Love Me, Hate Me—Fangraphs
High on:
- 2B Keston Hiura, Brewers–#24, avg. ranking of 46.0
- SS Franklin Barreto, Athletics–#32, avg. ranking of 53.7
- INF Luis Urias, Padres–#28, avg. ranking of 49.5
- OF Luis Robert, White Sox–#21, avg. ranking of 42.0
- RHP Albert Abreu, Yankees–#59, avg. ranking of 79.7
Low on:
- RHP Franklin Perez, Tigers–#100, avg. ranking of 58.7
- OF Austin Hays, Orioles–#90, avg. ranking of 54.0
- OF Leodys Taveras, Rangers–#86, avg. ranking of 52.0
- 1B Ryan McMahon, Rockies–#83, avg. ranking of 61.2
- LHP Jay Groome, Red Sox–#98, avg. ranking of 77.0
This is what prospect lists are all about. If you have faith in MLB.com, you might really like Ryan McMahon (#41) and Austin Hays (#23). If you’re more confident in the Fangraphs rankings, McMahon (#83) and Hays (#90) are not as high on your radar. Fangraphs has Yankees pitcher Albert Abreu (#59) a full 10 spots better than any other source. They must like the cut of his jib.
One of the players Fangraphs is quite high on is Luis Robert, who was signed by the White Sox out of Cuba shortly before the new CBA limited how much teams could spend on international free agents. Fangraphs has Robert ranked #21. Most of the other sources have him in the mid-40s to mid-50s range. Robert was very impressive in 28 games in rookie ball last year, hitting .310/.491/.536.
On the other hand, they are not as impressed with Franklin Perez as the other prospect watchers, ranking him 33 spots below the next-closest source. Perez is ranked between #35 and #67 by every other source, but Fangraphs slipped him into the #100 spot on their list. In his three years in the minor leagues, Perez has seen his strikeout rate go down and his walk rate go up as he’s advanced from one level to the next. This isn’t uncommon, of course, but an 18.3 percent strikeout rate at Double-A is not elite. Fangraphs still sees Perez as an “above-average big league starter.”