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