List season continues this week here at Razzball. It’s a stressful time for yours truly, if I’m honest with myself, as I don’t have time to write about everything I’m noticing just under the surface of prospect world. Stress isn’t negative all the time. It’s also exciting in this case. Tickles the geek inside my haunted carnival of a baseball mind to check in with each and every prospect and rearrange them rung by rung, tier by tier. 

I’ll try to stay concise in between the tiers here, but you can access a more in-depth consideration of each individual player by clicking on their names or skimming around in the 2022 Minor League Preview Index

Here’s a link to the top 25, Prospect Rankings Update: Corbin Carroll Headlines Top 25 for June 22.

 

26. OF Jackson Chourio | Brewers | 18 | A | 2024

Chourio gets his own tier because he’s kind of on his own island at the moment. If you asked ten prospect-tracking people to pick the number one guy by this time next season, you’d probably hear Chourio’s name more than once.

 

27. 3B Josh Jung | Rangers | 24 | AAA | 2022

28. 3B Jose Miranda | Twins | 23 | MLB | 2022

29. SS Marco Luciano | Giants | 20 | A+ | 2023

30. OF Brennen Davis | Cubs | 22 | AAA | 2023

A healthy Josh Jung is a top ten guy. Torn left labrum is scary stuff for any ballplayer, but especially for a right handed power hitter. That front shoulder is doing a lot of work.

Jose Miranda is a pretty good example of a front-shoulder-dominant hitter, reminiscent of Albert Pujols to my eyes. He didn’t start his career like Pujols did, but that was only ever a stylistic comparison. He’s still having the swings-at-everything problem some premium contact hitters experience at the highest level, but he’s also slashing .361/.378/.722 with 3 HR and a 218 wRC+ over his last 11 games. I’d say he’s rewarding the organization for its confidence in him, but Minnesota demoted him in the middle of this stretch. 

You could argue to put Marco Luciano lower. I wouldn’t quibble with dropping a no-speed, low-contact power bat, but hope remains that Luciano becomes something better than that. He reduced his strikeout rate by 14 percent year-over-year in High-A after scuffling for a 36 game stretch there last season. Have to be wary of the phrase “repeating the level” when it’s used in contexts like this one. I mean, sure, it’s technically true, I guess, but it’s not the same as spending a full season somewhere and then not graduating in the eyes of your organization. It will be interesting to see how the team handles his early success because it currently looks like he’ll be in AA as a 20-year-old before the year ends.  

If I can give Jung a pass despite a frightening injury with potentially deleterious impacts over the long term, I can extend the same courtesy to Brennen Davis, who doesn’t have Jung’s plate skills but brings big power upside in an era (is each new permutation of the baseball an “era” now?) where that’s dwindling. Davis had surgery to alleviate a vascular malformation that pushed against a nerve, which sounds a little like blood clots and seems scary in ways well beyond baseball, but we’ve got little choice but to hope for the best. Might be a good time to buy if a contender is looking to use his spot in your league, but I would definitely want discount pricing. 

 

31. OF Esteury Ruiz | Padres | 23 |  AAA | 2022

32. 2B Ezequiel Duran | Rangers | 22 | MLB | 2022

33. RHP Edward Cabrera | Marlins | 23 | MLB | 2021

And now we reach Oddball Herrera’s moment on the list. Major credit and thanks to Oddball for pointing me in Esteury Ruiz’s direction on a bi-weekly basis in this space. Hope you read the comments and nabbed Esteury early in your leagues because he’s looking like a star. Hasn’t slowed down either as I’ve been checking his lines just about every day, slashing .361/.429/.778 with 4 HR and 8 SB over his last ten games. Preposterous.

Ezequiel Duran is one of those really irritating guys I liked way before it was cool but don’t have anywhere now that’d I could use him in every single league. I did a solo podcast back in 2019 and rambled on and on about Duran. Wish I’d listened to myself.

When healthy, Edward Cabrera features otherworldly stuff, such as a 94 mph changeup, 83 mph slider and 99 mph fastball. He looks healthy and unhittable at the moment. 

 

34. 2B Vidal Bruján | Rays | 24 | MLB | 2021

35. 3B Elehuris Montero | Rockies | 23 | AAA | 2022

36. C Henry Davis | Pirates | 22 | AA | 2023 

I’m concerned about Brujan being disproportionately damaged by the new big league fooly balls. He’s looked good on defense, and Tampa tends to give plus defenders a lot of time to figure out the hitting side of their game. Brujan is drilling everything into the ground, but he’s still showing positive plate skills (8% BB, 14.7%) and might be able to find some holes in time (.155 BABIP). I’m not thrilled to see he’s 1-for-4 stealing bases, but I saw two of those CS happen in the moment, and they could not have been closer.

Elehuris Montero got promoted again this week. He’s limiting strikeouts and producing power at AAA, so let’s hope he gets an extended opportunity. That’s never gone wrong, right? Hoping the Rockies will play a guy who has nothing left to prove in the minors?

I’m impressed Davis is already in AA after dominating High-A for 22 games (179 wRC+). Trouble is he’s been on the IL since mid May or he might have landed even higher. He only got two games in at Double-A but homered in his first. 

 

37. OF Robert Hassell III | Padres | 20 | A+ | 2023 

38. C Francisco Alvarez | Mets | 20 | AA | 2023

39. OF George Valera | Guardians | 21 | AA | 2023

40. 1B Triston Casas | Red Sox | 22 | AAA | 2022

41. OF Michael Harris II | Atlanta | 21 | MLB | 2022

42. OF Pete Crow-Armstrong | Cubs | 20 | A | 2025

Robert Hassell is another guy who’s repeating a level but not really repeating a level. After struggling for 18 games in High-A last year, he’s come on strong in 2022, slashing .305/.374/.449 with 6 HR 15 SB in 43 games.

There’s nothing in New York to stop Francisco Alvarez from his multi-season charge to claim that job. His ETA says 2023 here because that’s a veteran team with an inside lane on the playoffs, but he could debut this season and make the playoff roster if he stays hot. Pretty rare for a catcher to accelerate his timeline like that though. 

Feels like George Valera has been around forever, but he’s just 21 and sailing through AA slashing .281/.388/.491 with 8 HR, 2 SB and plus plate skills (14.4% BB, 23.9% K). 

I don’t know what to do with Triston Casas, who I’ve never liked as much as consensus. He deserves a spot, but his .248/.359/.457 slash line is less than you’d expect from a corner bopper the prospect world loves to hype. 

I can’t overstate how much I love typing “crow” into a search bar and finding the baseball player I want. He’s yet to be really tested in the lower minors, but his defense is good enough to float the profile through some potential barren patches. 

 

43. SS Marcelo Mayer | Red Sox | 19 | A | 2025

44. RHP Max Meyer | Marlins | 23 | AAA | 2022

45. RHP Camilo Doval | Giants | 24 | MLB | 2021

The Sawx elected to send Marcelo Mayer to full-season ball, where he’s slashing .323/.393/.527 despite a 29 percent strikeout rate.

While hitters get patience when they turn up on the injured list, pitchers get punished in the list-making math. Maybe Max Meyer is just fine after resting with ulnar nerve irritation, but that’s not a bet I’m willing to place. 

Camilo Doval hasn’t been dominant this season, but he has been the Giants closer stretching back their playoff run last season. Not often we have a no-doubt saves-accumulator on the prospect list. I’d trade a lot of guys above him for Doval straight up in the right scenario. 

 

46. OF James Wood | Padres | 19 | A | 2025

47. SS Cristian Hernandez | Cubs | 18 | CPX | 2025 

48. C Gabriel Moreno | Blue Jays | 22 | AAA | 2022

49. SS Masyn Winn | Cardinals | 20 | AA | 2023

50. OF Luis Matos | Giants | 20 | A+ | 2024

James Wood returned to the field on June 7 after about a month on the shelf. Have to consider injuries a small factor here because Wood is such a unicorn: a 6’7” center fielder with plus speed and double-plus power.

One nice thing about Cristian Hernandez is the power should play even with the fooly balls. It’s aggressive to run him up the list before he faces any full-season pitching, but the topside here is tremendous. He homered in his first game in the complex league this season, for what it’s Weurtz.

Gabriel Moreno hasn’t hit for power this season, which is a little concerning when he’s trying to break into a tightly contested catching corps. I still like the player a lot, but his timeline is drifting back to the future.

Masyn Winn has cleared hurdles beyond his age and come back from dreadful slumps to get hot again. His power upside remains in question, but the speed, contact and defensive skills give him a fast path to playing time. 

The big league baseball creates new questions for Moreno, Winn and this last name in the fifty: Luis Matos, who I think has the power and plate-skills to overcome it, even if it slows his ascent to an everyday role. He’s mostly here because he slumped and then got hurt. I think the hit tool would’ve proven out given more time. 

Thanks for reading!

I’m @theprospectitch on Twitter. 

39 Comments
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AJ H
AJ H
9 months ago

Hey Itch!

What’s your take on Gelof so far this season? Seems like the only A’s prospect that is hitting at a good clip other than Langeliers (who has gone a bit cold since his scorching hot start).

Dmitri
Dmitri
9 months ago

I’m curious as to your thoughts on Emmanuel Rodriguez and Carson Williams. Are they top 100 players for you? What do you think of James Wood? Too small a sample size at the moment, but he seems to have a better hit tool than we previously thought.

Dmitri
Dmitri
Reply to  Dmitri
9 months ago

Just looked again and noticed that Wood’s in your top 50 already. My bad.

Greg
Greg
9 months ago

Where do you rank a guy like Taj Bradley? He looks pretty solid this year and not sure many people know about him.

Reggie
Reggie
9 months ago

Hey Itch would love your thoughts on a trade. Trout for Pete Crow Armstrong, Marcelo Mayer, and Noelvi Marte. Dynasty league. Thank you!

Johnny
Johnny
9 months ago

Hi Itch!

Any reason why Liover Peguero didn’t move up? I thought his showing this year merited some progression.

Also, do you see Evan Carter moving up. He has flashed great tools this year.

Juan
Juan
9 months ago

Hi
Can you delete this message?

Last edited 9 months ago by Juan
godzilla70
godzilla70
9 months ago

Did Luis Garcia graduate from prospect status or miss your top 50? If the former where would you slot him? Thanks!

406mtechdigger
406mtechdigger
9 months ago

Thanks Itch! Great stuff.

I am looking to fill a couple bench spots with potential keepers for next year in my $1000 H2H Daily Points League. These guys can be kept for $20 next year. I am aiming for maximal upside in the next 2-3 years and don’t care if they give me anything this year.

I currently have:
$20 Corbin Carroll
$20 Oneil Cruz
$20 Andrew Vaughn
$20 Keibert Ruiz
$40 Adley Rutschman
$40 Spencer Tork
$40 Jared Walsh

I need two more from the list below who would cost me $20 to keep next year unless noted otherwise, also, would you cut any of the above to pick a 3rd or 4th from below?

Trent Grisham
Steven Kwan
Alec Bohm
Jesus Sanchez
Ramon Laureano
Trevor Larnach
Nick Senzel
Tristan Casas
Miguel Vargas
Josh Lowe
Robert Hassell
Noelvi Marte
Jordan Walker
Anthony Volpe
CJ Abrams ($40)

Really appreciate any thoughts you have!

406mtechdigger
406mtechdigger
Reply to  406mtechdigger
9 months ago

I should also note that any other prospects that you deem more fitting than those I listed would be great to have your stamp of approval on as well! Thanks!

Gordeon
Gordeon
9 months ago

Itch, Thx for the rankings! Realistic scenario for Ben Joyce to join a MLB bullpen in the fall and be the closer next year?

12th Place
12th Place
9 months ago

I can keep anywhere from 2-4 minors each year. I generally like to keep guys that are close to the bigs in case they get called up and can help my squad that season, with the exception of young guys with huge upside. Current minors on my roster are Oneil Cruz, Jung, Miguel Vargas, Matos, and Pasquantino (and Kelenic but that was unplanned…womp womp).

Eury Perez, Elly de la Cruz, Tovar, Lawler and Gunnar Henderson are all available from your top 25. Should I make any swaps in your itchy opinion?

Chilly
Chilly
9 months ago

i visit this site everyday just to see if you posted anything. maybe i have a problem. but i will say the first time i saw miranda swing, the name that came to mind was pujols. thanks for the great content

Oddball Herrera
Oddball Herrera
9 months ago

Yes Ruiz! I think this is an appropriate ranking that encapsulates a guy who has some scouting red flags, isn’t exactly young for his level, but has been putting up truly absurd numbers. Best offensive player in professional baseball level numbers.

He is up in AAA now and hit a homer this evening though apparently everyone on the team did, that’s the PCL for you. I will be watching that BB:K rate (and the Padres horrible outfield) like a hawk because whether or not that carries over from AA is the biggie

also worth noting he was playing LF tonight

Last edited 9 months ago by Oddball Herrera
cliffyw
cliffyw
Reply to  Oddball Herrera
9 months ago

When do you think Ruiz might have an opportunity ? SD seems to want to stick with its OF and 2B slots so does he need an injury (or multiple injuries) to get the call?

Max
Max
9 months ago

Thanks for doing this. Not feeling super great about Noelvi Marte falling off the list entirely. I know the stats are underwhelming but sheesh, that’s a steep fall. Is Tovar a better long term SS stash at this point? He certainly seems closer to the bigs.

Oddball Herrera
Oddball Herrera
Reply to  Max
9 months ago

Tovar is going to be a top 5 prospect going into next year, plus he looks like a lock to stick at SS AND to have Coors going for him. I am not sure there is a SS I would stash over him, especially because Gunnar looks destined for 3B

Oddball Herrera
Oddball Herrera
Reply to  Oddball Herrera
9 months ago

Though Gunnar to third May be an upgrade considering positional scarcity!

fivepoundbass
fivepoundbass
9 months ago

Hey Itch, always love the work and appreciate the perspective.

How close is Joey Wiemer to your top 50?

T K
T K
9 months ago

How close is Brayan Bello to being on this list? What are your thoughts on him?

Let Us Now Praise Famous Death Dwarves
Let Us Now Praise Famous Death Dwarves
9 months ago

drop which of these for chourio? hedbert, j.allen, pereira?

toolshed
toolshed
9 months ago

Dustin Harris was previously 28. Where do you slot him now? I have him in a couple of leagues.

Umpy70
Umpy70
9 months ago

itch, your stuff is amazing

with e.ruiz, we dont have minors, just 2 NA slots, which i have o.cruz and j.walker in right now and already have vinnie p wasting a bench spot.

does ruiz require a spot on my bench when vinnie eventually gets the call? How close do you think this is happening and possibly making an impact this year?

slappyJ
slappyJ
Reply to  The Itch
9 months ago

Ruiz is in AAA?

slappyJ
slappyJ
Reply to  slappyJ
9 months ago

just recently

Lower the Jolly Roger
Lower the Jolly Roger
9 months ago

Itch I love it …. Ok to drop Yepez for Ruiz ? 12 team keep 10 + 12 farm/stash …. Thank you per usual