Scout.com's 2012 Top-100 MLB Prospects

The 2011 season was a banner year for young talent in the big leagues, and all early indications point to a similar crop of future stars making their way to the show in 2012. Scout.com's annual top prospects' list includes many of those names, as well as all the other names you need to know to stay up-to-date on the latest in minor league baseball.

Sometimes in baseball we are lucky enough to get a sneak preview of the next wave of talent late in a season. The 2011 season gave us that preview of our 2012 number one prospect, Matt Moore. And it is Moore himself that gives us a fantastic example of why the world of prospects can be so fascinating. Moore was an 8th round draft pick and spent parts of five years in the minors before making a splash with the Rays during the stretch run. This is an example of player development at its finest.

Matt Moore is the toast of the prospect world right now, and he reminds us why we are so interested in #94 prospect Cheslor Cuthbert or #42 Xander Bogaerts. And this year's list is full of especially young and inexperienced players. 2011 was a year of prospects graduating to the big leagues and 2012 will be all about watching some of professional baseball's youngest players begin to flourish before our eyes.

Some of the players listed, such as the Yankees' Jesus Montero, will likely be immediate big league factors in 2012, while many others will spend the year finding their way in the lower levels of the minors. With another big wave of prospects ready to break into the majors, some players lingering near the bottom of this list could easily find themselves in Matt Moore's 2012 position in a very short time.

Click here to view Scout.com's 2012 Top-100 MLB Prospects.

Note: Rankings do not strictly adhere to MLB rules regarding rookie status, and prospect eligibility for the list is evaluated on a case by case basis.