Matt Moore and Bryce Harper

Matt Moore and Bryce Harper are set to take the field on their first full season in the MLB this year. They are the two most hyped up prospects in baseball and some say Harper is the most talked about all time.

Matt Moore was born on June 18, 1989 making him 22 years old when he starts the season. He will be among some of the youngest players in baseball, but he is projected to be better than most the other pitchers. The Rays have been slowly building up the amount of innings he pitches every year, so he won't burn out in September. This was a very smart move, because fatigue is something we see in a lot of young pitchers in their first  few season. In 2011 he pitched 164 innings in AA, AAA, and The MLB. In all three of the leagues he pitched in during 2011 his ERA didn't surpass 3.00.  Moore is projected to have around a 3.40 ERA for The Rays in 2012 and he will be able to pitch a full season due to The Rays'  great farm system.  

Bryce Harper is probably the most talked about prospect in a long time if not ever. Scouts are comparing him to Mickey Mantle, Ken Griffey Jr and Alex Rodriguez. I believe that is great company to be with. Although Harper is a great ball player and athlete there is controversy sounding him. He finished school early to be able to pursue his professional baseball career. One time when Harper hit a home run, while rounding first base he blew a kiss to the pitcher. Just tip you cap and jog around the bases. Harper was born on October 16, 1992. He will be 19 when he reaches the major leagues just like Rodriguez, Griffey and Mantle. Harper will not be on the opening day roster, but he will make the trip to Washington near the end of April. This tactic used by the Nationals is to push back his eligibility for arbitration and free agency one more year. The San Francisco Giants made this mistake With Tim Lincecum and had to pay up big time.

The average age of a baseball player is getting younger, but there will always be an established veteran in the game. Without prospects baseball would die out. The constant replenishment of talent is necessary to keep the game moving to the future. In 15 years from now Bryce Harper or Matt Moore may be giving advice to one of your friends, children, or someone you know. You can never know.

The Tampa Bay Rays

In 2011 The Rays made the playoffs after the miraculous game 162. That day game 162 took place will go down in history. The Rays finished with a record of 91-71 and won the wild card, but were eliminated by The Texas Ranges in the ALDS.

I don't know how The Rays managed to get four playoff appearances since 2008 with a payroll under $80 million. They do things like extending players, such as Even Logoria and Matt Moore when they are young. They offer these contracts for a long time favoring the team, and offering less money than the player would deserve in the future.

The Rays strengthened their lineup by bringing back Carlos Pena. He has hit 172 home runs since 2007, giving him an average of 34.4 home runs a year. He is a definite slugger. His defense is also very under rated, he earned a gold glove award in 2008. They also have the face of their franchise Even Longoria. Longoria is 26 and has 4 years in the major leagues. He has a .360 on base percentage and a .515 slugging percentage over that time. He is a definite force to be reckoned with. The Rays also have the most under rated player in all of baseball, he is Ben Zobrist. This guy can play almost every position and he has played 150 or more games for the past 3 seasons. He has a .367 OBP over those 3 years with an average of 19 home runs and 85 RBI's. People underrate him and I don't know why.

Lets not forget about The Ray's rotation. David Price emerged on the scene in 2010 finishing second in the Cy Young voting, but in 2011 he had a fluctuation in ERA. He had a 3.49 ERA in 2011 which is acceptable seeing that he pitched 224 innings and had 212 strikeouts. The star pitcher for The Rays in 2011 was James Shields. Shields pitched 249 innings with a 2.82 ERA and 225 strikeouts. That was good enough for him to finished 3rd in the Cy Young voting. Finally Matt Moore is the young 22 year old left hander for The Rays who was miraculous for The Rays in the short time we saw him in 2011. He is currently rated the number 1 pitching prospect and has a lot to prove.

I honestly don't know how The Rays finished ball games. They don't have any notable relievers. Kyle Farnsworth picked up 25 saves with a 2.18 ERA over 57 innings pitched. So I guess he took the role of the closer for The Rays.He was really the only one worth mentioning. The Rays pretty much stitched things together for the other innings.

The final thing worth discussing is BJ Upton. Upton had 1 good season in 2007, collecting a .386 on base percentage and a .508 slugging percentage. Since then he took has been taking a steep decline. In 2011 he bounced back a little bit collecting a .331 on base percentage and a .429 slugging percentage . I expect him to be on the climb again and help The Rays offensively this season.

The Youth Gone Wild

Last night MLB Network presented their special for the top 50 prospects right now. The list had changed a bit since 2011, but all the names on it were very promising. The top 10 prospects right now are as follows.

10. Dylan Bundy- Right handed pitcher in the Orioles' system
9. Trevor Bauer - Right handed pitcher in the Diamond Backs' System
8. James Taillon - Right handed pitcher in the Pirates' system
7. Jurisckson Profar - Shortstop in the Rangers' system
6. Manny Machado - Shortstop in the Orioles' system
5. Shelby Miller - Rigtht handed pitcher in the Cardinals' system
4. Julio Tererhan - Right handed pitcher who pitched 5 games for the Braves in 2011
3. Mike Trout - Outfielder who played 40 games for the Angels in 2011
2. Bryce Harper - Outfielder in the Nationals' system
1. Matt Moore - Left handed pitcher who pitched 3 games for the Rays and started game one of the ALDS against the Rangers.

All of these prospects have great potential. I think that Jesus Montero should make the top 10. He was ranked number 12. He put on a show for the Yankees during September of 2011. Now he is on the Mariners after the trade for Micheal Pineda. Matt Moore Will Probably be the 3rd or 4th starter for the Rays this season. Lets see what other prospects may go wild  in the big leagues.