Post by Deleted on Feb 27, 2016 19:19:34 GMT -5
Catcher
Wilson Contreras-Cubs #4 Prospect. Age 23, hit .333/.414/.478 with 34 doubles, eight homers, 57 walks, 62 strikeouts in 454 at-bats in Double-A. Excellent season, led Southern League in batting average but has never played that well before and it is not unanimous that he can keep it up. Good BB/K/PA ratio is in his favor. Defense is erratic and he needs another year in the minors to refine it, has the tools but still needs more polish. Non-Cubs sources not as sanguine on him as Cubs-oriented sources.
First Base
Rowdy Tellez- Blue Jays #2 Prospect. Age 20, hit combined .289/.347/.454 between Low-A and High-A, 38 walks, 84 strikeouts in 401 at-bats. Big raw power with good pure hitting skills, defense limited but good reason to be increasingly confident about his bat. Probably won’t rank this highly on other Blue Jays prospect lists but you’ll see the logic if you keep reading, even if you disagree with it.
Second Base
Sean Coyle-Red Sox #24 Prospect. Age 24, Coyle batted .295/.371/.512 in his one season at Double-A Portland, a summer shortened by injuries that held him to just 97 games and 384 plate appearances. Strikeouts remain a concern, as he whiffed 25 percent of the time while otherwise succeeding at the plate, thanks in large part to a .362 batting average on balls in play. Coyle isn't going to be a high-average hitter, but the power is legitimate, and he has the patience to offset the lack of contact with walks here and there, too.
ShortStop
Gleyber Torres-Cubs #1 Prospect. Age 19, hit .293/.353/.386 with three homers, 22 steals, 43 walks, 108 strikeouts in 464 at-bats in Low-A. Across the board tools with speed and perhaps more power potential than is commonly realized, still somewhat raw with running and defense, unsure if he will remain at shortstop. Hit well against older competition, high-ceiling talent clearly but uncertain in what direction skills will go. Could end up as a high-average hitter with doubles pop, or perhaps show more isolated power than expected but a lower average.
Michael Chavis-Red Sox #10 Prospect. Age 20, 2014 first rounder, this is a generous grade that includes a lot of projection, hit .223/.277/.405 with 16 homers, 29 walks, 144 strikeouts in 435 at-bats in Low-A. Offensive infielder with big power potential, arm for third, has to make more consistent contact to get most out of his talent. High ceiling, high risk.
Mikey White-Oakland Athletics #18 Prospect. Age 22, second round pick in 2015, hit .315/.405/.459 in NY-P but just .200/.283/.262 after being promoted to Low-A. Controls zone well but not as much athletic upside as Martin and more likely to end up at second base. More of a utility projection.
Third Base
J.D Davis-Age 21, third round pick in 2014 from Cal State Fullerton, hit .293/.371/.508 with 13 homers in 73 game debut between New York-Penn and Midwest Leagues. Can hit for power and average, needs more defensive polish but tools should work there, could end up being a better player than many drafted in the first two rounds.(2015 report)
Outfield
Junior Lake-25, Career numbers in Majors: 201GP 624AB .237AVG 16HR 46RBI 207SO 15SB
Andrew Stevenson-Nationals #10 Prospect. Age 21, second round pick out of LSU hit .308/.363/.379 with 23 steals, 16 walks, 30 strikeouts in debut at three levels finishing strongly in Low-A, excellent contact hitting ability, excellent fielder and runner, lack of home run power keeps him from ranking higher.
Blake Perkins-
Nick Plummer-Cardinals #6 Prospect. Plummer is already widely considered as a Top 10 prospect for the Cardinals. While he may have struggled a bit in his first professional season, there is a silver lining, as he had a .379 OBP despite striking out 56 times in 228 plate appearances. He was drafted out of high school, so he will likely take a little while to develop. Plummer’s number one tool is his bat, despite his struggles to start his career. Defensively, Plummer has the speed and glove to stick in center, but his sub par arm will likely put him in LF.
Donnie Dewees-Cubs #16 Prospect. Age 22, second round pick from University of North Florida hit .266/.306/.376 in pro debut in Northwest League, five homers, 19 steals, 14 walks, 54 strikeouts in 282 at-bats. Good speed with more power potential than early stats indicate, will need to tighten up strike zone
Pitchers
Jameson Tallion-Pirates #3 Prospect. Age 24, Ranking a pitcher who hasn’t thrown a pitch in two years this high is risky—especially in a system as strong as Pittsburgh’s—but Taillon’s profile is too impressive to drop below the top three. Like Glasnow, he has two swing-and-miss offerings at his disposal, led by a high-90s fastball with hard run that gives both left- and right-handed hitters trouble. The curveball is a true 12-6 yakker, and on top of the spin and depth, he can locate it for strikes. The change is his weak link, but for weak links it’s pretty good, showing above-average deception and tumble. He throws all three pitches for strikes, and the command is good enough to project him as a starter.
It’s impossible to say how Taillon will respond to missing so much time. With two plus pitches, prototypical size and good enough command, the upside matches anyone but Glasnow in the system. The risk is considerably higher, but nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Bret Sayre’s Fantasy Take: High-end expectations for Taillon had drifted down to SP3 level before the injury, and two years off from pitching doesn’t make you more likely to reach that type of upside. He’s still a top 100 fantasy prospect, as it’s an attractive organization for an arm and reports are that he’s healthy coming into the season, but the risk is intense.
Francis Martes-Astros #3 Prospect. Age 20, Martes was seen as a lottery ticket when he was dealt in the Colin Moran/Jarred Cosart deal. The Astros might just have the Powerball number. Martes has two pitches that are plus right now, led by a 94-96 mph fastball with plenty of movement that he’ll manipulate at will. His curveball is a true power breaking ball with loads of spin and depth that makes it a legit swing-and-miss pitch.The change is substantially behind these two offerings, but it’s competent. If there’s a flaw here it’s that he doesn’t use the change enough, but there’s an easy fix to that problem.
In addition to quality stuff, Martes gets positive reviews for his feel for pitching. He attacks the strike zone with all three pitches, and while the command is a bit behind the control, it’s certainly good enough to allow him to start. The upside is a guy who pitches near the top of a rotation and misses plenty of bats, with back-end starter (if he stays healthy) a worst-case scenario for a talent like this.
Bret Sayre’s Fantasy Take: One of the big pop-up prospects of 2015, Martes has the ceiling to be a good fantasy investment and has the added bonus of not being owned in almost every league without in-season pickups. If the trajectory continues, Martes could be a 180-plus strikeout arm with an ERA in the low-3’s and a WHIP that could touch as low as 1.10. That would make him a solid SP2 in most formats
Oscar De La Cruz-Cubs #7 Prospect. Age 20, excellent summer in Northwest League, 2.84 ERA with 73/17 K/BB in 73 innings, 56 hits, 92-96 MPH, above-average breaking ball, change-up needs work but also has above-average potential, throws strikes, strong body should lead to durability, real bargain with $85,000 bonus in 2012. Key now is transition to full-season ball and building up workload, but could be top pitching prospect in the system six months from now.
Bryan Hudson-Cubs #19 Prospect. Age 18, huge 6-8 lefty from Illinois high school drafted in third round in 2015, just getting started, currently throws 86-92 but heat should improve in time, already has a strong curveball. High ceiling.
Trevor Clifton-Cubs #17 Prospect. Age 20, posted 3.98 ERA with 103/47 K/BB in 109 innings in Low-A, 92-96 fastball, curve can be nasty, still working on command and change-up, potential breakout candidate with mid-rotation upside.
Ryan Kellogg-Cubs #20 Prospect. Age 21, Canadian lefty was fifth round pick out of Arizona State, didn’t thrive in pro debut (4.98 ERA, 14/8 K/BB in 22 innings) but one of my picks for a breakout candidate. Big guy (6-6, 230) with clean delivery, throws strikes with breaking ball and change-up, fastball velocity was not special in college. My guess is that the fastball MPH improves in pro ball and he emerges as another mid-rotation candidate.
Carson Sands-Cubs #18 Prospect. Age 20, fourth round pick in 2014, posted 3.92 ERA with 41/21 K/BB in 57 innings in Northwest League, 62 hits. Erratic, at his best shows 90-95 fastball with plus curve and solid change-up, but secondary pitches come and go and command needs work. Another possible number three starter eventually
Max Wotell-Mets #19 Prospect. Age 19, third round pick from North Carolina high school this year, posted 2.53 ERA with 16/9 K/BB in 11 innings in rookie ball. Long way off, but projectable type that the Mets have had good luck with in the past.
Justin Steele
Eric Jokisch