Customer Reviews

Baseball America 2008 Prospect Handbook: The Comprehensive Guide to Rising Stars from the Definitive Source on Prospects (Baseball America Prospect Handbook)

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Every year, the Baseball America writers produce an in-depth analysis of top prospects from every major league baseball organization. This year's edition is more of the same, with updated rankings and analysis for all 30 organization's farm systems. This project really draws on the strength of the BA team, as no other publication does a more thorough job of talking to pro scouts. The 2008 rookies are covered, but you'll also learn about recent draftees and guys who are years away from the major leagues. Each player entry includes biographical information, a paragraph summary of scouting reports, and basic statistics when available. There are a few 'extras', too. This year, Baseball America brought back their early 2008 draft rankings so you can get a head start on learning about the top prospects for the June draft.

Of course, the book isn't perfect. The writing isn't always easy to read. The analytical skills of the writers are also questionable. The rankings still reflect traditional scouting biases and may overemphasize player size, fastball velocity among pitchers, and speed/athleticism among hitters. Just last year, they ranked Daniel Bard ahead of 2007 AL Rookie of the Year Dustin Pedroia. There are plenty of similar rankings in this book, where Drew Stubbs is still portrayed as a top-five prospect within his organization.

But the rankings are really a small part of this work, and there is just an amazing amount of information in this book. Buy this book and learn about the history, strength, and weaknesses of over 900 young baseball players that the average fan has never heard of.

The Baseball America Prospect book is the very best prospect book written.

Its a real shame that Baseball America does not write a Major League book like it.

The book goes into detail of the ball player. It is a book I use all summer long. At the trading dead line in MLB I often refer to it.

This was my first year buying the Prospect Handbook and I was not disapointed. Great analysis, reviews and projections for the top 30 prospects on each team. Plus, the top 100 prospects and organizational rankings. This is the perfect companion for the best information on all of your team's future stars.

This is the first year I had bought this book, and I will buy it every year from know on. For someone who loves to follow the minor leagues this is a must own. It does a grat job covering every team in baseball, where most sources you will find concentrate on only one team or only the top players. This is 900+ players with tons of great features. If you are thinking about buying it, do it. You will not regret it

This is the first time I've used BA's Prospect book, and I'm quite happy with it. I've used Baseball Prospectus' Annual often, and suspect that, if used in conjunction, I should get a leg up on other "general managers" in my fantasy league. BP looks at prospects from a sabermetric view, and is not 100% accurate. BA looks at prospects from a scout's perspective, which, of course, is not always 100% accurate either.

If you are a baseball junkie, this book is a must have. It lists the top 30 prospects for each team and provides a nice overview of each organization's recent draft history. For fantasy baseball players, this is a great way to get ahead of the competition. Last year, I knew about guys like Lincecum, Braun, Tulowitzski, Gallardo, etc, before they were called up. This year, when the Orioles traded Miguel Tejada to the Astros and Erik Bedard to the Mariners, it was great seeing the in-depth scouting reports on all the young prospects coming over. Highly recommended.

Baseball America covers prospects like nobody else. And the annual prospect guide is a can't miss title, especially for those of us who live in minor league towns and visit the Arizona Fall League every year.

The book features detailed writeups on the top 30 prospects from every organization, in addition to great depth chart features. My favorite is the "Future Starting Lineups" feature for every team; it's an easy way to identify the likely major leaguers of the future.

Very comprehensive and no stone left un-turned on who will be the next MLB star or superstar !!!

This is the quintessential resource for Prospects in Major League Baseball. This year's edition is no exception. I liked the fact that Baseball America included the top ten prospect from each minor league