There was some big news with prospects this week as a few teams brought up some big-name prospects either because they are in the playoff race or they simply want a look at them without really messing up their service time at this point. With all the prospects starting to come up I also figured it was time to update the top-300 prospects list here at FA and so that has been updated as well. You’ll find a link to it at the bottom of the piece as well as a preview of what some of the top rankings look like.
Luis García 2B/SS WAS - Garcia was interestingly called up by the Nationals late last week and was given the starting second base job from the get go. He’s so far produced well and looked mature at the plate despite the fact that he just turned 20 back in May. There’s no doubt he has the defensive skills to man either middle infield spot though he’ll settle in at second given the presence of Trea Turner at shortstop. Offensively though, he’s not as gifted as you might expect and profiles as a guy who could give you 12-15 each of home runs and steals while hitting for a solid average. That kind of production is solid for sure, however, it’s not off the charts great production and that relegates him to more of an MI or utility spot for fantasy owners going forward.
Cristian Pache OF ATL - What else is new? A homegrown all-star caliber prospect is coming up for the Braves. Pache has been among the top of the Braves prospects since he entered their system in 2016 and since then he’s continued to get better and show why the Braves gave him a $1.4 million signing bonus. He’s still developing his offensive side of his game but the tools are there for him to be a five-category guy in a few years as he’ll hit for average and the power is showing up, having hit 12 last year in the minors as still just 20 years old. Right now it’s pull-side power but he’ll pummel the gaps to all fields. The run tool is his best at 70-grade but has yet to turn him into an efficient base stealer but does help his defense. Having been named the best defender in the minors the last two years in a row, he profiles as a center fielder and his route-running, speed, and reads on hits all make him a likely Gold-Glove caliber defender down the road.
Casey Mize RHP DET - Mize, like I said on the podcast this week, is a thoroughbred of a pitching prospect and has everything you want in a future ace. His four-pitch mix all rate as plus pitches and the splitter is the top pitch in his arsenal at a 70-grade making it elite. The late tumbling action makes it incredibly hard to square up even in the mid-80s. The fastball is a mid-90s pitch with great command and late break to it as well. His slider is the third plus-pitch in the repertoire and works well to both handedness of hitter and at times he can morph it into an upper-80s cutter with great bite that also, while being a more rarely used pitch, is a plus pitch as well. Mize was the top overall pick a couple of years ago with this upside in mind and now we’ll get the first taste of it on Wednesday when he starts against the White Sox in his debut. He needs to be owned in every format and every league.
Tarik Skubal LHP DET - Skubal made some headlines this offseason after posting a video of him throwing his fastball at 102 with some violent movement on it. However, if that’s the first time you’d heard of him, you might need a deeper dive into the Tigers third-best pitching prospect and a guy that likely slots third into their rotation going forward. The fastball is phenomenal sitting in the mid-to-upper-90s with great movement but the secondary stuff needs work for the pitches to get more consistent. The slider is the best secondary pitch with the curveball and changeup flashing above-average at times but all were good enough to give him the third-highest strikeout total (179) and K/9 (13.3) in the minors and the best swinging-strike rate (18.1-percent) among minor league pitchers with at least 120 innings pitched in 2019. He is likely a number three starter with more strikeout upside than that but the control issues need to improve to keep the walk rate down and he was better against RHH than LHH last year which is a bit odd.
Isaac Paredes 3B/SS DET - Paredes was the return the Tigers got for trading Justin Wilson and Alex Avila to the Cubs a few seasons ago and now he’s received the call-up to Detroit. C.J. Cron is out for the year and Jeimer Candelario is now at first base and Dawel Lugo has been designated for assignment meaning Paredes is at the hot corner, likely for the rest of the year. At 20 years old and playing in the pitcher-friendly Eastern League at Double-A last year, he still hit .282/.368/.416 with a 133 wRC+ and walked 57 times compared to striking out 61 showing his plate approach is advanced. The power is still coming but he’ll never be a typical power-hitting corner infielder as his 5’11” and 213-pound frame just doesn’t lend itself to a ton of power but what power he does have plays up due to his approach and the short, compact, swing. He fits a utility role going forward for fantasy as a guy who helps your average but doesn’t add much else in terms of counting stats just yet.
Dane Dunning RHP CWS - Dunning is the oft-forgotten third piece in the return for Adam Eaton heading to D.C. a few years ago. The righty is now 25 years old and is coming off of Tommy John surgery in 2019 but through his minor league career, Dunning has been consistently putting up great numbers. In 266 innings, up through Double-A, he’s posted a 2.74 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, .229 AVG, and a 300:71 K:BB ratio. His fastball, Curveball, and Slider are all equally as good though the fastball now is likely his best pitch with velocity in the mid-90s and great control and heavy heavy sink. The slider and curveball both act as near-plus secondary pitches and offer slightly different movement for the hitters to focus on from the fastball. The Changeup was improving before he got hurt and it might take a bit longer to come back as touch and feel are usually the last things to come back following Tommy John surgery. He profiles as a mid-rotation starter and has some sneaky strikeout upside.
Keibert Ruiz C LAD - Ruiz came up for the Dodgers late last week to replace the roster spot opened up by Will Smith landing on the IL. Ruiz has been among the Dodgers top prospects for a couple of years now, depending on which analyst(s) you listen to, but for me I’ve been skeptical of his overall skill set even in the shallow catching ranks. The hit tool is a plus as he should hit for a better than .280 average and the defense is great, but you don’t get points for defense in fantasy baseball. The power will only produce about 10 homers a year and he likely won’t be hitting in a key spot in the order which reduces his run-producing ability as well. There’s also Will Smith and Diego Cartaya in the system and have better offensive games so the upside is very limited.
Alec Bohm 3B PHI - After being taken early in the first round a few years ago, Bohm made his debut for the Phillies late last week. Through 125 games, across three levels, the 6’5” third baseman slashed .305/.378/.518 with 21 homers, 80 RBI, 76 runs, and six steals while adding 30 doubles and four triples. The average and power are real but the speed isn’t. The other thing that is uncertain at this point is where his final defensive home is as he’s shaky defensively at the hot corner and could shift to first and bump Rhys Hoskins to the DH role, if it sticks in the NL. There’s a shot that he winds up as a top-10 player at first or third but first base is fairly shallow so that shouldn’t be that hard to do. For redraft leagues, he’s not really a difference-making bat this year but in keeper or dynasty leagues Bohm has more value but ultimately it will depend on where his defensive home is.
Dylan Carlson OF STL - The hype train has been building since basically this time last year and it was a disappointment to not see him break Summer Camp with the Cardinals but that’s mainly to help keep the service time in check. Carlson has an all-star caliber skillset with his hit, power, and speed tools that are all above average if not plus. In 126 across multiple levels last year, the switch-hitting outfielder slashed .292/.372/.542 with 26 home runs, 95 runs, 68 RBI, and 20 steals with 28 doubles and eight triples. He also has gold-glove caliber defense in the outfield, which means that even if his bat is struggling, he’ll stay on the field and try and work it out. Carlson is a must-add if he’s not already on a roster and in keeper or dynasty leagues, Carlson has top-10 outfielder upside.
Lewin Díaz 1B MIA - While I might be higher on Miami’s farm system than most, I am not all that high on Diaz. He was called up to fill in for Corey Dickerson being placed on the bereavement list and to have an extra bat while they finish getting the rest of their sick players back. The power is his best tool as there is 30-plus homer power in his game but the problem is that it doesn’t come with anything else. The hit tool is below-average and the speed is well-below-average meaning the only thing we’re getting out of him is the power. I’d comp him to a Khris Davis type which is dangerous because when he’s not hitting the power doesn’t come and he’s a blank stat line for your roster. He doesn’t have any value this year but has slight value for longer-term leagues.
Now that all of the player news and recent call-up evaluations have been taken care of, let’s take a gander at a preview of the updated prospect rankings.
A reminder the full Top-300 can be seen here: Top-300 Prospect Rankings
The new columns on the table refer to where that player ranks in terms of their position among the top-300, where they rank on their team in terms of prospects in the top-300, and the Prev. Rank column compare them to the preseason top-300 with NR being not ranked either because they weren’t drafted yet or were outside the top-300.