Kingery Shows Off Some Leather To Go with His Solid Spring Hitting. Photo by Butch Dill – USA TODAY Sports. /
Thursday marked eight weeks of the minor league season. Which MLB prospects have improved their stock in those 8 weeks?
There’s an old adage in MLB that a trend isn’t really a trend until it makes it all the way through Memorial Day. You believe a guy is going to hit 60 home runs because he has 10 in the first two weeks? Often by the time Memorial Day comes in play, there are 8 weeks of play that have seen some slump, some peak, and some in between to give more of an idea of what is to come.
So, we will be looking at guys who have come from either unranked to likely top 100 prospects or guys who were barely top 100 guys and now are well into the top half of the top 100.
Unranked coming into the season, the son of former big league outfielder Mike Kingery has simply produced the most impressive stat line in the entire minor leagues this season.
Kingery was drafted in the 2nd round of the 2015 draft by the Phillies, and now the second baseman is hitting .323/.403/.682 for AA Reading this season with 12 doubles, 4 triples, 17 home runs, and 13 stolen bases. Able to flash good contact before with not much else with it, Kingery has added in plenty of counting stats this season.
Funkhouser went from the first round in 2015 to 4th round in 2016 after a lackluster final season with Louisville. One scout over the winter lamented the Tigers getting him, stating that Funkhouser was the type of pitcher the Tigers would be able to get the most out of.
Funkhouser has simply ascended multiple levels, ascending from low-A to high-A, making 10 starts, throwing 50 2/3 innings, allowing a 2.84 ERA and 1.16 WHIP, with a 14/73 BB/K ratio.
Drafted 22nd overall in 2015, Burrows had electric stuff, but struggled to stay healthy since he was drafted, even though he’s thrown well when feeling right.
This season with high-A Lakeland, the 20 year-old righty has made 11 starts, with 1.23 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, and a 11/62 BB/K ratio.
The Tigers have been known for their strategy of drafting high-ceiling arms and reaping the rewards when one plays out. It looks like they currently have two in the same Lakeland rotation.
After an injury delayed what was shaping up to be a breakout season, Acuna had an impressive time with the Australian Baseball League over the winter. He drew a #67 ranking with Baseball America and #31 ranking with Baseball Prospectus, but interestingly was left off of the MLB Pipeline top list completely.
After a spring where the Braves had Acuna with the major league club nearly the entire spring training, Acuna went to high-A Florida in the Florida State League. After just 28 games, he earned a promotion up to AA Mississippi and one of the toughest hitting parks in the minor leagues.
Combined, the 19 year-old has hit .335/.385/.544 with 10 doubles, 6 triples, 7 home runs, and 26 stolen bases. He will not be 20 until the offseason, and many have said that he would likely rank among the top 10-15 overall prospects in the game if the rankings were re-done right now. If he keeps up this pace all season, Acuna could end up a top 5 prospect.
Drafted in the comp/CBA picks of the first round of the 2015 draft out of high school in Florida, McKenzie scared off many in spite of his impressive stuff due to his extremely lean size at 6’5″ and 165 pounds.
After an impressive 2016 where he posted a 1.62 ERA and 22/104 BB/K ratio over 83 1/3 innings across two low levels, McKenzie did get some note, ranking between #55 and #68 in the offseason.
The way he’s throwing to open the season with high-A Lynchburg very likely will move him into the top 30 of all prospects, and some have said that he could be the second best righty without MLB experience that is currently in the minor leagues behind only Michael Kopech of the Chicago White Sox.
For Lynchburg in the Carolina League, McKenzie has made 9 starts, posting a 2.84 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, and 22/66 BB/K over 50 2/3 innings, and he doesn’t even turn 20 until August.
The Red Sox 2014 first round pick, Chavis struggled out of the gate in his pro career, and with the “hype machine” that the Red Sox minor league system seems to have, Chavis would have been all over top 100 lists had he had success right away.
In spite of him not having blatant success, the Red Sox promoted him to low-A Greenville his first season out of high school, but he struck out at an alarming rate while hitting .223.
This season, Chavis is 21 and opening in high-A with Salem in the Carolina League, and he’s hitting like he’s playing in a more favorable hitting environment, posting a stat line of .356/.430/.693 with 15 doubles, 2 triples, 12 home runs, and a 17/38 BB/K over 43 games.
The drastically improved eye at the plate has been an important step for Chavis. Chavis may be looking at a defensive shift as his skills at the position are not elite, and the Red Sox’s best prospect (Rafael Devers) is a very good defender and hitter at the hot corner and ahead of Chavis in his development, meaning a corner outfield spot or move to first base is likely for Chavis.
If Duplantier had gone to college at Florida or Vanderbilt, he’d have been a first rounder last season. Duplantier’s shoulder came up bum the season before his draft season, and the reputation of pitchers at Rice had him dropping down draft boards significantly to the point where he was selected in the 3rd round of the 2016 draft.
In low-A this season, Duplantier has taken the mound 10 times, 9 of them starts, throwing 54 1/3 innings, with a pristine 0.50 ERA and 0.66 WHIP, posting a 11/62 BB/K ratio.
Duplantier sits roughly 91-95 with his fastball, touching 97+, showing a plus curve and a feel for a change as well. Duplantier spent the offseason working to simplify and repeat his delivery, and the work has paid off significantly for him.
Duplantier is a tremendous person, an easy guy to cheer for, and his frame should play well as he advances, likely up to high-A in the very near future.
Bo’s father Dante Bichette had a very good career for a number of teams, experiencing his best seasons for the Colorado Rockies. Dante Bichette, Jr. is a prospect within the New York Yankees organization.
Bo is a far better prospect than his brother, though he was drafted later in the year he was picked due to some concerns about his swing path and his future defensive home. Bichette has shown since drafting that he could remain at short for a while defensively with very good hands and quick instincts.
It’s the bat that has really encouraged scouts this spring as he and teammate Vlad Guerrero, Jr. have been a pair of baseball sons that are tearing up the Midwest League together at Lansing.
Bichette is hitting .381/.458/.619 with 18 doubles, 2 triples, 6 home runs, and 6 stolen bases over 42 games.
As draft season wore on in 2016, multiple mock drafts had Burnes coming off the board in the late first round. He was in the midst of an impressive final season with St. Mary’s where he would post a 2.48 ERA over 16 starts, throwing 101 1/3 innings, striking out 120 while only walking 33.
For high-A Carolina, Burnes came out of the gate nearly untouchable this season before being promoted to Biloxi in the AA Southern League. Combined between the levels this season, he has made 11 starts this season, throwing 63 2/3 innings with a 0.99 ERA and 0.85 WHIP, posting a 17/60 BB/K ratio.
Burnes has found added success to see him suddenly part of the Brewers long-term plans, akin to the jump Brandon Woodruff experienced in 2016 within the system.
Urias was signed out of Mexico in 2013. From the word “go”, Urias has been able to contact the ball, but he’s never been a top 100 guy simply because what he’s shown has been singles power, and his base stealing was sloppy to say the least.
In 2017, Urias has taken a large step forward. Turning 20 today (happy birthday, Luis!) while with AA San Antonio, Urias has shown more impact with his bat, with a .342/.435/.475 line with 13 doubles, 4 triples, and 2 home runs. Urias is even putting up more walks than strikeouts, though his stolen base success remains the same.
Up the middle, Urias handles either second or short well, but he is a tremendous defender at second that will be best served at second in the long-term. Urias will likely get a chance to play at AAA in 2017 and impact the big league club in 2018.
While Urias has not been ranked previously, he very well could find himself roughly in the middle of top 100 lists in the midseason rankings.
