MLB: Eastern, Southern, Texas Leagues Top Prospects
Southern League
1. Dansby Swanson, SS, Mississippi (Braves) – The Derek Jeter comps get thrown around a lot on Swanson, but they’re quite apt. Swanson is a high-smarts sort of player on the field with across the board high-end skills offensively with elite pitch recognition already. While he started to wear down a bit at the end of his time with Mississippi, he was still the field general defensively for the Braves before he was called up to Atlanta and had an excellent run to finish the regular season.
2. Ozzie Albies, IF, Mississippi (Braves) – There is a legit argument for Albies to be ranked above Swanson, and many will be surprised to hear that. Albies has a smaller build, which seems to get an automatic lower grade on his power, but he had a tremendous power bat, and he’s shown that all along in his minor league career, so it shouldn’t be surprising people still. Many compare him offensively to Jose Altuve, and now that he’s moved to second base, the similarity is even more striking. He and Swanson should give Braves fans plenty to cheer about for years to come up the middle.
3. Willy Adames, SS, Montgomery (Rays) – Adames has flashed plus power in his strong build while sticking at short. He has over-the-fence power to the pull side and gap power when he goes the other way, and it showed up in 48 extra base hits in 486 at bats. Adames did increase his walk rate substantially in 2016, which is a big help for his future projection. Adames is already average-ish in his range at short, but he does field the position very well and has an above-average arm, so he could stay at shortstop, especially in the Rays system that works around defensive skills at the shortstop position very well.
4. Tyler O’Neill, OF, Jackson (Mariners) – O’Neill was seen as a guy with a big power bat, but a big strikeout rate coming into 2016, but with the change in organizational philosophy that came in the new upper management, O’Neill worked hard on his pitch recognition, and by the end of the season, he was absolutely elite in his ability to simply watch pitches out of the zone. He still struck out plenty, but it was more in part of his aggressive swing once he did swing rather than due to poor recognition that he was having in the past. O’Neill won’t ever win awards for his defense, but he’s a legit middle-of-the-order bat that can pass in a corner outfield spot, and that’s a big time deal for an advanced level guy.
5. Josh Hader, LHP, Biloxi (Brewers) – Hader was only in the Southern League for 11 starts and 57 innings, but he was so impressive that he’s the first pitcher to show up on the list in this pitching-dominated league. That tells you just how impressive he is. From the left hand side, Hader has an approach that sits somewhere between Chris Sale and Randy Johnson in his delivery and wicked stuff. His numbers looked like those guys as well, with a 0.95 ERA and 73 strikeouts in 57 innings, including a .194 average against.
6. Jake Bauers, OF, Montgomery (Rays) – Bauers has a very pretty lefty swing, and that’s the first thing you see on his scouting report. He was acquired as part of the Wil Myers deal after 2014, and he’s shown solid power to the gaps, though his swing path right now looks to me like a guy who is more doubles power than home run power. He certainly has natural power that could play up with a slight adjustment in his swing path. Bauers is a passable defender in the outfield, but he’s a high-end defensive first baseman, and that may be where he fits going forward.
7. Sean Newcomb, LHP, Mississippi (Braves) – Many would see Newcomb’s high 3’s ERA and assume he had a rough season, but he was working with his pitching coach to pitch off of his high-end fastball and change, using his elite curve ball to generate strikeouts, racking up 152 in 140 innings. Newcomb struggled some with his landing spot, and that threw off his control, but he has a very heavy fastball and has such a broad build on his 6’5 frame that it’s near impossible for hitters to pick the ball up off of the bat. He only allowed 4 home runs this season.
8. Brent Honeywell, RHP, Montgomery (Rays) – Screwball artist was tremendous at high-A before his promotion, and actually pitched better with Montgomery. He isn’t going to be a strikeout artist as his mix of pitches generates weak contact and encourages hitters to put the ball into play, but even so, he collected 53 strikeouts in 59 innings, posting a 2.28 ERA. He showed a touch of fatigue at the end of the season as his fastball straightened a bit, and he relies on movement on the fastball along with good movement on his curve and his screwball to get guys to drive the ball into the ground. His change is a solid strikeout pitch, and he actually flashed an above-average cutter with Montgomery that could be a weapon for him going forward as he gets more of a feel for it.
9. Amir Garrett, LHP, Pensacola (Reds) – Former college basketball player is an incredible athlete off the mound, and he put up impressive numbers in his time in AA before being promoted to AAA. He had 13 appearances, throwing 77 innings, with a 1.75 ERA and 28/78 BB/K along with a .184 average against. Garrett has great extension on his fastball to generate a downward plane, making it difficult to drive the ball off of him. He has a slider that can be very, very good, but he can get off in his delivery and lose the sharpness in his slider when he doesn’t land right.
10. Stephen Gonsalves, LHP, Chattanooga (Twins) – Gonsalves made a legit push to be the #1 Twins prospect with his performance at high-A and AA this season. His performance for Chattanooga was incredibly impressive, with 74 innings, a 37/89 BB/K ratio, a 1.82 ERA, and a .171 average against. He has excellent deception in his natural delivery, and he plays up his velocity due to this. He has a solid change, and he offers a curve and slider that help to generate weak contact, though AA hitters did a better job of laying off the pitches out of the zone than did high-A hitters, leading to a significant walk rate in AA.
Next: Texas League