His plus velocity and uphill approach angle make Halls fastball extremely difficult for hitters to get on top of, and righty batters who are trying to anticipate the heater often end up embarrassing themselves against his changeup, which generated a whopping 54% whiff rate in 2022. Theres substantial bust risk here but the ceiling is huge, too big to move off of Hernandez after a whiff-prone first year stateside. . He has the prototypical starters frame at a broad-shouldered 6-foot-6, and the pacing and look of his delivery evoke Gerrit Cole. He was seen a ton as a junior because he played at IMG, which was home to a lot of 2021 draft prospects and served as competition for others. Its important to remember these are young players who havent faced top competition yet. While this might contribute to some of his in-zone and overall swing-and-miss rates (he posted a 77% Z-contact% and 72% overall contact% in 2022, both comfortably below the big league average), Henderson shows plenty of hitterish traits that instill confidence in his 2022 output. FREE SHIPPING OVER $199*, $9.95 FLAT UNDER $199**, DELIVERED 3 DAYS OR LESS! Top Baseball International Prospects | MLB.com He only averaged 91-94 mph during the 2019 season, but he has been parked in the 94-97 range since that 20 instructs period. Cartayas size was sometimes a problem on defense early in pro ball. As I mentioned in my KBO update from Tuesday, when talent acquisition rules change, they tend to do so in ways that are unfavorable to players and increasingly financially favorable to teams. Its human nature to remember all of the big hits. Diaz is a bat-first catching prospect close to the big leagues. He does not take casual BP hacks he maxes out and swings with all-out effort, which extends to his in-game approach, a feature that gives some scouts pause and worry that big league pitchers will pull the rug out from under him. -- $500,000, NationalsJuan Obispo, OF, D.R. There are still some things to work on here, but Prez is younger now than Trevor Rogers was on the day he was drafted, and the fact that Prez has made relevant adjustments and continued to dominate while implementing them is remarkable. Accurate information on international players can be hard to find, but bonus size is generally a good proxy for prospect status. Whether or not Cartaya does this depends on the pitch hes called, and sometimes hell start from a crouch and drop to a knee as the pitch is in mid-flight. Hes also learning how to call a game and has a good makeup. Romo is a plus-gloved catching prospect with uncommon feel for contact from both sides of the plate, though the contact he makes is not very hard. It is alright to target one of the premium talents early if you believe in him. The area in which its most important for him to show late growth is on defense. This approach will probably cause Pages to produce batting averages that are actually beneath his true talent feel to hit, but its also a big part of why hes such a dangerous hitter, one likely to have peak seasons with 30-plus home runs. Veteran stalwarts Omar Narvez and Toms Nido are both at least a year removed from a good offensive season, and so while lvarez will reportedly start his year at Triple-A Syracuse, he may mash his way into the primary catcher role during the season. : Dodgers+ ($2,077,500) More 4. In Casas case, there is so much lefty-hitting power here that we are still buying him as an above-average big league run producer at first base. The most famous prospect available is 23-year-old Cuban outfielder Oscar Cols, who was once dubbed the "Cuban Ohtani" for his two-way ability. But it also leaves open an opportunity for dynasty managers who can sniff out the potential. The 55 FV pitchers and above tend to have some combination of monster stuff and good command, whereas the 50 FV pitchers often have one or the other. 4 cards per pack. Not all of this is coming from raw power, its more from the quality of the contact Merrill makes. - Top Minor League Prospects, many of the 2022 1st round Draft Picks, 2023 projected #1 pick Dylan Crews and top International prospects Ethan Salas/ Brando Mayea. Check out our 2023 MLB Mock Draft. Drafted as a glove-first shortstop prospect, Volpe had a uninspiring professional debut, but he totally transformed himself during the lost pandemic season and returned in 2021 with one of the best campaigns in all of the minor leagues, slugging .604 across two levels. 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. He has top-of-the-rotation stuff but the injuries make it more likely that Cleveland proactively moves him to the bullpen. He has had the most impressive BP session at each of the last two Futures Games, launching satellite-threatening baseballs to the very outer reaches of big league stadiums. Hes still likely to get to enough power and play good enough defense to be an impact regular for Arizona. : Nationals+ ($1,300,000) More 46. Enrique Jimenez, C, Ven. Frelick has a hit-over-power offensive skill set that fits in center field, where were projecting hell improve defensively over time. Considered too advanced for the teams Dominican complex, he made his stateside pro debut in 2019 and followed that up by posting a .941 OPS across two A-ball levels in 2021 while still a teenager. Thats not to suggest that every hit tool grade is wrong. Priesters four-seamer is divisive. Wiemer has a rare size/athleticism combination and wields an elaborate swing that produces huge pull-side power. If he and the Rockies can find a way to be on time against fastballs, then theres a shot for a real breakout here, but its tough to ask that of someone who, to this point, has been successful. A Massachusetts multi-sport prep standout (he was the Gatorade POY in football as a quarterback, as well as a lauded hockey player), Frelick emerged as a baseball prospect during his freshman season at Boston College when he hit .361/.438/.594 and went 22-for-24 on stolen base attempts in just 35 games. -- $405,000Manuel Genao, RHP, D.R. The Mariners drafted him in the fourth round and have deployed him as a starter so far. Mauricio has developed as well as could have been rationally hoped when he signed. Position-wise, there are 20 infielders, 18 outfielders, five catchers, six pitchers and one two-way player. Domnguez also wasnt seen facing live pitching very much as an amateur, so while his showcase tools were evident, there wasnt as much confidence in his hit tool as is typical of a top-of-the-class prospect. 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!) Power and arm strength have been Cartayas headline tools since his amateur days, and despite missing lots of time in the 2020-21 window due to the pandemic and injuries, he has still developed on defense and managed his strikeout tendencies, and played enough in 2022 to reinforce industry confidence in his plate discipline across a larger sample of plate appearances. Henderson, still just the age of a college draft prospect, had one of the best offensive performances in minor league baseball in 2022 and made his big league debut late in the season. Moreover, in his 221 innings of career work in the minors, hes allowed just eight home runs. Juan Olmos, C, Colombia Royals ($797,500) More 26. Trio of Sox prospects rising together has Cora amped. He shares many similarities with Eduardo Escobar. A famous prospect since his days as a high school underclassman, Turang has never been a sure bet to do enough offensively to be an impact everyday player. Well, Volpes swing starts with what is best described as a heel tap of his rear leg, as he loads all his weight onto his back side before he strides forward and swings with verve and ferocity. Weve now had a few years of the current hard-capped bonus pool system, and its become clear that some teams habitually over-commit pool space that they neither have on hand nor have the capacity to trade for. His long speed gives him a shot to stay in center field, but his routes to balls can be a bit of an adventure. -- $500,000, RedsAlfredo Alcantara, SS, D.R. He plays with flair and is dedicated to improving. He left Arizona with top-five pick buzz and ultimately went first overall to Baltimore. Julien tweeted he was going back to school, then went to the Cape and had a great two weeks, after which the Twins offer rose to just shy of $500,000, inspiring him to sign. Touching 99 mph, Painter earns widespread praise. Sebastian Walcott, SS, Bahamas: Rangers+ ($3,200,000) More 9. Lucianos bat speed is incredible but his barrel accuracy is not. And while the actual date has shifted from July 2 to January 15 in recent years, its significance remains the same. Indeed, the size and character of the bonus pool was one of the areas of disagreement during the negotiations between MLB and the MLBPA this past summer. After slashing .251/.326/.494 at Aberdeen, the 20-year-old was promoted to Bowie for the stretch run. Even though he has no defensive position (Buschs issues at second base go beyond just range, and he isnt a fit there no matter what the rules around shifting are), he is one of the more well-rounded near-ready bats in the minors and could play an integral role for the Dodgers in 2023, though the addition of J.D. 2022 MLB Top Prospects For Every Team - Baseball America Hes only been able to pull breaking balls that dont quite finish. Tiedemann was passed over as a SoCal high school hurler in the 2020 draft due in part to an ill-timed injury. At the plate, the athletic Salas has a good feel for the strike zone and shows the ability to hit the ball to all fields. Lee is a skilled, switch-hitting shortstop (for now) with power. Yorke and his French swing (because it is evocative of Ty France) looked like a high-probability big league hitter with a well-rounded contact and power combination in Arizona, enough to project as a regular if he can stay on the dirt. But attempting to put together an accurate list containing the players with the least amount of info is difficult. When LSU hired Jay Johnson away, Berry was one of several players who transferred out of Tucson, following Johnson to Baton Rouge. Mayers gorgeous left-handed swing produces impact power for a shortstop. Vargas is a bankable, big league-ready hitter with moderate upside, while Cappe is a risky low-level prospect with huge upside. His feel for contact and for the zone already gave him a high floor. Rocchios calling card is still his switch-hitting offensive ability, specifically his bat-to-ball skills, which have made him a 50 FV mainstay since he finished his first domestic pro season. He shows good raw power, and it is expected to increase as he develops. *** . He also throws a changeup and a slider, both of which show promise, though neither was featured much in his 2022 mix. Theres no present danger that he needs to revisit third base (which he played plenty of in high school and early in pro ball) or anything like that, and Naylor continues to project as a 2-WAR primary catcher. 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. The top-ranked prospect in the 2021 draft, Mayer dropped to fourth overall, where the Red Sox were happy to scoop him up and sign him for a higher dollar amount than first overall pick Henry Davis. He sometimes struggles with arm accuracy from third base and has sub-par range at second, but his footwork, hands, and actions keep him afloat at each spot. He can shorten up and punish inner-third velocity from the left side like few other hitters in the 2022 draft could, and he rarely expands the zone. Jun-Seok Shim, RHP, S. Korea: Pirates+ More 11. Before his departure for ESPN, Kiley McDaniel used the great work of our former colleague Craig Edwards to find the base rates for each FV tier of prospect (separately for hitters and pitchers), and the likelihood of each FV outcome. Teams will be allowed to trade international bonus slots during this signing period starting Jan. 15. After the Reds gave him some time at first base in 2022, Steer now has experience at all four infield positions. Hes naturally adept at framing low strikes because hes already so low to the ground, but its also fair to wonder if such a small athlete can withstand the grind of catching 80-100 games every summer. Only recently converted to center field full-time, Chourio easily has enough speed to stay there (hes routinely 4.15 home to first), and his routes and ball skills are okay. Naylor is a power-hitting catcher who should grab hold of the everyday job in Cleveland within a year or two. Use of any marks, trademarks, or logos on this website shall not constitute a sponsorship or endorsement by the trademark holder. Toronto didnt accelerate his promotion schedule to make up for the lost time, so he began 2021 back at Low-A as a 21-year-old and (mostly) flew under the FanGraphs prospect radar as an old-for-the-level player until 2022, when Barger hammered High- and Double-A pitching as a 22-year-old. Rankings and reports for the current class of amateur players set to sign in January 2022 (though that date could be delayed due to the lockout) have been expanded on The Board with help from. 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. De La Cruz is a boom-or-bust prospect who could really bust or go supernova. SS Dylan Jorge, Cuba: At 18, Jorge is one of the oldest players available this signing period, but he's an exciting prospect thanks to a good righty bat and strong defensive chops. He crushes mistakes, and has 48 career bombs in about a season-and-a-halfs worth of pro games. Sengas walk rate fell from the 10-11% range to the 8-8.5% range during that stretch, and his WHIP was a measly 1.05. Ricardo Cabrera, SS, Venezuela Reds More 4. Make no mistake, Brown does not suddenly have Verlanders command. If the Giants are contending for a playoff spot, he may be called up during the 2023 season, perhaps first in a bullpen capacity, but he projects as an eventual impact starter. If Eder is wild upon his initial return to affiliated ball, it will be tough to know if hes regressed to his career command mean or if its just rust from being 17 months post-op. Tall, well-built, and athletic, Pfaadt has plenty of starter traits. Obviously hes ranked here as if hes set to become a star player anyway. These are the top international prospects expected to sign when the signing period for the 2021-2022 class commences in January. AUCTION - 2022 Panini Elite Extra Edition Baseball Hobby Box Play-by-play data prior to 2002 was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted
While hes taken groundballs at shortstop in the past and is arguably athletic enough to develop there in pro ball, Jones is such a savant in center field that scouts wont typically entertain that notion; he projects as a 70-grade defensive center fielder. Perhaps of real concern was Nelsons velocity, which has fluctuated a few times during his career and was down for most of 2022. Acuas athleticism is too exciting to keep him off the list even though his approach is sometimes reckless and he doesnt impact the ball in the air. Here hes projected to continue to improve on defense as he gets more experience, which would make him perhaps the best defensive center fielder in baseball at peak. International bonus pools, the money teams can spend on players, are set according to market size, with small market teams getting the most and large market teams getting the least. Even though hes still eons from the big leagues, the Cubs were compelled to put Alcantara on their 40-man roster during the offseason to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft. Were he an infielder, there would be times when a manager would want to substitute for him because of how rough his defense can be, but you dont really want to remove a hitter like this from your lineup in the middle of a game. His approach (a sticking point at this site in the past) has gotten better, with his chase rates now hovering close to average. Cols is exclusively an outfielder now, and he hit .269/.319/.481 in part-time duty with the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks in Japan from 2017-19. He projects to third base, where the offensive bar is much higher. Parada has impeccable hitters timing, and batting stance aside, his swing is rhythmic and balanced. Manzardo put up video game numbers at Washington State, slashing .336/.404/.533 during his time with the Cougars and walking nearly as much as he struck out during his draft year. Born in Venezuela and signed out of an Arizona junior college, Flores gained notice as a big time prospect throughout 2021, which he wrapped sitting 93-96 mph with a hammer breaking ball in the Fall League. Fold below-average third base defense into that picture and while Vargas is going to be a doubles machine and productive big league player, he is probably not a star. These dominant results paved the way for a late-August call-up to the big-league squad, where he made a single start before being shut down for the remainder of the season with shoulder inflammation. : Tigers ($900,000) More 45. His ball-blocking is still pretty rough, though. The 2021-22 international signing period opens on January 15, as for the second straight season, the usual July 2 opening date for the int'l was pushed back due to the pandemic. : Mets+ ($1,900,000) More 28. With Endy Rodriguez around, it may not matter a ton. Top-400 Fantasy Baseball Prospects For Dynasty Leagues: January 2023. This is also when I start to collect biographical data like dates of birth, height/weight, position, and handedness, all of which later finds its way on The Board. Samuel Munoz, OF, Dominican Republic Dodgers More 8. Tats was in the starting lineup for the club's exhibition game against the NL West rival San Francisco . -- $320,000Jonathan Martinez, INF, D.R. at High-A Wisconsin for the last month of the season. And lvarez wants to show you his power. He signed for $5.1 million in 2019 as easily the toolsiest player in his signing class, a plus-plus running center fielder with huge switch-hitting power. Hes also shown some ability to make mechanical adjustments, trading a high leg kick for a lower, longer stride that makes it even more evident just how powerful and balanced his lower half is than his previous swing did. 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. 2022 MLB Top Prospects For Every Team Jackson Chourio (Photo Courtesy Wisconsin Timber Rattlers) By BA Staff on August 10, 2022 Now that the signing deadline for the draft and the trade. Thank you. He has impeccable hitters timing and a swing that is equal parts balanced and explosive, generating plus all-fields power despite barely utilizing any sort of stride. According to Baseball America, four of the top 25 prospects in baseball are currently catchers that came from the international ranks. Jung had a rough 2022 that were chalking up to injury-related rust rather than severe skill regression. But since the bust rate is so high, its advisable to take your shots deep in your drafts when the notable college and high school players are off the board. Athletic, 6-foot-6 outfielders who can rotate like Alcantara can are rare. The Rangers then took an aggressive approach, assigning him directly to Double-A Frisco for his first year of pro ball in 2022. While injured, he was dealt to the Cubs, and when he returned in 2022, he wasted little time demonstrating why hed netted the Mets Javier Bez and Trevor Williams in return. Painter overpowered low-level hitters with sheer velocity and breaking ball quality during the majority of his first full pro season. As a fourth-year junior in 2021, he was still sitting 88-92 mph, with his fastball velocity sometimes drifting as low as 86 mph in a given start. The Angels, Phillies and Red Sox each forfeited $500,000 from their pools for signing players who had rejected qualifying offers -- Noah Syndergaard, Nick Castellanos and Trevor Story, respectively -- last offseason, so each has a pool of $4,644,000 . Soderstrom has widened and opened up his stance since the start of his professional career. Julien hit 17 dingers and slashed .278/.398/.556 as a freshman at Auburn, then was ruled draft-eligible as a 20-year-old sophomore not because of his age, but because he had attended a year of secondary school in Canada before heading to college, which made him three years removed from high school. He returned three months later and labored through a rocky September with Norfolk, during which he struggled with walks. If you do not allow these cookies we will not know when you have visited our site, and will not be able to monitor its performance.