Baseball America 2005 Prospect Handbook: The Comprehensive Guide to Rising Stars from Tohe Definitive Source on Prospects

Baseball America has estbalished itself as the best place to find coverage of baseball prospects, and this book should further solidify that reputation. There are 900 prospects covered, as the top 30 are chosen from each team. For each player, there is a fairly comprehensive writeup (as much as can be expected when having to cover so many players), including their performance to this point, what can be expected, and their chances of developing into contributing major league players. The teams are also ranked in regard to player development, and their drafts are discussed and critiqued. As a fan during baseball season, it's difficult to follow the prospects just from your own team, and impossible to know what's going on with the other 29 clubs. It's great to have a book like this that can be used as a reference source throughout the season, especially when some of the kids start getting called up to the majors. There's really not a lot out there about prospects. The annual Scouting Notebook offers some coverage, but their focus is on guys who will contribute in the current year. If you're interested in the future, this is an important purchase. Along with John Sickels' Baseball Prospect Book (available only on his website), the BA prospect book should prove both handy and interesting during the season.

This book is fantastic. It is concise and accurate in rating the top 30 prospects in each Major League organization.