2. Gleyber Torres, New York Yankees
Birthday (age on opening day 2018): 12/13/1996 (21)
2018 level: AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders
Info: Torres was one of two major targets from Latin America by the Cubs in the 2013-2014 signing period. He worked his way up the Cubs system with impressive production until he was traded to the Yankees mid-2016. An AFL MVP after the 2016 season launched Torres up the prospect rankings.
Torres was showing his ability to perform up to his MLB Top Prospect status in AA with Trenton in 2017, earning a promotion after just over a month, where he actually performed even better. Then Torres had his non-throwing elbow pop, requiring Tommy John surgery.
Coming back from TJS on his non-throwing elbow should not be a major issue defensively for Torres, but he could see some issues generating power initially as his repaired elbow will generate the pull through the zone on his swing.
Torres has enough range and hands to handle shortstop, though his arm is strong enough to play third and his average range would be much better at second base. The Yankees have played him around the infield as it is likely that Didi Gregorius will be around in New York for a while.
1. Fernando Tatis, Jr., San Diego Padres
Birthday (age on opening day 2018): 1/2/1999 (19)
2018 level: AA San Antonio Missions
Info: Obviously around baseball through his whole life, Tatis has tremendous natural instincts around the game, though he was not grown into his body when signed, which is what allowed the White Sox to grab him at $700K. The Padres were very interested initially but were simply outbid in a busy signing period for the Padres brass.
Tatis filled in well while also working well with coaching in the Padres system after they acquired him
Tatis filled in well while also working well with coaching in the Padres system after they acquired him for James Shields in June of 2016. He blossomed, especially offensively, though some thought he might have added too much size and would need to move to third base.
Instead, he’s worked hard to lean down his body as he’s added muscle, giving him a chance to handle shortstop with excellent instincts, hands, and a plus to plus-plus arm. He has a knack for making “flashbulb” plays but sometimes seems to have a random botch on one that is unexpected, so his consistency is his biggest thing left to polish on defense.
Tatis brings plus to double-plus raw power that already shows plus at times in game, and he can play up his average speed with excellent base-running instincts. He made big strides in his plate and zone discipline in 2017, and he showed even better steps in spring training.
With plenty of intangibles that make him the type of guy that the Padres will want to build their rebuild around, and when he shows he’s ready, he’ll be up, whether that’s late in 2018 or early on in 2019.
Next: On the rise