Welcome to this year’s breakdown of the top prospects across baseball. This year’s list will summarize each team’s best prospects by division. That’s right, we’re going across the board with scouting grades and a little inside scoop on how these prospects are doing altogether. We saw plenty of prospects last year graduate to the major league level and hopefully, some of these players will get that opportunity this season. Today we look at the top prospect from each team of the AL East.
AL East Top Prospects
Jackson Holliday, Baltimore Orioles
Scouting grades: Hit: 70| Power: 60| Run: 60| Arm: 55| Field: 55| Overall: 70
Jackson Holliday has gone unnoticed this spring. He has played in ten games, hitting .323 with a .957 OPS to go with two doubles, two triples, five RBI and a home run. To break camp with the Orioles, Holliday has to be ready to play second. The club prefers to have him there who can split time with Jordan Westburg. Holliday has repeatedly shown he’s up to the task throughout the spring as he continues to make a strong case to make the team out of camp.
Marcelo Mayer, Boston Red Sox
Scouting grades: Hit: 55| Power: 55| Run: 40| Arm: 60| Field: 55| Overall: 55
The fourth overall pick in the 2021 MLB Draft, Marcelo Mayer‘s 2023 season didn’t go accordingly. Boston’s top prospect hurt his shoulder in May, going on the injured list in early August, ending his season. When healthy, Mayer has a phenomenal left-handed swing and projects to have plus power in his peak years. He can play fantastic defense at short, get on base, hit for power, defend and run. Hopefully, Mayer can have a bounceback season to resolidify himself.
Jasson Domínguez, New York Yankees
Scouting grades: Hit: 50| Power: 60| Run: 55| Arm: 55| Field: 50| Overall: 55
Jasson Domínguez reached the majors last year, just four years removed from signing a $5.1 million bonus and more hype than any Dominican player since Miguel Sanó a decade prior. Domínguez had had his season end prematurely when he needed Tommy John surgery on his throw elbow. Before the injury, he showed why he was the club’s highly touted prospect, with plenty of hard contact in the majors in Triple-A, topping out around 110 mph and hammering fastballs at any velocity. He has outstanding bat speed and easy plus power and looks to be a plus defender in center if he gets the chance to play there.
Junior Caminero, Tampa Bay Rays
Scouting grades: Hit: 60| Power: 70| Run: 50| Arm: 55| Field: 50| Overall: 65
Junior Caminero‘s not going to be on the Opening Day roster. However, he has time to develop his game as he skipped Triple-A entirely when he came to the majors last year. He’ll likely be back with the Tampa Bay Rays before the All-Star break. He’ll make hard contact when he arrives, but the arrival of Caminero depends on the Rays’ other infielders. How they address the shortstop problem, whether it’s Amed Rosario or Taylor Walls, Caminero is not a solution there. He moved from shortstop to third base more full-time in 2023. He has enough arm for either spot on the left side and should be average defensively.
Ricky Tiedemann, Toronto Blue Jays
Scouting grades: Fastball: 60| Slider: 60| Changeup: 60| Control: 45| Overall: 55
Ricky Tiedemann threw 44 innings in the regular season while battling injuries to his left shoulder and biceps. He made four starts in the AFL to try to make up for some of the lost time. He did regain the velocity that had been missing at the end of 2022, bumping 98 mph. Workload will be the name of the game for Tiedemann in 2024. Some Triple-A polish is needed considering Tiedemann still hasn’t thrown more than 84 pitches in a single start. There could be a scenario where the lefty is a multi-inning weapon in the second half of the season. That will help as a way to limit innings and help what’s expected to be a postseason contender in the AL East.
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