With pitchers and catchers reporting in less than a month and the smell of spring training in the air, we here at Last Word On Sports present our top MLB prospects by position for the 2016 season, showcasing the future top talent of the major league level.
BREAKDOWN: According to Major League Baseball, all players who have not exceeded 130 at-bats or fifty innings in the majors still qualify for rookie status, also qualifying them as prospects. Our list doesn’t follow these standards. If any player made one appearance for a major league team, they do not qualify for out list. So you won’t be seeing any of Byron Buxton, Corey Seager, Joey Gallo, or Steven Matz on our list. We considered only the players who have never tasted the major leagues. We have selected one player per position, including a right-handed and a left-handed pitching prospect. Without further ado, here’s the list.
RHP – Lucas Giolito, Washington Nationals
Lucas Giolito’s path toward the major leagues resembles a path that is becoming a recurring theme in the game today. One of the top prep pitching prospects going into the 2012 MLB Draft, Giolito sprained his UCL, which forced him to miss most of his senior year. He then had Tommy John surgery after the Nationals drafted him sixteenth overall that June. He took a massive step forward in his full season debut with Single-A Hagerstown in 2014, throwing 110 strikeouts in 98 innings, and continued that success into 2015 between Class A-Advanced Potomac and Double-A Harrisburg, totaling 131 strikeouts in 117 innings, both career highs.
Giolito has the potential to be a future ace for the Nationals. He commands a fastball that routinely hits mid-90s and can touch 98 and a 12-to-6 curveball that he releases with strong force, and maintains great command on both pitches. If Giolito continues on this pace during the early part of the 2016 season, expect him to make his major league debut for the Nationals as they compete for a division title.
LHP – Julio Urias – Los Angeles Dodgers
The Dodgers could have never predicted the aggressive performance by Julio Urias when they signed him out of the Mexican League as a 16-year old in 2012. The bright, young prospect has sliced through every level of the minors he’s faced, including dominating in Double-A Tulsa last season as an 18-year old, producing a 1.00 WHIP and tossing seventy-four strikeouts in 68.1 innings.
Urias has a complete arsenal at his disposal. He throws an electric low-to-mid-90s fastball with excellent movement and deception, to go with a collapsing curveball and disappearing changeup. Like Giolito, he contains above average control of all pitches, especially for his age.
The Dodgers have stated since they signed him that they are going to take their time progressing Urias, but don’t be surprised if you see him make his major league debut sometime this season.
C – Jorge Alfaro – Philadelphia Phillies
Jorge Alfaro only accumulated 190 at-bats last season in Double-A Frisco following ankle surgery; however, the Phillies were glad he was included in the blockbuster Cole Hamels deal at the trade deadline last season.
Alfaro has what most teams want in a major league caliber catcher: a power arm and power bat. The 22-year old from Columbia has great natural jump off his bat from the right side, though he is susceptible to strikeouts. His throwing arm is arguably the best in the minors, regardless of position, and he is athletic enough to handle full-time catching duties.
The Phillies are looking forward to a healthy full season from Alfaro in 2016, and if all goes well, he should be worthy of a call-up sometime during the 2017 season.
1B – A. J. Reed – Houston Astros
After winning virtually every NCAA Baseball award possible in 2014 as the best power hitter and starting pitcher for the Kentucky Wildcats, A. J. Reed found himself drafted in the second round by the Houston Astros that June. His full season debut didn’t disappoint; Reed led the minors in runs, home runs, total bases, RBI and OPS, and was named Carolina League MVP before ascending to Double-A Corpus Christi, where he extended his success.
Despite his power bat, he also has tremendous patience and composure at the plate. He can drive the ball to all gaps, while also collecting his fair share of walks. Even at 6’4″, 240 pounds, he is still athletic enough to be a competent defensive first baseman. He also has a fairly strong arm for his position, recalling back to his pitching days at Kentucky, where he consistently hit low-90s.
Reed’s bat could be used by Houston in 2015 on their way to a playoff push in the American League West.
2B – Yoan Moncada – Boston Red Sox
When you factor in the bonus and the penalty they had to pay for fanning through their international money pool, the Boston Red Sox have spent $63 million on Cuban sensation Yoan Moncada. The money seems to have been spent wisely, as Moncada had a successful first full season for Single-A Greenville, slashing .278/.380/.438 with forty-nine stolen bases in eighty-one games.
Moncada is above average in all tools except fielding, but is athletic enough and has the range and arm strength to be adequate at second base. He has one of the highest offensive ceilings for players at his position, as scouts are comparing him to Robinson Cano. The 20-year old switch hitter makes steady contact from both sides of the plate, and has the potential to become a 15-20 home run-per-year hitter.
His timetable is uncertain at this point of his development, but his performance so far is enough to assume that when he is ready, he has All-Star major league second baseman written all over him.
3B – Austin Riley – Atlanta Braves
When the Atlanta Braves traded Craig Kimbrel to the San Diego Padres the day before Opening Day of the 2015 season, they not only rid themselves of Melvin Upton Jr.’s contract while acquiring outfielder Cameron Maybin and rotation piece Matt Wisler, but also received the Padres 2015 Competitive Balance A pick at 41. With that pick they chose Austin Riley, who scouts were looking at more as a pitcher than position player. Atlanta slotted him at third base, and with the season he produced, they may have come up with the steal of the 2015 draft.
In sixty games in Rookie ball, Riley slashed .304/.389/.544 with twelve home runs and forty RBI, establishing himself at 18-years old as one of the premier third base prospects in all of baseball. Riley is already an impact power bat, and although he does have the tendency to strike out, as most power hitters do, his strike-zone awareness is favorable for his age. Riley has the chops to play third base full-time, yet his ability to hit and his athleticism should bode well for him at any position.
Hall of Famer, and long-time Braves manager, Bobby Cox compared Riley’s power to that of Atlanta’s power hitters of the 90s: Chipper Jones and Ryan Klesko. With few power hitters in their farm system, the Braves would love for Riley to become that type of hitter in the majors.
SS – J. P. Crawford – Philadelphia Phillies
To say that the shortstop position is loaded in the minors would be a vast understatement. Players such as Orlando Arcia (MIL), Dansby Swanson (ATL), Trea Turner (WSH), Brendan Rodgers (COL), Alex Bregman (HOU), and Gleybor Torres (CHC), to name a few, are all the top 1-2 players in their respective teams’ farm systems, and all rank consistently in the top-forty of overall major league prospects. However, the best of them all is really no contest.
J. P. Crawford has shined in the Philadelphia Phillies farm system since he was drafted out of high school in California with the 16th pick of the 2013 draft. Crawford is an impact player at every facet of the game. His defensive approach is sensational, and he possesses exceptional range and hands to keep him at shortstop for years to come. His progressive accession at the plate for his age is astounding, as he draws more walks than strikeouts and has great power to the gaps, despite not having much over-the-fence crack to his bat.
The Phillies had perennial All-Star Jimmy Rollins manning short for fourteen seasons. With him gone, Crawford should be the next one to step up, possibly on Opening Day 2016.
OF – Lewis Brinson – Texas Rangers
Drafted 29th overall out of Coral Springs, Florida by the Texas Rangers in the 2012 draft, the 21-year old Lewis Brinson had imposing natural talent at every aspect of the game. His lone weakness was his propensity for striking out, as he was second in the minors with 191 strikeouts in his full season debut. Brinson has since learned to polish his right-handed swing, and produced marvelous numbers in 2015.
In 100 games across three minor league levels, Brinson amassed thirty-one doubles, twenty homers, and sixty-nine RBI, while slashing an outstanding .332/.403/.601. He also has exceptional speed, totaling eighteen stolen bases.
His batting average throughout the minors won’t hold up in the majors, but his power will. As he learns to perceive pitches better and smooth out his approach, he will draw more walks. Brinson’s combination of power and speed is unlike any in the minors today, and he could consistently reach 30-30 seasons in the majors.
Texas has one of the top minor league systems in baseball; it also features outfielder Nomar Mazara and the already-established power king, Joey Gallo. However, with his five-tool approach, Brinson might prove to be the best of the bunch.
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