MLB Network to Reveal Top 100 Prospects, Several Cubs Expected

Give me more prospect lists! Keith Law dropped his Top 100 recently and Dan Szymborski just named his own century club, as determined by his ZiPS projection system. But while those rolls both require ESPN Insider membership to view in full, anyone can check out MLB Pipeline’s top prospects Saturday night at 8 pm ET. Well, anyone with a TV package that includes MLB Network.

Eloy Jimenez (Law – 12/ZiPS – 36), Ian Happ (63/55), and Dylan Cease (86/59) all appeared on both of the lists already out as of post time, with Jeimer Candelario (66) and Victor Caratini (95) also showing up on Szymborski’s. Why the difference?

It’s mainly because most of these rankings take into account the eye test and various other factors, while ZiPS is concerned merely with data projection. Neither method is right or wrong, they’re just different. We can almost guarantee that the first three names above will be heard again on MLBN, but I’d wager a guess that Candelario will make the cut as well.

Caratini is an interesting one, whether he gets a little hype tonight or not. Acquired from the Braves in mid-2014 for Emilio Bonifacio and James Russell, the switch-hitting catcher continues to impress but is pretty well blocked in the organization. Barring any unforeseen events, he’ll likely end up as a cog in a trade down the road.

Expect a quick update once the list is announced, with more comprehensive breakdown at some point in the near future.

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