Minor league baseball 2018 All-Star team
Minor League Baseball 2018 Top Performers – Infield
Catcher
The #3 overall pick in the 2018 draft, Joey Bart made a big impression in his pro debut. He spent most of his time in the Northwest League, hitting .294/.364/.588 with 15 doubles and 13 home runs in just 51 games. Bart will be a guy to watch as he could move quickly, and his big performance this season could allow the San Francisco Giants to take the bold move to trade Buster Posey.
First Base
This was probably the closest race, but Nathaniel Lowe of the Rays beats out Peter Alonso of the Mets system. Alonso did lead the minors in home runs and RBI, but Lowe’s all-around line was incredibly impressive. A 13th round pick in 2016, Lowe played up 3 levels in 2018, finishing in AAA, hitting a combined .330/.416/.568 with 93 runs, 32 doubles, 27 home runs, 102 RBI, and an impressive 68/90 BB/K over 555 plate appearances.
Second Base
Becoming a fan favorite before he even stepped on a major league field, Jeff McNeil had New York Mets fans begging for him at the major league level before he arrived with a big season between AA/AAA. Even though he is 26, his season was good enough that he beat out younger players, hitting .342/.411/.617 with 26 doubles, 5 triples, 19 home runs, and 6 steals in just 384 plate appearances, with a 36/42 BB/K. He then finished out his season with a .329/.381/.471 line in 248 plate appearances in the major leagues, hitting 11 doubles, 6 triples, 3 home runs, and 7 triples. His combined numbers between majors and minors were .337/.399/.559 with 37 doubles, 11 triples, 22 home runs, and 13 steals. An incredible season indeed!
Third Base
Certainly, the most-talked-about prospect in all of baseball in 2018 was Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. of the Toronto Blue Jays. Without an injury that kept him out a touch over a month, Vlad may have received a major league call-up. Instead, he spent the entire year in the minor leagues, hitting primarily with AA and AAA at just 19 years old the entire season. He hit .381/.437/.636 with 29 doubles and 20 home runs over 408 plate appearances. He struck out just 38 times, an insanely low amount for a power hitter. He may not be a long-term third baseman, but the bat is real and should be doing fun things in the major leagues in 2019.
Shortstop
With Vlad in the majors in 2019, the teenager everyone will be swooning over will be Wander Franco of the Tampa Bay Rays. While there were some excellent performances from a number of full-season shortstops, what Franco did in just 61 games for Princeton in the Appalachian League was other-worldly at any age, but for a player who was 17 the whole season, it’s incredible – even better than Vlad at the same level. Franco hit .351/.418/.587 with 10 doubles, 7 triples, 11 home runs, and 4 stolen bases, while putting up an incredible 27/19 BB/K ratio over 273 plate appearances. He also showed off impressive range and a powerful arm at shortstop. He could be a rare Rays prospect that moves quickly.