BBA Top Ten Prospects for 2003 - Ten Years Later

Every year Baseball America publishes there list of top ten prospects.  Here is their top ten for 2003 and an alternative version based on player's performance.

Baseball America's Top Ten for 2003
1. Joe Mauer
2. Justin Morneau
3. Michael Cuddyer
4. Michael Restovich
5. Denard Span
6. Scott Tyler
7. J.D. Durbin
8. Jason Kubel
9. Lew Ford
10. Adam Johnson

An alternative version based on actual performance:

1. Mauer
2. Morneau
3. Cuddyer
4. Span
5. Kubel
6. Jesse Crain
7. Jason Bartlett
8. Garret Jones
9. Nick Blackburn
10. Grant Balfour


Misses: Tyler, Ford, Johnson, Durbin, Restovich
Missed: Crain, Bartlett, Jones, Blackburn, Balfour

Summarizing that, Baseball America had five guys who didn't belong on the list in  retrospect. The only one of those players that provided any value at the major league level was Lew Ford. The five players they missed have all provided considerably more value and you could argue Bowen, Rodriguez, Neshek and Morales from the list below would make the list ahead of Ford as well.


Here are players that were considered:

Edmonton
Grant Balfour

New Britain
Luis Rodriguez

Fort Myers
Jason Bartlett
Rob Bowen
Luis Maza
Terry Tiffee
Brian Wolfe

Quad Cities
Garrett Jones
Jesse Crain

Elizabethton
Nick Blackburn
Pat Neshek

Gulf Coast Twins
Jose Morales
Alex Romero

Here is the 2002 Top Ten Evaluation for comparison.