Everybody loves prospects. Prospects give us hope for the future. Prospects give us a reason to live. With no prospects, what do we have? I mean, aside from a lousy baseball team?
No one loves prospects more than baseball fans. Even if they haven’t seen them play, there is always the blessed slash line. And the future. The player is a blank pallet, the future allows us to craft a masterpiece. Or a four-year-old’s finger painting.
Most prospects have the benefit of no track record at the major league level. Just a lot of minor league numbers that may, or may not, transfer to the major league level. So, we can hope, which gives us life. Am I overselling?
Then there are the players who are still touted despite the lack of an impressive big-league resume so far. Still with a chance to avoid the Bustville offramp.
Given that preamble, here are some of the top young players to watch out for in 2017. Underline, “some.” I’m not going to bore you with a 100-player list. That’s for the big boy baseball writers. I’m here to provide chicken wings, bacon-wrapped scallops, and pot stickers.
Just the appetizers, please. Young players who could show up in more blogs than this:
BYRON BUXTON OF MINNESOTA TWINS
He’s been on the top prospect lists since the Clinton Administration, I think. He actually has the equivalent of a full major league season under his belt, but is still just 23. The numbers are not impressive so far, and I’m conditioned to take September numbers with a grain of salt.
However:
There’s 9 home runs in 29 games, and a .287/.357/.653 slash. A nice September line that might be Febreze for the rest of the season, except this was a player who was 22 at the time, and has graded out at near top of the scale for speed and defense in center field in addition to impressive power.
Also, BP writer Jason Parks quoted an executive with another team about Buxton, “Torii Hunter floor … and a Willie Mays ceiling.” Ok, I’m still listening.
YOAN MONCADA 2B/3B CHICAGO WHITE SOX
At 21, he has the world in his hands. And a bunch of Twinkies. Hopefully fewer than when he arrived in the United States from Cuba a couple of years ago. He discovered Twinkies at Wal-Mart, and was known to consume as many as 85 per week, according to ESPN The Magazine. Well, who could turn down that creamy treat once in a while? But I wouldn’t recommend 85, even in a year. Or a lifetime. Ding-Dongs, however….
Turns out when his agent took him to the dentist, for the first time in his life, Moncada had about 15 cavities. No word what his stomach looked like.
Now, armed with a dental plan and a little restraint ( five Twinkies a week?), Moncada is considered the game’s top prospect by many publications. After being traded from the Red Sox in the Chris Sale deal, he’ll get plenty of playing time to display his many tools.
A switch-hitter, he’s built like a linebacker (Michelin Man if he doesn’t overcome Twinkie addiction) tremendous speed, great arm, raw power but with a flat bat path that might not contribute to a bunch of home runs right away, but someday. All in all, pretty tasty.
DANSBY SWANSON SS ATLANTA BRAVES
Acquired in the trade that sent Shelby Miller, Swanson may set about to expose that as one of the most lop-sided trades ever — as early as this season. Scout comparisons invoke Derek Jeter. I know, you’re rolling your eyes, but the laundry list of skills indicates that potential.
He batted .302 with an .803 OPS in 129 plate appearances last season, which means he still
qualifies for Rookie of the Year — by one plate appearance. He’ll get every opportunity on
a young Braves team that is angling to be a contender by the time the new Braves stadium opens in a couple of years.
Plus, he has a name that fits all occasions.
ANDREW BENINTENDI OF BOSTON RED SOX
Everybody always says “sweet-swinging left-handed hitter.” What about right-handed hitters? Buster Posey? Who else?
Benintendi is a sweet-swinging left-handed hitter. He has hit well at every level and gives little indication that pattern will change with the Red Sox. They’re ready to put him in the Killer B outfield with Mookie Betts and Jackie Bradley, Jr.
College Player of the Year at Arkansas in 2015, #7 overall pick, just 22, homered in his first postseason at bat, batted .295 with an .835 OPS in 118 plate appearances last season with the Red Sox after batting .312 with more extra base hits than strikeouts in the minors.
Sweet, indeed. According to the Boston Globe, Red Sox hitting coach Chili Davis said, “he looks like freakin’ Marty McFly, but the ball jumps off his bat.” He has a compact swing and has put on weight to increase power. No flux capacitor needed.
TYLER GLASNOW RHP PITTSBURGH PIRATES
Listed as the No. 1 pitching prospect by MLB.com, Glasnow is a candidate for the #5 spot in the Pirates’ rotation for now. This spring, hadn’t exactly grabbed the bull by horns until the last two starts, when he struck out 14 in eight innings.
He has a mid 90’s fastball, two and four seam and a high-70’s curve. In his five minor league seasons compiled an ERA of 2.03 and 11.6 strikeouts per nine innings. At 6-foot-8 he should have no problem getting a downward plane on his pitches. The question is, will he
get more hype this year, or the next guy …
JAMESON TAILLON RHP PITTSBURGH PIRATES
It seemed likeTaillon was caught up in baseball’s Bermuda Triangle after being a top pitching prospect in 2013. Tommy John surgery in 2014, then hernia surgery in 2015. He emerged from the fog last year at age 24 and put together a solid season, first at AAA Indianapolis and then the major league Pirates.
He’s not the same pitcher he was before the surgeries. He’s wiser. Manager Clint Hurdle told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review those years weren’t wasted, that Taillon “developed and shaped himself in a lot of different ways other than pitching, and that grit plays out on the mound.”
In the wake of the Kirk Gibson era in Arizona, it’s easy to sniff at the word “grit.” In fact GRIT sounds like a Sabermetric stat. Grit does have some value, though it is hard to nail down until tough times arrive. He’s had plenty of those.
Taillon had a 3.38 ERA in 104 innings over 18 starts with Pittsburgh last year, and had a great K:BB ratio of 5:1. That’s grit, or something.
He features a four-seam fastball at 93-96 mph, a big curve ball and a better changeup than he had before the surgeries. Not that missing two years is necessarily worth a better changeup, but it could work out for him in the long run, as a strong candidate for No. 2 starter.
HUNTER RENFROE OF SAN DIEGO PADRES
How about a home run off Madison Bumgarner? How about a home run off the top of the Western Metal Supply Building, where no baseball has ever gone before in a game that counted? How about an intentional walk in your first major league plate appearance?
Not a bad debut for Renfroe, who has light-tower power.
The question will be how consistently he can make contact, but he has the arm and the power that you’d like from a right-fielder. With speedy Manny Margot in center, he should have some help covering the gaps.
He hit 30 home runs in El Paso, but only had 22 walks. More homers than walks is usually not a recipe for success, but the Mississippi State grad will get plenty of chances to develop at the major league level.
JHAREL COTTON RHP OAKLAND ATHLETICS
The A’s have struggled in many areas in the last few years, but always seem to find promising young arms. As much of a rap as Billy Beane gets, he could come out on the winning end of the deal with the Dodgers that sent the popular Josh Reddick and late-bloomer Rich Hill to Los Angeles.
He has one of the best — maybe THE best — out pitch in baseball, his changeup. He mixes in a fastball that can peak at 96 mph, and an improved slider and curveball. It’s enough of a repertoire to succeed as a starting pitcher.
Cotton isn’t tall at 5-11 but at 195 has a solid frame, and while he doesn’t have the downward plane of taller starters, but his over the top delivery can be deceptive, and the changeup can drop off the face of the Earth. If it was flat. Which I guess it may be if you ask some NBA players.
GLEYBER TORRES SS NEW YORK YANKEES
Even though Didi Gregorius is on the disabled list recovering from a right shoulder injury, and even though Torres won the team’s award for the top rookie in spring with a .448 batting average, Torres will start the season in Double-A Eastern League.
That is not expected to last long. Some in the Yankees media were already campaigning for Torres to make the team out of spring training, and if his spring and Arizona Fall League performances are any indication, he will play his way to New York soon.
Torres was obtained in the Aroldis Chapman deal. Chapman helped the Cubs win the World Series and is now back with the Yankees. The Yankees may not “win” that trade if the Cubs have the trophy, but this deal could pay off handsomely with a shortstop that scouts praise for quick hands, pitch recognition, the ability to hit to all fields, and the tantalizing prospect of increasing power as he matures.
LUCAS GIOLITO RHP CHICAGO WHITE SOX
Giolito has a mid to upper 90’s fastball and a terrific 12-to-6 curve. He didn’t pitch well with the Nationals in 21 innings last season,
but was sent to the White Sox in the Adam Eaton deal and is with an organization that has a good reputation developing young pitchers.
If he starts in the minors, it probably won’t be long before he gets a shot with the ChiSox. They’re looking for him to develop a reliable third pitch, likely a changeup.
Giolito comes from a showbiz family. Will a star be born in Chicago in 2017? You’ll want to stay tuned for upcoming episodes. Or check it on Netflix.
