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1) Alexia Amarista, 20 - 2B, A-Ball

.319/.390/.468 with 4 HR and 38 SB's. +18 bat, +20 glove

Only three players have put up better seasons in the Halos' system over the past five years: Brandon Wood in 2005, Howie Kendrick in 2005, and Sean Rodriguez in 2006. That's some pretty good company for Amarista, whom Baseball America failed to even mention in their Midwest League's top 20 prospects, despite the fact that he won the batting title, was voted best defensive second baseman by the league's managers, and was younger than half of the guys who made the top 20. The reason for the snub, of course, is Amarista's height - he's 5'6" or 5'5," depending on who you ask, though he's built like a cornerback - which means he may be maxed out physically. This is more of a scouting/projectability issue, which is not my area of expertise, so take my feelings on the matter with a grain of salt. Screw BA on this one. With  Amarista's blend of batting eye, high contact rate, speed, gap power and consistency, he's likely to continue producing with the bat as he ascends through the minors (unlike, say Clay Fuller from last year, who in retrospect lacked the contact rate and consistency). And even if advanced pitching causes the bat to tail off at the higher levels, the glove alone will continue to make him an interesting prospect. Is his ceiling huge? No, but there's enough here statistically not to write him off.

One last thing: Fangraphs credits Amarista with a +27.5 bat, due to the massive park factor they use and an added premium for speed. I'm not sure he was that good, but I would concede that his true value likely fell somewhere between the 5.75 wins ("WARP") I have him down for, and the ~6.5 wins that the fangraphs' numbers would suggest. In a 144 game minor league season, that is phenomenal. 

2) Carlos Ramirez, 21 - C, Advanced Rookie Pioneer League

.389/.514/.695 with 10 HR and 0 SB's. +36 bat, +8 glove

Sammy Swenson. Matt Pali. Josh Gray. Sergio Contreras. Grodon Gronkowski. Those are some other guys who pounded the ball in the Pioneer League over the past decade, but never encored against advanced competition. I mention them only to provide the perspective one has to have when looking at ridiculous Pioneer League stats.

That said, Ramirez' offensive production was better than all of them, and better than the production of more well known Pioneer League mashers Chris Pettit, Roberto Lopez, Dallas McPherson, Howie Kendrick and Sean Rodriguez. He didn't make his debut until July 19th, so only managed 214 PA's, but they were the best PA's Orem has seen in at least a decade. Throw in the fact that he's an above average receiver with excellent intangibles, and we may have a major leaguer on our hands. Behind Conger and Wilson there is little standout catching depth, so Ramirez, who is just a hair younger than Conger, could move very quickly next year.

And if you still need convincing, let me insert a quote from Sean Smith, creator of TotalZone, who was interested in putting Ramirez' college numbers from ASU into context:

Comparing [Ramirez' college] numbers to a pair of Sun Devils, Andre Ethier and Dustin Pedroia, I get:

                avg     slg

C-Ram   361    635

Ped         384    544

AE           371    559

I only have Carlo's walk numbers for 2009 so I didn't compare OBP, but his walk rate is similar to theirs, though he strikes out more often than they did.

The Halos tried and failed to sign Ramirez after selecting him in the 34th round of the 2007 draft. Makes you wonder why he was still around in the 8th round this year, doesn't it? 

Again, remember that this list is based entirely on statistical performance in 2009, and is not a traditional "best prospects" ranking.

4) Alexander Torres, 21 - LH SP, High A and AA

13 wins, 4 losses. 147.1 IP, 2.75 ERA, 149 SO/80 BB. +28 runs saved

According to the runs saved metric, Torres had the best season of any Halos pitching prospect since Stephen Marek and Joe Saunders shut down their respective leagues in 2006. Between Rancho Cucamonga and Arkansas, he posted a 57% groundball rate and a 1.01 K/IP ratio - pure gold from a sabermetric standpoint. However, the scouting perspective yields significant projection questions, like how likely is it that a 5'10", 160 pound pitcher continues to hold up under a starters' workload? Or, can he repeat his delivery reliably enough to show the necessary improvement in control? Or, can his sometimes-plus breaking ball stay consistent enough against better competition? It pains me that he's going to answer those questions in another organization, but the Halos FO is a scouting-centered bunch, are consequently much higher on Trevor Reckling's future, and Kazmir seems all the more valuable now that we're headed into a potentially Lackey-less future. 

Again, remember that this list is based entirely on statistical performance in 2009, and is not a traditional "best prospects" ranking.

5) Trevor Reckling, 20 - LH SP, High A, AA

9 wins, 9 losses. 154.1 IP, 2.68 ERA, 122 SO/78 BB. +25 runs saved

The most heartening commentary I heard about the Angels' farm system all year was Eddie Bane repeating, "Reckling has the stuff to get major league hitters out right now." Sure it's his job to plug his players, but that doesn't mean he didn't believe it. Reckling debuted in AA while still a teenager, making him the youngest player in the Texas League for much of May and June. He looked the part: clearly raw, he struggled with his control to the point of walking 13% of the batters he faced while racking up high pitch counts; but the quality of his stuff would secure the timely punch-out or double play, allowing him to escape jams time and again. His K and groundball rates slipped slightly after his promotion, but given the growing gap between his age and competition's, I'm not worried. He's got a reputation for being an athletic, smart player, so most commentators expect his control to improve as he gains more consistency with his quick, whip-like delivery. Still, we're going to have to keep watching the walk rate, because that appears to be the last hurtle he must clear before claiming a middle-of-the-rotation job in the MLB. 

Again, remember that this list is based entirely on statistical performance in 2009, and is not a traditional "best prospects" ranking.

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6) Trevor Bell, 22 - RH SP, AA, AAA, Majors

7 wins, 7 losses. 140 IP, 2.70 ERA, 89 SO/35 BB. +23 runs saved

Bell had a fantastic 2009, resurrecting his prospect status by plowing through two minor league levels and making his MLB debut in August. We all saw him take his knocks with the big league club, of course, but that does not diminish the fact that the 22-year-old was stellar in AA and AAA. Now, the question is, what do we expect from him going forward? Bell's component ratios are eerily similar to Anthony Ortega's last year, Tommy Mendoza's this year, and what we would have expected from Sean O'Sullivan had he spent more time in the minors: a pedestrian K/IP rate, a low BB rate, moderate groundball tendencies, and the ability to consistently go 6+ innings per start. That's the definition of a back-of-the-rotation starter in the MLB, and a major storyline for the Halos in upcoming seasons is which one of those guys is going to claim that role. If I had to guess, I'd say Bell spends a few years bouncing between Salt Lake and Anaheim as a spot starter before settling in as quality reliever with the big league club. He's seen success in that role before, and it might allow his solid fastball/curve combo to play up that much more. 

I'll continue posting the top performances through next week.  Again, remember that this list is based entirely on statistical performance in 2009, and is not a traditional "best prospects" ranking.

7) Peter Bourjos, 22 - CF, AA

.281/.354/.423 with 6 HR and 32 SB's. +7 bat, +15 glove

Like last year, Bourjos' bat tailed off in the second half. Turns out, it was injury related: he underwent surgery last month to clean up his wrist, which had been bothering him since June. Once healthy and in Salt Lake, it would not surprise me at all to see him return to his first half, ~.800+ OPS ways. Given Bourjos' power potential and the PCL's generous hitting environment, we may see some more homeruns as well.   Looking further out, I think it's likely his early career mirrors Erick Aybar's, where he spends a good chunk of time as an under-appreciated backup on the mlb club, quietly contributing outstanding defense and speed, while steadily improving with the bat to the point where he gets leadoff consideration.  

I'll continue posting the top performances through next week.  Again, remember that this list is based entirely on statistical performance in 2009, and is not a traditional "best prospects" ranking.

8) Robert Mosebach, 24 - RH RP, AA and AAA

4 wins, 2 losses. 66.2 IP, 1.49 ERA, 47 K/27 BB. +24 runs saved

Who knew Mosebach's first season in the 'pen was that good? He split time between two minor league levels and the major league club, obscuring the sum value of his contributions over the season, but he was the best performing reliever the Halos' system has seen Douglas Brandt in 2007 (who had the advantage of making a number of starts). A 60% groundball rate allowed him to shut down AA hitters despite the lack of K's. He regressed slightly against AAA opposition, but that means he was "just" a well-above-average reliever for Salt Lake. His major league debut wasn't pretty, but he's certainly not alone in that. I don't think he makes the Halos' pen out of spring training next year, and the lack of K's limits his upside, but Mosebach has the makings of a pretty good reliever.