Baseball America recently released their Top 10 Prospects list on each team’s highly-rated players and many Baseball Factory alumni find themselves as top prospects heading into the 2015 season.

Each Thursday, we’ll take a look at where our alumni stand according to Baseball America’s rankings, looking back at how they got their Baseball Factory experience started and what they’ve done so far during their professional careers.

Rankings are prioritized by Baseball America and numbered 1 through 10 for each team. This week, we take a look at the Top Prospects from Baseball Factory’s alumni in the National League East.

Atlanta Braves

Lucas Sims – RHP (BA’s Rank #2)

Baseball Factory Lineage: Attended an Under Armour Baseball Factory National Tryout in Kennesaw, GA (6/7/09), Team One South selection – 2009

The Skinny: Sims, the Braves 1st round selection (21st overall) in 2012, had a down year in terms of statistics in 2014, but continues to be a prized prospect in the Braves organization. Scouts love his makeup and his mechanics, winding up with a high leg kick and being able to hide the baseball effectively as well.

Sims struck out 107 batters in 2014, down from the previous year (134 batters) but that was because the organization had him focus on his fastball command. He places his fastball comfortably in the mid 90’s and his secondary pitches are advanced. Sims is the Braves best pitching prospect and despite a down year in terms of wins which isn’t always the best indicator of talent, Sims should bounce back fine in 2015.

Miami Marlins

Tyler Kolek – RHP (BA’s Rank #1)

Baseball Factory Lineage: Attended an Under Armour Baseball Factory National Tryout & Premium Video Program in Houston, TX (2/6/11), 2013 Under Armour All-America Game Participant

The Skinny: At just 19 years old, Kolek is already 6’5″ and 260 pounds which is a scary thought in that he’s this developed so early on. It will only help him as he lands as the Marlins top prospect with a world of potential in front of him.

Kolek’s big time arm was evident during the 2013 Under Armour All-America Game, when the young righty lit up the radar gun at 99 mph – a true rarity in the game of baseball. He has an easy and repeatable delivery, getting his chest out over his front knee well, which generates a great deal of his velocity.

Besides his electric fastball that also gets a good amount of sink to it, he’s continuing to refine his secondary pitches, throwing a hard slider and a curveball. He needs more time in the minors against professional hitters, so its possible he could get moved to Single-A Greensboro quickly before finding time in Double-A with the Jacksonville Suns.

Trevor Williams – RHP (BA’s Rank #8)

Baseball Factory Lineage: Attended an Under Armour Baseball Factory National Tryout in Cathedral City, CA (11/18/07), Under Armour Pre-Season All-America Tournament selection in 2008, Team One West selection in 2009

The Skinny: Yet another product of Rancho Bernardo High School in San Diego, Trevor went to Arizona State University to play college ball before be drafted in the 2nd round of the 2013 draft by Miami.

He’s slowly risen the ranks of the Marlins organization, spending most of last season at High-A Jupiter, before moving on to Double-A Jacksonville. He made 23 starts for Jupiter, finishing with a 2.79 ERA in 129 innings pitched. He has a mid 90’s fastball and is working on developing his curveball and change-up which according to scouts, “misses bats.”

New York Mets

Brandon Nimmo – OF (BA’s Rank #3)

Baseball Factory Lineage: 2010 Under Armour All-America Game Participant

The Skinny: The Mets selected Nimmo 13th overall in 2011 and last season, the organization began to see the potential talent being tapped with his performance between High-A St. Lucie (where he batted .322) and late in the season at Double-A Binghamton. He hit .278 between both affiliates with more power and a better contact rate (77.5%) and walk rate (15.4%) in 2014 per prospect361.com’s scouting evaluation of Nimmo.

If he can keep the power numbers up and the strikeout rate down, Nimmo will quickly rise higher in the organization in 2015 with an eye for the major league team in 2016.

Gavin Cecchini – SS (BA’s Rank #10)

Baseball Factory Lineage: Team One West selection in 2009, 2011 Under Armour All-America Game Participant

The Skinny: Gavin, the younger brother of Red Sox prospect Garin Cecchini, went 12th overall in the 2012 draft by the Mets and split the majority of last season between Low-A Savannah and St. Lucie and is becoming a defensive specialist that will translate to the big-league level at some point.

The batting average isn’t quite there yet for Gavin but he works at-bats deep into hitters counts and can handle himself well on the bases with good speed.

Philadelphia Phillies

J.P. Crawford – SS (BA’s Rank #1)

Baseball Factory Lineage: Attended an Under Armour Baseball Factory National Tryout in Azusa, CA (9/13/09), 2012 Under Armour All-America Game Participant

The Skinny: The future is very clear for Crawford, the Phillies 1st round selection (16th overall) in 2013, he’s the heir apparent to short stop as the path has been cleared after veteran Jimmy Rollins was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers in December.

Crawford has age on his side (20 years-old) and turned in a nice season in 2014 between Low-A Lakewood and High-A Clearwater, hitting .285 with 23 doubles and 11 home runs.

Some think Crawford can win the job out of spring training, scouts rave about the talent in his ability to make the game look effortless. He’ll continue to mature into a hitter that could be a 20-homerun per-year player with high OBP and ability to cause havoc on the base paths with his speed.

Defensively, he’s smooth at short with scouts liking his smooth, fluid motions with outstanding arm strength. He’s the total package and could be the guy in 2015.

Aaron Nola – RHP (BA’s Rank #2)

Baseball Factory Lineage: Attended an Under Armour Baseball Factory National Tryout in Shreveport, LA (11/16/08) and New Orleans, LA (5/23/10)

The Skinny: Nola dominated in his home state, from high school through college at LSU, the right hander racked up the wins and the strike outs (9.35 strikeouts-per-nine ratio) in college.

Drafted 7th overall last season, he followed up 2014 with more of the same results, getting all the way to Double-A Reading with a combined ERA of 2.93 in his first season of pro ball. He finished with 45 strikeouts in just 55 1/3 innings pitched, proving that he can handle his own being challenged to move up.

The Phillies will want him to work on his secondary pitches more; Baseball America mentioned Nola gaining more consistency on his slider and improving his changeup, but he’s their prized pitching prospect and he’ll be making an impact soon enough at the major league level.

Aaron Brown – OF (BA’s Rank #6)

Baseball Factory Lineage: 2010 Under Armour All-America Game Participant

The Skinny: The product of Pepperdine University where he was a standout pitcher, the Phillies drafted Brown and kept him in the outfield and think that with his bat and defense, could be an important piece for the team in the future.

After spending a few months at short-season Williamsport, he finished 2014 with Low-A Lakewood, hitting a combined .268 with 13 doubles. The Phillies like Brown’s power and bat speed and he can play all three outfield positions fairly well. Brown could get a call-up to Clearwater to face different pitching and give him a challenge.

Jesmuel Valentin – 2B (BA’s Rank #8)

Baseball Factory Lineage: 2011 Under Armour All-America Game Participant

The Skinny: The Phillies acquired Valentin from the Los Angeles Dodgers in a three-player deal last August and he reported to Clearwater to finish the 2014 season. He hit .282 with 47 RBIs and 24 stolen bases in 107 games for the Dodgers’ Single A Midwest League team before being sent to the Phillies.

Jesmuel is the son of former major leaguer, Jose Valentin who played 16 seasons in the majors. Jesmuel is a solid defender but will look to continue getting better offensively to get onto the Phillies radar for a spot on the big league team in 2016 and beyond.

Washington Nationals

Michael A. Taylor – OF (BA’s Rank #2)

Baseball Factory Lineage: Attended an Under Armour Baseball Factory National Tryout in Miami Shores, FL (11/9/08)

The Skinny: Michael got a taste of the big leagues last season as the Nats dealt with some injuries to Bryce Harper and Jayson Werth. He hit his first big league home run on the same night he was called up, last August against the Marlins.

Taylor can swing the stick and has big-time power, blasting 23 home runs last season between Double-A Harrisburg and Triple-A Syracuse, he has great speed, both on the base paths and in the outfield defensively where he can be a good commodity to have.

His potential is there and so are the tools to be an everyday outfielder, but the game at times proved a little fast for the 23-year old last season. He can still make the Nationals roster out of camp as a 4th outfielder with the Nats outfield locked in with Harper, Span and Werth.

A.J. Cole – RHP (BA’s Rank #6)

Baseball Factory Lineage: 2009 Under Armour All-America Game Participant

The Skinny: Cole was originally the Nationals fourth round selection in 2010 before being traded to the Oakland Athletics before the 2012 season in the Gio Gonzalez deal. He was then shipped back to the Nats before the 2013 season in a three-team trade and won 10 games in 2013. Last season he was even better, posting a 13-3 record between Harrisburg and Syracuse with 111 strikeouts.

The problem is, the Nationals rotation is absolutely stacked, so cracking the rotation will likely come from a starter being injured, but Cole is very close to be a piece to the Nats puzzle. He has a plus fastball that sits mid 90’s, in addition to a curve and change-up. He has a decent strikeout rate, doesn’t walk many guys or have the tendency to give up the long ball, despite being a fly ball-type pitcher.

We’ll wait to see if Cole gets a chance in 2015.

Drew Ward – 3B (BA’s Rank #8)

Baseball Factory Lineage: Premium Video Program in Oklahoma City, OK (3/4/12)

The Skinny: Ward, the pride of Leedey, Oklahoma spent the entire ’14 season at Single-A Hagerstown and put together a quality season with 26 doubles, three triples and 73 RBI as a 19-year old.

He has the size that the Nationals are looking for at the hot corner in the short-term, but could play 1st or possibly right field further into his career.

Brian Goodwin – OF (BA’s Rank #9)

Baseball Factory Lineage: 2008 Under Armour All-America Game Participant

The Skinny: Goodwin battled injuries for most of 2014, not playing another game after July 1st. But he’ll come into 2015 healthy and looking to bounce back from a down year at Syracuse.

Goodwin has a nice swing, very good speed and perhaps the best defensive glove in the Nats minor league system. He walks a good bit too, but he’ll need to raise his average and lower the strikeout totals to get back on the radar long-term for the Nationals.