Minor League Baseball League Top 10 Prospects: California League
10. Michael Gettys, OF, San Diego Padres
One of the more impressive athletes when he was drafted in the 2nd round of the 2014 draft out of high school in Georgia by the Padres, Gettys has hit well and flashed plenty of athleticism while struggling with swing and miss.
After hitting .305/.363/.442 with 23 doubles, 5 triples, 12 home runs, and 33 stolen bases in 2016, Gettys struggled in the Arizona Fall League, much due to his high strikeout rate, something he’s never been able to have under 26%.
That struggle with a long bat path in his swing really caught up to Gettys this season. He hit .254/.329/.431 with 22 doubles, 4 triples, 17 home runs, and 22 stolen bases. However, he also had 191 strikeouts in 513 plate appearances.
The raw talent is still present for Gettys, and he has the ability to be a center fielder long term in the big leagues with a legit double plus arm and some of the best defensive skills in all of the minor leagues.
Gettys does still possess average to above average power that he struggles to completely access with his swing and miss issues. If he could make strides in his plate discipline, Gettys could easily be one of the top prospects in all of the game.
With a flood of prospects coming behind him, Gettys will likely be pushed up to AA in 2018, but it would not surprise to see guys pass him up if he needs more time on his zone recognition while others are ready to move up past him.
9. Matt Thaiss, 1B, Los Angeles Angels
Coming out of Virginia, Thaiss was one of the best pure hitters in the 2016 college crop, one of the weakest college hitting crops in recent memory. The Angels made him the 16th overall pick, but then immediately took away a significant portion of his value when they moved him from behind the plate to first base.
It’s not that Thaiss had any future behind the plate, as he was a below-average fielder behind the plate and would not have worked long-term there, but to take him that high just to move him seemed an odd decision, especially since Thaiss is not a guy who was 6’4″ and playing catcher. He’s 6′ (if that) and barely 200 pounds.
The Angels loved his ability to make consistent solid contact from the left side, hoping he would work to a positive defender at first base that hit for a high average and developed power. So far, he’s been a fairly average defender, the power doesn’t look to be coming, but at least he’s hitting for a good average.
While he’ll move quickly most likely, Thaiss may be a guy who hits the majors with pedigree and needs multiple years to finally see power creep into his game, similar to Yonder Alonso, though like Alonso, he may have to sacrifice something within his swing in order to accomplish that power.
Thaiss had the plate appearances required to make this list and he also spent decent time with the Angels’ AA team in the Southern League. Combined between the two, he hit .274/.375/.395 with 27 doubles, 4 triples, 9 home runs, and 8 stolen bases with a 77/109 BB/K ratio.
Thaiss most likely will be opening the 2018 season in AA and finish the season in Los Angeles, but the impact he’ll have for the Angels is what remains to be seen.