Well just like that the season is done for the minor leagues, and almost done for the majors as well. We have covered quite a lot of names this year, many of whom have been called up and contributed quite a lot to their big league clubs, and hopefully your fantasy team(s). With the season over it’s a good time to wrap things up by seeing who had some of the biggest years for their organizations and what’s next for them.

AL East

Kevin Smith (SS TOR) - Toronto has a bevy of middle infield prospects but the one that had arguably the best year of them overall is Smith. In his first full season in the organization after getting drafted in the fourth round of the 2017 draft, the shortstop went for .302/.358/.528 with 25 homers, 93 runs, 93 RBI, and 29 steals over 129 games between A-ball and High-A Dunedin. He is already 22 years of age having played college ball at Maryland, making him the older of prospects at short or second in the Blue Jays system, put also the most polished. He has the skills to be an everyday player but the question is where he slots in between who Toronto already has in the bigs and their elite talents in the farm system.

ETA: 2020

DL Hall (LHP BAL) - It’s been an abysmal year in Baltimore with already 108 losses in the books with 12 games to play. Hall however has been a bright spot for down on the farm for a system that is relatively depleted. Prior to his last 13 appearances, the southpaw had a 4.58 ERA but after all was said and done, he has a 2.10 ERA over 22 appearances (20 starts) with 100 Ks in 94.1 innings. HIs .203 BAA and 1.17 WHIP are pretty solid too for a three-pitch mix type guy who sits mostly in the mid-90s with the fastball and an above-average curveball and an average changeup that has good fade. At 6’2” and 195 lbs. there is still projection left in his frame which should help with durability and velocity. Baltimore is in no rush to push him through the system, especially since they drafted him in 2017.

ETA: 2021

AL Central

Seuly Matias (OF KC) - I talked about Matias around the All-Star break as a player in the Future’s Game that wasn’t getting a lot of hype. But now it’s time to talk about him again since he had the best season of any Royals prospect, and power-wise was as good as nearly anyone in the minors. In 94 games and 338 at bats, Matias slashed .231/.303/.550 with 31 dingers, 63 RBI, 62 runs, and six steals. His arm and fielding are a great profile for right field, where he’s playing at A-Ball Lexington, but the major issue with his bat is the strikeouts. In those 338 at bats he had 131 strikeouts compared to just 24 walks. So aside from his plate discipline, there isn’t much left to work on in his game, so long as the power plays at the higher levels. Just as a reference, his manager for the Future’s Game in David Ortiz compared Matias to Sammy Sosa.

ETA: 2021

Dylan Cease (RHP CWS) - The White Sox have perhaps the most loaded system in the league and the one that stood out the most of all of them was Cease. The 22-year-old righty started 23 games this season, between High-A Winston-Salem and Double-A Birmingham, and accrued 124 innings, during which he struck out 160 batters while posting a 2.40 ERA and 1.06 WHIP and .189 BAA. Cease has a fastball that sits 94-98 and touches 100 with sink and run and he works his power curve off of that with the curveball drawing comps to Dwight Gooden’s famed pitch. His changeup is an average offering that simply keeps batters off the other two pitches. At 6’2” and 190 lbs. it’s impressive to see him develop that velocity from that size frame but it does still bring up durability questions. Another full year split between Double-A and Triple-A should have him ready to assume a role in the number two or three spot in the White Sox rotation.

ETA: 2020

AL West

Evan White (1B SEA) - I have talked about White previously, though it’s been a little while, like since last year. The 22-year-old right-handed batting, left-handed fielding first baseman was the first round pick of Seattle in the 2017 draft and this year was his first full season of pro ball. It’s impressive that he’s already putting up the best numbers in their system with a .300/.371/.453 line, 11 homers, 72 runs, 66 RBI, and four steals. In the 120 games at High-A Modesto he posted a 19.1% K-rate and 9.7% BB-rate which are both solid numbers, especially for a power corner-infield bat. White should be the prototypical fast riser through the system after playing at Kentucky in college and being the most polished college bat in the draft. Even with being a fast riser, he still needs likely a year plus split at Double-A and Triple-A before coming to Seattle.

ETA: 2020

Jo Adell (OF LAA) - Adell was one of my favorite picks in the draft a year ago when the Angels took him at 10th overall. That promise has been showing through this year with his first full season under his belt, though he did only play 99 games across three levels. A .290/.355/.543 slash line with 20 homers, 83 runs, 77 RBI, and 15 steals is what he did with his 396 at bats which pretty well explains the five-tool profile he came in to the draft with. The 99 games included a 17-game stretch with Double-A Mobile which made him one of the youngest players at that level having just turned 19 years old this past April. Expect him to start in Mobile again next year but spend the whole year as opposed to level-hopping like he did this season.

ETA: 2021

NL East

Luis Garcia (SS WAS) - The Nationals already have Trea Turner at short and have Carter Kieboom coming up in the system, and that’s just at the position, that doesn’t include the big name prospects like Victor Robles and Juan Soto either. But of all those guys, Garcia had the best year in the system as he split the year between Class-A Hagerstown and High-A Potomac with a .298/.336/.406 slash line and seven home runs, 82 runs, 54 RBI, and 12 steals in 127 games and an even 500 at bats. He is more of a prototypical shortstop as a speedy contact guy more than the power guys that have taken over the position now. His quick feet and clean fielding make him able to play pretty much anywhere in the infield, though middle infield is the better profile offensively. Ultimately, Garcia should be able to hit for average and steal 20+ bags at the highest level but his biggest issue is that Turner is locked in at short for a while and Kieboom is still ahead of him and could move to second, locking Garcia out for a little while.

ETA: 2021

Cole Irvin (LHP PHI) - Irvin is one of two Phillies farm hands in the discussion for best season with the other being follow lefty starter David Parkinson who put together an outstanding campaign with a 1.45 ERA over 124.1 innings with 141 Ks. However Parkinson did it at A-ball and High-A whereas Irvin’s year took place fully at Triple-A which gives him the nod for tougher competition. Irvin went 14-4 with a 2.57 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 131:35 K:BB ratio over 161.1 innings in 25 starts. The southpaw features two 91-92 mph fastballs as he throws both the two-seam and four-seam variety, a curveball and a slider with each working well against different handedness of batters, and his best pitch could possibly be the changeup which Irvin likes to throw at any point in an at bat. The numbers aren’t overwhelming but together, like his pitching ability, play up and make him a number four starter in the majors, starting likely next year.

ETA: 2019 

NL Central

Corey Ray (OF MIL) - Ray was taken out of Louisville in the fifth overall spot of the 2016 draft but has been slowed by a knee surgery not much after he started his pro career. Despite a slow start, Milwaukee moved him to Double-A Biloxi this year and it paid off with the best season of their system and career highs practically across the board for Ray. A .239/.323/.477 slash line starts it with 27 homers, 86 runs, 74 RBI, and 37 steals complete it over 135 games. Ray also had 32 doubles and seven triples to boost his slugging mark. He and Kevin Smith were the only two minor leaguers to produce 20-20 seasons in 2018 after 10 pulled off the feat last year. The Brewers would like to see Ray get time in Triple-A, which is moving to San Antonio for next year, before heading to Milwaukee, plus that gives time to clear out the crowded outfield in front of him as well.

ETA: 2019

Jeter Downs (SS CIN) - Downs, if you couldn’t tell from his first name, is a shortstop prospect and one who put together the best overall season for the Reds in 2018. Playing 120 games at Class-A Daytona saw Downs post a .257/.351/.402 line with 13 home runs, 63 runs, 47 RBI, and 37 steals. He is a smaller-framed middle infielder at 5’11” and 180 lbs. still but that doesn’t mean he can’t barrel up a baseball as the 37 XBH show. At 20-years old and already with a full A-ball season under his belt, he is on a faster track than most other prospects are who are taken out of high school, and he just turned 20 back in July of this year. Downs can also play second which could help clear the log jam with Nick Senzel potentially playing shortstop long-term.

ETA: 2021

NL West

Daulton Varsho (C ARI) - Varsho is a guy that I highlighted as an intriguing catching prospect at the very beginning of the year in the position breakdowns in April. Since then, Varsho has proven my interest to be worthwhile as his stat line pops for a catcher, and he has good pop time too. In 83 games, 80 of which were at High-A Visalia, he posted a .294/.367/.475 with 12 homers, 48 runs, 45 RBI, and 19 steals. Yes, you saw that right, 19 thefts from a catcher. At 5’10” and 190 lbs. he has the frame to stay behind the plate long-term though there are some questions about whether he will given his still improving defense, despite the 37% rate at which he threw out would-be basestealers this year. Outfield, including center, are an option but catcher is a more pressing need for the D-Backs right now. Varsho will need likely most of two more years in the minors before he makes the majors.

ETA: 2020

Joey Bart (C SF) - Bart’s name has been everywhere this year, including in the number two slot of the June draft where the Giants took him as the heir-apparent to Buster Posey. Bart managed to make his way to the Pioneer League, short-season A-ball, after just six games in rookie ball. Over the 51 games total this year, the backstop hit .294/.364/.588 with 13 homers, 40 RBI, 38 runs, and two steals. The steals aren’t something that will continue as he has 30-grade speed which is slow even for a catcher but everything else about his profile lived up to billing in his pro debut. There are still likely a few years before Bart gets the call to San Francisco as he needs a stay at probably all three levels and catchers take a bit longer to develop.

ETA: 2021