2. Jon Duplantier, RHP
Birthday (age on opening day 2018): 7/11/1994 (23)
2017 teams/levels played for: low-A Kane County Cougars, high-A Visalia Rawhide
2017 Stats: 25 G, 24 GS, 136 IP, 1.39 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 8% BB, 31.3% K
Info: Duplantier was a guy who was impressive in college when he was on the hill for Rice, but he struggled so frequently with injury that no one really knew what he would be coming out of school, which was how he fell to the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 3rd round of the draft that season.
After being drafted, he ended up only being able to log one inning before injury messed up the rest of his summer. He finally got on the mound in 2017, and it really could not have gone any better. Duplantier led all of the minor leagues with his ERA, and only Justin Verlander in 2005 has had a lower ERA over the last 25 years.
On the hill, Duplantier has a bit of funk to his delivery due to an odd arm action, but he can repeat it well. His fastball sits 92-94, touching 96-97 with run on both his two-seam and four-seam heaters. His hard curve is a wicked pitch that gets plenty of weak swings, and he showed a slider in 2017 that was flashing plus by the end of the season with some wipeout quality. His change is typically his fourth pitch, but he can locate it well and really does well generating arm deception.
Due to his injury history, some still see Duplantier as a future reliever, but he’s shown the possibility of being a front-line starter with further building of his innings base. He’ll likely be placed in AA to open in 2018 by the Arizona Diamondbacks, and he could end up in AAA by the end of the year.
1. Pavin Smith, 1B
Birthday (age on opening day 2018): 2/6/1996 (22)
2017 teams/levels played for: short-season A-ball Hillsboro Hops
2017 Stats: .318/.401/.415, 222 PA, 2 SB, 27/24 BB/K
Info: Widely considered the best pure hitter in the 2017 draft, the Arizona Diamondbacks snapped up the Virginia first baseman with the 7th overall selection in the June draft.
Smith has an excellent approach at the plate, with impressive plate discipline
Smith has an excellent approach at the plate, with impressive plate discipline, rarely ever striking out. He has a short, quick swing that produces plenty of loud contact, but he swings level and generates a lot of line drives to the wall at this point.
While he didn’t hit a single regular-season home run, Smith did hit one in the postseason in his pro debut. Many scouts believed that Smith would develop power in the pro game after tailoring his swing in college primarily to avoid making outs.
The Arizona Diamondbacks will have an interesting decision with Smith due to the presence of Paul Goldschmidt. If he can play the outfield, he could end up in a corner spot as soon as 2019, but Goldschmidt’s contract is up after 2019. He’ll likely open either at high-A or AA this season.
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