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ESPN.com’s Keith Law ranks the top 50 prospects in baseball and Bryce Harper of the Nationals and Matt Moore of the Rays rank first and second, respectively. Two Cardinals right-handers, Shelby Miller and Carlos Martinez, place third and fourth on Law's list and Orioles shortstop Manny Machado rounds out the top five.

Law's list resembles Baseball America's midseason list, though Law excludes Mike Trout, who recently graduated to the Major Leagues. Braves pitching prospect Julio Teheran placed fourth on BA's list, but fell from sixth to 12th for Law, who explained that the right-hander's curveball could use some work.

Of this year's 84 All-Stars, six were drafted first overall in their class.  These guys were destined to make All-Star teams, mostly out of high school.  Another 24 All-Stars were drafted within the first 30 picks, so their success is no surprise.  Among drafted players, who belongs on the opposite end of the spectrum as the most surprising All-Stars?

• Padres closer Heath Bell has to take the cake, as the Mets signed him as an undrafted free agent in 1998.  Bell had been drafted by the Devil Rays the year before in the 69th round.
• Braves reliever Jonny Venters was drafted by the Braves in the 30th round in '03, 907th overall.  Giants closer Brian Wilson went in that same draft class, in the 24th round.
• Blue Jays third baseman Jose Bautista, possibly the best hitter in baseball these days, was a 20th round pick of the Pirates in 2000, though he signed for $500K.
• Phillies third baseman Placido Polanco went to the Cardinals in the 19th round in '94, a year after he'd been chosen in the 49th round by the White Sox.
• Yankees reliever David Robertson was drafted in the 17th round in '06, though he signed for $200K.
• Yankees catcher Russell Martin went in the 17th round to the Dodgers in '02, an improvement over his 35th round by the Expos two years prior.
• Others drafted outside of the top 200 picks: James Shields, Jordan Walden, Matt Joyce, Howie Kendrick, Tyler Clippard, Kevin Youkilis, and Matt Holliday.  And we have to mention starter Ryan Vogelsong, who was a fifth round pick by the Giants in '98 but hadn't pitched in the Majors since '06 until this year.

Using MLBTR's Agency Database, let's break down which agencies represent the most All-Stars this year.  Though there are 84 All-Stars in total, we're not sure yet who represents Ryan Vogelsong.

• Boras Corporation: 9.  Robinson Cano, Adrian Beltre, Jered Weaver, Matt Wieters, Jacoby Ellsbury, Prince Fielder, Matt Holliday, Carlos Beltran, Jair Jurrjens.
• ACES: 8.  Jhonny Peralta, Gio Gonzalez, Brandon League, Scott Rolen, Brandon Phillips, Placido Polanco, Shane Victorino, Heath Bell.
• SFX: 6.  David Ortiz, Miguel Cabrera, Jon Lester, Michael Pineda, Mariano Rivera, Justin Verlander.
• CAA Sports: 5.  Carlos Quentin, Chris Perez, Roy Halladay, Ryan Braun, Andre Ethier.
• Reynolds Sports Management: 4.  Justin Upton, Joel Hanrahan, Howie Kendrick, Alexi Ogando.
• Eight agencies represent three All-Stars apiece, three represent two, and 23 represent one.

 

A dozen teams look like potential July 31st sellers, if we exclude the Rockies.  With assumptions on who the Blue Jays, Orioles, Royals, Mariners, Athletics, Mets, Nationals, Marlins, Cubs, Astros, Dodgers, and Padres might be willing to move, let's examine the strengths and weaknesses of the 2011 trade market.

• Catcher: Weak.  If you're looking to add a starting catcher, the out-of-contention teams have very little to offer.  You might be able to get a Ronny Paulino or a Rod Barajas, but this group is more about backups.  Two players who could shake up this market if made available: Geovany Soto and Ramon Hernandez.
• First base: Weak.  Relative to how few contenders actually need a first baseman, the outlook isn't awful.  Carlos Pena is the headliner.  Derrek Lee and James Loney are disappointing players who could still make a difference.  Guys like Luke Scott and Mark Reynolds are not generally considered first basemen but they could play the position regularly for a few months if need be.
• Second base: Weak.  There are some players capable of starting at second, such as Jeff Baker, Jeff Keppinger, Omar Infante, and Jamey Carroll.  Still, there's not really a difference-maker.
• Shortstop: Weak.  A team could try a salary dump player like Rafael Furcal, or check in on Jason Bartlett and Juan Uribe.  This position does have long shot potential to become strong if J.J. Hardy, Jose Reyes, or Hanley Ramirez become available.
• Third base: Weak.  Reynolds is probably the only quality regular.  Wilson Betemit, Edwin Encarnacion, and Ian Stewart are worth a look.  Wild card: Aramis Ramirez if he changes his stance on being traded.
• Corner outfield: Weak.  Carlos Beltran is definitely the top name, with Kosuke Fukudome, Ryan Ludwick, Jeff Francoeur, David DeJesus, Josh Willingham, and Scott rounding out a less-than-stellar group of bats.  Hunter Pence is the potential wild card, though the Astros are not expected to move him.
• Center field: Strong.  Coco Crisp and Marlon Byrd are viable options, while DeJesus could be passable.  There's also the chance that Colby Rasmus, B.J. Upton, and Michael Bourn are made available.
• Designated hitter: Weak.  Take your pick from Vladimir Guerrero, Scott, Encarnacion, Jack Cust, and Hideki Matsui, but none of the AL teams will find clear upgrades.
• Bench: Strong.  Reed Johnson, Greg Dobbs, Laynce Nix - there should be a veteran to fill most bench needs.
• Starting pitching: Weak.  I agree with the idea that the market mostly features fourth starters: Jeff Francis, Jason Marquis, Javier Vazquez, Aaron Harang, and the like.  Chris Capuano, Erik Bedard, and Rich Harden are more interesting when healthy.  The Dodgers and Astros could shake things up by offering Hiroki Kuroda, Ted Lilly, Wandy Rodriguez, and Brett Myers, and the Braves and Rays could also make waves with their depth.  Five wild cards that would change everything: Ubaldo Jimenez, Anibal Sanchez, Ricky Nolasco, Jeremy Guthrie, and Francisco Liriano.
• Right-handed relief: Strong.  I came up with 24 viable right-handed reliever trade candidates, and some of them aren't even members of the Blue Jays or Padres.  This group features closers like Heath Bell, Francisco Rodriguez, and Leo Nunez, plus top setup men such as Koji Uehara, Mike Adams, and Grant Balfour.
• Left-handed relief: Weak.  For the most part, the market offers overpaid lefties like Brian Fuentes, Mike Gonzalez, and John Grabow.  But there are a few interesting choices such as Randy Choate and Tim Byrdak.
• In general, this trade market looks especially ugly.  That can change in an instant if certain players become available, but right now middle-of-the-order bats and front-end starters appear scarce.

If you're a regular MLBTR reader, you'll be familiar with our chats, our Week In Review posts and Mike Axisa's Baseball Blogs Weigh In feature. Here's some more detail on when you'll see our weekly features and exactly what to expect from them:

• MLBTR Chats – Come by every Wednesday at 2pm CDT to chat about the latest trades, signings and rumblings around the major leagues.
• Baseball Blogs Weigh In – Every Friday morning, Mike Axisa directs you to some of the best writing on baseball blogs around the web. Whether it's opinion, stats or something else entirely, you can connect to the best of the blogosphere once a week on MLBTR. If you want to send Mike a post of yours, reach him at: mike@riveraveblues.com.
• Week In Review – It's amazing how much happens in seven days. Every Sunday night, we summarize the week's biggest stories in our Week In Review posts.
• MLBTR Originals – We gather all our original analysis and reporting in one place every Sunday night.

2:40pm: UPDATE: The testing group is full, thanks for the emails.

2:32pm: A beta version of our new Android app is now ready for testing.  Version 2.2 of Android or better is required to use the app.  I'll take the first 30 or so entrants. 

CloserNews began as a Twitter account designed to help you quickly identify possible closer changes for fantasy baseball leagues.  To date, about 7,000 people are using @closernews to dominate the saves category in their league.

Given the Twitter success, we're excited to take the next step with CloserNews.com.  Dan Mennella has the reins on this new website, providing witty commentary on all things saves-related as well as a constantly-updated depth chart.  If your fantasy league counts saves, bookmark CloserNews.com today!

Major League Baseball announced the results of the fan voting for the 2011 All-Star Game starters last weekend, so let's take a look at how those 17 players were acquired…

Draft

• Rickie Weeks, Brewers – First round pick (2nd overall) in 2003.
• Ryan Braun, Brewers – First round pick (5th overall) in 2005.
• Derek Jeter, Yankees – First round pick (6th overall) in 1992.
• Prince Fielder, Brewers – First round pick (7th overall) in 2002.
• Brian McCann, Braves – Second round pick in 2002.
• Alex Avila, Tigers – Fifth round pick in 2008.
• Matt Kemp, Dodgers – Sixth round pick in 2003.

Trade

• Adrian Gonzalez, Red Sox – Acquired from the Padres for Casey Kelly, Anthony Rizzo, Reymond Fuentes, and Eric Patterson in December 2010.
• Curtis Granderson, Yankees – Acquired from the Tigers as part of a three-team trade that cost the Yankees Ian Kennedy, Austin Jackson, and Phil Coke in December 2009.
• Jose Bautista, Blue Jays – Acquired from the Pirates for Robinzon Diaz in August 2008.
• Josh Hamilton, Rangers – Acquired from the Reds for Edinson Volquez and Danny Ray Herrera in December 2007.

Free Agency

• Lance Berkman, Cardinals – Signed a one-year, $8MM contract in December 2010.
• Placido Polanco, Phillies – Signed a three-year, $18MM contract in December 2009.
• Alex Rodriguez, Yankees – Re-signed to a ten-year, $275MM contract in November 2007. Was originally acquired from the Rangers for Alfonso Soriano and Joaquin Arias in February 2004.
• David Ortiz, Red Sox – Signed a one-year, $1.25MM contract in January 2003.

International Free Agency

• Robinson Cano, Yankees – Signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2001.
• Jose Reyes, Mets – Signed out of the Dominican Republic in August 1999.

Jeter and A-Rod have withdrawn from the game due to nagging injuries and have been replaced in the starting lineup by Asdrubal Cabrera and Adrian Beltre, respectively. The Indians acquired Cabrera from the Mariners for Eduardo Perez in June 2006. Beltre signed with Texas as a free agent in January 2011, landing a five-year. $80MM contract.

Baseball America released its midseason list of the top 50 prospects in the game yesterday and Nationals outfield prospect Bryce Harper and Mike Trout, the recently-promoted Angels outfielder, remain the most highly-regarded prospects in baseball. Rays left-hander Matt Moore, Braves right-hander Julio Teheran and Orioles shortstop prospect Manny Machado round out the publication's top five (click here for a more detailed subscriber-only list).

The Rangers had four prospects in the top 50, more than any other club. The Rays, Yankees, Blue Jays, Royals, Braves, Diamondbacks and Dodgers all had three players on BA's list. Five teams didn't have a prospect on the list: the White Sox, Athletics, Marlins, Brewers and Astros.