that Ruben Amaro doesn't take Bleacher Report's advice and trade Cupcakes for someone who was just DFA'd yesterday).  If that's the case, the young man's been so good that it's worth taking a quick look forward and backward to see where Worley's come from, and where he's going.

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No time to waste, since we've got a bullpen that needs saving. Mike Stutes may be no Jesus Christ, but on Easter Sunday, the 2008 11th round pick got the call to fill in for Jose Contreras. Let's highlight the man of the hour above the jump, then check in some others below.

Mike Stutes, RHP, Lehigh Valley: While we all commence freakouts about what a flexor pronator strain actually means, this year's spring training darling heads to the majors for the first time. The Oregon State product certainly deserves it, as he's been Lehigh Valley's best reliever in the early going, with a 1.34 FIP and a 14:4 K:BB in 10.0 innings so far. The only concerning thing, to me, is Stutes' ground ball rate, which has dropped from 56% between Lakewood and Williamsport in 2008 to just 30% so far this year. The more fly balls you allow, the more extra base hits and homers you'll surrender, so while it's nitpicking a bit, it's something to keep an eye on as Stutes throws to major league hitters for the first time in his career.

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If you haven't yet had the chance, be sure to check out The Dark's Fanpost (since promoted) on the Clearwater Threshers, which he had the chance to catch in action against the Brevard County Manatees. As we say in our "The Minors" section, statistics can only tell us so much, so any firsthand reports we can get our hands on are greatly appreciated.

With that said, let's go ahead and get this shindig started. Check below the jump for an update on the 2010 1st round pick, the Reading double play combo, and a couple of Dominicans worth monitoring from the offensively-deprived Lakewood club.

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With the minor league season only getting underway on Thursday, we don't have a full week's worth of box scores to work with. That said, if you thought a prospect junkie like me was going to wait a week-and-a-half before rolling out the first prospect roundup of the year... well...

I would feel obligated here to make the normal disclaimer about sample sizes, and not reading too much into 4 games' worth of at bats, etc., but you guys are smart enough to know that already, so let's just skip that part.

Without further ado, then, check below the jump for the first prospect roundup of 2011, including updates on a couple of conversion projects, a pair of Reading sluggers who need to have big years, and a 2010 draft pick who looks like a potential sleeper.

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The 2011 minor league season is upon us, with all four full season teams kicking off their schedules today. For those of you who, like me, are serial box score refreshers, the Philly farm system officially kicks off the season at 6:00 with Reading (led by starter Josh Zeid) taking on the Portland Sea Dogs in Eastern League action. There will be plenty to talk about over the coming months, and I'll have the first of the weekly prospect roundups starting this Monday, but for now, let's ask five questions to preview the prospecty goodness that awaits us.

1. Who's primed for a breakout campaign?

Just like last year, I'm going to tab a couple of higher end breakout guys (both on the Top 30), and a couple of guys from off the Top 30. On the pitching side of the ledger, I'm expecting 2010 1st rounder Jesse Biddle to turn some heads in Lakewood this year. I've made this comparison a few times before, but I think it bears repeating: the last time the Phillies were accused of overdrafting a pitcher in their backyard, Jason Knapp opened his first full season in Lakewood, and wound up the centerpiece of the original Cliff Lee deal. I'm hoping Biddle has better health than Knapp (and, of course, I hope he isn't traded), but I have a feeling he's in for the same sort of breakout.

The Top 30 hitter I'm most excited to see in pro ball is 2010 6th round pick Gauntlett Eldemire. Sidelined by a wrist injury, the University of Ohio product has yet to make his pro debut, but features the kind of raw tools -- above-average speed and power -- that make him one to keep an eye on. Not to go overboard comparing current draft picks to past ones, but the organization did have some luck in altering Michael Taylor's swing to facilitate a breakout, so maybe all Gauntlett needs is some professional instruction to truly unlock his ability.

At the other end of the spectrum, I'll take a couple of fliers on some guys in the low minors who have a shot as post-hype sleepers, if you will. It's hard to believe that Zach Collier is still only 20 years old, but indeed he is, and even after missing an entire year through injury, he's still age appropriate for Lakewood. Collier had a nightmare 2009 at the dish, but he was always thought to be a better pure hitter than Anthony Gose and Anthony Hewitt, and I wouldn't be shocked to see him put it together this year. As for a hurler, I think Lino Martinez, a 2009 free agent signing out of Venezuela, could surprise some people. The lefty will begin in extended spring training, but he put up decent numbers for the GCL Phillies last year, and as a southpaw, he'll get plenty of opportunities to prove his usefulness.

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[Part IV of a four-part series]

As the boys get going down in Clearwater, we close up our 2011 Top 30 prospect list. There's actually a nice symmetry to the whole thing -- I've spent the last couple of pieces analyzing the farm system based on what happened in 2010 (and before) and what we can reasonably project of these young players going forward, and this series attempts to crystallize the view from the precipice of the 2011 season.

It's important to remember how fluid this process is, though. For quick reference, let's just take a quick peek at last year's Top 30. We have 3 graduates (Antonio Bastardo, Scott Mathieson, and John Mayberry Jr.), 2 guys shipped off via trade (Anthony Gose and Jonathan Villar), 2 guys outrighted off the 40-man roster and gone (Yohan Flande and Jesus Sanchez), and 6 guys who tumbled off the list (Jonathan Pettibone, B.J. Rosenberg, Mike Stutes, Matt Way, and Zach Collier), leaving 17 from last year's list. Truthfully, that list would have looked radically different had it been redone in June, because that's the nature of the beast -- some prospects have breakout years, some get hurt, and some flat line when you expect them to have big years. It's why, for all the increased importance of cost controlled young players in today's game, there's still an incredible unpredictability to developing prospects; it's more art than science, with a heaping teaspoon of randomness thrown in for good measure.

All we can do is sit back and enjoy the ride. I hope the prospect geeks out there, like myself, are excited for another minor league campaign, and we'll do our best here at TGP to stay on top of things. Without further ado, then, check below the jump for our Top 10 prospects for the 2011 season.

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