Diego Benitez, SS, Venezuela Braves ($2,500,000) More 11. Holes will get exposed, and weaknesses will become magnified. His ability to locate his arsenal showed improvement over previous seasons as well. Indeed, the way Mead plays defense isnt typical for an infielder at all; its as if he grew up not watching big league defenders every summer, which might be true. Robert Calaz, OF, D.R. He rounds out his four-pitch mix with a mid-70s curveball that he threw just 6% of the time at Triple-A, but which accounted for 19% of his 0-0 offerings in his seven big-league starts, outranked in usage only by his fastball. Our 36th-ranked draft prospect as a high schooler in 2019, Lee is a switch-hitting shortstop with above-average power who walked nearly twice as often as he struck out as a junior. Hes a good hitter who will stabilize an infield spot in Cincinnati for the next half decade or so. He must turn 16 before he signs and be 17 before Sept. 1 the following year -- in practical terms, that means players born between Sept. 1, 2004, and Aug. 31, 2005, will be eligible to sign in the upcoming signing period. document.getElementById("comment").setAttribute( "id", "a7bf68d6b9a4d3fa424865cb41953ca6" );document.getElementById("fe53143262").setAttribute( "id", "comment" ); Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. He practically straddles the plate and was hit by 20 pitches during an injury-shortened regular season, then was somehow beaned seven more times in just 17 Arizona Fall League games. Were projecting heavily on Abels command in anticipation of him growing into his body and arm speed. 2022 Elite Extra Edition will feature autograph and memorabilia hits form this year's top draft picks, prospects and DPL stars! 55. He may just be a DH, which would obviously make it tougher for him to profile, but there may be elite on-base ability here and that plus the power might be enough for Julien to make an impact that way, too. SS Ricardo Cabrera, Venezuela: Arguably the best hitter available this year, Cabrera is also a sound defender with "soft hands, good footwork and the type of range that will make him at least an average shortstop," according to MLB.com. There isnt an official source from which to draw that info early on. Across the season as a whole, his fastball only sat 95 mph, and in his final start of the year it was mostly in the 93-96 mph range, which is a two-tick regression from 2021, when Rodriguez sat 96-98 all year. -- $300,000, BravesJohn Estevez, OF, D.R. Look under the hood and there is cause for concern. Hes begun to solve the former problem by occasionally catching on one knee with one leg splayed out, la Carlos Ruiz, which allows him to be lower to the ground and present low pitches moving back toward the zone. What you have it what you can spend. Its fair to consider him a high-floor, low-variance prospect because Romos defensive ability and rocket arm make him very likely to be a plus defender at maturity, and even a one-note style of offense (Romo both lacks power and is relatively impatient) tends to profile at catcher. Guardians 2023 Top 50 Prospects, No. 45 SS Welbyn Francisca He runs well enough to play an outfield corner and were projecting him there, la Schwarbers trajectory. No doubt aided by the hitting environment of the Pacific Coast League, Busch swatted 32 home runs and 70 extra-base hits last season. Michael Arroyo, SS, Colombia Mariners ($1,375,000) More 42. Just be honest with yourself about the risk involved. Accimias Morales, RHP, Venezuela Dodgers More 38. Janero Miller, OF, Bahamas: Marlins ($950,000) More 17. Its worth developing him at catcher for at least a while since that position is at the very top of the defensive spectrum, and Paradas other seemingly viable positions are at or near the bottom. He was sitting 95-99 mph throughout entire outings, and punched out at least eight hitters in each of his final 11 starts, culminating in a 13 K postseason outing against Vanderbilt when his stock reached its pinnacle. The Mariners are listed as the favorites to sign two of. . If theres a real long-term concern that has become evident as a result of Yorkes year, its that he seems injury prone and has now had several disruptive maladies in the last couple of years. : Blue Jays+ ($4,100,000) More 8. Jameson is also a extremely competitive and has the makeup for a late-inning role should he eventually have to make way for some of Arizonas other good young starters. The floor here is XL Freddy Galvis with worse defense, but there will be some peak seasons where more of the power plays and he produces like a star. He worked out in Panama during the offseason and the Guardians thought he was a full-go for spring training 2023, the start of his 40-man evaluation year. He slashed .274/.381/.429 at mostly Low- and High-A in 2022 before wrapping up at Birmingham. Tony Blanco Jr., OF, Dominican Republic Pirates ($900,000) More 12. As Ive honed a process for this over the years, my first step is to source rumored bonus amounts, often hopping on the phone with people who are involved with international players or scouting to see who they know will be receiving $1 million or more. Combine that with your standard issue Astros breaking ball complement (a hard 90-mph cutter/slider and a slower knuckle curveball) and you very likely have an impact big league arm, if a somewhat inefficient one. Though he doesnt throw the pitch a ton, his changeup feel is also very good and currently more consistent than his feel for his new slider, though we expect that will come. Jones swing isnt quite dialed in. He hardly threw his changeup at all (just 6% usage), and his numbers against lefties were particularly affected by its omission. If there is a draft, it could remedy some of the exploitative aspects of the current system, namely billion-dollar sports franchises (and the cottage industry of training facilities in Latin America) dealing with, and sometimes leveraging power over, impoverished minors. It can take him a while to get to the ground and even when he does, he tends to give up long rebounds that allow runners to advance anyway. International Player Update | FanGraphs Baseball He sports ridiculous all-fields power from the left side of the plate, floats from base to base with huge, graceful strides, can clock home-to-first times close to 4.00 seconds, and still has room for much, much more mass on his frame before it detracts from his mobility enough to push him off shortstop. At one point, his in-zone contact rate was in the ninth percentile among minor leaguers, even while his triple slash line was out of this world. Ronny Mo is on the very edge of the threshold of viability in this respect. Importantly, Lucianos strikeout rate returned to his career norm of 22%, indicating he adjusted after the whiff-prone end of 2021. He didnt throw a ton of strikes and the visual quality of his stuff was closer to average overall than plus or better, which is how it looked in high school. Poised to be a post-2023 40-man add, Flores worked just over 100 innings in 2022. Play-by-play data prior to 2002 was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted Not all of the pitchers who showed a velocity increase during 2020 Instructional League activity, which came after the prolonged pandemic layoff, have sustained that bump. 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. Simon Juan, OF, Dominican Republic Mets ($1,900,000) More 17. Details On MLB's International Draft Proposal Its tough to gauge where Woods eventual defensive home will be. Generally considered a polished, high-floored prospect, theres now a fair bit of volatility here. Then Nelson had a dominant 2021 season spent mostly at Double-A Amarillo, striking out 163 hitters in 116.1 innings, all as a starter. For now, his ability to bend and get deep into his legs, as well as his lateral agility and range, is pretty amazing for a player his size. Healthy Espino is a physical freak with exceptional talent and drive, and his continued presence on the 100 is as much a bet on his demeanor and makeup as it is his ability. The bat is Steers carrying tool and has been since his days at Oregon. He checks literally every scouting box, and for as much as analytical boxes matter for a high school hitter, he checks those, too. For now, its amazing how sentient his feel to hit is considering his age and size. Mayers underlying TrackMan data is only okay. Ive had the opportunity to stockpile an entire tier of players without fear of being sniped. Camilo Diaz, OF, D.R. A patient, discerning hitter, Carters breaking ball recognition and feel for the strike zone is excellent. Miller pairs the heater with a sharp, mid-80s slider and locates both with consistency, good for a combined 50% strikeout rate, while issuing just three walks across 14 innings in 2022. The offensive package, even with a bat-to-ball blemish (for now), is still befitting of a star-level talent at shortstop or third base, wherever Henderson ends up playing. Over the course of two years worth of showcase play tracked by Synergy Sports, amounting to roughly 250 swings on tape, Jones never pulled a ball to the left of the left-center field gap, and all but about a dozen of his airborne balls in play were to right field. The Dodgers and Blue Jays forfeited $500,000 from their pools for signing players who had rejected qualifying offers -- Trevor Bauer and George Springer, respectively -- last offseason, so each has a pool of $4,644,000. Its possible that aspects of his repertoire will be pared down in relief. A free swinger with huge pull power, Ramirez has performed in the low minors despite offering at just about anything. That was not the case on defense, however. There are 13 prospects from Venezuela, two from the Bahamas and one each from Cuba, Mexico and Korea. Hes on pace to spend most of 2023 at Triple-A and be added to the Dodgers 40-man after the season, though its plausible that the big league club will have enough injuries ahead of him on the depth chart to accelerate his timeline. Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association finalized a deal in March 2020 that addressed the international signing period during the pandemic. Cartayas exchange is absurdly fast for a player his size, and he actively hunts baserunners when they reach, a threat to throw to the bases at any time. Hes also worked to make himself more lithe and athletic since first arriving on the Dodgers backfields shortly after he signed, when Dodgers coaches were asking a fresh-faced Vargas to make mid-game swing-changes that incorporated more movement into his conservative cut. He can be beaten with high velocity more regularly than anything else, but if pitchers miss and catch too much of the meat of the zone, that mistake is going to get hit hard somewhere. His Trackman data makes clear why his offense is so worthy of this line of development. It looked like he would continue his dominant performance at the higher level. He will reach back and show you a plus arm when he needs to. Brando Mayea, OF, Cuba: Yankees ($4,350,000) More 10. Even more precocious than Prezs velocity is his fastball command, which is absurd for a 19-year-old, let alone one who throws this hard and is also this size. Hes now a career .303/.394/.533 hitter and has had meaningful statistical success up through Double-A, where he spent about a month toward the end of 2022. He had his second straight fair offensive season as a pro, as he produced a 95 wRC+ at High-A, mostly thanks to his ability to put balls in play. Yorke was the biggest surprise of the 2020 drafts first round. He was on pace to start 2023 at Double-A and be in the mix for a big league roster spot at some point in 2024 if he kept hitting. His fastball now sits 95-99 mph, up seven ticks from his college days, and while it currently relies heavily on its velocity rather than its below-average shape, a scout we spoke with was optimistic regarding the 22-year-olds ability to continue to improve the offering, singing Graceffos praises when it comes to his work ethic. Certainly from a velocity and spin (about 200 rpm) standpoint they had, though each is still capable of missing bats. The Marlins made him the sixth overall pick. -- $325,000Luis Lameda, SS., Ven. Now, after what might be a delayed start to his 2023, hell be asked to hit the ground running after only playing half of last year. Still, this is a 6-foot-7, 240-pound 20-year-old who might add weight commensurate with his frame as he matures, and the way that shakes out will have a significant impact on his defensive future. Hes short, he gets way down the mound (which helps create shallow angle on the pitch), and even though he has a three-quarters arm slot, his hand position is more north/south on release, which helps him create backspin and ride on the fastball. Miller has huge stuff and has been hurt a lot. Naylors speed is also rare for a catcher. The switch hitter has improved in every facet of his game as he has matured physically in the last year, and he has a chance to have plus speed, arm, and raw power as a result. Theres still risk Rafaela walks the Cristian Pache path, as his issues are similar to the ones that have apparently undone the young Athletic, but more likely hes akin to Kevin Pillar, and there are scouts who think Rafaelas frame will continue to add strength such that he hits for more power than Pillar was able to. -- $497,500Jose Mejia, INF, D.R. 1. -- $600,000Hector Liriano, OF, D.R. . Its comforting that there are contemporary examples of hitters making a huge impact who share Chourios potential blemish, ones who make that impact despite all the ponchados by getting to big power. If a draft is put in place before then, it will likely impact how much money those players receive and which team they end up working for. Hendry Chivilli, SS, D.R. The area in which its most important for him to show late growth is on defense. "Consensus No. By the end of the year he was late on any sort of real velocity, struggling to get on top of fastballs up and away from him, and spraying most of his contact down the third base line, unable to turn on much of anything. His delivery is freaky loose, particularly in his upper back and shoulders, which we think portends better future command than hes shown so far in Oakland. Neto had an incredible statistical 2021, a performance he reinforced by hitting on Cape Cod and then again by hitting (checks notes) .407/.514/.769 (!) His frame makes him pretty likely to slow down with age, but as he fills out hell probably grow into elite raw power. : Guardians+ ($1,375,000) More 29. Scouts like Priester, pitch data does not. The consensus No. Vargas is expected to show more raw power and rack up extra-base hits as he fills out his frame. He hit a whopping .324/.373/.600 at Low-A Carolina during the first half of the year, then slashed a more pedestrian .252/.317/.488 (as an 18-year-old!) Hassells performance tanked after the Juan Soto trade, and he broke his hamate in Arizona after the regular season. There is some analytical fire to back up the smoke the scouts are smelling. In the past, teams could trade for an additional 50 percent of their bonus pool, though bonus pool trades have been prohibited since MLB and the MLBPA agreed to changes in response to the pandemic. : Red Sox ($1,400,000) More 26. Abdidas De La Cruz, SS, Dominican Republic D-backs ($1,100,000) More 37. You run the risk of essentially wasting your entire draft while the managers around you are adding safer bets. : Nationals+ ($550,000) More 40. Ramos footwork around the bag needs polish, and his frame is big enough that his range might eventually be an issue there depending on how he fills out, but in limited action Ramos looks fine enough to justify continued development at the keystone. Top Baseball International Prospects | MLB.com Its a complex situation without, so far as I can conceive, a nice, clean solution that perfectly addresses all of the issues surrounding the safety, well-being, and agency of these young amateur players, whose plight I consider the most important issue at stake. We are still in a holding pattern with Veen because the length of his swing continues to make it very difficult for him to turn on fastballs. His strikeout rate improved upon promotion to Triple-A, albeit in a smaller sample. From the right side of the plate, he shows tons of bat speed with a big loft. Angel Cepeda, SS, D.R. Davis skills and offensive style are tailored like those of Evan Gattis. Black Bears in World Baseball Classic | West Virginia Black Bears Jun-Seok Shim, RHP, S. Korea: Pirates+ More 11. Barger has huge left-handed bat speed and a shot to stay on the dirt, just not at shortstop. Still on the 2B/SS line, the lift in Arroyos swing helps him get to impact power for a middle infielder. Once a two-way prospect, Winns skills in the batters box quickly won out, and hes been developed solely as a position player. Throw in the visual twitch and athleticism, and this is the player Spotifys algorithm would recommend to FanGraphs if prospects were musical artists. Felix Morrobel, SS, D.R. But theyre severe enough to dial down the previously plus grades on Rocchios defense and consider him a future average shortstop, while keeping an eye on how he looks there this spring. As you would probably expect from a hitter with such a steep swing (this is about as steep as one can get without it becoming a problem), Pages swings and misses a fair bit, but not enough that it makes his prospecthood feel flimsy.