Sep 20, 2012; Chicago, IL, USA; Cincinnati Reds shortstop Didi Gregorius hits a RBI single against the Chicago Cubs during the seventh inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports

Tyler Skaggs (10), Archie Bradley (24), Didi Gregorious (63), Matt Davidson (77) and Adam Eaton (99) all were named to the talented group of prospects released late this afternoon.

Skaggs, Gregorious and Eaton all have a chance to make the team out of Spring Training with Eaton and Skaggs having the best chances to make a big impact this season. Gregorious has an outside shot to win the shortstop position, but he and Davidson will most likely start the season at Class AAA Reno. Bradley will most likely begin the season at Class AA Mobile.

Sept. 18, 2012; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks left fielder Adam Eaton (6) slides into third base during the eighth inning against the San Diego Padres at Chase Field. The Diamondbacks beat the Padres 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

Congratulations to the prospects involved and congratulations to the Arizona Diamondbacks for getting five players named to this prestigious list today.

Tyler Skaggs, the #1 rated left-handed pitching prospect in baseball. Image: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

Skaggs has already had his taste of Major League experience last season making six starts in 2012 with the D’backs.  Last year at this time, the 21-year old southpaw made the list at number four, right behind Danny Hultzen of the Seattle Mariners.  This year, Hultzen landed in the number two spot mainly because of control issues at Triple A Tacoma.  There is a poll up on MLB.com asking fans who they think is the best prospect.  Currently, it is Hultzen in a runaway with 44% of the vote with Skaggs in second place at 19%.  Perhaps I am biased, but the fact that Skaggs has had a certain degree of success already at the big league level indicates that he is the one with the brightest future.  As far as the Top 100 goes, my guess is that Skaggs will be ranked no lower than #15.

As for Bradley, he inches up one spot from the 2012 list.  He was the 7th pick in the 2011 draft out of Broken Arrow High School in Broken Arrow, OK.  He has less notoriety than fellow Sooner State righty Dylan Bundy from the Baltimore Orioles who claimed the top righty spot this year.  Bradley’s 152 strikeouts in 136 innings was  impressive at Class A South Bend in 2012 while his 84 walks were cause for concern.  At 6’4, 225 pounds, the 20-year old certainly has the frame to evolve into a number one or number two starter.   In the poll for top righties, Bradley finished last with 2% of the vote with Bundy out in front garnering 21% and the New York Mets’  Zack Wheeler getting 18%.  Those of us who voted for Bradley may soon have the last laugh.

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DiDi Gregorius’ success will be the deciding factor in the success or failure of GM Kevin Towers. Image: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports

There are several positive ones in my point of view. First, it means the D’backs are finally going to let the Justin Upton trade rumors die and keep him in an Arizona uniform for at least the year. Perhaps they can even start to build around him again.

Second, the rotation is pretty much set at this point. Ian Kennedy will be the opening day starter with Trevor Cahill, Wade Miley, Brandon McCarthy pretty much locked into their spots behind Kennedy. That leaves the fifth spot open for Patrick Corbin or Tyler Skaggs to claim. But with Skaggs’ ability and his readiness for the majors at this point, it’s a good bet he will win the job.

Finally, it also means that the D’backs finally feel comfortable that they have their guy at the shortstop position. Whether that is Cliff Pennington for this year while Gregorius gets some more seasoning in the minors, or Gregorius wins the job out of Spring Training, the D’backs finally have filled that hole.

There also are several negative repercussions. The first is the D’backs no longer have a disposable upper-echelon trade piece. The D’backs biggest advantage was their depth of pitching prospects at the upper levels of the minors between Bauer, Skaggs and Corbin. One of those three could have been a major trade piece in case the D’backs wanted to acquire a player mid-season in the midst of a playoff race.

Now, that pitching depth is all but gone with Bauer traded and Skaggs most likely earning a spot in the rotation with Corbin serving as a swing-man for the D’backs. After those three, the D’backs still have high-upside pitching in the minors, such as Chase Anderson, David Holmberg, Anthony Meo and Archie Bradley, but they all are still a ways away from being major-league ready.

Second, what do the D’backs do with their other shortstop prospect Chris Owings. Some still view Owings as a regular starter at some point in his future despite his unbelievably bad plate discipline – 22 percent K-rate and three percent walk rate. However, if Owings is in fact going to make it to the majors as a regular, where does he play? There has been some discussion about moving him to second, which would work once Aaron Hill moves on, but it’s also moving a guy from the position he has played his entire minor league career. That doesn’t always turn out well.

Finally, the last possible repercussion of this trade is how Kevin Towers will be viewed as a GM. Many D’backs fans have grown weary of his trades – most of which have been loudly criticized – but this is the biggest. If Gregorius’ bat never develops and he turns into nothing more than another Pennington, and/or if Bauer finds his control and starts to show the dominating stuff many believe he has, Towers may be run out of town.

This trade is the proverbial planting of the flag move for Towers. If it ends badly, it’s on him.