Seedlings to Stars 2012 Top 100 Prospects: #86, Jonathan Schoop

Seedlings to Stars, FanSided’s site dedicated to all things minor leagues, is doing a new feature where they rank the top 100 prospects for next season.

Number 86 on their list is an Oriole currently in A+ Carolina. If you want all the scoop on Schoop (see what I did there? Sorry, I had to!), read it here!.

I was unaware of this kid but he’s 19 and already made his way past low-A and is holding his own in high-A. In 51 games with Delmarva, he hit .316 with 12 doubles and 8 home runs. In 77 games with Frederick, he hit .271 with 12 doubles and 5 home runs. His numbers only dropped a tad as he moved up the minor league system, which is excellent, especially for a teenager.

Defensively, he’s played second, third, and shortstop this year. While he hasn’t excelled at any, we know he won’t be coming up through the system as a shortstop. He had a much better fielding percentage at second compared to third, .975 and .902, respectively. However, he may have trouble at second down the road because as he gets bigger, his range will get smaller.

So, even though his defensive position is definitely in a state of flux and he doesn’t have the power numbers to be an attractive option at other positions, he has a ton of potential and his defense will improve with age and practice. He’s definitely someone to keep an eye out for in the next few years and I’m excited to see what this young man can do!

Any other Orioles minor leaguers who make S2S’s Top 100 list will be reported by me so keep on the look out for those articles!