8. Joey Wentz, LHP, Atlanta Braves
Wentz may be the toughest player on this entire list to place. He has the ceiling to be the #1 guy on this list without question. Yet, if you read scouting reports on his “bad” days, you wouldn’t put him on this extremely talented list at all.
Wentz really was on the radar of the national scene as a power-hitting first baseman before making a splash off the mound before his senior season in the showcase circuit. The short appearances on that circuit were viewed as his baseline for future evaluation, and that’s stung him as a future pitcher ever since.
The value in Wentz’s pitching is really in his approach. He has no fear in using any one of his three pitches, and he’s shown some flirtation with manipulating his fastball to possibly mix in a cutter along with his traditional grips on the pitch. Wentz’s 6’5″ frame gives him good plane on all of his pitches as well.
While he worked up to 96-97 in showcases, Wentz has settled in as more of a starter with velocity in the 88-91 range in starts I viewed this season. He did reach back for a handful of 94’s in one particular start, and two of those were after the 5th inning, so it’s in there, but he really worked in 2017 on commanding all of his pitches.
While the guy who took home the pitcher of the year award in the league while being in a league with elite talent around him would seem to be a guy with a bigger ceiling, Wentz is really a guy who profiles as a steady pitcher that will use movement and manipulation to get hitters out, getting strikeouts in lower levels, but likely settling in as more of a mid-rotation guy in the major leagues. Many Braves fans may be disappointed in that, but what has been positive is that the work he has done in the last year to drastically improve his command has brought his floor up significantly, and there is a definite reason to be pleased with Wentz’s progress this season, even if he’s not profiling as an elite ace.
7. Andres Gimenez, SS, New York Mets
Mets fans that are disappointed by the hype and then reality of Amed Rosario may be in for a tough road with a similar likely path for Gimenez.
Gimenez’s glove is incredibly slick, and most games watched, he makes a play that leaves you saying “wow!” However, his bat is a work in progress, and like Rosario, he will likely always be a glove-first guy that will rate high on prospect lists, but that will be due to the impact he has on the entire game, not on the offense in particular.
After raking in the Dominican Summer League in 2016, many expected Gimenez would do the same in the Sally League this summer, but a .265/.346/.349 line left many less than inspired. Even though Gimenez flashed more power than many had expected in knocking out 4 home runs, 4 triples, and 9 doubles, and his above-average speed allowed him to nab 14 stolen bases.
Gimenez really should be viewed through the lens of the fact that he jumped from DSL over any state-side short season ball, straight to full-season ball with Columbia, and he wasn’t embarrassed. His high motor, elite defensive skills, and tremendous baseball instincts should allow him to continue next season in high-A in the Florida State League.