MLB’s regular season is now ended, and the offseason reviews have begun. Today, we will review the top MLB prospects that played in the three high-A leagues this season, the Carolina League, the California League and the Florida State League.
This is the fifth in a series of posts on the top ten MLB prospects in each league. This series is not entirely indicative of where a player may end up in a top 100 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!
California League
1. Yusniel Diaz, OF, Rancho Cucamonga (Dodgers) – Shoulder injuries kept Diaz from the field for parts of the season, but when he was there, scouts raved about what they saw. He has tremendous defensive ability that should handle center field without an issue and plenty of arm to profile in right field if he is moved out of center. Diaz has tremendous raw power, but it didn’t play up as over-the-fence power in game, and his instincts on the bases could use some work (eight caught stealing in 15 attempts). However, the raw skills are tremendous across the board here, and Diaz could end up profiling as a 20-25 home run, 25-30 steal center fielder.
2. Chris Shaw, 1B, San Jose (Giants) – Shaw was incredibly impressive in 2016. He’s a big guy (6’4, 235) that gets tremendous power in his swing. However, he’s not just a pure power guy. He was able to show the ability to have solid contact skills as well. Shaw’s also fairly adept around the first base bag, considered above-average as a defender. Overall, Shaw hit 21 home runs between San Jose and AA.
3. Grant Holmes, RHP, Rancho Cucamonga/Stockton (Dodgers/Athletics) – Traded midway through the season, Holmes really struggled once he was traded. His heavy fastball and power curve are both excellent pitches, but right now he struggles to show a third pitch. If he can do that, he’ll quickly be an elite prospect as a starter, but right now, he may end up more a back-end starter or an elite reliever.
4. Ryan Castellani, RHP, Modesto (Rockies) – A sinker/slider guy with a developing change, Castellani added positive weight in the offseason, which added velocity, bringing his fastball to 91-95. He does still have moments where his talent is ahead of his baseball instincts, and he can get swallowed up by the moment, but Castellani fought through these moments enough to pitch 168 innings, only allowing 8 home runs in a traditional hitter’s league.
5. Michael Gettys, OF, Lake Elsinore (Padres) – Gettys was promoted from low-A to Lake Elsinore, and he took up his hitting to another level, showing much more power, knocking out nine home runs to go with his nine steals in 248 at bats. Gettys did struggle with a 17/77 BB/K ratio, but he showed plenty of ability to be a high-level defender along with a power/speed combination hitter.
6. Luis Urias, IF, Lake Elsinore (Padres) – Urias was the youngest player in the Cal League, yet he won the league’s batting title. He showed an exceptional ability to handle the bat and was very difficult to strike out as well. His power right now is gap power at best, and his instincts on the bases prevent his speed from translating to stolen bases right now (he was caught 13 times in 20 steal attempts). Defensively, he has excellent hands and receives the ball well, but he struggled with range enough for shortstop, though he profiled as an elite defensive second baseman.
7. Travis Demeritte, 2B, High Desert (Rangers) – The Georgia native was traded to the Braves in late July, and he hit tremendously well in the Cal League before his trade. He had only hit in 331 at bats, yet Demeritte had 25 home runs and 13 steals. Demeritte struck out plenty on the season, and that’s going to be his biggest issue as he works up the minors, now with the Braves system.
8. Ariel Jurado, RHP, High Desert (Rangers) – The Panamanian native showed excellent sinker/slider with a solid change that he threw with excellent control. While he controlled his three pitches well, his command within the zone could still use some work. He will generate a ton of ground balls and he will need to continue to attack hitters rather than simply sit back for grounders, as he did a few times on the season. However, his elite ground ball rate should give him a high floor.
9. Yency Almonte, RHP, Modesto (Rockies) – The leading strikeout man in the league when he was promoted to AA, Almonte showed elite velocity that reaches upper-90s along with a hard slider and a change that is making strides. Almonte will need to work on his command within the strike zone as he does keep the ball in the zone.
10. Domingo Leyba, IF, Visalia (Diamondbacks) – In his second season in the league, Leyba hit much better. His defense was quite good last year, and he continued this in 2016. His biggest knock defensively is an average to fringe-average arm. That could predicate a move to second base in the future. He did make big strides in pitch recognition in 2016, and continuing that move forward will allow his average to above-average power and speed to play up with excellent contact.
Next: Carolina League