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Baseball Factory Alumni On Baseball America’s Top 10 Prospects List: N.L. West

Baseball America has 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.

In our final look at where our alumni stand according to Baseball America’s rankings, we’ll look 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 West.

Arizona Diamondbacks

Touki ToussaintTouki Toussaint – RHP (BA’s Rank #5)

Baseball Factory Lineage: 2013 Under Armour All-American Game Participant

The Skinny: Toussaint has an explosive fastball that sits in the mid 90’s – he uses his size and arm to deliver the pitch with plus life. Scouts love his curveball which projects as a double-plus pitch and a changeup with tumble that could develop into a third plus pitch.

Touki struggled while at Rookie-level Missoula, but Diamondbacks officials aren’t worried; Toussaint has off-the-charts stuff, its a matter of learning to command his pitches repeatedly. He’ll likely report to Low-A Kane County this season.

BrandonDruryBrandon Drury – 3B/2B (BA’s Rank #7)

Baseball Factory Lineage: Attended an Under Armour Baseball Factory National Tryout and Premium Video Program in Monmouth, OR (11/16/08) 2009, 2010 Under Armour Pre-Season All-American Participant

The Skinny: Originally drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 13th round of the 2010 Draft, he was sent to the Diamondbacks in the Justin Upton trade after the 2012 season.

Drury put together an excellent 2014 season between High-A Visalia and Double-A Mobile, hitting a combined .299 with 42 doubles, 23 home runs and 95 RBI. He doesn’t strike out often and takes a good amount of walks for someone with such a high contact rate at the plate.

He was rewarded by being added to the Diamondbacks 40-man roster in November, the question is where is his future defensively? The Diamondbacks sixth-rated prospect on Baseball America’s list, Jake Lamb, is a third baseman ahead of Drury on the depth chart. Fortunately, Drury can glove it at second base, seeing reps there during the Arizona Fall League and could stick at that position for the future. Drury will start at Mobile with a move to Triple-A Reno imminent.

PeterO'BrienPete O’Brien – C/1B (BA’s Rank #8)

Baseball Factory Lineage: 2007 Under Armour All-American Game Participant

The Skinny: O’Brien is the Diamondbacks best home run threat in the organization after hitting a combined 34 home runs last season between the New York Yankees Single-A and Double-A teams before being traded to Arizona in the Martin Prado deal. He only played in four games with Mobile before a foul ball off his shin ended his season.

O’Brien was a first baseman in the Yankees organization, however, the Diamondbacks have tried to convert him into a catching prospect. He’ll get a whole season at Mobile as the team’s starting catcher and continue to face better pitching to give him a challenge with his plus-potential bat.

Colorado Rockies

Eddie Butler – RHP (BA’s Rank #4)

Baseball Factory Lineage: Attended an Under Armour Baseball Factory National Tryout in Petersburg, VA (5/6/07)

The Skinny: The 46th overall pick in the 2012 Draft out of Radford University got his first taste of the majors last season, making two late-September starts for the Rockies. Unfortunately, he developed back soreness, causing him to miss the Arizona Fall League.

Beyond the back soreness, Butler’s stuff projects well to the majors, featuring three plus-pitches (sinker, changeup and slider). His sinker is dominant, throwing it around 94 mph with heavy sink and a changeup that he throws close to 90 mph.

He’s working on his four-seam fastball and slider and will get the chance to do that at either Double-A Tulsa or Triple-A Colorado. We’ll be seeing a lot of Butler in the near future.

Forrest Wall – 2B (BA’s Rank #7)

Baseball Factory Lineage: 2013 Under Armour Memorial Day Classic 18U Participant

The Skinny: Fun fact about Wall: According to Baseball America, Wall is the highest drafted high school second baseman (35th overall last season) since the draft moved to a single phase in 1987.

Wall burst onto the scene at Rookie-level Grand Junction in 2014, hitting .318 in 41 games with six doubles, six triples and 18 stolen bases. Wall showed discipline at the plate walking 27 times and only striking out 32 times. He’s able to make good contact during his at-bats and he has solid recognition of offspeed pitches for a young hitter.

He’ll likely begin 2015 at Low-A Asheville, continuing to hone his skills, both with the bat and defensively working on his arm and footwork.

Los Angeles Dodgers

Grant HolmesGrant Holmes – RHP (BA’s Rank #4)

Baseball Factory Lineage: 2013 Under Armour All-American Game Participant

The Skinny: The Dodgers took Holmes with the 18th overall pick in last year’s draft, and the 18 year-old (who turns 19 on March 22nd) will get a chance to play in his first full season, likely at Low-A Great Lakes after a 2014 season in which he played for both Dodgers rookie teams.

He finished with a 3.72 ERA in 48 1/3 innings, showing an ability to throw strikes and make batters miss with his pitches. Holmes has a fastball that can reach the upper 90’s and a plus breaking ball that sits in the low 80’s that’s a mix between a curveball and slider. He’s very young but already noticeable on the Dodgers radar, so Holmes will be a name to watch in the coming years.

Alex VerdugoAlex Verdugo – OF (BA’s Rank #5)

Baseball Factory Lineage:2013 Under Armour All-American Game Participant

The Skinny: The Dodgers selected Verdugo one round after Holmes last season and the former All-American didn’t disappoint, making the most of his time at Rookie-level Dodgers and Ogden, hitting a combined .353 in 44 games between the two teams.

He hit very well at rookie league and there’s no reason to think he can’t repeat that in 2015, heading to Great Lakes. Verdugo makes consistent contact and has a nice, easy swing and showed great speed, stealing all 11 of his base attempts last season.

Scott Schebler – OF (BA’s Rank #8)

Baseball Factory Lineage: Attended an Under Armour Baseball Factory National Tryout in Apple Valley, MN (7/12/07)

The Skinny: Schebler was selected in the 26th round of the 2010 Draft by the Dodgers and had a great season at Double-A Chattanooga, hitting .280 in 135 games with 23 doubles, 14 triples and a Southern League-leading 28 home runs. He also led the league in slugging percentage (.556) and got better as the season went along.

His pitch recognition improved throughout the season and scouts saw a quicker bat through the zone, great indications for a power hitter blossoming for the Dodgers. Schebler will move to Triple-A Oklahoma City (formerly Albuquerque) in 2015.

San Diego Padres

Michael GettysMichael Gettys – OF (BA’s Rank #8)

Baseball Factory Lineage: 2013 Under Armour All-American Game Participant

The Skinny: Another 2013 All-American from the National League West, spent last season with Rookie-level AZL Padres leading the league in hits (66) and second in total bases (93) in just 52 games.

When Gettys gets hold of a baseball, it is hit very hard and usually goes very far. He makes great contact and the power could be right around the corner. Defensively, he has a great arm that can play to any outfield position and has great athleticism and speed. Gettys will report to Low-A Fort Wayne for 2015.

Casey Kelly – RHP (BA’s Rank #10)

Baseball Factory Lineage: 2007 Cape Cod High School Classic

The Skinny: Kelly made his major league debut back in 2012, making six starts with an ERA of 6.21. It was found that he was still recovering from elbow soreness, leading to Tommy John surgery and missing all of 2013. Kelly dealt with the soreness again in 2014 and he’s pitched just 87 innings the last three seasons.

He has a great variety of pitches, using a sinking fastball in the low-90’s, a curveball and changeup that play well off of his sink-and-run fastball. It’s the health that needs to bounce back for Kelly to be an effective piece for the Padres in the future.

San Francisco Giants

TylerBeedeTyler Beede – RHP (BA’s Rank #2)

Baseball Factory Lineage: Attended an Under Armour Baseball Factory National Tryout in Marlborough, MA (10/26/08) and Providence, RI (3/22/09)

The Skinny: The lone Baseball Factory alumnus in the Giants organization was drafted 14th overall in last year’s Draft after playing at Vanderbilt University.

Scouts rave about his arsenal of three plus-pitches, including a very good fastball that sits mid-90’s, a changeup which is a plus pitch and a hard curve in the low-80’s. After signing, he pitched with Rookie-league Giants in the Arizona League and short-season Salem-Keizer, finishing with a 3.00 ERA in his first taste of professional ball.

Beede is a hard worker and that will translate on the mound as he matures. Baseball America predicts Beede will begin ’15 either in Low-A Augusta or High-A San Jose to continue his maturation.

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