Prospect Report: Unheralded 51-100
Last week we covered the guys who are less known despite being in the top-50 of the prospects in baseball. This week we focus on the second half of the top-50 and the guys who you should know but may not yet. Getting ahead of the game is the key to getting the guys everyone wants a year or so down the road.
A quick note on the international signing period that opened on Monday. I will have some thoughts on those guys next week, but keep in mind that several of the top guys are just 16 years old and won’t even be in pro ball for at least two years in all likelihood. The international market has produced some of the games biggest stars right now but only players in deep dynasty leagues should even consider getting a hold of one of them at this point just for the sheer length of time required to hold a roster a spot.
Yordan Alvarez (OF/1B HOU) The Dodgers shipped Alvarez to Houston in the Josh Fields trade in 2016 and since then he has really blossomed for the Astros. In 41 games in 2018 at Double-A Corpus Christi Alvarez is hitting .323/.379/.622 with 12 homers, 44 RBI, 39 runs, and five steals with another 13 doubles. He has mostly played in left field this year but does have some starts at 1B and played there more evenly last year between two levels. At 6’2” and 225 lbs. his body suggests a move to first down the line as does his fringy to average arm. In two years when he’s up with the Astros, his feel for the strike zone and barrel should have him hitting for better than a .280 average with 25 or so homers and maybe a few steals thrown in at a position the Astros could use help at be it first or left field.
ETA: 2020
Julio Pablo Martinez (OF TEX) I mentioned above that international signees can take a few years to make it through the system once signed, and this gentleman fits that bill. Texas signed Martinez out of Cubs in March of this year after failing to land Shohei Ohtani but Martinez isn’t a bad second prize. His best tool is his 65-grade Speed that has led to 48 steals in his 137 games played between Cuba and the Can-Am League (an independent league). He has the defensive prowess and speed to play centerfield well and his hit tool plays well and produced a near .300 average in the aforementioned games played. Between rookie league and short season A-ball this year, over 22 games, Martinez is hitting .257/.421/.486 with three home runs, 21 runs, five RBI, and six steals with a 25:19 K:BB ratio. It’s a small sample size for the 5’11” 190 lbs. 22-year-old, but he’s got plenty of potential similar to Leody Taveras.
ETA: 2020
Andres Gimenez (SS NYM) The number 68 prospect in baseball is a 5’11” 161 lbs shortstop in the Mets system. Gimenez, at 19, was promoted to start the season at Port St. Lucie this year and while at High-A, over 73 games, he’s hitting .261/.337/.406 with five homers, 38 runs, 26 RBI, and 23 steals. His Hit tool and defense are the best tools he’s got, but his Speed tool isn’t far behind those two. Like Rosario, there is very little power, but the Hit tool is better than where Rosario’s was at this point. Gimenez has still yet to play more than 92 games in a season since turning pro in 2016, though he should manage that this year, but at 19 that’s not surprising. With Rosario still being felt out in New York, Gimenez could, if needed, move over to the keystone in order to get him in the big leagues.
ETA: 2020
Adonis Medina (RHP PHI) Philadelphia has a few guys that have gotten more coverage and notoriety than Medina in Sixto Sanchez and Mickey Moniak and even Adam Haeeley, but Medina is the number two ranked prospect in their system and 74th in baseball. The righty is pitching at High-A Clearwater and in 14 starts he’s posted an 8-2 record with a 4.19 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, and a 72:25 K:BB ratio over 68.2 IP. The mix of a 92-94 mph fastball that touches 95-96 mph from time to time with great command and late life, a sharp, tight, slider, and a changeup that’s above-average. All three work well in the strike zone and have produced a near 10.0 K/9 strikeout rate the last two years. At 21 years old and 6’1” 185 lbs. he has the size and stuff to be a number three starter in the near future for the big club.
ETA: 2019
Nate Pearson (RHP TOR) Pearson was the 28th overall pick in the 2017 draft by Toronto after a dominant season at a Florida JC and a big time bullpen session in late May that saw him hit 102 with his fastball. Aside from the fiery fastball, that has some vicious life to it, he also offers a power slider that works in the upper 80s and has great tilt to it. The curve and changeup are both average offerings at this point, but if one can jump to above-average that will give him a third out pitch. The 21-year-old, 6’6” 245 lb. righty has the size to be a top half of the rotation starter with a few more minor league seasons of development given that he only has eight starts in his entire pro career for 21.2 IP. Toronto is in dire need of more pitching depth and Pearson should offer that down the road.
ETA: 2020
Colton Welker (3B COL) The Rockies already have a stud at the hot corner in Nolan Arenado , hence the reason that any of their prospects at that spot don’t get noticed much at all. Welker however should be being noticed, and not just because of his numbers but also because of what the Rockies think of him inside the organization. In 72 games at High-A Lancaster in 2018 Welker is hitting .311/.378/.470 with nine home runs, 46 runs, 42 RBI, and two steals which is a great start to the year, but it’s still at High-A. The fourth round pick in 2016 played short in high school and is still learning third, but scouts in the Rockies system have compared him to Nolan Arenado already. If Arenado walks in a few years, Welker is waiting in the wings with a 55-grad Hit tool, 50-grade Power that should produce 20+ home run seasons, and steady enough defense and arm strength.
ETA: 2020
Peter Lambert (RHP COL) Pitching depth in the Rockies system is hard to come by and they’ve been on the lookout for it for quite some time. Lambert, along with Jon Gray , could very well be part of the depth they are looking for. At 6’2” and 185 lbs and without a high powered fastball, he fell into the second round of the 2015 draft despite great stuff and a high-level of pitchability and feel. The aforementioned fastball sits 91-93 mph with great sinking action helping his 49-51% ground ball rate in his career. Lambert works in a changeup that tumbles and misses bats in any count and two plus breaking pitches in a curveball and a newly developed slider that each sit in the low-to-mid-80s. The most innings he’s pitched came in 2017 with 142.1 over 26 starts at High-A and now in 2018 at Double-A he’s posted a 2.23 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 7.28 K/9, 1.17 BB/9, and an 8-2 record over 92.2 IP. Colorado just bumped him up to Triple-A Albuquerque making him just a step away from the Rockies.
ETA: 2019
Ke’Bryan Hayes (3B PIT) Two years ago it would have been fruitless to talk about a third base prospect for the Pirates with Jung-Ho Kang in place and playing well, however his DUIs changed that. Hayes is a toolsy prospect who has above-average grades in four of the five typical graded tools and is average in the fifth, power. In 108 games last season at High-A he put together a .278/.345/.363 with two homers, 66 runs, 43 RBI, and 27 steals and that was good enough to move him to Double-A Altoona this season. In 2018 at Altoona, through 68 games, Hayes is hitting .279/.343/.438 with four home runs, 32 runs, 21 RBI, and six steals but he also has 19 doubles and six triples. His patience at the plate is nice from a 21-year-old as he has a 9% career walk rate and about a 15% career K-rate. Hayes’ upside puts him in the upper echelon of MLB third baseman in a few years especially with the double-digit steals potential in the mix, but there is still some refinement to work on too.
ETA: 2019
Logan Allen (LHP SD) Allen was taken in the eighth round of the 2015 draft by the Red Sox but then was shipped to the Padres later that same year in the Craig Kimbrel trade in November of 2015. He has had some injury concerns in the past but in 2017 he put together a campaign that saw him pitch at both A-ball and High-A while amassing 125 innings pitched (more than twice his previous seasons career high). Allen works with a fastball that sits 92-94 with late life and run but one that he throws inside to righties as well as lefties. He also has a plus-caliber changeup and an average curveball that flashes plus at times. He will need to work the curveball into the arsenal a bit more as he moves up the ladder of the system to really keep hitters honest. In 2018, pitching for Double-A San Antonio, the southpaw has posted a 2.66 ERA (3.17 FIP), 1.10 WHIP, .204 BAA, 10.1 K/9, 3.30 BB/9 and an 8-3 record. Since the start of 2016 he has consistently been over a 9.0 K/9 but has also had a 3.00 BB/9 (or there about) in that span too. If his curveball develops, a number three MLB pitcher is where he should slot in with the Padres.
ETA: 2019