MLB: Top Ten Prospects of the Rookie Leagues – GCL, AZL

Arizona Rookie League

1. Will Benson, OF, Indians – I’ll gladly admit bias here as Baseball America had both guys under Benson on my list ranked above him on theirs, but he was possibly my favorite overall athlete in the entire 2016 draft with high level physical tools that were nearly unmatched in the entire AZL. He’s got huge raw power in his swing. His speed is plus, but he does take a bit to get going, so he’ll never be a guy who steals a ton of bases, but he’ll be a guy who covers a lot of ground in the outfield and goes first to third on a lot of singles in his career.
2. Yadier Alvarez, RHP, Dodgers – Alvarez was a big money signing from Cuba that signed for $16M in July of 2015. He has incredible velocity, topping out in triple digits, but he also features a pair of plus breaking pitches in a curve ball and a hard slider. He’s 20 at this time, so there’s not a lot of projection into his 6’3, 175-pound frame other than filling out with “man size”, but he’s certainly showing excellent mechanics that were clean and repeatable. Hard to say at the cost, but the Dodgers may have actually gotten a bargain at $16M!
3. Leody Taveras, OF, Rangers – Voted the #1 prospect in the league by Baseball America, Taveras is a center fielder who signed for $2.1M last summer and played at 17 years old this year. He is advanced defensively with a solid amount of power, though it hasn’t translated to over-the-fence power at this point, but that should come as he fills out his 6’1, 170-pound frame. He does flash big time speed, and he could be an excellent power/speed combination with a very similar profile to Carlos Gomez, circa 2012-2014.
4. Cal Quantrill, RHP, Padres – He had better results as he climbed the ladder, but Quantrill made his debut returning from his 2015 Tommy John surgery. His ERA wasn’t pretty in the AZL, but he flashed excellent stuff, and his 2/16 BB/K ratio over 13 2/3 innings showed just how hard he was to drive as a hitter. Selected 8th overall in the 2016 draft, Quantrill showed his incredible sinker that will be ridiculously difficult for batters to drive along with flashes of how dominant he can be when his command and control are on point.
5. Khalil Lee, OF, Royals – Lee lasted until the 3rd round this year due to many teams really not having a clear path of whether they preferred him on the mound or as a hitter and many trying to dance that line. The Royals went at him as a hitter, and he’s shown so far that they’ve made the right choice to go that route. He has great bat speed with excellent raw power from the left side. I’d say he’ll likely end up as a right fielder, but he does have an excellent arm, and while he isn’t a great center fielder, he’d likely be an above-average defensive right fielder.
6. Seuly Matias, OF, Royals – The second of a pair of excellent Royals outfield prospects in the AZL on this list, Matias was signed in 2015 for $2.25M. He’s a huge kid at 6’3 and 210-225 pounds, depending on who you talk to, at only 17! The limited video I saw on him reminded me a lot of Eloy Jimenez, and Eloy rocketed into the national spotlight in his first full season in professional ball (but his third true season in the minors). I could see Matias doing something similar. To compare, Jimenez hit .227/.268/.367 at 17 in the same league. Matias hit .250/.348/.477 at the same age and same league. He’s a guy who isn’t just big power either. He has a ton of speed, but he takes a couple speeds until he gets to top speed, so he would probably work better in a corner outfield with a big arm.
7. Nolan Jones, IF, Indians – The Indians picked a pair of my favorites from the 2016 draft crop, and Jones was the second of those selections, getting picked out of high school in Pennsylvania. Jones is a tall guy that most figured would move off of shortstop due to his 6’4 height, and he spent a lot of the season working on his defensive skills at third base. I think he could still play a solid shortstop, but he flashed plus defense at third, so there’s positive there. Offensively, while his swing is not what you’d probably teach, he repeats it every time and makes excellent contact. Most notable from his debut was his .388 on base percentage, flashing an excellent eye to go along with his developing power and contact skills.
8. Gavin Lux, SS, Dodgers – Lux was one of the fastest risers in the 2016 draft class, really gaining steam as more people saw this cold-weather high school player from Wisconsin. He’s a guy who will likely not be a massive contributor to fantasy teams as a professional, with a solid contact swing that produces line drives and a conservative approach to base stealing, even though he does have plus speed. What people raved about on Lux was his consistency. He didn’t seem to ever get down from one bad play to the next play or one bad at bat to the next one. He may not be a guy who makes highlight reel plays at shortstop, but he’ll be a guy who gets to a ton of balls and rarely makes a bad judgement play. One guy that I talked with said that he’s basically a Brandon Crawford 2.0.
9. Brady Aiken, LHP, Indians – Most know the previous drama of the former Astros #1 overall pick from 2014, but he finally got onto the mound this season, and most would wonder how a 7.13 ERA and .308 batting average allowed would even get a guy on this list, but Aiken also struck out 35 guys in 24 innings, and his arm strength is still not all the way back from Tommy John surgery, peaking around 90 MPH this season while being more of a guy who sat in the mid-90s at peak before his surgery. As well as his curveball was, if he gets that velocity back, this is a guy who will rocket up prospect lists.
10. Hudson Potts, SS, Padres – A pick often panned in the first round, Potts (known as Hudson Sanchez in the draft process) was one of the youngest players in the entire 2016 draft class. He signed for significantly under-slot, which only added fuel to the fire of those who felt this was an over-draft. However, Potts showed that draft slot to be solid. He’ll likely end up moving to second base as a pro in the end, but he showed an excellent contact ability and really showed excellent bat control in the zone. He needs to work on his pitch recognition, but he was extremely impressive to watch as he made pitcher after pitcher work in the AZL.

Next: A Review of 'Pitch'

Next up will be the advanced rookie leagues, the Pioneer League and the Appalachian League, so look forward to those!!