Down on the farm: Sharkey's Top 50 prospects: Part I

Who will be the next Nicholas Bryant, Chris Ramirez and Ramon Jang? Maybe no one, but this crop of youngsters could be destined for greatness.

Criteria and notes:
1. Player had to be currently in the minors
2. To be fair I chose at least one player from each franchise
3. These are in no particular order
4. If you haven't already sent your prospects, please do.

1. Apollo Newfield, SP, NYA: New York struck gold when drafting Apollo at #17 in the season 11 draft. At the age of 22, Newfield is still improving on a consistent basis and looks to distance himself from other starting pitchers. Hallgren has shown excellent patience with Apollo and it is paying off. ETA: Late season 14.

2. Shooter Payton, P, SLC: Shooter Payton is on the cusp of being a big-time ML pitcher. Relying heavily on his dominating sinker ball, Payton cruised in AAA ball last season, winning 17 games and finishing as a Cy Young finalist. In 24 innings at the Big League level last year, Payton showed that he belonged, posting a 2.25 era and overpowering several hitters. ETA: Early season 13.

3. Footsie DeWitt, CF, NO: Coming over from Colorado in the Enrique Ortiz deal, DeWitt looks to anchor the New Orleans OF for the next 10 seasons. Sporting GG-quality defense, and speed that amounted to 95 stolen bases in AA last year, Footsie could easily be the #1 CF prospect in all of baseball.

4. Luis Silva, LF, KC: This switch-hitting lefty has the tools to hit 40+ homers a season and contend for an MVP or two. Acquired in season 10 for $21 million on the international market, Silva has lived up to the hype thus far. ETA: Late season 13.

5. Charles Ducey, SP, PAW: Juicey Ducey was the key-piece in the Blockbuster deal that saw Pawtuckett ship Enrique Infante over to Kansas City. Ducey was 13-2 with a 2.27 era in low A ball last year and looks to have all the makings of a future ace. At 22, the sky is the limit. ETA: Season 15.

6. Adrian Corino, SP, MON: Dios Mios! El Cervezas tiene muchos pitching muy joven! Corino has a mid 90s fastball that is complimented by a Johan Santana-esque change-up. How he fell to #11 overall, I'll never know. ETA: Not soon enough.

7. Bret Chance, SP, MON: Corino's partner-in-crime, Bret Chance, could be as good or better than AC. The former 5th overall pick went a ridiculous 19-2 in low A ball last year and took home the league's Cy Young Award. Be afraid, AL South, be very afraid. ETA: Season 15.

8. Joey Ellis, RP, BOI: Ellis has everything you could want in a future closer. Big splits, big pitches and big durability. JE's near 3-to-1 BB to SO ratio is just uncalled for. It's hard to find any flaws in the 20 year Ellis, but if I had to find one it would be that he isn't on my team. ETA: Early season 16.

9. Sammy Calderone, RP, HAR: This season 12 all-star converted 27/32 saves last year and has a career mL era of just 3.27. His fastball, slider combo has been called "the best in the game" by some of his coaches and with numbers like that, it's hard to argue. ETA Early season 14.

10. Felipe Villanueva, SP, LR: $10.8 million for this guy just isn't fair. The future is bright for the right-handed Villanueva, who signed late last season and was able to log just one start. His curveball is reminiscent of a young Matt Morris and should keep hitters puzzled for years to come. ETA: season 16.