union players) is not involved with players this young. He might have to augment his swing to get to all of that power, and the chase component threatens to drag the hit tool down, but guys who hit the ball this often and this hard tend to turn into good big leaguers. When the Double-A season came to a close, Soderstrom was promoted again to close out Stocktons Triple-A season. The Phillies moved McGarry to the bullpen just before he was promoted to Triple-A at the end of 2022. Cartayas exchange is absurdly fast for a player his size, and he actively hunts baserunners when they reach, a threat to throw to the bases at any time. Peraza seems to realize this and tends to let strikes in the lower third of the zone go by until he absolutely has to swing at them. On defense, he shows plus potential because of his soft hands, blocking ability and receiving skills. This wasnt a gradual increase, either it happened all at once in 2019. The FV grade is more important than the ordinal ranking. The signing period closes Dec. 15. McGarry sits 95-96 mph and will bump 99 as a starter. The Tigers did their homework and signed him for an over-slot bonus in the fifth round, where many teams had written him off as unsignable. His 2022 throwing was not quite as good as previous notes indicate, with lots of one-hoppers to the bag or throws sailing on him, though Naylors pop times remain close to average. -- $497,500Jose Mejia, INF, D.R. Still, there are complicated issues that surround a potential draft. : White Sox+ ($700,000) More 42. Back then, he was a switch-hitting, switch-throwing prepster who would pitch left-handed and play the infield, too talented to be a sideshow but not enough to go in the first round, as 10 high school shortstops were drafted ahead of him. A lumbering, heavy-bodied athlete, Casas injury track record is also a bit of a concern. If youre looking for the prospect most likely to hit 40 home runs in a season down the line, this is your player. It can be prudent to limit the risk and wait until the top names are off the board. : Nationals+ ($1,300,000) More 46. For now, his ability to bend and get deep into his legs, as well as his lateral agility and range, is pretty amazing for a player his size. Even though it seems likely there will eventually be a draft, in the immediate-term, teams are behaving as if there wont be one to avoid being caught flat-footed in the event one doesnt materialize, or that it takes a while for the infrastructure that would support a draft to be put in place. Across the 2022 calendar, Davis had nearly as many HBPs as he did extra-base hits, to which the wrist fracture likely contributed. A plus athlete, Neto does some acrobatic things at shortstop and when he puts his whole body into a throw, he appears to have plenty of arm for the left side. Hes now a bounce back prospect. Theres no present danger that he needs to revisit third base (which he played plenty of in high school and early in pro ball) or anything like that, and Naylor continues to project as a 2-WAR primary catcher. Williams has a prototypical baseball frame at a strapping 6-foot-2, and has the range, actions, and internal clock to remain at shortstop long-term, as well as a great infield arm. Hendry Chivilli, SS, D.R. Rodriguez was quite comfortably the most dominant pitcher in the minors in 2021, when he racked up nearly three times as many strikeouts as hits allowed. House started the 2022 season very hot, slashing .325/.408/.449 with a 141 wRC+ at High-A through April before injuring his back in early May and sitting out a couple of weeks. While especially adept at launching pitches on the inner third, Johnson also shows some ability to shorten up and cover the top and outer edge of the strike zone. 2022 Staff Consensus Top-40 Fantasy Baseball Second Base Rankings, 5 Stealthy MLB Prospects to Consider For Your 2023 MLB Re-Draft League. Peraza had another solid offensive season, this time as a 22-year-old at Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre, where he slashed .259/.329/.448, hit 19 homers, and stole 33 bases. Vargas is expected to show more raw power and rack up extra-base hits as he fills out his frame. lvarez only ran a 75% Z-contact and 66% overall contact rate in the minors, which is near the bottom of the big league catching continuum, and almost identical to Joey Bart and Jorge Alfaro, who have struggled to find big league footing on offense. Its tough to gauge where Woods eventual defensive home will be. Casas went to the Dominican Winter League to be part of Liceys prospect-studded lineup (Elly De La Cruz, Ronny Mauricio, and a few others were also on that roster at the start of the LIDOM season), but a knee injury ended that jaunt after just three games. And for much of the season, that seemed to be the case: White started the year at High-A, doling out 81 strikeouts against just 19 walks in 58.2 innings of work before being promoted to Double-A Frisco at the end of June. Keith was on the SS/3B line as a high school defender, but his extra heft has pushed him down the defensive spectrum. Bibee seems to have altered his stride direction so that he isnt landing quite as closed as he was at Fullerton, which appears to enable him to stay behind the baseball a little better, creating riding action on a fastball that wasnt previously as explosive. Jan. 15 is officially known as the first day of the international signing period and it means everything to the prospects from across the globe who sign during the 11-month span. Some of what Ramos does on defense is very impressive. Julien tweeted he was going back to school, then went to the Cape and had a great two weeks, after which the Twins offer rose to just shy of $500,000, inspiring him to sign. Under the current system, players with verbal agreements often work out at their future teams complex and have resources available to them there that they wouldnt have at home in the time between when they come to a verbal agreement and when they actually sign. He did not hit well after the injury, but thats typical of hitters coming off a wrist fracture, and a second IL stint due to the wrist was an indication that it was bothering Davis throughout the year. He can frame the ball well, shows good receiving skills and moves well laterally. MLB Prospect Watch: 2022 minor-league awards, including Orioles as top team and Corbin Carroll as best hitter The 2022 Minor League Baseball season is wrapping up, so it's time for some hardware If not, hes a Phillippe Aumont sequel. Almost all of Veens pull-side contact into the outfield once he was promoted to Double-A came against secondary pitches. He will reach back and show you a plus arm when he needs to. It plays as an above-average offering even though Allens raw arm strength is comfortably below average. These dominant results paved the way for a late-August call-up to the big-league squad, where he made a single start before being shut down for the remainder of the season with shoulder inflammation. And now, a few important things to keep in mind as youre perusing the Top 100. He is a fringe receiver and ball-blocker with a 45 arm. 1st Round. The international amateur arena is a procedural and ethical mess that has undergone wholesale structural changes several times during my time as a writer, most recently because of what the pandemic did to shift the timeline of each signing period. If you dropped him into the 2022 draft class (with high schoolers Bleis age), hes going in the top five picks. He slid within this FV tier but his grade didnt change, and hes still a pretty good bet to be a no. Because hes still so young, the chances are better that Marte can course correct in this area, and theres recent precedent for that path in Julio Rodrguez, who became sleeker and faster to stay in center field. Winns huge arm is icing on a cake made mostly of plus bat-to-ball skills and viable shortstop defense. While his breaking ball command is inconsistent, Sengas velocity, splitter, repertoire depth, and demonstrated durability make him a fit as no. When he returned, he was a completely different hitter. His split/changeup (it only has about 1,300 rpm of spin, definitely in split territory) has plus sinking action, but the direction of its lateral movement is highly variable. Ortiz had one of the fastest ascents up the minor league ladder in 2022 and now projects as a mid-rotation starter or elite reliever in Pittsburgh, depending on what he can develop beyond his lethal fastball/slider combo. The hit/power combination to profile at third base is pretty comfortably here, and Caminero might yet come into more power at physical maturity. Holliday exited his pre-draft summer as a mid-to-late first round prospect. Toronto didnt accelerate his promotion schedule to make up for the lost time, so he began 2021 back at Low-A as a 21-year-old and (mostly) flew under the FanGraphs prospect radar as an old-for-the-level player until 2022, when Barger hammered High- and Double-A pitching as a 22-year-old. Throw in the visual twitch and athleticism, and this is the player Spotifys algorithm would recommend to FanGraphs if prospects were musical artists. After a slow start to 2022, Volpe hit .273/.355/.502 with Double-A Somerset from May through August and earned a late-season call up to Scranton. Velocity, repertoire depth, and fastball control have Miller poised to be an impact, mid-rotation starter in the near future, while long-term secondary projection could eventually pull him into a different stratosphere. Hences fastball will be elite if he can sustain mid-to-upper-90s velocity across starters innings, which he hasnt yet had to do. Of the 71 extra-base hits Synergy Sports has on tape from Jungs time at Tech, 51 were to center or right field. Follow and listen to the best podcasts for the Amed Rosario -- $320,000Juan Frances, OF, Ven. Cleveland added him to their 40-man toward the end of last year but never optioned him, which means he still has three option years left for those defensive skills to percolate. Samuel Munoz, OF, Dominican Republic Dodgers More 8. Abel has been the best pitching prospect his age since his sophomore year of high school, and hes continued to track like an impact starter early on as a pro, reaching Double-A in 2022. Keith may not have a position, but he has a pretty stable hit/power combination that will profile at third if he can actually stay there. -- $797,500, AthleticsRamon Landaeta, C, Ven. We get $200 to start the season. Casas has plus-plus power and enough bat-to-ball skill to weaponize it. Thats a 31% K% and 8% BB% across twice as many innings as the year before, when Miller was being built back up from the shortened 2020 season. Allen was an undersized, pitchability high school lefty who worked 88-92 mph with mostly average secondary stuff and a changeup that flashed plus. This approach will probably cause Pages to produce batting averages that are actually beneath his true talent feel to hit, but its also a big part of why hes such a dangerous hitter, one likely to have peak seasons with 30-plus home runs. Both can be in the lineup every night because of Rodriguezs defensive versatility and the universal DH, and a more liberal timeshare behind the plate might help keep them both healthier and more consistently productive on offense. Here hes projected as a no. 4/5 on a contender. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings. We gravitate toward up-the-middle defenders littered all throughout the minor leagues, and really only tend to push corner bats onto the list when theyre close to the big leagues, or if we have an abnormal degree of confidence that they will continue to hit all the way through the minors. The Rockies are expected to sign Jorge. There are 15 prospects from Venezuela, four from Cuba, two from Colombia, two from Panama and one each from the Bahamas and Mexico. He spent most of the rest of the year rehabbing in Arizona, often attending Diamondbacks games in his sling. He has special hand-eye coordination and bat-to-ball skill, as well as a tremendous idea of the strike zone. Domnguez is massive for a 20-year-old, and even though hes a plus runner who is currently a fit in center field, its hard to say how hell trend athletically into his 20s because theres virtually no precedent for his build. Turang is so defensively gifted that he is almost certain to have a significant and lengthy big league career, especially now that shifting is banned. 1. If he had somehow improved his throwing (which isnt terrible he could play short in an emergency), hed still be behind Oswald Peraza and Isiah Kiner-Falefa in this regard and would end up at second base anyway. In totality, Miller made 24 starts (if you count his Futures Game outing), worked 113 innings and posted a top-25 K-BB% among minor leaguers who threw at least 100 frames. His rate of hard, impact contact is near the top of the scouting scale when you adjust for age and is already comfortably plus relative to the big league rates in some areas (like barrel rate). Dyan Jorge, SS, Cuba Rockies ($2,800,000) More 16. The bonus pools are final and they are a hard cap. -- $325,000Daniel Gaitor, OF, Bah. Arizonas relatively new Amarillo affiliate is especially extreme relative to the rest of the Texas League. Im starting from scratch every time I rank an international class, and I have to begin somewhere just to generate the list of available and relevant names. Lesko looked like he had two plus pitches on board as a high schooler. Hes tracking to debut ahead of his draft class typical 40-man timeline, perhaps as early as mid-2023 if things click with his command. The Houston Astros officially signed Panamanian right-handed pitcher Antony Aparicio to a minor-league contract Thursday. After beginning his career as a reliever, Senga moved into the Fukuoka Hawks rotation in 2017 and has spent the last half decade as one of the better starters (and hardest-throwing pitchers) in all of NPB. More striking than his velocity itself is the ease with which Espino generates it. After that it seemed like Ramirez was asked to try to demonstrate better plate discipline. These are the international bonus pools for the 2021-22 signing period: Clubs that received a Competitive Balance Pick in Round B of the Draft (Cardinals, D-backs, Indians, Orioles, Padres, Pirates, Rockies and Royals) received a pool of $6,262,600, while clubs with a Competitive Balance Pick in Round A (Brewers, Marlins, Rays, Reds, Tigers, and Twins) received $5,721,500. There might be more game power here than there is raw power, or at least more game power than youd expect from someone who has some approach-related red flags. There are still visual and underlying statistical indications that Naylor is going to end up with a below-average hit tool (his swing is so uphill that hell almost certainly be vulnerable to whiffs in the strike zone), but he has very impressive bat speed and power (especially for a catcher) that is weaponized by his selective approach, which targets the up-and-in quadrant of the zone. March 1, 2023. Perennial contenders like the Dodgers and Yankees, teams that usually pick late in the draft, use international free agency to add elite prospects to their farm system. His ball-blocking is still pretty rough, though. He wasnt tested on the complex in 2022. Whites stuff continues to shine when hes healthy, which is especially impressive given the amount of time hes lost. Still on the 2B/SS line, the lift in Arroyos swing helps him get to impact power for a middle infielder. Abel will also flash a really good changeup once in a while; that pitch tends to be in the 86-89 mph range and feasts on hitters who have to cheat to catch up to his fastball. The curve has enough depth to have bat-missing utility below the zone and generate groundballs even when hitters sniff it out in mid-air. 1 Roderick Arias The international signing period began Saturday By Matt Snyder Jan 18,. We didnt know enough about the players, and their proximity to the Majors didnt help their appeal. Whats causing the swing-and-miss? Harrisons body has thickened pretty quickly, but he throws hard and has diverse fastball utility and great secondary stuff. Pfaadts fading change flashes bat-missing action, but it also flattens at times, and even though Pfaadt is comfortable enough to use it against righties, its the pitch he has the least consistent feel for locating. That means Chourios surface level stats may have been significantly inflated. Bryan Acua , SS, Venezuela Twins ($650,000) More 40. There are guidelines for signing prospects. He showed a tendency to expand the zone and make some sub-optimal contact as an amateur and in his 2022 pro sample, but there are times when Johnson does this and rather than frustrate scouts and analysts, he impresses them with his ability to identify and adjust to breaking balls, his barrel feel, and his hand-eye coordination. . Jhonny Severino, SS, Dominican Republic Brewers ($1,230,000) More 22. Ellys tools are big enough to stand with those guys, but if hes striking out at a 30% clip at Double-A, its likely hell do so more often against big league pitching, which puts him in a dangerous area. The Yankees are the favorite to sign both consensus number 1 international prospect Roderick Arias and number 3 international prospect Diedo Benitez in 2022. Espino barely throws his low-90s changeup, but he still has good feel for locating it in an enticing location away from lefty batters, and even that and his rarely-used curveball (combined, he threw those pitches 8% of the time in 2021) could be above average at maturity. For example, the gap between Padres shortstop Jackson Merrill (No. He doesnt have to be put on the 40-man until after the 2024 season, but the rate at which he has been promoted so far indicates hell be in the mix for a rotation spot sooner than that. MLB.com recently released its top 30 international prospects, and for the next few days, we will dive into each of them and how they fit with the Cubs. Because his delivery is so elegant and consistent, Bradleys splitter has deep projection. His actions are lightning quick, but his range, ability to bend, the suredeness of his hands, and his arm accuracy all look less consistent. Touching 99 mph, Painter earns widespread praise. Hes a compact-framed, contact-oriented middle infielder from a smaller conference, but Neto gets the most out of his body by taking very athletic, high-octane swings. If things click, hell be a star. This is particularly important given the fact that his fastballs viability has more to do with its velocity than its shape, so being able to rely more heavily on the secondaries he also features an impressive mid-80s slider and a changeup he reserves mainly for use against lefties allows the whole mix to play up. BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - OCTOBER 05: Yusei Kikuchi #16 of the Toronto Blue Jays pitches against the Baltimore Orioles during game two of a doubleheader at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on October 05, 2022 in Baltimore . However, blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Wiemer is a power/speed freak who might bust or be a power-hitting anomaly. This information might be about you, your preferences or your device and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to. : Astros+ ($897,500) More 22. Tony Ruiz, OF, D.R.31. He was passed over in the 2020 draft despite sitting 94-97 mph in outings that were often seen by decision-makers who were in to scout Asa Lacy and Christian Roa, largely because Miller was very wild. Wesneskis slider is really nasty and his entire repertoire fits nicely together. Drafting toolsy, athletic players with high marks in power and speed is a legitimate approach. He pitched a couple innings on the complex, skipped Low-A, threw seven High-A innings, skipped Double-A, then closed the season out with two appearances in Las Vegas and a stint in the Fall League. Lewis chronic injuries have kept him on this list forever, but were still betting that his tools and personhood will eventually turn him into a good multi-positional big leaguer. His time on the Twins roster was too short-lived to put much stake in, but was just as brilliant more so, given his ability to translate those above-average across-the-board numbers to the highest level. He had among the highest average exit velocities in college baseball at a whopping 98 mph, though that came with what would constitute 40-grade peak exit velocities, around 105 mph (and with a BBCOR bat major league players average is 110 mph with wood). Short levers enable Frelick to turn on inner-third fastballs and let him spray or spoil pitches that travel deep into the hitting zone, making him very tough to strike out. During the course of working on the 2023 class, I became aware of about a half-dozen players set to sign in 2025 and 26 who already have verbal deals for north of $3 million. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. He had Tommy John in August of 2019 and rehabbed during a 2020 season that he would have missed anyway. This website is not directly or indirectly affiliated, associated, or connected in any way to Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association, the National Football League or the National Hockey League. His left-handed swing is very uphill, the sort typically associated with strikeout issues, but his levers are so short that his swing is still fairly compact. Amador is one of those short-levered switch hitters who is so short to the ball that he gets an extra beat to diagnose pitches before he has to commit to swinging, and he takes advantage of this. Davis plate crowding helps enable his pull-heavy approach. Hunt for the College Ticket and Elite Extra Edition Optic set, which will feature this year's top draft picks on opti-chrome cards! When the season was over and the statistical dust settled, Chourio wrapped with a 67% Contact% and 76% Z-Contact%, both of which would be in the bottom five of big league center fielders with at least 300 PA in 2022. Angel Cepeda, SS, D.R. Make no mistake, Paradas bat was one of the surer things in the 2022 draft, and hes likely to hit in the middle of a big league order regardless of position, which would make him a superstar catcher, but closer to an average regular if he ends up a LF/DH. His right-handed swing is pretty grooved, but still powerful, while his lefty swing is more skillful and dynamic, giving him a potent contact/power blend. Zavala isnt as physically projectable as some other youngsters on this list, but he might have a better hit plus power profile thanks to the rotation and subsequent bat speed he generates in his athletic, lefty swing. After a blazing-hot end to the 2021 minor league season and a dominant Fall League performance, White rode a lot of hype into last season. Hes adept at dropping it into the top of the strike zone, around the hands of left-handed hitters who think its a fastball above the zone until it cuts down onto the corner. The degree of confidence in his hit tool has him ranked on the Top 100 ahead of some other middle infielders who are closer to the big leagues or who are more likely to stay shortstop. After sustaining an arm injury during spring training, Miller spent most of 2022 rehabbing. The base signing pool for the Angels, Astros, Athletics, Braves, Cubs, Giants, Mariners, Mets, Nationals, Phillies, Rangers, Red Sox, White Sox and Yankees is $5,179,700. Hes going to get to whatever raw power he ends up growing into and has a good shot to be a middle infield regular, though probably not until 2026 or so just based on his 40-man timeline.There are mixed feelings about his defensive fit, with most of Erics sources projecting him to second base (a mix of scouts and analysts), which is where he had him coming out of high school. Today, I want to discuss a few things to keep in mind so you can skillfully pursue international players (or avoid them altogether). For example, based on Craigs research, the average 60 FV hitter on a list becomes a perennial 5-plus WAR player over his six controlled years 26% of the time, and has a 27% chance of accumulating, at most, a couple of WAR during his six controlled years.