With the Rule 5 Draft looming, we’ll touch on a few more names who could find themselves with a new organization in the next few days. We’ll also start our pivot to offseason mode, highlighting prospects who are in the news.
Five BHPs In The News
Grayson Rodriguez, 22, SP, BAL (AAA)
69.2 IP, 12.53 K/9, 2.71 BB/9, 2.20 ERA
If not for a lat strain, Rodriguez would have graduated from prospect lists. The Orioles are in the market for multiple starting pitchers, but Rodriguez reportedly has an inside path to an Opening Day role, per MLB.com’s Jon Morosi. The consensus top pitching prospect in the league wields upwards of five above-average offerings with a superstar-caliber changeup as his headliner. Rodriguez’s rookie campaign will go a long way toward determining if the Orioles can build upon their surprising 2022 success.
Anthony Volpe, 21, SS, NYY (AAA)
(AA/AAA) 511 PA, 21 HR, 50 SB, .249/.342/.460
The Yankees aren’t expected to be active participants in the shortstop market this winter largely because Volpe and Oswald Peraza await in the wings. Peraza already has a successful 57 plate appearance stint in the Majors, albeit with worrisome exit velocities. Getting back to Volpe, he only has 99 plate appearances of experience in Triple-A and might merit further seasoning. He hit just .236/.313/.404 in the minor’s highest level, good for only a 91 wRC+. His swing is geared for extreme fly ball rates. As a result, his batting average might play below his raw tools. If he continues hitting over 50 percent fly balls, he profiles as a future 40-homer threat as he ages into more strength. Initially, he might frustrate with too many softly hit flies and pop-outs. There’s also potential for him to tighten up his launch angle to sacrifice a few home runs for better outcomes on average. Volpe has multiple pathways to superstardom.
Matt Mervis, 24, 1B, CHC (AAA)
(A+/AA/AAA) 512 PA, 36 HR, 2 SB, .309/.379/.606
A frequent guest of this column in recent months, Mervis charged through three levels while greatly improving his contact rate and plate discipline at each stop. For icing on the cake, he turned in a quality performance in the AFL. He’s very much in consideration for an Opening Day role as the Cubs first baseman or designated hitter. Chicago is reportedly on the hunt for a first baseman, but that won’t necessarily affect Mervis since designated hitter is also vacant. He profiles as a way-too-early frontrunner for NL Rookie of the Year.
Ji Hwan Bae, 23, 2B/OF, PIT (MLB)
(AAA) 473 PA, 8 HR, 30 SB, .289/.362/.430
Bae turned in 37 solid plate appearances in the Majors. Like Peraza above, Bae posted an above-average batting line despite worrisome quality of contact. He mostly played second base and shortstop in the minors with some time in center field too. Outfield might be his best path forward on the Major League roster. There’s a whiff of Tommy Edman to Bae. He has defensive utility, a speed-first profile, and makes low-angle contact leading to high BABIPs and rare home runs. The Pirates are said to be considering middle infield additions which could affect Bae’s Opening Day assignment.
Adam Macko, 21, SP, TOR (A+)
38.1 IP, 14.09 K/9, 4.70 BB/9, 3.99 ERA
The Blue Jays acquired Macko as half of the return for Teoscar Hernandez. A mystery injury prevented Macko from working much this season, though he did appear in the AFL. The upcoming season is his Rule 5 evaluation year which might push him toward a bullpen role. He has the stuff to start – a three-pitch repertoire of average or better offerings. The southpaw is inconsistent, often losing command of his secondary offerings. Predictably, his fastball plays down when this happens. When he’s on, he mows through low-minors hitters as evidenced by 14.09 K/9 and a 15.8 percent swinging strike rate.
Five More Rule 5ers
Kameron Misner, TBR (24): Originally acquired in exchange for Joey Wendle, Misner has plus discipline, power, and speed. He’s a capable defensive centerfielder. Misner has yet to taste Triple-A despite never posting a below-average batting line. His biggest weakness is a lofty strikeout rate, but the rest of his profile seemingly supports this drawback. Among hitters, Misner would top my personal Rule 5 wishlist as a fifth outfielder and potential righty-masher.
Ronny Simon, TBR (22): Although he lacks Misner’s physicality and upside, Simon might be even more likely to be selected. He performed well in the Arizona Fall League following solid High- and Double-A campaigns. At the plate, Simon hides swing-and-miss issues with aggression. He’s developed sneaky pop and has shown a willingness to steal bases. Simon is a utility man who fits best at second or third base.
Andres Chaparro, NYY (23): The Yankees infield depth likely led them to leave Chaparro unprotected. He’s coming off an impressive performance at Double-A including a .289/.369/.594 line with 19 home runs in 271 plate appearances. The main knock against him is a lack of durability. He’s a corner infielder by trade.
Adrian Hernandez, TOR (22): A diminutive right-hander (by baseball standards), Hernandez is a changeup specialist who succeeds by keeping opponents off balance. Between his stature and pitching approach, it’s an unusual profile. ‘Unusual’ tends to do well in the current meta. Hernandez pitched well early in 2022. He struggled upon returning from a shoulder injury.
Cam Devanney, MIL (25): Although he’s never really appeared on prospect lists, Devanney made a swing adjustment last season. He now looks like a sure-fire Major Leaguer. He flashed power and adequate discipline at Double-A and performed well in a brief trial at Triple-A. His most attractive trait is utility – he’s proven himself a capable defender at shortstop, second, and third base.
You just described Devin Mann, Dodgers in the last guy mentioned. Mann has an even better track record & more positions. Good luck to all the kids. Noda of the Dodgers should go too
Bae is on their 40 man roster and isn’t available for the Rule 5 draft
Per article I assume the Red Sox have no big hype candidates as the rest of the AL East teams are covered with a sprinkle of cubs and Pirates. Too bad!
Expect to see an Orioles prospect on this list for the next year or two. We left the cellar unlocked for ya Red Sox fans.
The cellar is dark, can you Orioles fans give us some directions. You know, seeing how youre so familiar hanging out down here.
Chapparo looks like the real deal, and Volpe’s speed plays, add in Dominguez and Peraza, you’d think the Yanks would be prioritizing their pitching staff.
He is, which is why I don’t understand them protecting some of the pitchers they protected over him. Weird.
Chapparo is in the rule 5 draft? Whose got the first pick?
Yep. Unprotected. It’s going to be one of Nationals, Pirates, Athletics, Reds, Royals.
Perhaps in that order, perhaps jumbled based on the lottery results because they’re all so close.
The Nats, but they just signed a 3b and have two other 3b prospects that need evaluation. They might still take Chapparro and use him as a 1B/DH, but they’re probably going to take pitcher. It’s hard to get to excited about the Rule 5 draft, but Chapparro seems like the best prospect in that draft for a long while.
Volpe is supposed to be a combination of Trout, Bo Jackson, Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, Ted Williams, and post-steroid Barry Bonds. So the expectations are low.
Yeah, and hoping that he doesn’t turn out like Kevin Maase or Sam Horn.
Honestly, many of the most recent comps of him are with Alex Bregman. Frankly, if he were to reach Bergman’s level of play, we’d be very, very happy with that.
“Trout, Bo Jackson, Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, Ted Williams, and post-steroid Barry Bonds” and now “Bregman”
or maybe Dante Bichette Jr.
Yankees fans claim Blake Swihart was overhyped. I never heard anything like this about him. I Volpe is a bust, soooo much.
Well, the hyperbolic statement/comps of baseball greats was blatant sarcasm, but it slipped past you, so my apologies. I’ll stipulate “/s” for the record. The Bregman comp is fairly recent (past year) and is from industry scouts (non-Yankee included).
Obviously they didn’t confer with you when they made that assessment so I’ll have a chat with them and rectify that for next time since you haven’t heard of that.
I don’t recall a more overhyped prospect, in the past 10 years, than Volpe. My goodness.
Dominguez, Adell, Kelenic, Profar, etc, etc. Volpe just has a bigger media following. He’s not even number one. Look at all the number one prospects that haven’t worked out… same story.
Well Astick, it sounds like you haven’t been paying much attention the past 10 years. Also doesn’t sound like you understand what overhyped means
Dang, looks astick just met inthemud
I think a lot of the hype comes from the Yankees sitting out two consecutive great SS FA classes to give Volpe or Paraza the job. In the end it could just be a case of Hal being cheap.
Joe, that’s a great point. The Yankees actually amplified this so much by sitting out, then making disastrous choices that failed, very publicly.
I hope Volpe is what Cashman says or he is going to have to move to Alaska.
It’s more poor allocation of funds by Cashman than Hal being cheap. This team has had too many highly paid but underperforming players in recent years. They’ll also have nearly $100MM committed to just Judge, Cole, and Stanton, once Judge re-signs. The Yankees need quality, cheap, and controllable players to help balance out the payroll. They can’t have an expensive veteran at every position
Yeah I guess cheap wasn’t the best choice of words. There has been some poor decisions made in recent years. Trading for Stanton when they already had Judge was not a good move. In hind sight, post spider tack Cole has been a waste of money. It’s hard to blame the FO for it but maybe some research would have been helpful before handing out that contract.
The Stanton trade was a reactionary move to the team over performing in 2017 and also missing out on Ohtani. They would have been better off waiting another year for Harper. However, I still wouldn’t call the Cole signing a bad move. He’s not 2018/19 Cole anymore but he’s still a top 10 SP and the ace the Yankees needed
I always defend that trade without the benefit of 20/20 hindsight. Stanton was the reigning NL MVP coming off a 59 HR, 132 RBI season. The Yankees basically gave nothing up and even got the Marlins to throw in $3M per season.
That’s a fair argument but Stanton added to an already right handed heavy lineup and he still costs the Yankees $22MM against the luxury tax. Harper was available just one year later and it was widely reported that he wanted to play for the Yankees. A bit of patience would have served the Yankees well there
Agreed, Harper was their play. Stanton was great, but as usual, Cashman’s blind spot resides in his inability to makes acquisitions to complement and build the whole roster, versus simply getting a good deal as an isolated transaction.
Wouldn’t mind seeing the Cubs give Mervis a chance on Opening Day.
If he has a good spring training, he’ll be on the Opening Day roster. Nothing left to prove with the bat.
O’s fan looking forward to watching Rodriguez get his shot. That said, love the Mervis story. Not a Cubs fan, but will definitely follow his 23 ST campaign.
I guess Elly De La Cruz is a sleeper, then?
He’s not a rule 5 guy. This wasn’t a list of the top 5 prospects in all of baseball, just a selection. They do these quite often but given that there are 30 teams with multiple prospects of note, they can’t always talk about your guy(s).
Here’s the article where they talked about De La Cruz:
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2022/08/big-hype-prospects-chourio-de-la-cruz-harrison-tovar-tiedemann.html
Looking forward to seeing Grayson. Looks like the real deal.
Misner was the return for the Joey Wendle trade. If he gets permanently taken, then the Rays gain on that trade was salary relief and a failed lotto ticket.
Volpe reminds me of Profar I’m the sense that he has massive hype but the numbers in the minors aren’t terribly impressive.
275 GP
.380 OBP
.505 SLG
89 SB
Not a Yankees fan, but how are those not impressive numbers from a SS?
In what world are those numbers not impressive? Because he’s a Yankee?
> With the Rule 5 Draft looming, we’ll touch on a few more names who could find themselves with a new organization in the next few days
Some of these guys are on the 40-man roster and cannot be selected.
Devanney is a player I looked at as far as Brewers sleepers go. FWIW, it’s also worth noting he could have struggled in 2021 because he completely skipped A-ball as a whole (as in EVERY A level).
Wonder if he is there if the Ms would take Volpe? He could fill in the same spot as Toro had play some PH and run. Would seem to be a low risk High reward type guy. I could see them taking Macko if he is still there. He could be the long relief role that was taken by Flexen after they trade him for a LH/SH LFer.
Seattle should have 1 spot open on 40 man to stick a rule 5 draft pick. Jerry could be looking to replace Marte who would have been the perfect guy to take over at 2nd. He was the infield depth player that Jerry never developed according to some. Whatever happens I expect Jerry to be in on Rule 5 Draft usually is.
They should select him even if he isn’t there.
Exactly. Very confusing article.
I’m warming up quickly to the possibility of Ji Hwan Bae making the big league club out of spring training as a super utility guy with a chance to win the CF job outright in April. He may have to beat out Marcano for the job, though. Castillo is in that mix, too. May the best man (or men if they keep two) win.
Very ichiro like it appears right? Slap hitter.
until Castillo learns how to hit righties he’ll be the odd man out
Matt Mervis is not eligible to be selected in the Rule 5 Draft. sorry….