Minor League Baseball League Top 10s: Texas League

10. Ariel Jurado, RHP, Texas Rangerss

A “stall” season for Jurado has him here as he’d likely be a top 3-4 prospect in the league if he pitched at the same level as 2016. Instead, he took a step back in many respects in 2017, but that raw underlying talent is still there.

Jurado is not an intimidating figure on the mound, listed at 6’1″ and 180 pounds, which is probably about right on the height, but the weight has varied plenty this year, and while no one I’ve talked to has said such, visible fluctuations in his weight over the year certainly weren’t “good” for him.

Jurado is still just 21, so he has time to rebound, and his fastball still works tremendously well low in the zone, a tremendous sinking fastball with incredible action low in the zone. His lack of a true strikeout pitch caught up with him this season.

Of his offspeed stuff, Jurado’s change is by far his best pitch, mimicking the sinking action of his heavy fastball initially but then hanging at one point in the break where the fastball would continue its downward trajectory. This leads to plenty of poor contact when he spots the pitch well, but when he “aims” the pitch, it can be a hanging low-80s pitch in a perfect spot to drive, and his struggles with his control over command, Jurado saw 16 balls leave the park.

Jurado also works with a slider that has plus potential but currently sits average, if that. However, the pitch has excellent snap when he is willing to let the pitch tail out of the zone rather than trying to pin point the pitch.

If Jurado can get back to simply letting his pitches do what they naturally can, this is one of the 2-3 most talented pitchers to have thrown a pitch in the league this season. He very well could come back again in 2018 to open the season, and at his age, that would not be a huge issue in his age development.

9. Enyel De Los Santos, RHP, San Diego Padres

The Mariners originally signed de los Santos out of the Dominican Republic in 2014, but he exploded onto the scene belying his $15,000 signing bonus due to his velocity jumping from mid-80s to mid-90s by the time he made his pro debut. He was an older prospect when signed, 18 years old at the time. The Padres acquired him in trade in 2015, and he showed very well across both class A teams in 2016, striking out 97 in 121 innings.

Enyel stands 6’3″ and is wiry, to say the least, however, he filled in his frame between 2016 and 2017 to the point where he’s a true 180-185 rather than making the listed 170 look like he was holding dumbbells previously. That added size added a tick of velocity from previous reports in the games I witnessed, as he was able to dial up a fastball to sit 94-96 and touch 98 with some very impressive late movement on the pitch.

With his physical maturity seemingly came a better feel for his offspeed stuff as well, as he had a changeup that would grade as above-average previously, and it was a fringe-plus pitch in 2017. His curve really played up with better feel on the pitch, working as an above-average pitch.

The big improvement in de los Santos in 2017 was not his velocity, but his command. His walk rate was not terribly better than previous seasons, but it’s how he got there that was impressive. For a pitcher with a ceiling of a 5th starter or reliever last season, de los Santos has moved himself squarely into the future starter role after a 3.78 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, and a 48/138 BB/K over 150 innings performance in 2017.

The Padres will likely push Enyel up to the PCL and AAA in 2018, and he could really begin to turn heads if he’s able to continue to perform on the doorstep of the big leagues.

8. Jose Miguel Fernandez, 2B, Los Angeles Dodgers

After spending just $200,000 to sign him, the Dodgers may have secured a bargain in signing Fernandez, who was one of the best hitters in all of Cuba before he left the country. The issue for Fernandez was that, while he was a tremendous hitter in Cuba, he had not played since the 2013-2014 season, so he was significantly rusty.

While Fernandez did play some winter ball in the Dominican Republic in the meantime, it was evident that he had not faced game action in some time early on in the season, but by the time he was injured, he was really looking quite comfortable at the plate, and his numbers bore that out, as he hit .306/.366/.498 with 16 doubles, 16 home runs, and a 24/33 BB/K over 90 games for the Drillers.

Fernandez suffered a broken hamate bone at the end of July and missed the rest of the season, but he will have a chance to come back and even possibly earn a major league job next spring. At 29 already, he’s not exactly a young guy anymore, but Fernandez has shown good hands at second base, even if he’d be roughly league average in range at the position. He has the ability to provide a quality bat to the Dodgers that could handle second, third, and corner outfield spots.

Though that may not sound like a guy who’d be a top prospect, I truly think if Fernandez is given a major league job, he could be a guy who hit for average and 15-20 home run power with low strikeout totals, and that’s a very valuable piece.

7. Yohander Mendez, LHP, Texas Rangers

Mendez has been followed closely since receiving $1.5M from the Rangers in 2011 to sign out of Venezuela as a long, lean lefty. Scouts expected Mendez to add velocity significantly as he filled out to his upper 80s that he was showing at signing, but as he’s filled out well, he has only seen his velocity tick up to mid-90s on the top end.

Mendez’s top pitch is his change, which can have some Bugs Bunny aspect to it, leaving hitters looking foolish, swinging long before the ball has even arrived at the plate. His breaking stuff is just okay, and he struggled with seeing the progress in his breaking stuff that he (and the Rangers) were hoping to see in 2017.

Mendez has significantly improved his command over the last two seasons, and as he can get something out of his breaking stuff beyond average, he’ll be able to make this look significantly too cautious, but I could not pick slider or curve for a best pitch right now as neither is at the point to trust consistently.

Mendez is in the major leagues for the second season, and he could challenge for a backend rotation spot in spring, or they could continue to work with the breaking stuff to try to bring the possible #2 starter upside out of him.

6. Max Schrock, 2B, Oakland Athletics

A highly-recruited player out of high school, Schrock struggled through some significant injury issues in college but was still productive, which is why the Nationals made him a 13th round selection in 2015. The A’s picked him up in a July 2016 deal, and they’ve been happy to have him in the system the entire time he’s been part of their organization.

Schrock is a guy that many would see as a second base-only guy without much for power or speed and wonder how he could be a top-10 prospect in this league. However, when you see Schrock hit, the contact tool is a legit 60-65, and on his best days, it’s a 70. For many guys, that’s all they need.

Schrock has that extra “it” that tends to get a player with his skillset not just to the majors, but to a significant role. Schrock isn’t going to be a guy that you predict for 20 steals, but he has the instincts and baseball smarts that he could get 20 steals in a season through picking his spots correctly. He also pounds the walls when he gets into a ball, so to put the ball over the wall 15-20 times isn’t something predictable, but that he’d be able to pick his spots to get 15-20 wouldn’t be something out of this world.

Schrock’s a guy to certainly keep an eye on in 2018 as he’ll likely be in AAA, but with a team option on Jed Lowrie and Marcus Semien entering his first season of arbitration, the A’s could give a chance to Joey Wendle, Franklin Barreto, Chad Pinder, and Schrock a chance to fill the middle infield spots.

5. Grant Holmes, RHP, Oakland Athletics

One of the elite arms in the 2014 draft class, the Dodgers drafted Holmes with the 22nd overall pick and got him to sign by offering him well above what the 22nd overall pick was slotted to receive.

The Athletics got him in the midseason deal in 2016 that sent Rich Hill to the Dodgers, and he’s continued to be the enigma he was with the Dodgers now that he’s in the A’s system.

Holmes has and incredible pitch mix, using a fastball that sits 92-95 with heavy sink and wiggle that gets a ton of weak contact. He also has a hard curve that generates plenty of strikeouts, as evidenced by his league-leading tally in that statistic. His change was in and out this season again after struggling with that same issue for most of his minor league career.

If Holmes were to move to a bullpen role, his fastball would likely pick up a couple ticks and make that curve even more deadly, likely putting him in an elite reliever status. However, he’ll turn 22 just before opening day next season, and while it wasn’t masterful, his 4.49 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, and 61/150 BB/K ratio over 148 1/3 innings this season was still impressive as a 21 year old in the high minors. It’s most likely that the A’s will continue to try him as a starter for another year or two, but he could be coming up soon on the moment where he either needs to have a breakthrough with his change up or get comfortable with life in the bullpen.

4. Oscar Mercado, OF, St. Louis Cardinals

Incredibly raw when he was drafted by the Cardinals in the 2013 draft in the 2nd round, Mercado has been a slow growth prospect in the Cardinals system, moving up the system even though many would say he’s really not shown the improvement needed to take that next step.

The organization’s faith in him paid off in a significant manner in 2017. In AA the entire season at 22 years old, Mercado hit .287/.341/.428 with 20 doubles, 4 triples, 13 home runs, and 38 stolen bases.

Very possibly the best raw athlete this side of Delvin Perez in the Cardinals system, Mercado has a 50 steal season to his credit in his career, so his speed is not surprising. He’s likely a pure 70 runner on his best day, though how he uses his speed could use some work, as he struggles at times with base stealing reads (his 38 steals this season included 19 caught stealing), and some scouts believe his seemingly slow progress to pick up more instinctual reads in the outfield after converting from the infield as an amateur is due to Mercado’s knowledge that his speed can cover for an initial bad read. Once he gets that much out of his head, he could prove to be an incredible asset on defense.

Mercado has long been discussed as a guy who had the raw tools to provide power, but never seemed to even run into a home run. This season, he had a different sound off of his bat compared to previous seasons, and the results showed in a jump of a career high of 4 to 13 home runs this season.

Mercado is still plenty raw in his skills, as evidenced by his 32/112 BB/K ratio. He has finally broken out with positive offensive results, however, and the next step is the PCL, likely not a place where his offensive numbers will be stymied, so he could be making waves to earn a call up next season by year’s end.

3. Luis Urias, 2B, San Diego Padres

Signed from Mexico, Urias has been an incredible find for the Padres scouting department with his exceptional contact ability. Urias has found a home once moving to second base, becoming a plus defender at the position, with excellent instincts at the position.

Urias gained national notice when he hit .330 as a teenager in high-A last season. Moving up to AA at 20, he was one of the youngest players in the league, yet he was still able to keep hitting, with a .296/.398/.380 line, posting 20 doubles, 4 triples, 3 home runs, and 7 stolen bases, along with a 68/65 BB/K ratio.

Urias may not be a guy who ever hits 25 home runs or steals 25 bases, but he has a tremendous contact ability along with an excellent eye at the plate and still-improving defense. He’ll likely move up to AAA in 2017, as one of the younger players at that level as well. With a patchwork infield currently, it would not surprise if the Padres move him to the majors quickly if he can continue the same production, and he’s firmly moved into the top 100-150 prospects in the game.

2. Sandy Alcantara, RHP, St. Louis Cardinals

Alcantara was signed out of the Dominican Republic by the Cardinals in 2013. When signed, he was long and lanky, with a 6’4″ frame, but barely holding 165ish pounds on that frame. He hasn’t added a ton to the frame, perhaps up to 180ish now.

From day one, the big note on Alcantara was his velocity. He touched 102 in spring training in 2015 at just 19 years old, and he’s been able to pop 100 with his fastball routinely without a lot of effort in his delivery to do such. Alcantara has long limbs that lead to mechanical issues at times, which makes his control go in and out at times.

While the velocity is impressive, often the fastball is very straight. However, Alcantara has an excellent curve and a change that could be considered fringe-plus with good movement and excellent arm deception. The big question will be if he can get his delivery steady.

Alcantara posted a 4.31 ERA and 1.43 WHIP with a 54/106 BB/K ratio over 125 1/3 innings with Springfield. He has shown well as a reliever with St. Louis in a late season call up, but the team will want to continue developing him as a starter, especially with the progression in his change this season that has been seen.

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1. Dakota Hudson, RHP, St. Louis Cardinals

Drafted as the 34th overall selection in 2016, Hudson was considered a guy that could be a top 10 selection that struggled some in his final collegiate season and saw his stock drop him to the point where the Cardinals snapped him up. He’s shown to be a wise selection.

Moving quickly in 2016, the Cardinals were more than willing to push Hudson by having him jump all the way to AA to open 2017. He responded with an excellent 3/4 of a season before being promoted to AAA Memphis to finish the year. With Springfield, he posted a 9-4 record, 2.53 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, and a 34/77 BB/K ratio over 114 innings.

Hudson has an impressive fastball that works up to 97 and sits 93-94 with excellent actions that lead to a ton of ground balls, even though it’s not directly a sinking pitch. He works with two fringe-plus breaking pitches in a curve and a slider, the curve working as a upper-70s/lower-80s curve with good, deep break, but the slider is definitely the better pitch. When it is on, it is a legit double-plus pitch, but he struggled with consistency in the pitch this season, which was evident in his strikeout rate as the slider is certainly his strikeout pitch. His slider comes in in the upper 80s with a hard, multi-plane break when it’s at it’s best. It loses the depth of break when it’s not working as well, which is still an effective pitch to generate weak contact, but not the strikeouts that he’d like.

That three pitch mix alone would have Hudson moving into the top 50-75 prospects in the entire game, but his change had flashes this season of a pitch that could be an effective weapon and even a possible second strikeout pitch at its best. When he has everything working at its best, Hudson reminds me a ton of a young John Lackey, who was an ace of a World Series winner early on in his career.

Of the 2016 college pitchers, the one that raised his floor the highest to me in 2017 is absolutely Hudson. Others have pushed up their ceilings quite high for sure, but their floors remain still concerning. Hudson has truly shown that he is a future mid-rotation starter type, but he has the upside to be a frontline guy.

Next: 2017 Minor League Awards team

Some of the top prospects who didn’t make the minimum time in the league this season included A.J. Puk, Walker Buehler, Jack Flaherty, Joey Lucchesi, Yadier Alvarez, Cal Quantrill, Kyle Tucker, and Jorge Mateo. All of those players would have merited consideration for this list, but none had the requisite time for the list.