MLB: 2016 Minor League All Stars: The Hitters

As the World Series is underway to close out the MLB season, it’s good to look back at the play for the season. Who were the best in the minor leagues in 2016?

This is the in-depth effort of Benjamin Chase as he pours over thousands and thousands of innings of MiLB.tv coverage, reviewing as many minor leaguers that he can get his eyes on. Today’s post will feature the best hitting performances in 2016 in the minor leagues.

Ben scoured the minors, reviewing the stats, taking into consideration the league context and park context as well, not just raw numbers. Some preference will be given to guys who performed at advanced minor leagues if the numbers are close in general.

For hitters, a player needed to have 300 plate appearances total in the minor leagues to be considered for this list. Performance at the major league level was not taken into consideration at all. By no means is this intended as a comprehensive list of all excellent performers at each position, but just a list of the guys that I considered for the top spot.

Before we head into the list, a disclaimer – this is not a list of the best prospects, so if a guy who is a top 10 rated player on national lists didn’t have the stats that someone else did, he won’t be here. Numbers are the only thing that matter to getting on the list. The only time outside factors mattered was in selecting the final representative at each position, when factors like ballpark, league, age, and other factors were considered.

We’ll kick things off with the guys toting the tools of ignorance and the choice at catcher!

Catcher

Yermin Mercedes, Baltimore Orioles, A/A+, 23 years old

Stats: .345/.404/.570/.974, 31 doubles, 5 triples, 20 homers, 44/82 BB/K ratio, 500 plate appearances

The Nationals originally signed Mercedes out of the Dominican Republic, and he spent three seasons with their Dominican Summer League team, hitting .296/.373/.383 with 2 home runs over 421 plate appearances. By the third season, he had been moved off of catcher by the Nationals, before they released him after the 2013 season.

Mercedes spent the 2014 season with multiple independent leagues, and he found his power stroke, hitting 17 home runs over 250 plate appearances with a 1.119 OPS. He was playing primarily third base, but also catcher and even pitched due to his strong arm.

The Orioles signed Mercedes and he debuted with their low-A club in the South Atlantic League in late May of 2015, hitting .272/.302/.456 over 255 plate appearances.

Mercedes returned to Delmarva to start 2016, earning a promotion to the Orioles’ high-A team in the Carolina League. He hit .345/.404/.570 over 500 plate appearances with 31 doubles and 20 home runs.

Mercedes made an adjustment to his swing that has allowed him to add loft and really drive the ball well. Mercedes has an incredibly strong arm, but his other skills behind the plate are lacking, as indicated by his 24 passed balls in 2016. The Orioles may look to move him off the position, but for 2016, he gets this spot.

In Consideration

Austin Hedges, San Diego Padres, AAA, .326/.353/.597/.951, 21 HR, 334 PA
Francisco Mejia, Cleveland Indians, A/A+, .342/.382/.514/.896, 50-game hitting streak
Tom Murphy, Colorado Rockies, AAA, .327/.361/.647/1.008, 19 home runs, 322 PA

Next: First Base