Earlier this year we looked at some of the top-50 prospects who were not being talked about all that much, and this week it’s time to look at the back half of the top-50. I know unheralded is a weird term to use when talking about guys that rank this highly considering the sheer numbers of players in the minor leagues overall, but it’s a fact that some teams sail under-the-radar for quite some time and it’s time to give them their turn in the spotlight.
Julio Rodríguez, OF SEA – Rodriguez was signed out of the international ranks in July of 2017 and then made his Dominican Summer League debut in 2018 putting up a .315/.404/.525 slash line with five home runs, 50 runs, 36 RBI, and 10 steals in 59 games at the Rookie level. That performance earned him a promotion to A-ball West Virginia and a U.S. debut for 2019 and so far the 18-year-old outfielder hasn’t disappointed. He’s slashed .281/.351/.477 with nine home runs, 45 runs, 41 RBI, and a steal in 60 games. The K-rate and BB-rate have moved in the wrong direction, compared to the same size sample in 2018 where he had a 15.7-percent K-rate and 11.8-percent BB-rate compared to a 23-percent K-rate and 6.8-percent BB-rate this year. The 6’3” and 180-pound youngster has an impressive set of tools that is headlined by his 60-65 grade power and 55-grade hit tools. He did have better speed when he was first signed but he has physically matured since then and lost a step which hurts the steal potential a touch. Overall, he profiles as a middle-of-the-order right fielder who will play above-average defense and be a threat every time he’s in the box.
ETA: 2022
Marco Luciano, SS SF – If you harken back to the top-50 article, you’ll remember that Joey Bart was in there, mainly because he’s a catcher, but also because Giants’ prospects don’t get the hype others do. Luciano is in that same boat. The Giants signed him as the top middle-infield prospect in the 2018 international signing class and now the 17-year-old shortstop is showing what he’s got stateside. In 36 games in the Arizona Rookie League, he’s slashed .319/.432/.624 with a 1.056 OPS and 10 homers, 43 runs, 36 RBI, and eight steals. The tools on display aren’t a fluke as he grades as above-average across the board offensively and has a plus-arm even for the shortstop spot. At 6’2” and 178 pounds, he’s still a bit lanky and there is concern that as he matures, not only will the speed drop but so will his ability to play short and he’ll need to move to third or right field. Either way he has the offensive profile to play any of those positions and defensively the arm will translate anywhere on the diamond as well. Luciano is the hope for the Giants to get a homegrown international All-star for the first time since Pablo Sandoval and if he keeps showing his 20-20, .290-.300 abilities he’ll be just that.
ETA: 2023
Xavier Edwards, 2B/SS SD – It’s not hard to be overshadowed in the deep Padres system and that’s exactly what’s happening to Edwards. Drafted in the first Competitive Balance round of last year’s draft and signed away from a Vanderbilt commitment, Edwards has made his way to High-A this year after starting at Class-A Fort Wayne for the first 77 games. His combined slash line in 103 games in 2019 is .340/.394/.407 with one home run, 62 runs, 39 RBI, and 29 steals. As you can tell from the counting stats, power isn’t his game but speed most definitely is. He grades out as a 70 in the speed trait and has used that speed to compile a 51:11 SB:CS ratio in his pro career dating back to rookie ball. He’s a smooth fielder at both short and second and the elite hit tool makes him a top-of-the-order hitter with elite speed. Edwards profiles as the future second baseman in San Diego as Luis Urías has not been able to translate his game to the majors very well yet and Fernando Tatis Jr has shortstop locked down.
ETA: 2022
Sam Huff, C TEX – Huff is in the midst of a breakout campaign, and yet continues to stay under-the-radar because he’s a catcher. He was taken in the 2016 draft and went through rookie ball twice before jumping to full season ball in 2018 where his skills really began to shine. He hit .241/.292/.439 with 18 home runs, 55 RBI, 53 runs, and nine steals in 118 games at Class-A Hickory which sounds dandy but the 31.3-percent K-rate and just 5.1-percent BB-rate are not great to say the least. In 2019 he started once again at Class-A for the first 30 games while slashing .333/.368/.796 with 15 home runs, 29 RBI, 22 runs, and four steals although striking out 32.5-percent of the time. That moved him up to High-A Down East where he’s played 73 games and put up a .278/.343/.474 slash with 11 homers, 38 runs, 37 RBI, and two steals all while posting a 27-percent K-rate. The, now 21-year-old, Catcher has nice pop but below-average hit tool to go with it and has decent speed for a 6’4”, 230-pound backstop. The 30-home run pop is what’s going to make him valuable in fantasy circles as well as his occasional steals but anything over a .250 average at the highest level will be gravy if he can’t get his K-rate down.
ETA: 2021
Miguel Amaya, C CHC – The Cubs system is pretty barren at this point, but Amaya is a bright spot as the Cubs continue to be able to develop young catchers. The 20-year-old backstop is still figuring out all of his tools but the potential has already been shown since his arrival at Class-A last year when he slashed .256/.349/.403 with 12 home runs, 54 runs, 52 RBI, and a steal in 116 games. This year he’s up to High-A with a .233/.351/.394 slash and nine homers, 44 RBI, 39 runs, and two steals while raising his walk rate and lowering his strikeout rate from last year. His ability to tap into his raw power is just starting to show but he already has a great command of the zone as a hitter and doesn’t often chase pitches. The defense is already above-average throwing out 35-percent of would-be base-stealers in the last year and a half. With the defense keeping him on the field, it will give him time to work on the offensive side of his game and really lock in that 55-grade raw power to be a 20-home-run bat in the majors.
ETA: 2021
Kristian Robinson, OF ARI – The Diamondbacks signed Robinson out of the Bahamas in 2017 for more than $2.5 million, which should tell you what they thought of his talent even at 16. Now 18, and stateside, Robinson got off to a smoking hot start at Rookie ball in the Northwest League with a .319/.407/.558 slash line, nine home runs, 35 RBI, 29 runs, and 14 steals in 44 games played. The 6’3”, 190-pound outfielder oozes all sorts of tools with above-average grades across the board and as high as 70-grade raw power that shows as a 60-65 in games at this point. The trick with Robinson is allowing him the time to develop because he simply didn’t see the level of competition in the Bahamas that other international signees see in Latin America. Playing a Gold Glove center field is within his capability as he brings 30-20 upside to the position with an average hit tool when all is said and done.
ETA: 2022
Shane Baz , RHP TB – The forgotten piece of the Chris Archer deal, Baz is starting to make an imprint in the loaded Tampa system. Baz has made it to Class-A Bowling Green this year with a 3.22 ERA, 3.51 FIP, 9.66 K/9, 25.7-percent K-rate, 4.14 BB/9, 11-percent BB-rate, and 1.24 WHIP in 58.2 innings. The walks have been an issue for the big righty as the 4.14 BB/9 mark is the lowest this deep into a season he’s posted in three prior minor league stops. It might be due to his change in his arsenal as he got rid of his two-seam fastball and curveball in favor of his four-seam fastball and slider which are both plus-offerings right now. The fastball sits mid-90s with triple-digit velocity waiting in the wings and late, riding, life which misses bats. The slider is tight and works in the upper-80s for the most part. His changeup is the third pitch in his repertoire and it’s still developing but he has shown nice feel for the pitch thus far. A 6’3”, 190-pound pitcher with room to add to his frame and already high velocity is just the type of pitchers the Rays love to develop in their system, i.e. David Price , Chris Archer , and Blake Snell . Baz is still just a 20-year-old with plenty of time to become a front-end type starter he projects to be.
ETA: 2021
Prospect News
Isan Díaz, 2B MIA – Diaz was called up over the weekend after dominating at Triple-A New Orleans and immediately made an impact. He is certainly the second baseman of the future and with Starlin Castro likely out of the picture for next year given his expensive club option, Diaz is definitely worth the pick-up in keeper leagues and redrafts as this isn’t just a cup of coffee type situation.
Drew Waters (OF), Cristian Pache (OF), and Ian Anderson (RHP), ATL – All three top-five prospects in their system got promoted to Triple-A Gwinnett from Double-A Mississippi and moved that much closer to the big club. Waters and Pache are an outfield duo of the future for the Braves to join Ronald Acuña Jr. and Anderson is a mid-rotation starter who is a more command-and-control type than pure stuff. Anderson has a better shot of seeing the majors this year given the Braves continued need for arms as September draws nearer.
C.J. Abrams, SS SD – He was taken fourth overall in the draft this year and was promoted to Class-A Fort Wayne on August 6 making him the first High School player taken to reach the Class-A level from this year’s draft.
Jo Adell , OF LAA – The Angels top prospect and a top-five prospect in baseball, Adell has been promoted to Triple-A Salt Lake. He will finish the year there before competing for a roster spot in spring training next year.