Over at Roster Resource, I rank Minor Leaguers throughout the regular season using a formula that takes into account several statistics with age and level serving as important factors in how they are weighed. These are not prospect rankings!
This is how it works:
- Hitters are mostly rated by total hits, outs, extra-base hits, walks, strikeouts and stolen bases.
- Pitchers are mostly rated by strikeouts, walks, earned runs, home runs and hits allowed per inning.
- A few counting stats are included (IP, plate appearances, runs, RBI) to ensure that the players atop the list played a majority of the season.
- The younger the player and the higher the level, the more weight each category is given. Therefore, a 19-year-old with an identical stat line as a 25-year-old at the same level will be ranked much higher. If a 23-year-old in Triple-A puts up an identical stat line as a 23-year-old in High-A, the player in Triple-A would be ranked much higher.
A player’s potential does not factor in to where they are ranked. If you’re wondering why a certain prospect who is rated highly by experts isn’t on the list, it’s likely because they missed time due to injury (see Victor Robles or Nick Senzel), MLB promotion (Juan Soto) or just weren’t productive enough. While there are plenty of recognizable names throughout the MiLB Power Rankings Top 200 list, it’s also full of players who were relatively unknown prior to the season and have seen their stock rise significantly due to their performance. Here’s a closer look at the Top 20.
1. Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 3B, Toronto Blue Jays | Blue Jays Depth Chart
Guerrero probably deserved to start his MLB career sometime between the debuts of NL Rookie of the Year candidates Ronald Acuña Jr. (April 25th) and Juan Soto (May 20th). All things being equal, that would’ve been the case.
But his call-up was delayed, mostly because third baseman Josh Donaldson was healthy in May and designated hitter Kendrys Morales was being given every opportunity to break out of an early season slump. As Guerrero’s path to regular playing time was becoming clearer, he suffered a knee injury in early June that kept him out of action for a month. When he returned, the Jays’ playoff chances had dwindled. Instead of adding him to the 40-man roster and starting his service time clock, they chose to delay his MLB debut until 2019.
You can hate the rule, but I’m certain Jays fans would rather have Guerrero under team control in 2025 as opposed to having him on the team for a few meaningless months in 2018 and headed for free agency after the 2024 season. And maybe it’s just me, but I kind of enjoy seeing what kind of numbers a player can put up when he’s way too good for his competition. And all this 19-year-old kid did was slash .381/.437/.636 with 20 HR, 29 2B, 37 BB, 38 K in 408 plate appearances, mostly between Triple-A and Double-A (he had 14 PAs during a rehab stint in the low minors). Thanks for providing us with that beautiful stat line, Vlad Jr.
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2. Kyle Tucker, OF, Houston Astros | Astros Depth Chart
Despite a slow start—he had 21 hits in his first 83 Triple-A at-bats with one homer and 20 strikeouts— the 21-year-old Tucker showed why the World Champions were willing to give him a chance to take their starting left field job and run with it in July.
Tucker wasn’t quite ready for the Big Leagues—he was 8-for-52 in two separate MLB stints prior to a recent third call-up—but his stock hasn’t dropped one bit after slashing .332/.400/.590 with 24 homers, 27 doubles and 20 stolen bases over 465 plate appearances in his first season at the Triple-A level.
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3. Luis Rengifo, SS, Los Angeles Angels | Angels Depth Chart
A 21-year-old shortstop just finished a Minor League season with 50 extra-base hits (7 HR, 30 2B, 13 3B), 41 stolen bases, as many walks as strikeouts (75 of each) and a .299/.399/.452 slash line. If the name Luis Rengifo doesn’t ring a bell, you’re probably not alone. He kind of came out of nowhere.
The Mariners traded him to the Rays last August in a deal for Mike Marjama and Ryan Garton. Nine months later, the Rays shipped him to the Angels as the PTBNL in the deal for C.J. Cron. Based on those two trades, I can say without hesitation that the Mariners and Rays did not think Rengifo was this good. Not even close.
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4. Nathaniel Lowe, 1B, Tampa Bay Rays | Rays Depth Chart
Lowe’s breakout season mirrors Juan Soto’s in one way: They both posted an OPS above 1.000 at two different levels before a promotion to a third. Soto’s third stop was in Double-A, and it was a very short stint before heading to the Majors. After destroying High-A and Double-A pitching, Lowe’s final stop of 2018 was Triple-A, where he finally cooled off.
Still, the 23-year-old has put himself squarely on the Rays’ radar. After homering just 11 times in his first 757 plate appearances, all in the low minors, Lowe broke out with 27 homers and 32 doubles in 555 plate appearances in 2018. His overall .330/.416/.568 slash was exceptional.
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5. Alex Kirilloff, OF, Minnesota Twins | Twins Depth Chart
We’re four seasons into the Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano era—both debuted during the 2015 season—and we can’t say for certain whether either player will even be penciled into the regular lineup in 2019. They could be still turn out to be perennial All-Stars someday. But you can’t blame Twins fans if they temper their expectations for the next great hitting star to come up through their farm system. And yet, that might be difficult with Kirilloff, a first-round draft pick in ’16, and last year’s No. 1 overall pick, Royce Lewis, after the year each of them just had. Both are moving up the ladder quickly.
The 20-year-old Kirilloff, who missed all of last season recovering from Tommy John surgery, was a hitting machine in his first full professional season. After slashing .333/.391/.607 with 13 homers in 65 games with Low-A Cedar Rapids, he hit .362 with seven homers and 24 doubles in 65 games with High-A Fort Myers. He also had 11 hits in the playoffs, including a 5-hit performance on September 5th.
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6. Bo Bichette, SS, Toronto Blue Jays | Blue Jays Depth Chart
All Bichette did during his age-20 season was hit 43 doubles and steal 32 bases while manning shortstop for the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, the 2018 Eastern League Champions. It’s unlikely that he’ll join Vlad Jr. in the Majors early next season, but he might not be too far behind.
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7. Peter Alonso, 1B, New York Mets | Mets Depth Chart
Alonso’s monster season (.975 OPS, 36 HR, 31 2B, 119 RBI between AAA/AA) ended in disappointment when he was passed over for a September promotion. As was the case with Vlad Jr., it didn’t make much sense to start his service time clock and fill a valuable 40-man spot during the offseason—neither Guerrero or Alonso have to be protected from the next Rule 5 draft—while the team is playing meaningless games. The 23-year-old Alonso did establish, however, that he is the Mets’ first baseman of the very near future, and they’ll plan accordingly during the upcoming offseason.
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8. Touki Toussaint, SP, Atlanta Braves | Braves Depth Chart
As tough as it will be to crack the Braves’ rotation in the coming years, the 22-year-old Toussaint has put himself in position to play a significant role in 2019 after posting a 2.38 ERA and 10.8 K/9 in 24 starts between Triple-A and Double-A. He’s also starting meaningful MLB games down the stretch as the Braves try to seal their first division title since 2013. After spending last October in the Arizona Fall League, where he followed up an underwhelming 2017 season by allowing 10 earned runs in 8 2/3 innings, he could find himself on the Braves’ playoff roster.
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9. Vidal Brujan, 2B, Tampa Bay Rays | Rays Depth Chart
The highest-ranked player to spend the entire season in Low-A, the 20-year-old Brujan slashed .320/.403/.459 while stealing 55 bases in his first crack at a full season league (27 games in High-A; 95 games in Low-A). He’ll still be overshadowed a bit in a deep Tampa Bay farm system that includes two of the best young prospects in the game, Wander Franco and Jesus Sanchez, but it’s hard to ignore such a rare combination of speed and on-base ability displayed by a switch-hitting middle infielder.
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10. Michael King, SP, New York Yankees | Yankees Depth Chart
The Yankees’ offseason trade that sent two MLB-ready players, Garrett Cooper and Caleb Smith, to the Marlins cleared a pair of 40-man roster spots prior to the Rule 5 draft and brought back $250K in international bonus pool money. They also received King, who—whether anyone expected it or not—was about to have a breakout season.
After posting a 3.14 ERA with a 6.4 K/9 over 149 innings in Low-A in his age-22 season, numbers that typically indicate “possible future back-of-the-rotation workhorse,” he looks to be much more than that after his 2018 performance. In 161 1/3 innings across Triple-A, Double-A and High-A, King posted a 1.79 ERA, 0.911 WHIP and 8.5 K/9. He was at his best once he reached Triple-A, posting a 1.15 ERA with only 20 hits and six walks allowed over 39 innings.
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11. Taylor Widener, SP, Arizona Diamondbacks | Diamondbacks Depth Chart
Unlike the trade to acquire King, the Yankees appear to have gotten the short end of the stick in a three-team, seven-player offseason deal with Arizona and Tampa Bay. They traded away Nick Solak to the Rays and Widener to the Diamondbacks in exchange for Brandon Drury, who was supposed to fill a short-term need for infield depth.
While Drury was a bust in New York—he had nine hits in 51 at-bats before being traded to Toronto in a July deal for J.A. Happ—Solak, a second baseman/outfielder, put up terrific numbers in Double-A (.834 OPS, 19 HR, 21 SB) and Widener has emerged as one of the better pitching prospects in the game. The 23-year-old right-hander posted a 2.75 ERA, 2.8 BB/9 and 11.5 K/9 over 137 1/6 innings with Double-A Jackson.
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12. Josh Naylor, 1B/OF, San Diego Padres | Padres Depth Chart
The offseason signing of first baseman Eric Hosmer certainly didn’t bode well for Naylor’s future with the Padres. Whether he had an MLB future at all, however, was already in question. First base prospects can’t just be good hitters. They need to mash, which is far from what Naylor did in 2017 (.761 OPS, 10 HR between Double-A and High-A). But a 20-year-old holding his own in Double-A is still interesting, nevertheless. So it was worth paying attention when he hit .379 with seven homers, five doubles, 13 walks and 12 strikeouts in April. He also spent most of his time in left field in 2018, adding a bit of versatility to his game.
Although April was his best month, by far, he still finished with an impressive .297/.383/.447 slash line. He’ll enter 2019 as a 21-year-old in Triple-A who has flashed some power (17 HR, 22 2B in 574 plate appearances) and above-average plate discipline (64 BB, 69 K).
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13. Eloy Jimenez, OF, Chicago White Sox | White Sox Depth Chart
Unlike the Jays and Mets, who had multiple reasons to keep Guerrero and Alonso in the Minors until 2019, the Sox’s decision to bypass Jimenez for a September call-up was more questionable.
Already on the 40-man roster and without much to prove after slashing .337/.384/.577 with 22 homers and 28 doubles between Triple-A and Double-A, Jimenez’s MLB debut appeared imminent as September approached. But White Sox general manager Rick Hahn, citing Jimenez’s need to improve his defense, confirmed in early September that he would not be called up. Of course, the 21-year-old probably would’ve benefited greatly from playing left field in the Majors for 20-25 games in September. And, of course, Hahn is just doing a good job of not saying the quiet part out loud: Eloy under team control through 2025 > Eloy under team control through 2024.
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14. Dean Kremer, SP, Baltimore Orioles | Orioles Depth Chart
After posting a 5.18 ERA in 2017, mostly as a relief pitcher in High-A, Kremer’s stock rose quickly with a full-time move to the starting rotation in 2018. In 16 starts for High-A Rancho Cucamonga, the 22-year-old right-hander posted a 3.30 ERA with a 13.0 K/9. After tossing seven shutout innings in his Double-A debut, the Dodgers included him as a key piece in the July trade for Manny Machado. Kremer continued to pitch well with Double-A Bowie (2.58 ERA, 45 1/3 IP, 38 H, 17 BB, 53 K) and now finds himself on track to help a rebuilding Orioles’ team in 2019.
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15. Nicky Lopez, SS, Kansas City Royals | Royals Depth Chart
Lopez started to turn some heads during last offseason’s Arizona Fall League, and it carried over into 2018 as he slashed .308/.382/.417 with nine homers, 15 stolen bases and more walks (60) than strikeouts (52) between Triple-A and Double-A. It’s a sign that the 23-year-0ld’s bat is catching up with his stellar defense and that he’s closing in on the Majors, where he could team with Adalberto Mondesi to form one of the better young middle infield duos in the game.
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16. Royce Lewis, SS, Minnesota Twins | Twins Depth Chart
The No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 draft didn’t disappoint in his first full professional season, posting an .853 OPS, nine homers, 23 doubles and 22 stolen bases in 75 Low-A games before a 2nd half promotion to High-A Fort Myers. He didn’t fare quite as well (.726 OPS, 5 HR, 6 SB in 46 games), but he did hit three homers in the playoffs to help his team win the Florida State League championship. It wouldn’t be a surprise if the if he reached Double-A early next season as a 19-year-old with a jump to the Majors in 2020 not out of the question.
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17. Michael Kopech, SP, Chicago White Sox | White Sox Depth Chart
Throwing a 100 MPH fastball isn’t as rare as it used to be, but Kopech has reportedly touched 105 MPH, putting him in a class of his own. Unfortunately, the 22-year-old right-hander is expected to join a long list of pitchers who have had their careers interrupted by Tommy John surgery after he was recently diagnosed with a torn UCL.
The timing isn’t great, as Kopech had just arrived in the Majors in late August and would’ve likely been a leading candidate for AL Rookie of the Year in 2019. Still, he’ll only have to prove that he’s back to full health before he returns to the Majors—he should be ready to return early in the 2020 season— after making a strong impression in Triple-A with a 3.70 ERA and 12.1 K/9 in 24 starts.
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18. Kevin Smith, SS, Toronto Blue Jays | Blue Jays Depth Chart
Not only do Guerrero, Bichette and Cavan Biggio likely form the best trio of infield prospects in the game, two are sons of Hall of Famers—Vladimir Guerrero Sr. and Craig Biggio, and Bichette’s dad, Dante, was also pretty good. And yet, another Blue Jays infield prospect with a very ordinary name and without MLB lineage managed to stand out. The 22-year-old finished the season with 25 homers, 31 doubles, 29 stolen bases and a cumulative .302/.358/.528 batting line between High-A and Low-A.
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19. Gavin Lux, SS, Los Angeles Dodgers | Dodgers Depth Chart
The former first-round pick wasn’t overly impressive in his first full Minor League season in 2017, slashing .244/.331/.362 with seven homers and 27 stolen bases for Low-A Great Lakes. A move to the hitter-friendly California League in 2018, however, seemed sure to give his offensive numbers a boost. It did. Lux had a .916 OPS and 41 extra-base hits in 404 plate appearances, but he also didn’t slow down once he reached the upper minors late in the year.
In 28 regular season games with Double-A Tulsa, the 20-year-old Lux slashed .324/.408/.495 with four homers in 120 plate appearances. It didn’t end there. Over an eight-game playoff run, the left-handed batter went 14-for-33 with five multi-hit games.
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20. Patrick Sandoval, SP, Los Angeles Angels | Angels Depth Chart
Acquiring the 21-year-old Sandoval from the Astros for free agent-to-be catcher Martin Maldonado could turn out to be the steal of the trade deadline. While the lefty didn’t stand out in Houston’s deep farm system, he was having a strong season at the High-A and Low-A levels at the time of the trade (2.56 ERA and 9.9 K/9 in 88 innings). The change of scenery didn’t affect him one bit as he tossed 14 2/3 shutout innings in the California League before finishing the season with four impressive Double-A starts (19 2/3 IP, 3 ER, 27 K).
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Power Ranking Leaders By Level
Triple-A
Hitter: Kyle Tucker, OF, Houston Astros
Starting Pitcher: Michael Kopech, Chicago White Sox
Relief Pitcher: Ian Gibaut, Tampa Bay Rays
Double-A
Hitter: Bo Bichette, Toronto Blue Jays
Starting Pitcher: Taylor Widener, Arizona Diamondbacks
Relief Pitcher: Matt Pierpont, Colorado Rockies
High-A
Hitter: Colton Welker, Colorado Rockies
Pitcher: Emilio Vargas, Arizona Diamondbacks
Low-A
Hitter: Chavez Young, Toronto Blue Jays
Pitcher: Jhonathan Diaz, Boston Red Sox
Short-Season A
Hitter: Tyler Freeman, Cleveland Indians
Pitcher: Jaison Vilera, New York Mets
Rookie
Hitter: Wander Franco, Tampa Bay Rays
Pitcher: Joey Cantillo, San Diego Padres
lol eloy at 13.
It really does say, in bold, that these aren’t prospect ratings. Perhaps being injured for a portion of the season allowed others to have more of the stats that he listed.
Jimmenez ranked 13 out of 20? That’s a bit questionable.
He had 100 to 150 fewer plate appearances than every position player ranked ahead of him with the exceptions of Vlad and Tucker. Vlad topping the list given his age and production is self-explanatory, and while Tucker and Vlad were more statistically comparable, the entirety of Tucker’s minor league season was spent in Triple-A. Jimenez played half the year in Double-A.
On a per-game or per-plate-appearance basis, Jimenez would be toward the top of the list, I’m sure. But he missed a fair bit of time due to injury, and this formula dinged him accordingly.
Alright, fair enough.
Would the same rank be given if Eloy was on the Yankees?
It’s a mathematical formula that weights various elements of players’ statistical outputs. It has nothing to do with players’ teams/organizations.
While I don’t think that he should be ranked like #3 on this list, I think that he should be higher than Josh Naylor at least. Even with missed time, he still has more home runs, and better OPS, plus while they’re the same age, Jimenez is in Triple-A.
I don’t think anyone is saying Naylor is better or has a brighter future, it’s just identifying the best performers in the minors this year. I love the roster resource site and I check these ranks weekly. Helped me find Jeff McNeil and David Fletcher in my deep keeper fantasy baseball league before anyone even knew who they were.
Steve Adams > Always with polite, intelligent, well-articulated rebuttals.
MLBTradeRumors’ MVP.
I watched Rengifo at High-A to start the season. He was so good he was gone quick to AA. Same with Jared Walsh.
The Yankees have had such a productive farm the last 3 years. I researched one day and the Yanks traded away about 7 prospects that are currently top 10 in the organizations they were traded to. I always like Solak but he was going to be blocked by Torres so he became expendable. Good to see his power developing.
Dan Vogelbach says hello.
A bit old for a prospect, no? I mean, he’ll be playing next season at age 26.
Too many Major League PA’s to qualify as a prospect anymore
Love the list. Just a little surprised Dan Vogelbach (20 HR, .979 OPS, .434 OBP)isn’t on here
He didn’t finish that close to the top of the list due both to his age (nearly 26) and the fact that he was up and down between the Mariners and Rainiers. He finished the year with 378 plate appearances in Tacoma. Had he totaled another 100-150 PAs there, he’d probably have been close.
Vogelbach is ranked #116 on the site.
Just wondering how Kyle Tucker is ranked as the top Triple A hitter in the power rankings at the end of the article , yet Vlad Jr is listed #1 at the start of the article.
It’s explained above because of the fact that Tucker spent the whole year at AAA and Guererros spent half the year at both AA and AAA, plus, he missed some time with injury. At least, that’s how I read it.
I talked to someone I know that works for the Padres, and their exact words were “we are waiting for his head to catch up to his bat.” I know he’s only 20, but he is immature and selfish, according to the same source.
How similar are these to the KATOH rankings?
I clocked Rengifo in A+ earlier this year, and man did he look good. but that he’d be up in AAA and still raking by season’s end? absurd!
Since when is Dean Kremer a left-hander?
Whoops! I’ll fix that now.
No mention of short stop Miller #30 of the padres?
.336 ba and went from rookie ball to double a after being drafted in June.
Great year by him, but also only played 75 games due to being drafted in June like you said. Games played are weighted into his formula. Read the comments above and see what Steve has to say.
Miller AND Patino are missing. oh well
check out /r/PadresFarm over in reddit. they’re not overlooked there
Josh Naylor has a real shot at a big league career. Of course, it’s way too soon to know how he’ll pan out, but I’m pulling for him.
Please note: This list is all about the PERFORMANCE of prospects. I hope that all of the A. J. Preller sycophants get a chance to read this. They could use a wake up call.
what exactly does that mean? i love me some AJ – he got us Tatis, Jr. for James ‘Big Inning’ Shields.
he’s had some misses, but more hits and some big ones.
IE, why is Owen Miller and Luis Patino not on this list? those guys killed it
but an East Coast bias is at play – and that’s fine, the way it’s always been. plus, my Padres have not proven that theory wrong…so on the org to change that.
you’ll see, it’s happening! HotLava come out of every minor league affiliate
GOPADRE
Oh? Tatis Jr. is a “can’t miss” prospect? That alone makes Preller a genius? Newsflash- There is no such thing. And he’s only one. Prospects don’t count as “hits” until they prove themselves in the Major Leagues. Period.
How many of our “prospects” led their leagues in anything? Hint: review the list above.
Preller is also controlling the lineup. Based on “his” guys to satisfy his ego, common baseball sense be darned. Mitchell? Margot? Just two examples. And if you think that’s not realistic, I would suggest you do some reading. It is far more common than the “average” baseball fan is willing to admit.
Why is Preller still employed? The Pomeranz fiasco should have been the last straw after a string of some very bad deals.
It amazes me that people still bash this guy, especially with how he has overhauled the farm.
Of course, all prospects are just “prospects” until they show they can hold their own at the major league level. That’s what it all comes down to with prospects: potential. It’s the same with every team. Tatis has just as much of a chance to bust as Vlad jr. Or eloy Jimenez. It doesn’t mean that it’s not impressive to see what Preller has done with the farm. He has stuffed it with more potential than it has seen in years. Yes, there will be prospects that bust, but that is the case with all teams’ farms.
The guy should be given credit that he has shaped the Padres’ farm to have the best chance in years of fielding a future contender. Sure, it might not end up panning out, but this teams’ future certainly looks a lot brighter than it was in years past under previous regimes.
I’ll keep this short and sweet:
1) The “farm” doesn’t win games, and none of Preller’s Prospects are dominating their leagues to the extent they’re drawing national attention.
2) We’ve had top ranked farm systems before. The only thing different is the names and the Cult of Personality surrounding Preller. In spite of his demonstrated lack of ethics and integrity.
3) He has demonstrated that he can’t scout ML-level players, especially pitchers.
4) In a total buyer’s market, just looking at this year, he got ripped off in the Hand/Cimber trade, and for some reason he gave away Ross for literally nothing.
Get back to me when/if we start winning where it counts.
You mean the one where the Red Sox traded the Padres an injured pitcher for a healthy one?
The farm doesn’t win games for other teams either. Tatis is no more likely to bust than Guerrero, Jimenez, Senzel, etc.
Dunno if I’d call the Hand trade a “rip-off” on either side. My issue with the trade from the Padres side is that Mejia doesn’t really fill a need.
He was about to lose Ross for literally nothing. Letting him go to the Cardinals on waivers will not hurt the Padres in any way.
An all-star closer and a middle reliever for a prospect that, as you said, “doesn’t fill a need” may not be a rip-off, but it’s certainly stupid.
Just like giving away Ross for nothing in a buyer’s market was stupid.
Preller either hasn’t got a clue, or he can’t deal with other GMs, or both. I am thoroughly and completely not impressed with him.
Well we already know that Preller can’t deal with other GM’s. But Tyson Ross as a pending free agent with an ERA in the 4’s and a spotty track record didn’t have much trade value to begin with. Wouldn’t surprise me to see him end up back in San Diego next season.
The fact is that Preller couldn’t get anything for a very serviceable starting pitcher in a seller’s market. Ross’ pending free agency is irrelevant. It shows a lack of their oft-stated “commitment to winning every game.”
To me, it was just one more example of a lie to keep us “stupid fans” happy.
Ross had no trade value and the Cards aren’t even using him as a starter.
He had pleny of trade value. It was up to Preller to get it. He failed.
What the Cards are doing with him is irrelevant.
Can’t really use who he got for “Big Game James” as a feather in his cap since he was the one dumb enough to negotiate against himself and sign Shields to a long term contract in the first place.
Eppler trades Cron and Maldonado and gets the Angels two great players in the above top twenty. And their probable closer (Ty Buttry) from Boston for Kinsler. Eppler rocks.
That’s what it takes to turn things around. Kudos to him if these guys pan out. Cron, Maldonado and Kinsler weeny getting any younger and
Weren’t getting any younger. Sorry.
Plus he drafted Adell, Marsh and Canning while also grabbing Simmonds for essentially Newcomb. Low key Eppler has been STELLAR.
Thats all not icnluding yung Ohtani.
It’s one thing to “rank” Eloy Jimenez 13th according to your “mathematical” formula but there’s no way you can justify leaving Dylan Cease, the other premium prospect acquired by the White Sox from the Cubs for Jose Quintana, completely out of the top-20 list. Cease was among the most dominating starting pitchers if not the best in all of minor league baseball by any statistical measure and he didn’t miss any time due to injury. The White Sox did shut him down late in the season because he had already exceeded his career high innings mark but that was only for a few starts. Leaving Cease out of the top-20 is a joke and makes a bigger one out of this particular ranking formula.
I don’t know the rhyme or reason as to why some guys get prospect attention and others don’t but it happens.
Yanks Garrett Whitlock- 1.86 ERA in 120 IP, 93 hits, 3 hrs allowed and 122 KO across A, A+ and AA.
In the case of Dylan Cease it has to be an oversite. The best comparative example on this list would be with him and 14th ranked SP Dean Kremer. Each pitcher is 22-years old and split the 2018 season between A+ and AA. I would love for anybody to compare their stats and argue that Cease (baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=cea…) shouldn’t be the equal or ahead of Kremer (baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=kre…) and how the former isn’t included in the top-20 list while the latter was.
these are not prospect ranks as stated in original story. Also the Eastern League that Kremer pitches in is a lot tougher than the Southern League that Cease pitches in. More runs, home runs per game and better batting average in the Eastern League. Basically tougher hitters, tougher to compare the two when they don’t play in the same league.
You cannot look just at the numbers.
My argument is based on the criteria given by Jason Martinez at the beginning of the article.
By that logic, the Eastern League is a lot easier for hitters than the Southern League. That should be a knock on Vlad Jr/Bichette and favor Eloy for their time in AA.
Along those same lines, Tucker spent his entire minor league year in the PCL…
Cease was ranked 25, he dropped 11 spots from 16th. This is updated regularly, yes cease’s overall numbers are great, but closed the season not as solid. Think of these as power rankings and nothing more.
“ not as solid as some that hopped ahead of him” would be more what I meant
He gave up 1 earned run in his last 6 starts (30.2 innings)… That’s good for a 0.29 ERA, and it included 48 K’s to only 12 BB’s… His OPS against was 0.354.
I’m not going to claim I know how everyone else finished their seasons, and I could definitely be wrong, but I find it hard to believe that they closed out the year stronger than Cease did.
If you are insinuating that Dylan Cease closed the 2018 season in less than “solid” form you couldn’t be more wrong. His numbers at AA were even more dominating than those posted at A+ ball. To prove my point you can check out his last 10 appearances at AA Birmingham (milb.com/player/index.jsp?sid=t247&player_id=…). Those stats are even more impressive when looking at his final 9 starts.
I don’t know if I would call Drury a bust with the Yanks. After suffering thru the migraines he simply lost his job to Andujar and Torres. He never really had a chance to show what he could do in the AL. 18 games and 57 PA isn’t much to go by.
That being said, The trade was one of the few by Cashman that I felt was a mistake. Drury may have been all that he was supposed to be, if healthy, but I felt Andujar and Torres were destined to take over 3B and 2B very early in 2018. Meanwhile, I felt Widener was going to be a solid prospect based off of his 2017 campaign. I also felt Solak was going to be a Dustin Pedroia type minus the gold glove. Most felt he would be Refsnyder 2.0 but he flashed more power than Ref ever did. Those two would be among the Yanks top 10 prospects if they were still with us.
Wow! This reminds me of how we used to scout players before analytics. Just an old fashioned common sense approach. Add seeing the player in action for yourself and it’s called scouting.
I was a bit surprised to not see Cavan Biggio on the list. His BA was nothing special, but he was among the EL leaders in nearly every other offensive category leading up to winning the EL MVP award.
Double-A Southern League featured 6 of the 20 players listed. It was a treat to see each of these players at one point or another during the season. Others like Cease, Taylor Ward, Nick Solak, Jared Walsh and Austin Riley find themselves just outside the upper echelon.
Can’t wait for Vlad to bomb….. so many whining Canadians will follow
Doubt that will make you feel any better about yourself.
Ok, “dummie”, Vlad may well “bomb”, but your definitive statement
(as opposed to “he’s over-rated” or, “I don’t believe that he’s gonna be that great”) implies that even though Vlad is the ONLY player to ever receive a perfect 80 rating on his hitting ability, means that if Vlad does in fact put up good-great #’s, that you oughta come back to this message board and “eat crow”.
I mean, I’m sure an entire continent of professional baseball scouts all have no idea what they are doing compared to some anonymous dudes on a free online message board. If he does end up “bombing”, then yeah, that would suck;
it wouldn’t be the first can’t-miss prospect to do so, won’t be the last.
And yes, I’m an optimistic keyboard jockey who believes that Vladdy will one day become a SIlver-Slugger First-Baseman who plays hopefully non-infuriating defence. **fingers-crossed**.
Love me some Nicky Lopez and was pleasantly surprised to see him on here, but unless they trade Whit (nearly a 5 WAR player this year) or maybe move him to the outfield, there’s nowhere for him to go.
Eloy should have been brought up, Eloy should have been brought up.. wah wah wah. Where is he ranked? #13
Cannot have it both ways: Either he is a beast and should have been up, or he is 13th and obviously needed seasoning.. which is it?
Stats or not, I guarantee if he were in the Yankees org they would have had him #1. somehow.
Eloy Jimenez’ ranking in this particular article and according to the criteria used has nothing to do with his MLB readiness. He is still the overall #3 rated prospect in MLB and finished the second half of the 2018 season with outstanding numbers at AAA after also dominating at AA to begin the year.
As previously pointed out by Steve Adams the organization for which a prospect plays for has no bearing on the rankings. The author of the article also happens to be Jason Martinez who is a self proclaimed Padres fan, not a Yankees supporter.