6. Franklin Barreto, Oakland Athletics
Barreto is a guy that seemingly has fallen into the glut of shortstop prospects and many forget his name when they mention the top shortstops in the game, though he absolutely belongs in that conversation.
Barreto was signed by the Blue Jays as they signed he and Richard Urena, locking up two of the best shortstops in the 2012 international free agent class.
He played very well in his first pro season, hitting for an .825 OPS across two rookie leagues with 21 doubles, seven triples, four home runs, and 10 steals in 59 games.
The Blue Jays moved Barreto patiently, bumping him to their short-season A-ball club in 2014 rather than jumping him to full-season ball.
In the 2014-2015 offseason, Toronto traded Barreto to the Oakland Athletics as part of a blockbuster MLB trade where Josh Donaldson went from Oakland to Toronto, and Barreto, lefty Sean Nolin, infielder Brett Lawrie, and righty Kendall Graveman went to Oakland.
The A’s pushed Barreto past low-A to their high-A Cal League affiliate, and Barreto was in the midst of an impressive season when an injury mid-season effectively ended his season on July 23rd.
Barreto was healthy in 2016, and he made a big impression with AA and AAA, hitting .284/.342/.422 with 25 doubles, four triples, 11 home runs, and 30 stolen bases on the season.
Barreto’s glove skills have been questioned at the position, and the Athletics have tried him at other positions, but he’s shown well enough to stay at short if that is the plan.
One thing that kept coming up in offseason discussions I had on Barreto was his impressive work ethic as one scout mentioned that he commented to Barreto about how he had just a hair of a drag on his bat path, and the next day, Barreto was out with the scout and his hitting coach working through the drag to eliminate it in his swing.
Barreto will open with AAA this season, but he could push his way to the majors in 2017 as soon as midseason.
5. Brendan Rodgers, Colorado Rockies
Many felt that the 2015 draft had three top shortstop talents. Rodgers was the third selected and the only high school one of the trio.
Rodgers has thickened some onto his 6’0″ frame, likely to 200-210 at this point, and he’s seen some significant home/away splits from his favorable home park.
However, Rodgers has shown himself still more than capable of handling shortstop and one of the few guys who could legitimately hit 30+ home runs while playing the position, which puts him on pretty elite footing.
Rodgers has shown well already in full season ball and impressed nearly every scout that I talked with this season with his maturity among guys frequently 2-3 years his senior.
The Rockies had a revelation from Trevor Story last season, and that could change their path for Rodgers, but at this point, he’s still playing short, and he’ll likely open this season in high-A, which for Colorado means the Cal League, so it could be a fun year for numbers for Rodgers.
Next: #4, #3