MLB Top 125 Minor League Prospects: 100-76
95. Chance Sisco, C, Baltimore Orioles, Orioles #1
Sisco has established himself so strongly as a future consideration at backstop that the Orioles were willing to let Matt Wieters walk this offseason and go with a short-term solution to bridge until Sisco’s expected 2018 arrival. Sisco probably isn’t going to be an elite defensive catcher by any means, but he has worked hard to become a guy who should be at least a league-average regular behind the plate, and he gets tremendous marks for his handling of pitchers. Offensively, he has a tremendous hit tool, which should allow him to be a guy with a very good batting average that eventually allows for more power as he develops in the majors, but should give some offensive value while the power comes.
94. Carson Kelly, C, St. Louis Cardinals, Cardinals #5
Converted from the hot corner, Kelly has always had some solid instincts behind the plate, but he’s really developed into a standout defensive receiver with a plus arm and excellent footwork. Kelly was reputed when drafted to have plus raw power, but he’s never really developed that, and his swing looks more like an excellent line drive swing that should lead to a very solid batting average, though there could be 15-20 homer potential there eventually. Of course, there is that Yadier Molina guy in St. Louis to get out of his way…
93. Stephen Gonsalves, LHP, Minnesota Twins, Twins #3
A year from now, this spot could look extremely low on Gonsalves, but I’m still a bit concerned by a few comments I got about Gonsalves from guys in spite of his ridiculous numbers in 2016 that only seemed to get better in AA. Gonsalves has very solid stuff, but it’s his late movement on all of his stuff that makes it near-impossible for hitters to square him up. However, a scout from a rival team told me that in their one viewing of Gonsalves in AA, they found a tell on him in their only viewing of him. I asked around about this, and a few other scouts did have a similar report, so I looked things up. Gonsalves faced only one team in AA three times, and it was the eventual league champion, who tuned him up to a tone of 13 innings over the three starts with 6 runs allowed on 11 hits and an astonishing 15 walks. He also made multiple starts against only 3 opponents in AA, and the second start in 2 of those situations was a worse game score, so there could be something there to teams seeing something that could be a challenge in 2017.
92. Hunter Renfroe, OF, San Diego Padres, Padres #4
Renfroe has been seeing a bump this offseason that I can only believe comes in large part due to his flashes at the big league level in September after getting called up. He hit for big numbers in the PCL, knocking out 30 homers with a near .900 OPS, but there are certainly concerns here. Renfroe has put up solid contact in the PCL, but his bat is more of a .250-.270 type of bat, and he’s not shown the ability to control the strike zone, which could limit accessing his strong power. He does have a traditional right field profile with big power and a big arm, but he’ll need to control the zone better in the majors, which is where he’ll be starting out 2017 in right field for San Diego.
91. Jason Groome, LHP, Boston Red Sox, Red Sox #3
Groome was considered the top lefty high school arm in the 2016 draft class before discussion about off-field concerns and a risky signing bonus number started to get floated around the game. Instead, he got just barely above the slot value for pick #12, where the Red Sox picked him. Groome has a tremendous blend of pitches, and much of his off field stuff can be written off to youthful indiscretion and a lack of maturity in response to situations, but it is something that will be sure to be considered with Groome for at least a little while unless he shows himself to be a model citizen.
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