Who are the next "untouchable" prospects?

[Snodgrass'Muff]

The explanations here may well end up being a lot of "belief" over "reason" but it might be fun to get it on record.  I'm excluding several names here, as they are already often talked about as being on people's "untouchable" lists.  So no Mookie Betts, Blake Swihart or Henry Owens.  I also shied away from guys who were on the verge of breaking into the majors for the most part, so no Webster or DLR.  You could argue that Ranaudo should be scratched too, but he doesn't get mentioned as an "untouchable" much (if at all) and isn't likely to get many major league innings this year without a trade or injury.  Players currently on the 25 man who are likely there for good were excluded as well, so no Bogaerts, Bradley or Vazquez.
 
So with all that laid out, I'm picking Devers, Anderson Espinoza and Michael Kopech.  Devers was described as having an incredibly advanced hit tool last year at the time of his signing.  All he's done since then is prove that to be true.  He murdered the ball in the DSL (yeah, it's the DSL...) and has followed that up by hitting even better in the GCL since his call up.  It looks like the hype may well have been accurate on him.
 
Kopech is interesting because of how incredibly nasty his stuff looks.  If he can harness it and stay healthy, I can see him climbing the ladder the way Owens has.  His stuff is as good, except it's his fastball and curve that are his best pitches and he's already throwing as hard as Owens while being almost 4 years younger than him (3 years 9 months difference).
 
There's an element of optical illusion going on here, but look at these pitches...
 
http://youtu.be/IU6coqQBgNI
 
Admittedly, Espinoza is based nearly 100% on feeling, but this write up from BA has me giddy about his potential.
 

Francisco Rodriguez set the Venezuelan bonus record in 1998 when he signed with the Angels for $900,000. That’s how long it’s been since veteran scouts say that have seen a Venezuelan righthander with Espinoza’s size and talent. At (maybe) 6 feet, Espinoza has a Yordano Venturaframe that’s undersized by conventional scouting standards but has the best arm in the class. His fastball has steadily picked up speed over the last year, sitting in the low-90s and touching 94. With his outstanding arm speed, loose arm action and easy delivery, Espinoza has projection to throw even harder despite his smaller stature.
 
Beyond lighting up the radar gun, Espinoza separates himself from the class with his pitchability and secondary stuff. He throws slightly across his body at times but it’s a clean, repeatable delivery that helps him fill up the strike zone. His curveball has tight spin and sharp bite, a swing-and-miss offering that projects as a future plus pitch. The changeup is Espinoza’s third pitch, and while he hasn’t needed to use it much yet, he shows feel to throw it with good arm speed. He has pitched in several national and international tournaments, so his ability to set up hitters is advanced for his age. Espinoza is better—especially in terms of his delivery and ability to throw strikes—than Rangers 6-foot Dominican righthander Marcos Diplan, the top Latin American pitcher for July 2 last year. With the Red Sox believed to have heavy interest in Espinoza, who trains with Felix Luzon, that could push his price tag close to $2 million.

 
Yes, this is going to be a thread of prospect humping to the extreme, and no it's not going to lead to a ton of well reasoned, grounded, posting.  It's meant to be fun and think big.  It's been a shitty dark season at the major league level. The farm has been a strong source of comfort for many, so let's do something to liven the place up a little more.

 

[Curll]

¿Dondé esta Wendell Rijo?
 
http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=p_pbp&pid=620442

 

[Brianish]

I'd go with your three, but add Trey Ball to the list. Early struggles aside, he's got the most upside of any pitcher in the system, and in his most recent starts, he's looked a lot more like what we thought we were drafting. 

 

[Drek717]

The higher level guys I think have the ability to get over the hump based on team need:
Marrero - if he hits the rest of the year at AAA he's one of the best SS prospects in the game and looking more like the underclassman people were talking about going #1 overall than the guy who struggled to finish is collegiate career and slid down to the Sox as a result.  The glove is already there.  If he can show the potential to be a .700 OPS ML bat he pushes Bogaerts to 3B and stabilizes the left side of the IF for the next half decade.  Too valuable to trade unless we're getting Tulo for a deal that has Marrero as the lone centerpiece.
 
Sean Coyle - His bat has taken a big step forward in AA this year.  If he makes a similar jump when he finally gets the call up to AAA there starts being a damn good argument for him as the future at 3B if Bogaerts stays at SS.  His power is irreplaceable and he's a good enough fielder to be solid somewhere that makes his power a unique asset.  Finishing 2014 strong will solidify his ceiling as being a David Wright/Chase Utley guy.  Even though is floor is "never makes it out of AAA" low that is still a ceiling you can't trade away easily.
 
 
 
The only low level guy I would feel like is a real bet to hit that level of value is Devers.  His bat so far looks like it will play anywhere and as a result he's likely going to move up fast.  He has the ability to post Manny Ramirez numbers.  In my opinion he's untouchable already because he isn't going to headline a deal for Stanton or Tulo on his own and you simply can't be the team who gave up Devers at 17 in addition to another top prospect because I feel the odds are looking incredibly high that people will look back on such a deal as a massive loss by the Sox.  Scouts compare his swing to Robinson Cano, but at 17 he's already 5 pounds heavier and the same height as a fully grown Cano.  If he has even a little more work ethic than Cano he could be a generational talent.
 
I think Rijo, Margot, Chavis, Ball, Espinoza, Acosta, and Kopech all have the potential to make the "untouchable" category.  Hell, Denney probably does too if he's successfully extricated his head from his ass.  But those guys have a lot to prove before they're even in the "highly valuable" category, let alone untouchable.

 

[TheYaz67]

If Giancarlo Stanton is available for trade at the end of this season, my answer would be "none of them"....

 

[Drek717]

If Giancarlo Stanton is available for trade at the end of this season, my answer would be "none of them"....

In a 1:1?  Sure.  But that isn't going to happen.  If Miami wanted both Bogaerts and Swihart do you do that?  I wouldn't.  So what are the chances that in two or three years we feel the same way about Devers and one of the young pitchers?  Probably pretty high.

 

[Mugsy's Jock]

I think Zach Kapstein isn't going anywhere.

 

[Brianish]

 
No, those odds are probably pretty low actually. You're talking about teenagers that haven't even made it to A ball. The flame out rate for those guys is extremely high. 
 
I agree with Yaz67. If the Marlins asked for any 4 or 5 of the guys listed i this poll, you tell them to pack their bags. 

 
Sure, but I understood the premise of this thread to be largely speculative. It's not who's untouchable now; it's who, if we had to guess, do we think will be so eventually. Obviously it's a crap shoot, but it's more of a game than a serious discussion. 

 

[Snodgrass'Muff]

 
Sure, but I understood the premise of this thread to be largely speculative. It's not who's untouchable now; it's who, if we had to guess, do we think will be so eventually. Obviously it's a crap shoot, but it's more of a game than a serious discussion. 

 
This is precisely what the thread is meant to be.  Yeah, if the Marlins asked for Devers, and the right to name Espinoza and Kopech as PTBNL in a deal for Stanton and the rest of the package wasn't prohibitive, I'd pack their bags for them.  They aren't untouchable yet.  They probably won't be.  At least, betting on all three that I picked is likely a bad idea.  But if I had to bet on who was going to end up being untouchable in the future, I think my guesses are slightly better than throwing darts at a board.  Or I hope they are...

 

[thestardawg]

I think people are underestimating how good Manuel Margot's season has been in Greenville.  He is 19, has increased his power significantly while moving up a level, and continues to show great speed and defense.  I'm not sure what his ceiling is at this point.  If his development continues, he'll be in MLB by 21/22.  That's an extremely valuable prospect. 

 

[TheGoldenGreek33]

None of the above for someone like Stanton. Ask me in three years and I'll say the same thing.