May 5, 2017; San Diego, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers left fielder Cody Bellinger (35) smiles before the game against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports
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.
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!
The Las Vegas teammates have been working in the minors together the last two seasons, and they’re currently providing Pacific Coast League pitchers with headaches.
Rosario is slashing .386/.434/.505 with seven doubles, seven steals, a 7.08 percent walk rate, and a 12.39 percent strikeout rate in the first month of the season. Smith is sitting in the middle of the lineup, hitting .315/.367/.468 with six doubles, three home runs, a 7.5 percent walk rate, and a 16.67 percent strikeout rate.
Rosario’s elite glove and speed should allow him to have an immediate impact at the major league level once he’s called up, and right now, it’d be hard to say the Mets don’t have a need, with none of the Mets infielders currently hitting .250.
The one infielder most likely to keep his position if Rosario would be called up would be Asdrubal Cabrera, but he could shift to third to replace Jose Reyes quite easily.
Smith may be a guy that Mets fans are actually cheering against getting called up, as the issues with health in the outfield and at first base have left a spot for Michael Conforto to finally get a real shot to play every day, and Conforto is currently hitting .357/.427/.700 with seven home runs.
However, Smith provides a natural first baseman, and the Mets have certainly seen poor defense at the position cost their infielders multiple errors this spring already.
Rosario may be a guy to make his MLB debut first, but both he and Smith should see more than just a September call up this season.
When top prospect Lewis Brinson missed the very start of the season for AAA Colorado Springs, many figured that would delay his chance of getting to the big leagues before July for sure and perhaps before September even. Instead, Brinson has come out hitting on all cylinders, posting a .338/.388/.577 line with four home runs and three stolen bases, posting a 7.5 percent walk rate and 25 percent strikeout rate.
His teammate in Colorado Springs, Woodruff, has been making his mark on the mound, as he’s tossed 28 1/3 innings, posting a 2.22 ERA and 1.02 WHIP with a 6/23 BB/K ratio in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.
While Brinson may be the more regarded prospect, he may have the tougher road to Milwaukee through no fault of his own. The Brewers have a very good outfield that is producing well at the major league level, with Ryan Braun, Keon Broxton and Domingo Santana all hitting well and/or defending well. Broxton is having the biggest issues offensively, but he’s also playing very good defense and will be tough to move.
The Brewers have fielded offers for all three of their big outfielders, however, and if the offer got high enough, they would likely move their outfield trio as they look to the future in their rebuild. The likelihood of that level of offer coming in, however, is slight, which could leave Brinson in Colorado Springs unless he pushes those statistics even further.
Woodruff might have a more clear path if he keeps up his performance. The Brewers have seen significant struggles from their starting rotation, outside of Chase Anderson. Wily Peralta, Zach Davies and Jimmy Nelson each have ERAs above 4.75.
The only hitter below AAA on this list, Devers is currently assigned to the Red Sox AA team in Portland in the Eastern League. He’s posted a .333/.366/.590 line with five doubles and five home runs, posting a 4.88 percent walk rate and a 20.73 percent strikeout rate.
The low walk rate is something that is of concern, but Devers has always had an aggressive approach at the plate, yet his strikeout rate hasn’t gone through the roof, even though he’s not walking at a high rate.
After a 2016 where Devers spent much of the first two months of the season trying to get his batting average above .200 before finishing with a very good final line on the season due to a very impressive finish to the season, this early season success sets him up for a possible future boon in the walk and strikeout rates as he tends to get better as the year goes on.
Right now, Devers has minimal resistance to the major league job. Pablo Sandoval is the starting third baseman in Boston, but on top of being currently injured, he’s only hitting .213/.269/.377 on the season. Utility man Brock Holt is the typical fill in, and while he’s also on the DL, he’s struggling to hit as well, posting a .133/.316/.133 line this season.
Devers may not make his major league debut in May, but he could be an MLB player by the time the end of August comes.
Barreto is a tremendous prospect, and there’s no reason for the Athletics to rush him, but with the 21-year-old having a great season, he might force the issue.
Barreto is currently assigned to the AAA Nashville Sounds in the Pacific Coast League, where he’s hitting .359/.414/.563 with three triples, four home runs and three stolen bases, along with a 7.14 percent walk rate and 30.36 percent strikeout rate.
The strikeout rate has been fairly alarming on Barreto. A guy who has kept his strikeout rate in the upper teens and lower 20s, the jump to 30 percent is something that would be worthy of staying in the minors for a bit. It’s also notable that while Barreto has posted BABIPs in the .330ish range in his career, it is .508 currently, so his solid numbers could have a downturn around the corner.
However, if he could keep up his offensive prowess, there’s certainly a need up the middle. Jed Lowrie is having a solid season for the Athletics at second base, but other options are either injured or struggling badly as Oakland shortstops have hit .209/.321/.308 on the season.
Barreto has played mostly shortstop this season, though he has played a handful of games at second base.
While he may end up pushing up to the majors for another organization, it’s no debate that Fisher has worked his way up to knocking on the door of the major leagues.
Fisher is with the AAA Fresno team in Houston’s organization, currently hitting .308/.370/.551 with eight doubles and six home runs. While Fisher does have very good speed, he’s struggled on the base paths this year, stealing three bases versus being caught six times. He’s also posted a 8.33 percent walk rate and 23.33 percent strikeout rate.
That strikeout rate is notable as his strikeout rate had spiked to nearly 29 percent in 2016 in AA before a promotion to AAA to finish the season, when his strikeout rate got back more toward career norms. If he can keep the strikeout rate down, his athleticism will certainly play.
The issue is where it will play. The Astros actually have the problem of having too many outfielders. Their three starting outfielders are all posting OPS+ numbers of 108 or better, and even the primary backup is sporting a .900+ OPS currently while playing elite defense.
Fisher could be a big piece of the trade bait that the Astros use in June or July to nail down a starter for their rotation to prepare for a hopeful deep playoff run. That could be when he finally gets his MLB shot.
Of the players on this list, Berrios may be the first to get the call. While he pitched enough in 2016 to no longer qualify as a “prospect,” he’s still not had a full season in the major leagues, which works for inclusion on this list.
Berrios is in his third season pitching part or all of the year in AAA Rochester. In 2015, he spent roughly half the season at the level. In 2016, he threw 111 innings before a 58 inning MLB debut. Now, he’s a month into the 2017 season.
Berrios has shown this year the final transition from a thrower with electric stuff to a pitcher that can truly work over hitters, and the results have been very promising. Berrios currently has thrown 33 innings with a 1.09 ERA, 0.79 WHIP and a 8/35 BB/K ratio.
While those statistics are eye-popping, it was Berrios’ lack of throwing while participating in the WBC that likely led to him being in AAA as the Twins wanted to see him get more work on his arm before having him in the major leagues. After the start he’s had, it’s hard to say he needs much more time.
Now, with the demotion of two members of the opening day rotation in Kyle Gibson and Aldaberto Mejia, the Twins will very likely be considering someone to fill their spots in the rotation once those slots come around. Gibson’s spot won’t come back around again until Saturday, May 13, but that could be the day Berrios gets his call.
When uber-prospect Alex Reyes went down before the season needing Tommy John surgery, the Cardinals really thought they’d plug the rotation in with veterans to replace his spot, not really looking to their own farm system for the replacement.
Instead, they bumped up their first round pick from the 2014 draft to AA Springfield in the Texas League, and he’s responded by posting elite numbers over his first six starts in the upper minors.
Flaherty has thrown 39 1/3 innings on the year with a 0.69 ERA and 0.74 WHIP. He’s currently posting a 5/40 BB/K ratio.
With numbers like that, the Cardinals organization will certainly take notice of the right-hander from Burbank, California.
However, cracking the rotation this season could be more of a challenge as everyone in the rotation, save for veteran Adam Wainwright, is pitching to a sub-4.00 ERA, and Mike Leake and Lance Lynn have both been especially good, and those would be two guys who you could see a possible spot open up with due to poor performance or health.
Flaherty may have to work out of the bullpen to see the MLB this season, but he’s going to push his way into first consideration for an injury fill in with his big time year.
Anyone following the minor leagues this season knows Mahle’s name, though primarily due to the events of the video posted above, an amazing feat at any level, but especially so at the upper levels of the minor leagues.
Tyler Mahle fell behind other more-regarded arms in the Cincinnati system due to his talent being primarily his excellent pitchability. However, that maturity and approach on the mound is playing well this season in his first full season in AA after a half season at the level in 2016.
Mahle has posted a 1.19 ERA and 0.69 WHIP over 37 2/3 innings, with an excellent 8/41 BB/K ratio.
So why hasn’t he been called up? First, he’s currently at AA Pensacola, so the Reds might choose to promote from the AAA level first, but the other reason is that the Reds are attempting to be patient with their young rotation.
When Brandon Finnegan is healthy, the Reds feature three starters in their regular rotation that are 25 or younger. However, just because they’re young doesn’t mean their rope is endless. With Bronson Arroyo and Rookie Davis both currently sitting above 7.00 with their ERAs, Mahle could get an MLB shot if he keeps things up.
