Prospects are the lifeblood of a Major League franchise. If there are no good prospects in the system, the team will likely flounder for quite a while. Prospects are also the difference between teams that win regularly in fantasy baseball leagues and teams that don’t. So in an effort to assist your research and prospect-hunting, we’ll try to do the heavy-lifting and number-crunching for you and offer some thoughts on the youngsters you should look to own and who to avoid.
The minor league season gets underway Thursday so this first article of the season will simply be an overview of a few players I am watching throughout the year. The likes of Yoan Moncada, Gleyber Torres, and Lucas Giolito won’t be featured because, frankly, everyone already knows about the über prospects. We’ll check in with them once their seasons begin, though, so expect periodic updates during the year.
The Mets are better known for their recent stockpile of pitching studs, but now it’s the offense’s turn to get attention. Amed Rosario (SS-Mets) is their top-prospect in the system as a 21-year-old out of the Dominican Republic. The 2016 season saw him play across two levels, High-A St. Lucie and Double-A Binghamton, while posting a sparkling .324/.379/.459 slash line with five round-trippers and 19 steals. He is a contact-first guy with a stroke that won’t generate much more than line driver power to the gaps. In fact the five homers from last year doubled his career total in the minors. The lack of power from the future starter isn’t that big of an issue, as I see multiple 20+ stolen base seasons in the cards as his defense will more than keep him on the field. That being said, Asdrubal Cabrera is in place through 2017 and has a cheap option for 2018. Cabrera could move to third though to make way for the call up of Rosario.
When John Hart took over the Braves after the 2014 season, he had one heck of a reclamation project on his hands. One of the key pieces already there though was Ozzie (Ozhaino) Albies (2B/SS-Braves) at just the ripe old age of 17. Since that time, Albies has exploded onto the scene with a combination of speed and contact that has him rising through the ranks quickly. Over 293 minor league games played, 56 at Triple-A Gwinnett, he boasts a .310/.377/.419 slash line with seven homers and 81 steals to go with 188 runs scored and 109 RBI. The important thing to note here about Albies is his spray chart; he hits the ball equally to nearly all fields with just a two percent drop off between right, center, and left. Albies is still just 20 years old, and will be for the whole 2017 season, but with just an aging Brandon Philips in his way, he could very well see the majors come the second half of 2017.
A major deadline deal last season brought Lewis Brinson (OF-Brewers) from Texas to Milwaukee in exchange for Catcher Jonathan Lucroy and what a prospect the Brewers got. Brinson has played 469 games in the minors since being drafted 29th overall by Texas in the 2012 draft, however just 31 of those games have been at the Triple-A level. His 2016 season was a perfect example of what he brings to the table with a .268/.305/.468 line with 21 homers, 63 runs, 61 RBI, and 17 steals over 104 games and three levels. There are some issues to still be worked out though as his long frame creates long swings from time to time that leave him vulnerable to breaking pitches and he could be more vulnerable to a lower steals percentage in the majors as it takes him a few strides to get going. He will need to get off to a fast start at Triple-A Colorado Springs and have an injury or two happen to make it to the Brewers before the second half.
When the Tigers made the deal for David Price at the deadline in 2014, Willy Adames (SS-Rays) was part of the package headed back to Tampa. Many were surprised that such an unknown was being included in the deal but Tampa proved their scouting department to be one of the best in baseball yet again. Since that time he has proceeded through the Rays farm system one step at a time, landing in Double-A with Montgomery in the Southern League in 2016. A .274/.372/.430 slash line followed with 11 homers, a career best, 89 runs, 57 RBI, and 13 steals in addition to 31 doubles and six triples. Adames will start the 2017 season at Triple-A Durham as he tries to improve his in-game power and closing the holes in his swing that have led to an average of 20+ percent strikeout rates in the minors, though he also has double-digit walk rates as evidenced by the gaps in his AVG and OBP. Tim Beckham is his only real roadblock in the system.
Houston was the recipient of, now, 21-year-old Francis Martes (RHP Astros) in a trade with Miami back in 2014. Martes reached Double-A Corpus Christi last season posting a 3.30 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, .222 BAA, and a 9.41 K/9 mark. His fastball sits in the 93-95 range while his change up works in the mid-80’s. He does offer a breaking pitch, which is really more of his secondary offering than the change-up. A near 3:1 K:BB was the second best of his career as he pitched the most innings of his short career at 125.1. He will start the 2017 season at Triple-A Fresno in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, but a good start and an injury is all he needs to make it to the majors at this point as a spot starter.