Anthony began writing over 10 years ago, starting a personal blog to cover the 2011 MLB draft, where the Pirates selected first overall. That pitch plays up against lefties for reasons that are probably obvious, but it isnt a nasty pitch in a vacuum. Oneil Cruz, SS Video Signed: July 2nd. While likely of low impact, Solometos feel to pitch will almost certainly enable him to be a big leaguer of some kind, either a backend starter or long reliever. Pedro Alvarez / 3B 2. Gonzales hands work in a short, explosive loop. Vilade spent some time near the top of the Rockies list due to his feel for contact. Injured Arms Matt Fraizer, CF His size creates some stiffness and imbalance during his swing, which can lead to him putting suboptimal contact in play. Blanco is a gigantic corner outfield/1B prospect who had the most present raw power in the January 2022 international signing class. He also has a promising sweeper slider, but he lacks typical physical projection for a teenage pitcher. in the minor league phase of the 2022 Rule 5 Draft. He was one of the younger players available in the 2022 draft and yet at a listed 205 pounds, Kennedy is more physically mature than most of his peers, even some who are a year or two older than he is. Instead, Triolo looks like hell be a superutility guy. This also may have been part of why the Pirates lost so many players (11!) Endy had an incredible 2022 statline .323/.407/.590 most of which was generated at hitter-friendly Greensboro. His swing is quite uphill from the left side and he can tend to swing underneath fastballs up and away from him, but overall he is very difficult to make whiff inside the strike zone despite his steep-launch style of contact. Martin has plus-plus raw power and a 30-grade hit tool, not enough for first base but maybe enough for consideration overseas. Readers should note that taking an aggressive line with players like this has yielded predictably mixed results in the past (so far, so good: Kevin Alcantara, Marco Luciano, Alexander Canario, Jordy Vargas, etc. Pirates Reds: NL West. In August of 2022, Jun-Seok announced he would skip the September KBO draft in order to sign with an MLB club right away. In his time at Bradenton, Chandler struck out 33 batters over 26 innings, and while his walk rate was an unacceptably high 15.8%, thats actually down a notch from what he was allowing over a larger sample on the complex. Mechanically, Burrows adds additional length to his 6-foot-2 stature with an over-the-top delivery. Neil Walker / 2B 5. His carrying tool is still his defense, especially his receiving, which is crafty and advanced. Pittsburgh to add him to their 40-man roster after the season, indicating that hell be a big league relief option in 2023. Maikol Escotto, 2B Nolasco had two years of surface-level statistical success in rookie ball and the huge exit velos to match, but now after three pro seasons, his strikeout rates show a troubling upward trend. FanGraphs released their top 100 prospect rankings on Wednesday. If he does end up having relevant chase issues, he might track like a left-handed hitting Brendan Rodgers, but Johnsons makeup and personality are so universally lauded that its fair to expect him to make relevant adjustments and become a key cog on Pittsburghs next competitive team. They had a ton of depth and a need to fill their Triple-A roster with external veterans in case of injury, and its likely that they mis-evaluated some of their own players who they should have protected, players like Trey McGough, Cristian Charle, Joelvis Del Rosario, Austin Roberts, Wilkin Ramos, Jared Oliva, and Peter Solomon, all of whom have either been on past prospect lists or were flagged for interesting performance or characteristics during this list cycle. Hes different from Kieboom (lever length) and Kiura (simpler footwork) in meaningful ways, but that entire group (and Downs) has had issues with letter-high fastballs, which Gonzales often swings underneath. Malone, a former first round high schooler who was part of the Starling Marte trade with Arizona, has barely pitched since he was acquired, and dealt with shoulder injuries in 2022. There were only three big league hitters with 100 plate appearances who had sub-70% in-zone contact rates in 2022 (Chris Morel, Brett Phillips, Eli White). We considered Glenn a high priority senior sign in the 2021 draft, but he needed to hit all the way up the minor league ladder and didnt do that in 2022. As FanGraphs sourced TrackMan/Hawkeye data from team personnel after the season, De Los Santos hard hit rate and peak exit velocities stood apart from most of his peers, especially when limiting the sample to the DSLs age-appropriate players. Counter to our past reports, his swing is rather stiff and some of Lopezs length makes him vulnerable to pitches in on his hands. Moreover, he has one of the more unusual profiles in professional baseball. His swing is already geared for lift, but he doesnt currently have the raw juice to make the most of it. It can be found here. Reports, tool grades, . Major League and Minor League Baseball data provided by Major League Baseball. His 2022 performance deserves some age-related adjustment, but its possible we saw flaws in Pegueros game exposed by upper-level pitching. DeVito brandishes a five-pitch arsenal headlined by a filthy splitter, but he struggled to locate any of his pitches well enough for them to really complement each other. Across his 94.1 innings, he racked up 111 strikeouts against just 31 walks, with a 1.21 WHIP. JP Massey, RHP Updated: Saturday, March 4, 2023 4:51 PM ET, Park Factors Eddy Yean, RHP Their top ten, in. Blake Cederlind, RHP Spending all season at Triple-A, he put up decent numbers, striking out roughly a quarter of opposing batters and allowing just four homers all season. For instance, hes struggled badly on defense, wracking up 46 errors combined the last two seasons. 2023 Offseason Tracker. He has now struck out nearly 30% of the time during each of the last two seasons, but hes still performed comfortably above the league average at each stop because of the quality of the contact he does make. His arm action looks longer and looser than it was in his injury-shortened 2021, and his upper body appears more closed, which might be helping him hide the ball longer than before. Antwone Kelly, RHP His curveball was his only secondary to induce an above-average chase rate. It had exploded even further when he was seen following the pandemic shutdown, as he sat 95-97 mph and was touching 101 during the 2021 regular season. Obviously the 2021 draft was the big one, and seven players from that class are currently on the list. Not exactly on topic, but Id love to get some thoughts on the recently graduated Jack Suwinski. This is one of those prospects fantasy players should value more highly than this because of his potential home run output, whereas defensive limitations cause us to value his real-world roster fit in this range. He was ranked 25th on the Pirates list at the end of 2022, but we were blown away after watching him on video and seeing some of his underlying DSL data during the construction of this list. March 3, 2023. Out over the plate, he has a tendency to stay inside fastballs and lift them toward the opposite field gap. His quality of contact is very good when he does make it, and is already on par with the typical starting major league second baseman even though hes barely 22. This time around, the Top 100 has even more Moreno types, prospects who combine . Unfortunately, he then lost the 2020 season to the pandemic and most of 2021 to a shoulder injury he sustained just 12 games into the season. Hes a fun one cause he had 20 grade defense apparently but scored positive defensively and 30 grade speed but ran nearly 29 feet/second. His swing decisions and ability to make contact out front and tap into his latent power improved throughout the season. That said, it's getting harder. Barco is a low-slot lefty with advanced command and several underlying pitch traits that give clubs hope of more upside even though he looks like a lower-variance backend starter prospect on the surface. He has above-average bat-to-ball skills and very little power. Drafted: 1st Round, 2022 from Mays HS (GA) (PIT), Signed: July 2nd Period, 2018 from Dominican Republic (NYM), Drafted: 1st Round, 2021 from Louisville (PIT), Signed: July 2nd Period, 2018 from Dominican Republic (PIT), Drafted: 1st Round, 2019 from Cary-Grove HS (IL) (PIT), Signed: July 2nd Period, 2017 from Dominican Republic (ARI), Drafted: 10th Round, 2018 from Waterford HS (CT) (PIT), Drafted: 3rd Round, 2021 from North Oconee HS (PIT), Drafted: 2nd Round, 2019 from Houston (PIT), Signed: July 2nd Period, 2017 from South Korea (PIT), Drafted: 2nd Round, 2020 from La Mirada HS (CA) (PIT), Signed: July 2nd Period, 2022 from Dominican Republic (PIT), Drafted: 1st Round, 2022 from Campbell (PIT), Drafted: 2nd Round, 2020 from Ball State (MIA), Drafted: 16th Round, 2018 from Randolph-Macon College (PIT), Drafted: 8th Round, 2019 from Seton Hall (ATL), Signed: July 2nd Period, 2018 from Venezuela (PIT), Signed: July 2nd Period, 2023 from South Korea (PIT), Drafted: 2nd Round, 2021 from Gloucester Catholic HS (PIT), Drafted: 2nd Round, 2022 from Florida (PIT), Signed: July 2nd Period, 2018 from Cuba (STL), Drafted: 1st Round, 2020 from New Mexico State (PIT), Signed: July 2nd Period, 2015 from Dominican Republic (LAD), Signed: July 2nd Period, 2019 from Pei-Ke High School (Taiwan) (PIT), Drafted: 4th Round, 2022 from Troy HS (NY) (PIT), Drafted: 2nd Round, 2021 from Malvern Prep HS (PIT), Drafted: 1st Round, 2020 from South Carolina (PIT), Drafted: 15th Round, 2021 from South Alabama (PIT), Drafted: 1st Round, 2018 from South Alabama (PIT), Signed: July 2nd Period, 2016 from Venezuela (PHI), Drafted: 3rd Round, 2022 from Notre Dame (PIT), Signed: July 2nd Period, 2019 from Taiwan (PIT), Signed: July 2nd Period, 2016 from Bahamas (CLE), Drafted: 4th Round, 2019 from Florida State (PIT), Drafted: 11th Round, 2016 from Valley View HS (PA) (PIT), Drafted: 4th Round, 2017 from Rockwall Heath HS (TX) (NYY), Drafted: 34th Round, 2016 from Lees Summit HS (MO) (KCR), Drafted: 6th Round, 2017 from Tracy HS (CA) (PIT), Drafted: 4th Round, 2021 from U-32 HS (PIT). Rodriguezs arm is comfortably plus. Hes an arm strength reclamation project with a shot to pitch in Pittsburghs bullpen. Still, his tendency to roll his wrists over early in his swing, breaking up his attack angle, resulted in a groundball rate above 50%. Looking forward to fangraphs being wrong Campman92 5 min. He was passed over in the 2022 Rule 5 Draft despite his stuff quality because hes so raw as a strike-thrower. Some of his early-career success seems to have stemmed from his physical maturity. He also mixes in the occasional changeup or curveball, which accounted for a combined 11% of his offerings at Low-A. He threw it 16% of the time (up from 9% the previous season) and induced a 53% whiff rate with this power-action, mid-80s change. Maggi is, by definition, a Major Leaguer. The 2021 edition of this list featured some carping about Eric Longenhagen ranking Gabriel Moreno in the 100, because he was the exact kind of player who might not have been highly regarded in earlier eras of public prospect evaluation but who had all the markers of future success. RotoGraphs. As a right-handed hitter almost all of Endys damage is done on outer-third pitches that he can get fully extended against. He doesnt always look comfortable out there, but his speed makes him viable at all three spots, solidifying his role as a heavily-used role player even without the power production. All of the ranked prospects below also appear on The Board, a resource the site offers featuring sortable scouting information for every organization. Axiel Plaz, C His defensive versatility will allow the Pirates to play in-game matchups that take advantage of Baes speed and ability to put balls in play. Chen began his career with 26 consecutive walk-free innings in the 2021 Florida Complex League, then spent all of 2022 at Bradenton, where he had a solid second pro season, carrying a 3.76 FIP across 98 innings. Melendez (sitting 97) and Mateo (sitting 95) are upper-level relievers with poor control. Besides Johnson and Harrington, two other 2022 draft picks made the top 30. Scott, Siani, and Campana all have big physical tools and have all struggled badly from a bat-to-ball standpoint. Johnson often ends his swing with his torso having made a full 180 degree rotation, sometimes swinging with such ferocious bat speed that he loses his balance and faceplants in the batters box. Sergio Campana, CF Hes on the 40-man roster and will likely get a chance to sink or swim on the big league roster in 2023. After spending most of the year at Triple-A, where he hit .289/.362/.430, Bae spent the last couple weeks of the 2022 season as an everyday member of the big league club, where he seems likely to stick throughout the coming season as a lefty-hitting 2B/OF. While prospect list ultimately isn't what makes a player great, it is . 2018 Brewers batting, pitching, and fielding traditional and advanced stats. Not counting his time at the alt site in 2020, last season was Boltons first time back in competitive action since 2019. Solometo was a very high-profile amateur pitcher, drafted in the second round but given a bonus commensurate with the 24th overall pick ($2.8 million) as one of several exciting high schoolers who Pittsburgh landed with the pool space freed up by Henry Davis under slot agreement. The pitch has natural tailing action, but Ortiz can also blow it past hitters at the letters when he wants, and his TrackMan data shows hes mixing in four- and two-seamers in the locations where theyre most effective. Here hes projected as a no. Once-Loved Outfielders His slider has a sweeping horizontal shape, but his inability to locate it has hampered its utility. He then played for Taiwans National Team at the WBSC U23 World Cup and helped los Caimanes de Barranquilla win the Colombian Winter League and later the Caribbean Series. The swing length and approach combination is scary enough to keep Lopez out of the 40+ FV tier even though he has this sort of upside. Swaggerty matched the nine home runs he posted in 2019, but this time, he did so against better pitching, in fewer at-bats, and in a much less hitter-friendly park, and he improved on his walk rate by a couple of ticks. So the question is, was there actual improvement in his ability or is this just noise in the signal? Gonzales had a 68% Z-contact% as a 23-year-old at Double-A. Every once in a while he will show you the power, and hes very good at hitting pitches out away from him to the opposite field with authority, but you can get him out if you can execute location against Gonzales, and big league pitchers often do. Either way, he played over half the season in the outfield and was roughly average, which is much better than I would have expected after the reporting on him previously called him a positionless defender. feels like the more realistic path to an eventual 45-grade role, or above. All UZR (ultimate zone rating) calculations are provided courtesy of Mitchel Lichtman. Jose Tabata / OF. D-backs Dodgers Giants Padres Rockies: Offseason Tools. A core scouting rule of thumb is to take the long view with catchers who have impact offensive potential. He was promoted to Bradenton and fell into a rhythm where each pitching appearance was buttressed by an off day before and after it, with the 19-year-old DHing in the intervening days. The powerfully built Kelly, 19, is a squat but loose righty who sits 93-95 mph and throws quality strikes with his fastball. If a clearer path at third base existed in this org, that might have been enough for us to do it. . Clubs like the Pirates arent making buyers trades, so they have little to no incentive to move a potentially great young player, which in turn means teams have little incentive to scout said player. He has a career .387 OBP but hasnt been able to actualize his plus raw power in games, driving the ball into the ground at a whopping 66% clip in 2021 and a 54% rate in 2022. DeVito is a bird of a feather that has flocked together in the Pirates system: a promising arm with in-zone swing-and-miss, but one whose unsteady command has prevented him from capitalizing on that whiff rate. He entered the 2022 spring as a high-probability 40 FV prospect who some scouts thought belonged in the 40+ tier because of pitching approach changes Barco could make in pro ball that might enable a breakout, but he ended up blowing out his UCL and having Tommy John in May. Hes been able to maintain nearly average contact rates despite a pull-heavy approach to contact. Hernandez showed up to 2022 spring training with a harder breaking ball than he had previously shown, and as the season went along, he added to his fastball as well. White was seen early and often as an underclassman since he went to a Philadelphia high school with University of Virginia outfielder Chris Newell, and would frequently match up against the Siani brothers during varsity play. Its possible Flowers strike-throwing consistency will make a big league manager feel secure going to him with consistency in the middle innings, but on stuff he projects more as a near-ready up/down reliever. Andres Silvera, RHP. He showed a velo spike (92-96) at the onset of the 2022 college season before his arm strength and command regressed. He has become meaningfully stronger over the last year and has more of a balanced, low-ball swing now, as opposed to the slash-and-dash style of contact in his pro debut. Diego Cartaya (37) - Catcher Cartaya is listed a little higher in The. After coasting through the low and mid-minors, he finally hit a speed bump in 2022, posting his first below-average statline as a 21-year-old at Double-A Altoona. Oliver Mateo, RHP Joness velocity and breaking ball quality (a power, mid-80s slider with vertical action) give him the floor of a really good reliever, especially if he can somehow throw harder an inning at a time. That puts pressure on his plate discipline to improve, since right now Lopez is a little too proactive at the plate and might be exposed at the upper levels. He moved into a minor league relief role in 2022. You can see the power and athleticism in Davis lower half throughout other aspects of his game, and its an indication that he has the ability to polish this stuff up and control the running game. A fresh start with a new org (he was a waiver claim this offseason) might help him find a swing that produces more power. He did not pass. Johnsons swing bears some mechanical resemblance to Bryce Harpers, especially its lower half usage and finish. Very Young Prospects to Monitor Even with that in mind, any team would be happy to sign a teenager with this kind of stuff for just $750,000 of their bonus pool. Across the 2022 calendar, Davis had nearly as many HBPs as he did extra-base hits, to which the wrist fracture likely contributed. Amid a couple of short IL stints in 2022, Selby put up impressive numbers split between Double- and Triple-A and then looked great in the Arizona Fall League. FanGraphs Prospects. Because theyre about the same age as high school draft prospects, apples-to-apples projection and tools comparisons are feasible, which then allows you to triangulate where theyd be selected in a draft based on those comparisons and get a sense of how to FV them. Triolo has long been viewed as a glove-first third baseman whod likely have some big league utility, similar to D-backs third baseman Emmanuel Rivera. Tony Sanchez / C 6. Podcasts: . Luigi Hernandez, RHP. He signed for $900,000 and barely played in the 2022 DSL. From a heuristics standpoint, you cant do much better than Rodriguezs profile. On the showcase circuit, he was less whiff-prone than is typical for a multi-sport guy from the Northeast, though he was a pull-only hitter and struggled to contact fastballs in the upper/outer quadrant of the zone. Kennedys delivery is simple, compact, repeatable, and easy-looking, and you can project heavily on his changeup because of this, though right now he often gets underneath it and it tends to cut on him. Theyve tripled since his claim-staking 2019 DSL season and Nolsaco Kd at a whopping 34% rate in the 2022 Florida State League. The reason why he graded out so positively was due to his arm, gunning down runners like crazy, which was fantastic, and his tool grade for his armwas a 40. 2023 600 PA / 200 IP Projections Steamer600.