MLB: Top Ten Prospects of the Midwest and South Atlantic Leagues
MLB’s major league season is now ended, and the offseason reviews have begun. Today, we will review the top prospects that played in the full-season A-ball leagues this season, the Midwest League and the South Atlantic League.
This is the third in a series of posts on the top ten prospects in each league. This series is not entirely indicative of where a player may end up in a top 100 MLB prospect list as a player may not have played long enough to be considered. There aren’t hard and fast rules here, just a general “was this guy here long enough to be considered” feel. On a short-season league, that’s probably about 40-50 plate appearances or a handful of starts. For a full-season league, it’d probably be about double that, but once again, that can be waived in general if a guy made such an impact on the league that it’s hard to ignore his impact on being part of that league.
Call to the Pen will be having a top 100 list released in the early winter, so be looking for that as well, but for now, this should whet your prospecting appetite outside of scouting reports to come on some of the top prospects in the game!
Midwest League
1. Eloy Jimenez, OF, South Bend (Cubs) – Biggest leap forward of any prospect in baseball this season. He absolutely tore up the Midwest League at 19 years old in the midst of his big season, he blew away all those in attendance at the Futures Game at the All-Star break. Jimenez hit .329/.369/.532 with 40 doubles, 14 home runs, and eight stolen bases, along with a 25/94 BB/K ratio over his 464 plate appearances.
2. Kyle Tucker, OF, Quad Cities (Astros) – Tucker was drafted out of high school by the Astros as his brother was already in the system. He’s been a tremendous talent in just his second season in the system, making it all the way to high-A in 2016. He hit .276/.348/.402 with five triples, six home runs, and 31 stolen bases in his time with Quad Cities. Tucker has excellent defensive skills, though he may profile better as a right fielder than center fielder. He’s a guy with present speed, but he also profiles to add some very good power as he grows into his strength.
3. Nick Senzel, 3B, Dayton (Reds) – Drafted #2 overall in the 2016 draft, Senzel came out with a very solid offensive performance with Dayton, hitting .329/.415/.567 with 23 doubles, seven home runs, and 15 stolen bases in just 251 plate appearances. Senzel did shuffle on the defensive side of things some this year, which was a bit of a concern coming into the draft, but if he does not profile at third base long term, he’s going to shift to second base, and his offensive profile would be elite at 2B.
4. Francisco Mejia, C, Lake County (Indians) – Signed out of the Dominican Republic at 16, Mejia has been a solid contact hitter as he’s climbed through the system, but this year he took it to another level, challenging minor league records as he recorded a 50-game hitting streak that he started with Lake County and continued as he was promoted. Mejia has very strong skills behind the plate, including an exceptional catch-and-throw ability. While he’s not a guy at his current build who will hit 20 home runs, he did hit .347/.384/.531 with Lake County with 17 doubles and seven home runs in just 259 plate appearances.
5. Isan Diaz, IF, Wisconsin (Brewers) – Diaz was a big focus of the Jean Segura trade between the Brewers and Diamondbacks in the offseason, and he showed why in his first season with the Brewers organization. Diaz may end up a second baseman due to less than stellar range, but the bat is undeniable as he hit .264/.358/.469 with 34 doubles, 20 home runs, and 11 stolen bases in 587 plate appearances. Diaz has a very exciting future going forward for the Brewers.
6. Sandy Alcantara, RHP, Peoria (Cardinals) – The Cardinals signed Alcantara out of the Dominican Republic, and he’s flashed incredible raw stuff every step of the way. He has a fastball that runs into triple digits, a curve ball that can buckle knees, and he has feel for a change at 20 years old. He does have some struggle with getting off track in his command and control of his pitches, but he definitely had the most electric stuff that passed through the league in 2016.
7. Sean Reid-Foley, RHP, Lansing (Blue Jays) – Reid-Foley was a guy that the Blue Jays had big hopes for when they drafted him out of high school in 2014. He’s shuffled the last two seasons, and he repeated the two levels he pitched for in 2015 in his 2016 season, and he was much better at both levels. His time at Lansing was 58 innings, a 2.95 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, and a 22/59 BB/K, and he actually improved when he moved up to high-A at age 20.
8. Michael Gettys, OF, Fort Wayne (Padres) – The 2014 second round pick repeated the league to start 2016, and he showed some big steps forward in his raw skills. He still strikes out plenty, but he has big time power potential, though right now it’s more gap than over-the-fence power. He also stole 24 bases in 257 at bats, slashing .300/.366/.412. Gettys has an incredible amount of talent defensively in center field with legit 75-80 grade speed to track down balls, and he also had a plus arm to pair with that speed in the outfield.
9. Marcos Diplan, RHP, Wisconsin (Brewers) – Come the end of 2017, this could look drastically under selling to Diplan. He was acquired from the Rangers before the 2015 season, and he threw all of 2016 at 19 years old. He was so dominant at Wisconsin that he finished his season with high-A Brevard County. With Wisconsin, he threw 70 innings, allowing a 1.80 ERA and 1.17 WHIP with a 32/89 BB/K rate. Diplan doesn’t have Alcantara’s physical projection or top end velocity, but his breaking stuff could actually be better.
10. Matt Thaiss, 1B, Burlington (Angels) – Thaiss was a college catcher, but he was known to likely be moving out from behind the plate as a pro. The Angels didn’t even flirt with him as a catcher, moving him immediately to first base. He has an excellent chance to move quickly with a very good contact ability along with solid power that could certainly be a 15-20 home but in the future. Many wonder if Thaiss could be moved to third base for his long term home, but regardless of where he ends up, a pro debut at .276/.351/.427 in 199 at bats of full season ball is impressive to say the least.
Next: Sally League
South Atlantic League
1. Brendan Rodgers, SS, Asheville (Rockies) – Rodgers played in his first full season of pro ball in 2016, and the guy who had as much (or more) talent as any player coming into the season put up an incredible offensive performance. How he’s not #1 is beyond me. I’m seriously going to consider Rodgers for a top 10 overall prospect in the game when I begin working on my top 100 list. His defense position may be in question to some degree, but more due to his youthful moves possibly being too much to handle at an important spot like shortstop. If he moves to second or third base, his offense will still be exceptional. In 2016, Rodgers hit .281/.342/.480 with 31 doubles, 19 home runs, and six stolen bases.
2. Victor Robles, OF, Hagerstown (Nationals) – Robles very well could end up a top 10 overall prospect in baseball by midseason of next year, if he isn’t there already in some eyes. He flashed big time power and excellent speed. He hit .305/.405/.459 for Hagerstown with six triples, five home runs, and 19 stolen bases. He’s still just 19, and he does struggle at times with trying to create more power than his frame is able to support, but when he stays within himself, he has excellent power right off the bat as it is.
3. Kolby Allard, LHP, Rome (Braves) – The first pick of the Braves in the 2015 draft, Allard was struggling with back issues and only threw six innings. He made three early starts with Rome where he was hit hard before being sent down to Danville to get his feet under him. When he did, he came back and was absolutely dominant. As Rome pushed into the playoffs, Allard threw 12 scoreless innings in the playoffs. Overall, he struck out 62 in 60 innings. His fastball runs up to 94-95 with very good life down in the zone. He also has an excellent curve that I’d grade a plus pitch currently, and his change is an above-average pitch with good feel and a chance to be a plus pitch.
4. Anderson Espinoza, RHP, Greenville (Red Sox) – Traded to the Padres, Espinoza has absolutely incredible stuff. He was 18 for the entire season, and while his numbers with Greenville may not blow one away, the stuff he flashed was excellent. In his time with Greenville, he threw 76 innings with a 4.38 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, and a 27/72 BB/K ratio. Espinoza had some struggles in controlling his curve, but his fastball is a mid-90s pitch and his change is already a plus pitch with room to grow as well.
5. Mitch Keller, RHP, West Virginia (Pirates) – Keller was one of the most impressive pitchers in the Sally League this season. I had different views of him than some scouts, but I really like his ability a lot. Some have talked about putting Keller atop the entire league in prospects, and I can’t go there. I love Keller’s stuff, with a fastball that can run to 97 and has great life to it, a curve with good depth, and a feel for his change. I do think it will be interesting to see how Keller adjusts to AA as he often attempted to strike out everyone once he got into a tough spot, something that will tax his arm in a hurry.
6. Luis Alexander Basabe, OF, Greenville (Red Sox) – Basabe struggled mightily for the first two months of the season, but once he got on track, he was one of the most feared hitters in the entire league. Basabe has an impressive combination of power and speed with above average power and plus speed. He’s able to be a plus defender in part with his plus speed. He did hit .258/.325/.447 with eight triples, 12 home runs, and 25 steals over 403 at bats.
7. Max Fried, LHP, Rome (Braves) – When the Rome team was looking to close out their two playoff series this year, they turned to Fried, and he simply dominated, striking out 24 hitters over 14 2/3 innings between the two games. Fried has come back strong from his Tommy John surgery with full velocity again. He has a fastball that can touch 97, an incredible pair of curve balls, and a change that can generate swings. Adam Wainwright has said that the recovery from TJS is a two-year process – in the first year back, velocity comes back, and in the second year, command comes back. 2017 should be a fun year to follow Fried.
8. Ronald Acuna, OF, Rome (Braves) – If Acuna plays the full season the way he started it before being injured in early May, it’s likely he’s challenging Robles for the top outfielder in the league. Acuna received rave reviews from all who saw him before his injury for his easy raw power, excellent base running instincts and plus raw speed with a plus arm in center field. He has drawn comparisons on the offensive side of the ball to former Braves great Andruw Jones, though his defense is a touch below that level. Even in limited time, Acuna still put up a slash line of .311/.387/.432 with 4 home runs and 14 stolen bases over 148 at bats.
9. Phil Bickford, RHP, Augusta (Giants) – Bickford’s exceptional fastball is enough for him to run through a lineup once nearly exclusively on the fastball, which has tremendous sink and late movement. Bickford does have a solid slider and a change that needs a good amount of work. Many scouts have mixed opinions on Bickford, but it’s hard to deny a guy who averages over 5.5 innings per start and strikes out 28.3 percent of hitters.
10. Mike Soroka, RHP, Rome (Braves) – As one of the youngest starters in the league, Soroka tallied one of the highest inning totals in the league. While Soroka may not have a single pitch that makes scouts go “wow”, he has a very mature approach on the mound and frequently gets deep into games on low pitch counts due to his ability to sequence hitters well. Soroka’s stuff may not scream superstar, but his pitching ability sure should.
Next up will be the high-A leagues, the Carolina League, California League and the Florida State League, so look forward to those!