Minor League Baseball League Top 10 Prospects: Florida State League

With the minor league baseball season over, it’s list season, and we’ll continue the league top 10 lists with the Florida State League

Minor league baseball has concluded its regular season and playoffs at this point, so we will be starting our series of league top 10 prospects here at Call To The Pen. This series will be keyed by Benjamin Chase through extensive video research and discussion with scouts and those within the game. Certainly, there are other opinions on these players and the order, but this is his list. Each list will start with a review of the season for that league and some of the leaders in each league. One note: to be eligible to be on this list, a player must have qualified for the league stat leaders (2.7 PA/league G for hitters, 0.8 IP/league game for pitchers) in order to be considered.

Season Wrap

Tampa outpaced the rest of the league by 10 wins with 85 on the season, but in the end, the teams standing with a share of the league title each finished one of the halves of the season right around .500 but got hot to finish the season. Palm Beach was the top team in the first half, and Dunedin barely made the playoffs, but their roster at the time featured two of the top 10-15 prospects in all of baseball in Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. Those two teams ended up sharing the title as Hurricane Irma forced a shared title in the league as Palm Beach defeated Fort Myers and Dunedin defeated Tampa.

Some of the league leaders:
AVG – Alay Lago, Florida, .303
OBP – Nick Solak, Tampa, .397
SLG – Brandon Lowe, Charlotte, .524
HR – Connor Panas, Dunedin, 18
SB – Cole Tucker, Bradenton, 36

W – Andrew Church, St. Lucie, 12
SV – Seth McGarry and Jeff Singer, Clearwater, 19
K – Nabil Crismatt, St. Lucie, 142
ERA – Jake Woodford, Palm Beach, 3.10
WHIP – Taylor Widener, Tampa, 1.15

Now to the top 10…

10. Alay Lago, 2B, Atlanta Braves

Lago defected from Cuba in 2015, but he could not seem to generate interest from major league clubs before the 2016 season. Instead, he went to Mexico, where he lost a significant portion of his season to a PED suspension before the Braves signed him quietly this offseason.

Standing 6′ and listed at 200 pounds, Lago very well could be 215-220 at this point, but he is not out of shape by any means, running excellent home to first times.

Lago showed very well with the Braves’ new FSL franchise, the Florida Fire Frogs, this season, winning the FSL batting title with a .303/.342/.413 line with 20 doubles, 4 triples, 6 home runs, and 6 stolen bases. He posted a 4.9% walk rate and a 14.4% strikeout rate on the year.

For a guy who really hadn’t played much in Cuba, this was about as good as could be expected. Lago is a very steady player in the field, not making a ton of flashy plays at second base, but he rarely missed the plays he “should” make.

The ceiling on Lago is likely not extremely high, especially considering that he’ll be 26 going into next season, but he does flash above average power and speed along with his contact-first approach at the plate. He could be someone who handles a bench role well or even works his way into a second-division starter for a few years for someone.

Lago will likely be working in the upper minors next season for the Braves, whether it’s at AA Mississippi or AAA Gwinnett.

9. Nabil Crismatt, RHP, New York Mets

Originally signed out of Columbia, Crismatt has been in the Mets system since 2012 without throwing a full season until this year. He spent three years in the Dominican Summer League before coming stateside, and finally transitioned to a starter in July of 2015.

Then he ended up on the mound for Columbia in the WBC against the powerful Dominican Republic lineup this spring, going 3 innings of quality ball against names like Machado, Cano, and Bautista, rocketing his name into the minds of many evaluators, and especially many Mets fans, who hoped he would be the next dominant starter to come through their system.

Crismatt may not be that type of a pitcher, however. He works with a fastball that sits around 90 MPH with a ton of late movement and has an excellent change that features excellent arm deception.

Crismatt has experimented with more of a traditional slider, then with the hard slider that is taught frequently in the Mets system, and he’s landed on a hybrid cutter/slider that really has some excellent movement.

Through his career, Crismatt has shown a willingness to adjust to however he can find success, whether that’s using a different arm angle rarely or going to the quick pitch, something he did use in the WBC. It would not surprise if he continued adapting down the road, either adding another pitch or adjusting grips on what he already uses.

While none of his individual pitches are a plus or perhaps even an above-average pitch, he does have plus control and command, which allows him to use his pitches well and possibly work as a mid-rotation starter. Otherwise, he has a solid shot to be a back end starter or a relief option.

The Mets will push Crismatt to the upper minors in 2018.

8. Will Craig, 1B, Pittsburgh Pirates

After winning the triple crown in the ACC for Wake Forest in 2016 and throwing well as the Demon Deacons closer, Craig started to slip in the 2016 first round after teams got their private workouts with him.

The Pirates took him with the 22nd overall selection, and he showed some of the reasoning that teams worried about him a bit when he exhibited excellent plate discipline but nearly no power in the New York-Penn League in 2016. This season did not bring much different, beyond a bit more swing and miss.

Craig moved to first base this season, and that makes sense as he is a below-average fielder at third baseman. He does have an impressive arm (hailing back to his pitching experience), but really not the athleticism to utilize it anywhere on the field.

Craig put up a slash line of .271/.373/.371 this season with 26 doubles and 6 home runs. While his patience at the plate is impressive, Craig will need a significant infusion of power in order to succeed as a right-right first baseman. There has been some rumbling among scouts about having Craig return to the mound if he doesn’t see strides in power soon.

Craig will likely move to AA in 2018, and if he struggles again to generate power, it will be interesting to see if the Pirates begin to consider the idea of moving Craig back to the mound.

7. Jhoan Urena, 3B, New York Mets

The switch-hitting Urena had not really pushed forward offensively his first two full seasons after hitting .299 and .300 in his GCL and NYPL seasons coming into 2015. Playing primarily at age 22 this season, Urena hit .282/.364/.437 with 34 doubles, 2 triples, 11 home runs, and 17 stolen bases over 122 games with St. Lucie before a 13-game audition with Las Vegas, where he showed solid power but did struggle in his contact.

Urena is a plus defender with a plus to double-plus arm at third base. He’s made huge strides in his actions at third base, and having those same strides show up offensively would allow Urena to move quickly through the upper minors of the Mets system.

Urena has some consistency issues with his swing from both sides, but there is above-average raw power from both sides of the plate. He’s a better contact hitter from the left side.

Another bugaboo to watch with Urena is his size. He’s 6’1″ and his frame can add weight quickly in season. While he’s worked hard on his actions at third, being able to charge the ball and range for balls hit side-to-side would be hampered if he’s struggling with that, and he seemed to add weight that was notable in his time in the PCL this season.

With little ahead of him in the Mets system, the Mets future at third base is Urena’s to grab hold of right now. If he can build on or even just repeat his success of 2017, he could see AAA again in 2018 and be knocking on the door of the major leagues by the end of the season.

6. Cornelius Randolph, OF, Philadelphia Phillies

Randolph has never been able to match the production he had in the Gulf Coast League in his draft year after being selected 10th overall in the 2015 draft out of high school in Georgia.

After struggling through injury in 2016, Randolph played a full season in 2017, and while he flashed some positive things, there is plenty of growth still needed before Randolph will be ready to patrol the outfield in Philly.

The move to the outfield has gone smoothly for Randolph, and while he’ll likely never be an elite fielder, he’s certainly adequate in the outfield. The move to the outfield was to hopefully allow him to utilize his athleticism to its fullest, and he’s just scraping the surface right now.

Randolph has a much better swing, but in profile, he’s similar to former Phillie Domonic Brown in that he’s by far athlete over baseball player right now, but he has more polish in his strike zone judgement already than Brown has ever really achieved. The next step will be to take that step in zone judgement in order to get the best pitch in each at bat to drive and maximize his numbers.

Randolph will be heading to the Phillies hitting haven in AA Reading in 2018, so his numbers may look pretty, but it will be important to witness if the skills are actually making progress beyond the numbers.

5. Ryan Boldt, OF, Tampa Bay Rays

Boldt was an elite high school athlete with teams interested in him as a high-level football and baseball recruit. Instead, Boldt tore the meniscus in his right knee in the season-opening game of his senior year. He chose to head to Nebraska and was a second round selection by the Rays in 2016.

Boldt struggled with some aggression in his draft season once he got to pro ball, but the raw tools were there enough for the Rays to play Boldt in high-A, and he did very well at that level, hitting .295/.358/.407 with 22 doubles, 6 triples, 5 home runs, and 23 stolen bases with a 39/89 BB/K ratio over 440 at bats.

Boldt is a legit center fielder, though his arm is average. He has played all three outfield positions at this point, but he does get excellent reads off the ball in center field, so he’ll stay there until he shows he cannot handle that position.

Boldt has lost a tick of speed from high school, but he’s still an above average runner, and he’s added quick-twitch strength to show above average raw power in his compact left-handed swing. Whether that will translate to game power is something to consider as far as his future. With his defense, speed, and contact skills, he’s got a floor of a 4th outfielder, but if he can tap into his raw power, he’ll be able to be a legit starting center fielder.

Boldt should move up to upper minors in 2018, and he could work quickly to the majors if he taps into that raw power.

2. Nick Solak, 2B, New York Yankees

A member of one of the best college team in the regular season of 2016, Solak started out the 2016 season on fire, getting some first round discussion, before an injury and subsequent struggles after his return led to Solak being there for the Yankees in the second round as a pick slightly under-slot.

Solak’s right-handed swing is not going to ever be a plus power bat, but he has the ability to hit the ball with authority around the field. He does however, have plus bat control and impressive zone recognition. This season, he really made a big stride forward in his pitch recognition, which allowed him to tap into his average power to hit 10 home runs in the tough-on-power FSL. Overall, he hit .301/.397/.460 with 17 doubles, 4 triples, 10 home runs, and 13 stolen bases with a 53/76 BB/K ratio over 346 at bats with Tampa.

Solak really found a home at second base in his draft season, and he took a big step forward this season at the position. He may never be a plus defender at the position, but he’s incredibly consistent and makes every play that comes his way.

The upside with Solak may feel like it isn’t as high without a true plus tool outside of his contact ability, but Solak has that ability to play up his raw tools to maximize his skills, and I could see him having a career akin to Brandon Phillips with better plate discipline, which is an incredibly valuable piece.

1. Taylor Widener, RHP, New York Yankees

A power throwing reliever for South Carolina, Widener was originally a 12th round selection in 2016, and like they’ve done with multiple players before him, the Yankees worked with his three-pitch mix to turn him into a starter. Widener took a quantum leap forward this year as a starter, to where he is now one of the best young starters in the Yankees system.

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With college pitchers recently, the Yankees have had excellent success finding another gear in their fastball, and with Widener, they found both that extra gear and a whole lot of movement. Widener works with a fastball that can “rise” when thrown up in the zone, and has tremendous late movement low in the zone, coming in from 93-95 deep into games and touching 96-97 even past the 5th inning, which was a big step in 2017.

Widener’s slider is a pitch that he’s seemed to find a way to work two different ways. Coming into the season, he was known for his wipeout slider that sometimes would lose a bit of its sharpness or would be something that he’d struggle with the control on at times. This year, he really sharpened the control on the wipeout slider, and he seemed to utilize a more sharp-breaking, tight slider infrequently that really threw off hitters.

His change is still working, but he made big strides in his location on the pitch. In fact, that is the thing that I was most impressed by in watching Widener film this year. He filled up the zone well in 2016, but he was making his catcher’s job easy in 2017 by hitting exactly on the mitt often, even though his walk rate went up quite a bit over what he showed in 2016.

Widener doesn’t have the pairing of double-plus pitches to make one think he could be a #1 starter, but he could fit well as a 2/3 down the road, and if he ends up back in the bullpen, his ceiling in the ‘pen is extremely high.

Next: 2017 Minor League Awards team

Some of the top prospects who didn’t make the minimum time in the league this season included Jorge Mateo, Cole Tucker, Ronald Acuna, Bo Bichette, Vlad Jr, Shed Long, Brandon Lowe, Peter Alonso, Alex Jackson, Brent Rooker, Austin Riley, Max Pentecost, Nick Senzel, Touki Toussaint, Vladimir Gutierrez, Lewis Thorpe, Franklyn Kilome, Harold Arauz, Beau Burrows, Junior Fernandez, Zac Gallen, JoJo Romero, T.J. Zeuch, Dillon Tate, Luiz Gohara, Merandy Gonzalez, Kyle Funkhouser, and Sixto Sanchez. All of those players would have merited consideration for this list, but none had the requisite time for the list.