I know, I said the ranks are coming this week. For the three of you who read to the end of the article, thanks for noticing. I ran out of time this week to do them, honestly. Did you know it’s possible, in the same house, to have one kid with strep throat and the other with COVID at the exact same time? Ranks should be here next week, or the next. Then I plan to update them in August, then at the end of the year.
While I was starting to rank before my house’s germpocalypse, I couldn’t help but think about the young corner infielders who’ve come into the player pool. To toot my own horn, I said to take safety first, and then wait until later to get a flier. I was right! The top of the first base pool has been incredibly stable, and the middle tier guys have underperformed. Third base has turned into a crapshoot.
Hopefully, you got a guy from this list. Or not, since some of these guys aren’t going to be featured for good reasons. Let’s dive into the youngster player pool.
Josh Jung
Pedigree: I remember Jung on several top 100 lists, peaking as the 34th ranked prospect. Jung was also a top 10 draft pick. The talent is there.
MILB Performance: Fairly consistent especially when factoring in he missed 2020. Not great in AAA, just a .321 OBP but was very good in the lower levels. Check.
MLB Performance: Doing outstanding, duh. 22nd overall on the Razzball Player Rater. This is tracking well.
Statcast: no red flags here. MAYBE, just maybe, he’s going to regress because of a K rate but you want Rangers this year.
Jung is the real deal, in a keeper or yearly. If you drafted him, don’t sell high. He’s your third base solution that worked out far better than you ever could have hoped.
Spencer Steer
Prospect Pedigree: Top 50 prospect, also was a key return for Luis Castillo for the Reds
MILB Performance: Yes, a .293/.375/.467 slash will play from his AAA season in 2022.
MLB Performance: Top 10 3B and both 3B and 1B eligible.
Statcast: His expected batting average is 50 points lower than his current .288 (approximate numbers but you get the point) so I’m thinking he’s a .250 hitter with some power going forward. That said, the Reds have a long and soul-selling history of turning guys into good hitters at the corner position. Call it the Votto Voodoo or something, but they always somehow do it. I’m buying as a solid starter for the rest of the season.
Brett Baty
Prospect Pedigree: Second rated 3B prospect coming into this season, hyped as a NY kid coming up, but the consensus rating is legitimate.
MILB Performance: Was hitting .400 with a .500 OBP at the time of his call up. After 2020 he’s been consistently in the .300 range in the minors. Power also was there.
MLB Performance: I’m not sure what’s going on here.
| AB | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | SB | AVG | OBP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 MiLB Stats | 35 | 9 | 14 | 5 | 15 | 2 | .400 | .500 | 1.386 |
| 2023 MLB Stats | 128 | 15 | 29 | 4 | 15 | 0 | .227 | .301 | .668 |
Homeboy was more productive in 35 minor league at bats than in 128 in the majors. Just wanted to highlight the extreme talent he showed. So why is he not translating?
Statcast shows he can make for LOUD contact. I capitalized LOUD to emphasize the volume. LOUD contact, like top 10% in the league. The K rate is at 25%, not ideal. I then checked the game logs; Baty is playing regularly with occasional days off. Platoon splits show nothing to be concerned about with lefties. In fact, Baty is doing better than against right handers despite being left handed himself.
What to make of Baty? I see no reason to abandon him. He’s getting regular time, his defense is fine, and he’s just finding his way in the major leagues. It might not be the year for him, but keep an eye on Baty. He’s got the talent. It’s just a matter of putting it all together at the plate.
Christopher Morel
Prospect Pedigree: not really, was barely a top 20 prospect in a middling Cubs system.
MILB Performance: good numbers, but the contact and K rate are huge red flags. 30%? In the minors?
MLB Performance: Have you guys ever heard of Arestes Aquino? I like this comp for Morel. Loud tools, but he’s so far proved to be incapable of adjusting. He swings for the moon every pitch. So smart MLB pitchers aren’t giving him pitches to hit, or they’re giving him pitches that he can swing at and make weak contact, or even more likely swing and miss.
He’s just not a very good hitter at the major league level. I’d move on in any league. And I’m a Cub fan!
Nathaniel Lowe
I don’t care if he’s 27, that’s young to me! I just wanted to feature the guy. He’s proven himself.
Prospect Pedigree: highest ranking was 67, but first base ranks have been notoriously low for prospects due to perceived defensive value deficits.
MILB Performance: Not really relevant for what he’s doing now. Came up in the Rays’ system and hasn’t been in the minors since 2019.
MLB performance: Lowe is validating last year’s breakout. He’s not top tier, but he’s the rare mid rounds first baseman that you’re happy with. The Rangers lineup is brutal on opposing arms. Keep Lowe, this is who he is now.
Matt Mervis
I’m just going to vent about this. Mervis should be in the lineup almost every game. He should for sure be in against all right handers, and also needs reps against lefties. Trey Mancini looks terrible. Patrick Wisdom is terrible. They ran Yan Gomes as a DH. Yan Gomes. As a DH. Why the Cubs insist on signing and then playing bad veterans makes me wonder if they know what they’re doing.
Or maybe Mervis just isn’t very good and there’s real holes. I’m not mad, just disappointed.
How’d I do on these? Where am I wrong? Or do you just want to shower superlatives upon me in the comments? Until next week…………..
