As Cody Bellinger has hit his stride with the Los Angeles Dodgers, it leads to the question of who will be the next top prospect to come up to impact his MLB club?
We’re just one month into the minor league season, but many top prospects are making a push for the major leagues. Let’s take a look at 11 that could be up soon.
Yoan Moncada, 2B, Chicago White Sox
Easy to start with the top prospect left in minor league baseball. Moncada was the prize of the White Sox’s big acquisitions this offseason as they traded ace Chris Sale to Boston to acquire Moncada among others.
Moncada has been assigned to AAA Charlotte in the International League, where he’s opened the season very well, hitting .340/.413/.536 with five home runs and six stolen bases, posting an 11.01 percent walk rate and 28.44 percent strikeout rate.
Moncada’s free swinging was the biggest concern in his offensive game coming into the season, as he saw his strikeout rate spike over 30 percent in the upper minors and all the way to an insane 60 percent in his eight-game major league call-up last fall. He’s kept the strikeout rate below 30, but it’s still in the upper 20s.
The other major issue in Moncada’s game that needed ironing out was his defense. The Red Sox had moved Moncada to third base, and he did not take well to the position. His natural athleticism played very well up the middle, and he’s seen a return of that as he’s played second base this season in every game he’s played.
Currently, the White Sox have Tyler Saladino and Yolmer Sanchez working at second base in the majors, and neither is really doing much to keep him down offensively, but the White Sox, in spite of their current position in first place in the AL Central, are intending to spend this season allowing for development of their new prospects, not pushing them up to the major leagues to hopefully provide some sort of competitive “spark.”
While that may keep Moncada in the minors until after the All-Star break, he’s shown he deserves the promotion!