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As we come to the start of May and begin getting the excitement that comes with big name call-ups, like that of Cody Bellinger last week, it’s time to start looking at position groups. This week I will breakdown several names of first baseman and catchers that I am following. Over the next few weeks I will do the same for different position groupings and tell you what their path to the majors looks like. So let’s start delving into all those prospects.
First Baseman
Philadelphia took Rhys Hoskins (PHI AAA) in the fifth round of the 2014 draft out of Sacramento State and since then all he has done is improved. Through 23 games at Lehigh Valley this season he is hitting to a slash line of .338/.427/.636 with a 1.063 OPS, six homers, 12 RBI, and 15 runs scored. Even going to the advanced numbers he has a .466 wOBA mark, a .357 BABIP and .299 ISO. 2016 was his first full season and he launched 38 homers with 116 RBI, granted he played in a hitter-friendly park in Reading, but that’s still amazing production. Tommy Joseph, and potentially Howie Kendrick, is currently blocking him, but if he keeps swinging like this, it’ll be hard for Philly to keep him down on the farm.
The 895th overall pick of the 2013 MLB draft makes his way into the report in the form of Rowdy Tellez (TOR AAA). Since being drafted, all he has done is hit. Culminating in his best season in 2016 as he hit .297/.387/.530 with 23 homers, 81 RBI, 71 runs and even four steals to boot at Double-A. His walk rate over the last 145 games played (21 at Triple-A this season) is a very good 12.5%. The downside is that he has gotten off to a sluggish start in the first month of 2017 with a .194 AVG and a .139 ISO mark given he has just three homers in 21 games. When his bat comes around, the fifth-best 1B prospect should get the call later this year.
The 21-year-old first base prospect for the Mets, Dominic Smith (NYM AAA) is also the second-best first prospect in baseball. A first round pick in the 2013 draft, the left-handed hitting and fielding corner infielder is now garnering a lot of attention with Lucas Duda being oft injured. Smith is off to a very good start, though the PCL is hitter-friendly, hitting .343/.393/.515 through 25 games with three homers, 16 R, and 18 RBI. Matching numbers in .395 wOBA and .392 BABIP indicate his numbers could stay in that range, though a higher than 7.5% walk rate would be good to see from him. The only things standing in Smith’s way of a promotion are time, power numbers, and Duda, though not if he keeps getting hurt.
We look to Kansas City’s system for the least heralded prospect on the list in Ryan O’Hearn (KC AAA). The 23-year-old first baseman is a former eighth round pick in the 2014 draft but has worked his way into the conversation for replacing Eric Hosmer. That’s right I said it. O’Hearn is carrying a .298/.352/.536 slash line into May with five home runs, six runs scored, and 11 RBI. His .387 wOBA and .351 BABIP indicate he’s actually hitting better than he’s being credited with but each fit in with his previous career numbers. He does tend to strikeout a fair amount (24.2% K-rate) but he does take walks. If Eric Hosmer doesn’t re-sign with the Royals at the end of 2017, O’Hearn could be looking at the everyday starting job next year.
Catchers
Baltimore used their second round pick in 2013 on a high school catcher named Chance Sisco (BAL AAA) in the hopes he would be the backstop of the future. Well that hope is taking shape. He has a .230/.319//.344 slash line at the moment with 11 RBI and six runs through 18 games. Now his BABIP and wOBA are both significantly higher at .359 and .325 respectively, so he’s getting somewhat unlucky so far. Over the course of 376 career minor league games, over four levels, he has a .319 career average but just 18 total homers. Sisco will be a catcher more in the mold of Joe Mauer than Buster Posey, though I don’t think he will win a league batting title. The power could come in time but hitting 15 round-trippers in a year would be the ceiling for him.
Garrett Stubbs (HOU AA) maybe the perfect name for the 5’10”, 175 lb. catcher that Houston took with in the eighth round of the 2015 draft out of USC. He has played just 11 games this year due to a hamstring injury but is hitting .341/.413/.634 in that span with three homers, six RBI, nine runs, and two steals with a .458 wOBA and .324 BABIP. He has yet to play more than 86 games in a pro season and because of that his status are a bit deflated. In 2016 he hit 10 homers between two levels and stole 15 bags. His smaller stature gives him better speed and athleticism than what is typical for the position. Stubbs likely won’t see the majors until mid-2018 but he has the chance to be a J.T. Realmuto type with more pop.
Texas took a jack-of-all-trades type in the 2014 draft in Jose Trevino (TEX AA) and is turning him into a catcher. He played Short, Third, and Catcher at Oral Roberts before being turned into an everyday backstop in the farm system. He is hitting .289/.319/.356 through 12 games in 2017 but did have a .303/.342/.434 line over 109 games in 2016. Trevino may not have typical power for a catcher, a career high of 14 homers in 112 games in 2015, but he does hit for average and has a very good 48% rate of throwing out would-be base stealers. I see Trevino hitting 9-12 dingers a year in the majors while toting a .280-plus average.
Player News
Orioles manager Brandon Hyde told reporters that Zach Eflin (lat) is likely to return and start Sunday against the Angels
It was assumed that Eflin would be back this weekend, but now we have a concrete date. The 31-year-old may not be at full strength after throwing fewer than 60 pitches in his rehab start, but the Orioles feel confident enough to have the right-hander back on the bump for the series finale against the Angels.
Riley Greene is not in the lineup for the first game of a doubleheader against the Rockies on Thursday.
Greene will get a break and likely return to the lineup for the second game of the twin-billing. Zach McKinstry will get the start in left field while Greene rests.
Yu Darvish (elbow) is facing live hitters on Thursday.
Darvish has been throwing bullpen sessions and traveled to the team’s complex in Arizona to face live hitters on Thursday. It will be his first time facing live batters since a spring training appearance on March 13th. He will likely need a few sessions like this before the Padres can map out a rehab appearance timeline for him.
Adael Amador is starting at second base and batting ninth for the Rockies on Thursday.
Amador has now started three of the last four games at second base for the Rockies. He’s gone just 7-for-43 this season with 15 strikeouts in 16 games. He’s just 22 years old, so there is plenty of time for him to adjust to the MLB level, but he doesn’t need to be on redraft radars right now.
Jackson Holliday is playing second base and batting second for the Orioles on Thursday against the Twins.
With Cedric Mullins sitting out on Thursday, Gunnar Henderson will bat lead off, and Holliday will jump up from sixth in the order to second. Holliday is riding a hot streak right now, and the Orioles are taking advantage. This is likely just a one-game sample with no Mullins or Adley Rutschman in the lineup, but Rutschman has been struggling, so perhaps it could become a more permanent spot in the lineup for Holliday moving forward.
Endy Rodriguez (finger) had his splint removed this week.
Rodriguez suffered a lacerated right index finger on April 14th. Now that he is out of his splint, he “is playing catch and doing a slightly modified swing.” Once he can progress to taking full swings, we’ll have a better sense of the timeline for his return.