2023 Dugout Edge MLB Awards

American League MVP

Winner: DH/RHP Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels.
Stat line: 44 HR, .304/.412/.654, 20 SB, 180 wRC+, 6.6 fWAR in 135 games.

Stat line: 10-5, 3.14 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 4.00 FIP, 167/55 K/BB in 132 innings.
Just when you think Shohei Ohtani can't get any better, he gets better. In fact, if we completely disregarded his pitching, he would still be in serious contention for the AL MVP Award. Even as a DH, he led American League hitters in fWAR and finished fourth in bWAR due to an elite 180 wRC+, nine points ahead of second place Corey Seager (169) who played in sixteen fewer games. Not only did he lead the AL in fWAR in wRC+, but he also did so in home runs, extra base hits (78), on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS, wOBA (.433), runs created above average (60.6), and just about every other comprehensive hitting statistic you can think of. It's hard to dispute that Shohei Ohtani was the best hitter in the American League this year, period. But then we also get to consider his pitching. While he wasn't quite the ace we saw last season, he was still a well above average starting pitcher that made 23 starts with a 72 ERA- (28% better than league average) and put up 2.4 more fWAR, bringing his total to 9.0 on the season. Unfortunately we won't get to see him pitch next year, perhaps opening up the AL MVP race a little bit (if he's even in the AL), but for 2023 he deserves to win the AL MVP Award unanimously.

Runner-up: SS Corey Seager, Texas Rangers.
Stat line: 33 HR, .327/.390/.623, 2 SB, 169 wRC+, 6.1 fWAR in 119 games.
After Ohtani, the rest of the AL MVP field is wide open. For me, Corey Seager comes out on top, and the fact that he did so despite spending a couple stints on the IL and playing just 119 games speaks to how good he was when he was on the field. He led all American League hitters not named Ohtani in wRC+, extra base hits (75), batting average, slugging percentage, wOBA (.419), and runs created above average (39.5), the latter of which is a cumulative stat that he compiled in a dozen or more fewer games than his competition. Even when the Rangers slumped, his bat never went cold and he posted an OPS of .885 or higher in every month except October, where he played just one game. All of this, of course, while starting 112 games at shortstop, the most valuable defensive position on the diamond other than catcher. When you're the consensus second best hitter in the league while playing shortstop, there's not much to argue against. It's just the fact that he played only 119 games which makes it close with the rest of the field. Had he played a full season, he'd be competing with Ohtani for the award itself.

Honorable mention: 2B Marcus Semien, Texas Rangers.
Stat line: 29 HR, .276/.348/.478, 14 SB, 124 wRC+, 6.3 fWAR in 162 games.
It's not a traditional MVP stat line, but Marcus Semien deserves to be in the conversation for runner-up alongside his double play partner. Semien gets here on the strength of his defense and durability. A Gold Glove contender at second base, he was fourth among all AL infielders in outs above average and hit much, much better than first place Andres Gimenez (97 wRC+) and third place Maikel Garcia (84) and comfortably bested second place Bobby Witt Jr. (115) as well. Alongside Seattle's Eugenio Suarez, he was one of two American League players to appear in every game this season, while also leading all AL players in plate appearances (753) and runs scored (122). Semien's fingerprints were truly on everything this year for Texas, and always positive. While his 126 wRC+ was only good for twelfth in the league, he was certainly no slouch with the bat, finishing second in the league in total bases to Ohtani (320) and fourth in extra base hits (73). Runs created above average is a cumulative stat and his 24.3 were good for eighth in the AL, putting him in that upper tier of hitters across the league in terms of overall offensive impact. He saved 13.3 runs on defense according to Fangraphs, and none of the seven players on that list saved more than Julio Rodriguez's 5.1. It's the most well-rounded profile in the AL MVP race.

Others

RHP Gerrit Cole (Yankees): 2.63 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 3.17 FIP, 222/48 K/BB in 209 IP
RHP Kevin Gausman (Blue Jays): 3.16 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 2.97 FIP, 237/55 K/BB in 185 IP

RHP Sonny Gray (Twins): 2.79 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 2.83 FIP, 183/55 K/BB in 184 IP

OF Julio Rodriguez (Mariners): 32 HR, .275/.333/.485, 37 SB, 126 wRC+, 5.9 fWAR in 155 games
SS Bobby Witt Jr. (Royals): 30 HR, .276/.319/.495, 49 SB, 115 WRC+, 5.7 fWAR in 158 games

National League MVP

Winner: OF Ronald Acuña Jr., Atlanta Braves
Stat line: 41 HR, .337/.416/.596, 73 SB, 170 wRC+, 8.3 fWAR in 159 games.
It's really so close between Ronald Acuña Jr. and Mookie Betts. Acuña was the better hitter, but not by much. He was also the better baserunner, but his caught stealings eat some of the value from his 73 stolen bases. Meanwhile, Betts' average defense soundly clears Acuña's well below average defense. The counting stats are of course incredible for Acuña, who not only became the first player with 40 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a season, but also put up the first 40-60 and the first 40-70 season in baseball history. Additionally, he played in all but three games for the Braves, while Betts missed ten games for the Dodgers, and that little bit is enough to give Acuña the tiebreaker. He led the NL in virtually everything, including plate appearances (735), runs scored (149), hits (217), stolen bases, on-base percentage, OPS (1.012), total bases (383), wOBA (.428), wRC+, and fWAR. In fact, the 149 runs scored are the third highest single season total since integration, behind only 2000 Jeff Bagwell (152) and 1949 Ted Williams (150). Especially incredible given his high octane style of play is that he never slumped this season, never posting an OPS below .917 in any month and really turning on the jets as the season closed, slashing .343/.407/.714 in September to seal up the MVP race. Acuña put on a show at the plate, put on a show on the bases and was there performing every single day for Atlanta.

Runner-up: OF Mookie Betts, Los Angeles Dodgers
Stat line: 39 HR, .307/.408/.579, 14 SB, 167 wRC+, 8.3 fWAR in 152 games.
Mookie Betts just misses behind Ronald Acuña despite being a better defender and nearly as good a hitter. It was perhaps the most all-around balanced performance in the country, as he didn't lead the NL any single individual stat, nothing, but still put up over eight wins above replacement. He started slowly, hitting just .232/.339/.424 through his first 26 games, but heated up as the season wore on. He was hitting .277/.383/.560 at the end of July, which is very solid but not quite MVP caliber, then went on a tear to hit .455/.516/.839 in the month of August, thrusting himself into the NL MVP race right alongside Acuña. Unfortunately he couldn't quite keep up with his Atlanta counterpart in the stretch run, but it's still a pretty incredible season. He hit for power, coming one big fly short of a 40 homer/40 double season, got on base at a high rate, rarely struck out, ran the bases well, and played a solid right field.

Honorable mention: 1B Freddie Freeman, Los Angeles Dodgers
Stat line: 29 HR, .331/.410/.567, 23 SB, 163 wRC+, 7.9 fWAR in 161 games.
All year it was Acuña vs Freeman in the NL MVP race, so when Betts caught fire in August and Acuña closed things out with a strong September, Freeman's merely "solid" finish to the season (.296/.382/.481 in September/October) put him just behind. Still, this is one of the more unique seasons we've seen from a first baseman recently. Playing in all but one game, he put up a 20-20-.400 (HR/SB/OBP) season that's rarely seen from a first baseman, in this case not since Paul Goldschmidt did it twice back to back in 2015 and 2016, and before that, Jeff Bagwell in 1996, 1997, and 1999. Additionally, his 59 doubles tied 2000 Todd Helton for the highest single season total since integration in 1947. Freddie was an on base and extra base hit machine in 2023, and even though he deservedly gets dinged for playing first base, he was a solid defender there and his 23 stolen bases led his position. It was a pretty cool season to watch from the veteran in his fourteenth season. He just beats out Matt Olson, whose 54 home runs were nothing to shake your finger at (while playing in all 162 games to boot), but Freeman was a better defender, a better baserunner, and got on base at a higher clip.

Others
1B Matt Olson (Braves): 54 HR, .283/.389/.604, 1 SB, 160 wRC+, 6.6 fWAR in 162 games
OF Corbin Carroll (Diamondbacks): 25 HR, .285/.362/.506, 54 SB, 133 wRC+, 6.0 fWAR in 155 games
OF Juan Soto (Padres): 35 HR, .275/.410/.519, 12 SB, 155 wRC+, 5.5 fWAR in 162 games
SS Francisco Lindor (Mets): 31 HR, .254/.336/.470, 31 SB, 121 wRC+, 6.0 fWAR in 160 games

American League Cy Young

Winner: RHP Gerrit Cole, New York Yankees
Stat line: 15-4, 2.63 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 3.17 FIP, 222/48 K/BB in 209 innings.
It took until the end of the season for a pitcher to step forward and take control of the AL Cy Young race, but Gerrit Cole made it happen with a torrid stretch that saw him go 5-0 with a 1.29 ERA and a 52/5 strikeout to walk ratio over 48.2 innings in his final seven starts of the season. In the end, that helped him lead all AL pitchers in innings pitched, ERA, and WHIP, three of the most important traditional stats, while finishing third in strikeouts and fourth in FIP. Additionally, he did so while pitching in a hitter-friendly home park (where his ERA was half a run higher than on the road) and in an extremely competitive AL East. That all points to a pretty clear-cut Cy Young case, though I will note that he had strong defense behind him that recorded six outs above average and helped him outperform his xwOBA by .033, with a .256 real mark against a .289 expected mark. There's a debate nowadays with the advent of expected statistics whether we should consider what a player "could have" done with different defensive outcomes, and while there's merit to that, I still lean towards rewarding what actually happened. It can be a tiebreaker, which you'll see with the next two names, but I won't let it take an award away from Gerrit Cole when he very much earned it.

Runner-up: RHP Kevin Gausman, Toronto Blue Jays
Stat line: 12-9, 3.16 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 2.97 FIP, 237/55 K/BB in 185 innings.

It was really, really close between Kevin Gausman and Sonny Gray for second place on this list. I went back and forth multiple times. Gray gets Gausman in ERA, WHIP, and FIP. Gausman struck out 54 more batters while throwing one more inning. Looking behind them, Gray pitched in front of a terrible Twins defense while Gausman was helped by a good Blue Jays defense. Though Gausman didn't really need that defense, because he had all those strikeouts and also gave up many of his runs via the home run, unlike Gray. However, looking at the difference between wOBA and xwOBA (i.e., how "unlucky" each pitcher was), Gray was actually more "lucky" than Gausman despite having a worse defense. So where does that leave us? Pretty much in a tie if you ask me. And I'll give the tie to Gausman because he pitched in a tougher division in the AL East, while Gray pitched for the best team in an extraordinarily weak AL Central. Should he get dinged for that, probably not, but I'm really looking for something to separate the two and I'm going to use it. Now looking to Gausman alone, he really had a tremendous season. His 237 strikeouts led the American League, as did his 5.3 fWAR, while his 2.97 FIP was second only to Gray. He allowed four or fewer runs in 27 of his 31 starts, almost always putting the Blue Jays in a position to win.

Honorable mention: RHP Sonny Gray, Minnesota Twins.
Stat line: 8-8, 2.79 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 2.83 FIP, 183/55 K/BB in 184 innings.
I may have Sonny Gray a sliver of a hair behind Gausman, but he had a tremendous season. He led the AL in FIP and put up the second best ERA in the league despite pitching in front of a bad defense, making for the best year of his career. He allowed three or fewer runs in 29 of his 32 starts, outdoing Gausman in that regard with his consistency, though he did average fewer than six innings per start. Otherwise, there's not much to say here that I didn't say in Gausman's column.

Others
RHP Pablo Lopez (Twins): 3.66 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 3.33 FIP, 234/48 K/BB in 194 innings
RHP Zach Eflin (Rays): 3.50 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 3.01 FIP, 186/24 K/BB in 177.2 innings
RHP George Kirby (Mariners): 3.35 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 3.35 FIP, 172/19 K/BB in 190.2 innings
RHP Luis Castillo (Mariners): 3.34 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 3.81 FIP, 219/56 K/BB in 197 innings
RHP Kyle Bradish (Orioles): 2.83 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 3.27 FIP, 168/44 K/BB in 168.2 innings

National League Cy Young

Winner: LHP Blake Snell, San Diego Padres.
Stat line: 14-9, 2.25 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 3.44 FIP, 234/99 K/BB in 180 innings.
Look, I can point to lots of advanced statistics that show that Blake Snell wasn't the best pitcher in the National League in 2023, and many of them are very real. He pitched in front of an elite Padres defense, outperformed his xwOBA by 34 points (.300 expected vs .266 real), and was incredibly lucky to strand 86.7% of his baserunners, by far the highest number in all of baseball (Gerrit Cole was second at 80.4%). That last number, let's face it, carries luck as a major factor. For all those reasons, you can galaxy brain yourself into picking someone else in the Cy Young. However, this is an award about what really happened, and at the end of the day, Snell got the job done. Yeah, he was lucky to leave all those guys on base, but there is something to being able to bear down and not let things compound. That led to a 2.25 ERA that led the NL by 0.73, a tremendous margin. Sure, his defense helped him a lot, but nobody came close to keeping runs off the board like Snell did. His 234 strikeouts were also good for second in the league, and the guy ahead of him had an ERA more than a run and a half higher. He allowed three or fewer earned runs in 30 of his 32 starts and didn't allow four or more in a start after May 19th. In fact, in those final 23 starts, he went 13-3 with a 1.20 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP, the best pitcher in baseball for four and a half months.

Runner-up: RHP Spencer Strider, Atlanta Braves.
Stat line: 20-5, 3.86 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 2.85 FIP, 281/58 K/BB in 186.2 innings.
After Snell (and really including Snell), the rest of the NL Cy Young race is extremely wide open. There are about five names I could put here and feel good about. I'll go with Strider, in no small part because striking out 281 batters in under 190 innings is just incredible. Not just the highest total in the majors, it's the most strikeouts in a season since Gerrit Cole and Justin Verlander struck out 326 and 300, respectively, in 2019. And interestingly enough, it's the highest single season total ever for a pitcher who threw fewer than 212 innings – and Strider did it in just 186.2. If you're looking for the next highest total for a pitcher in under 200 innings, that belongs to 2016 Jose Fernandez at 253 in tragically his final season. But the strikeouts aren't just a nice number to look at. It helped him register the lowest FIP in the league, more than a full run lower than his ERA, and while pitching wins don't really matter, winning twenty games is extremely uncommon nowadays. He pitched in front of a mediocre Braves defense that hurt him a bit on balls in play, leading to more baserunners than he could have had, and his 70.3% strand rate (remember that Snell was at 86.7%) means that he was at least partially unlucky that he couldn't spread out his baserunners.

Honorable Mention: RHP Zack Wheeler, Philadelphia Phillies.
Stat line: 13-6, 3.61 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 3.15 FIP, 212/39 K/BB in 192 innings.
Zack Wheeler's profile is very similar to Spencer Strider, if a touch less extreme. While he didn't strike out as many batters, his 212/39 strikeout to walk ratio was actually a touch better than Strider's 281/58, while he also slightly cleared him in ERA and WHIP and fell a touch behind in FIP. He did all this while pitching in front of a terrible Phillies defense that seriously inflated his ERA and WHIP, and he similarly struggled to keep runners from scoring on the rare occasions they reached base. In all, he actually led all MLB Pitchers in fWAR at 5.9, which isn't a huge total but was enough to push to the forefront in a season where no pitcher separated himself in either league. While the 3.61 ERA wasn't great (hurt by poor defense behind him and hits tending to clump together), he was extremely consistent and always gave the Phillies a chance to win, allowing four or fewer earned runs in 30/32 starts.

Others
RHP Logan Webb (Giants): 3.25 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 3.16 FIP, 194/31 K/BB in 216 innings.

LHP Justin Steele (Cubs): 3.06 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 3.02 FIP, 176/36 K/BB in 173.1 innings.
RHP Zac Gallen (Diamondbacks): 3.47 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 3.27 FIP, 220/47 K/BB in 210 innings.

RHP Kodai Senga (Mets): 2.98 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 3.64 FIP, 202/77 K/BB in 166.1 innings.
LHP Jesus Luzardo (Marlins): 3.63 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 3.55 FIP, 208/55 K/BB in 178.2 innings.

American League Rookie of the Year

Winner: 3B Gunnar Henderson, Baltimore Orioles
Stat line: 28 HR, .255/.325/.489, 10 SB, 123 wRC+, 4.6 fWAR in 150 games.
Gunnar Henderson got off to a bit of a slow start, hitting just .170/.341/.310 into mid-May, but he turned on the jets and hit .274/.321/.528 with 25 home runs and a 131 wRC+ over 117 games from that point on, with his 4.2 fWAR in that span putting him seventh in the AL. Once he shook off that slump, he hit for power, he got on base at a decent clip, and he played solid defense at third base. That's about as well-rounded a profile as you're going to get from a kid who didn't turn 22 until halfway through the season. There were a lot of very good rookies in the AL this year, but none could quite match Henderson's standing as an All Star-caliber regular.

Runner-up: RHP Tanner Bibee, Cleveland Guardians
Stat line: 10-4, 2.98 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 3.52 FIP, 141/45 K/BB in 142 innings.
Gunnar Henderson may have the Rookie of the Year award wrapped up, but Tanner Bibee was truly exceptional in his rookie season in Cleveland making it closer than you'd think. In a year where we have Cy Young contenders posting ERA's in the mid three's, Tanner Bibee got his under three while finishing second among all AL rookies in innings pitched behind Hunter Brown. He allowed three or fewer earned runs in 23 of his 25 starts, meaning only twice all year did he leave a start where he didn't put the Guardians in a very good position to win the game. He was helped by a pretty good defense behind him, but overall we saw borderline ace-caliber stuff from the 24 year old this season.

Honorable mention: C Yainer Diaz, Houston Astros
Stat line: 23 HR, .282/.308/.538, 0 SB, 127 wRC+, 2.0 fWAR in 104 games.

It's hard to find catchers who can hit. The Astros have been rolling with Martin Maldonado, his elite glove, and his mediocre bat and continue to do so, but in 2023, they got a great complement in Yainer Diaz. He only played 104 games, but he blasted 23 home runs and put up a 127 wRC+ that was sixth among all MLB catchers with at least 300 plate appearances, rookie or not. He started slow, hitting .217/.242/.317 over his first 21 games, but turned it around to slash .295/.322/.583 the rest of the way as one of the best hitting catchers in the game once he got his feet wet. Beyond the bat, Diaz is one of the better catch and throw backstops in the game, controlling the running game and saving his pitchers from passed balls, though his overall defensive stats did get dinged for poor framing. Still, the framing and perhaps an aggressive approach were the only holes in his profile this year.

Others

RHP Yennier Cano (Orioles): 2.11 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 2.84 FIP, 65/13 K/BB in 72.2 innings.

2B Edouard Julien (Twins): 16 HR, .263/.381/.459, 3 SB, 136 wRC+, 2.8 fWAR in 109 games.
3B Josh Jung (Rangers): 23 HR, .266/.315/.467, 1 SB, 110 wRC+, 2.5 fWAR in 122 games.

RHP Grayson Rodriguez (Orioles): 4.35 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, 3.93 FIP, 129/49 K/BB in 122 innings.

RHP Bryce Miller (Mariners): 4.32 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 3.98 FIP, 119/26 K/BB in 131.1 innings.

National League Rookie of the Year

Winner: OF Corbin Carroll, Arizona Diamondbacks
Stat line: 25 HR, .285/.362/.506, 54 SB, 133 wRC+, 6.0 fWAR in 155 games.
Corbin Carroll put together one of the best rookie seasons in recent memory. Playing in nearly every game for the Diamondbacks, he finished second in all of baseball with 54 stolen bases while adding 25 home runs, 30 doubles, and ten triples, making for arguably the best power/speed combination in the game behind Ronald Acuña Jr. Not only that, but by getting on base at a .362 clip, he was more or less the complete hitter and put himself into down ballot MVP consideration. One of the fastest runners in the game, his big time speed helped him overcome some otherwise rough edges in his defensive game and play a solid center field as well. All together, his 6.0 fWAR were the most of any rookie not just in 2023, but since Aaron Judge put up 8.8 in 2017. There are other NL rookies that put up standout seasons, but Carroll's stands out above the rest. 

Runner-up: RHP Kodai Senga, New York Mets
Stat line: 2.98 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 3.63 FIP, 202/77 K/BB in 166.1 innings.
You could argue Kodai Senga was the best rookie pitcher in baseball this year, holding an ERA under 3.00 while qualifying for the ERA title, a rarity nowadays, and striking out over 200 even if he was a bit wild. Even more impressive is that ERA's were up among the best pitchers in the game this year, so Senga's 2.98 mark was fifth in all of baseball among qualified pitchers. He got better and better as the season moved along and didn't allow more than three runs in a start after June 23rd. These days, there are fewer and fewer reliable, durable starting pitchers who can keep runs off the board and stay on the mound, and Senga provided one in his first go around.

Honorable mention: CF James Outman, Los Angeles Dodgers
Stat line: 23 HR, .248/.353/.437, 16 SB, 118 wRC+, 4.4 fWAR in 151 games.
It's hard to be quiet on a national brand like the Dodgers, but James Outman quietly put up one of the best seasons of any rookie in either league. Playing in 151 games, he blasted 23 home runs, walked at a high rate to push his OBP up over .350, swiped a few bags, and played standout defense in center field. In all, that's an elite defensive center fielder that was an 18% better hitter than league average and played almost every game, not too shabby for a rookie. Of course, this stat probably means nothing due to the small sample size, but he was one of the more "clutch" hitters in the game this year slashing .378/.472/.822 with five home runs in 53 plate appearances in the ninth inning or later.

Others
LF Nolan Jones (Rockies): 20 HR, .297/.389/.542, 20 SB, 135 WRC+, 3.7 fWAR in 106 games.
RHP Bobby Miller (Dodgers): 3.76 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 3.51 FIP, 119/32 K/BB in 124.1 innings.
1B Spencer Steer (Reds): 23 HR, .271/.356/.464, 15 SB, 118 wRC+, 2.1 fWAR in 156 games.
C Francisco Alvarez (Mets): 25 HR, .209/.284/.437, 2 SB, 97 wRC+, 2.7 fWAR in 123 games.
SS Matt McLain (Reds): 16 HR, .290/.357/.507, 14 SB, 128 wRC+, 2.8 fWAR in 89 games.

2020 Prospect Depth Chart: Arizona Diamondbacks

Once completely barren, the Diamondbacks farm system has undergone a very impressive makeover, and there are a couple factors to credit. One was improved results from their international development, with guys like Geraldo Perdomo, Kristian Robinson, Wilderd Patino, and Luis Frias looking like potential impact players and Jazz Chisholm helping to net Zac Gallen from Miami. Another was the Zack Greinke deal, which brought some big names in Seth Beer, J.B. Bukauskas, Corbin Martin, and Josh Rojas, helping to fill out the top of the system while guys like Pavin Smith, Drew Ellis, and Andy Yerzy saw their bats stagnate a little bit. And lastly, they had eight of the first 93 picks in the 2019 draft class, with which they grabbed one of the best pure hitters in the high school class, a pair of high upside high school arms, a pair of power college arms, and a trio of safer bet college players. It's a fairly spread out system that's led by a few impact bats in Beer, Robinson, Alek Thomas, and Daulton Varsho, as well as a deep array of pitching that includes no sure things but a lot of kids with one or two things they need to smooth out before reaching their high upside.

Affiliates: AAA Reno Aces, AA Jackson Generals, High A Visalia Rawhide, Class A Kane County, short season Hillsboro Hops, rookie level Missoula Osprey, complex level AZL and DSL Diamondbacks

Catcher
- Daulton Varsho (2020 Age: 23-24): Varsho, who was drafted in the second competitive balance round out of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 2017, is an interesting prospect. In 2019, he slashed .301/.378/.520 with 18 home runs, 21 stolen bases, and a 63/42 strikeout to walk ratio over 108 games at AA Jackson, which is a very interesting stat line for a catcher. Varsho is a great all-around hitter, one who possesses an excellent understanding of the strike zone and who makes hard contact consistently. He also has some power despite standing 5'10", which helped him hit those 18 home runs in 2019 to go along with 25 doubles and four triples. Unlike most catchers, he's actually an above average runner who has stolen 40 bases over the last two seasons, and he actually runs well enough to handle center field or potentially second base. That's important, because he's not a great defender behind the plate – he's good enough for now, but his fringy arm strength isn't ideal for the majors. Not many catchers can impact the game offensively like he can, though fortunately he won't be pushed to first base if he can't stick back there, so he'll still have defensive value. The fact that Carson Kelly probably has the catcher's role locked down for the long term doesn't help his chances of remaining a catcher. I like Varsho as a prospect and he profiles for 15-20 home runs annually with high on-base percentages.
- Keep an eye on: Dominic Miroglio, Jose Herrera

Corner Infield
- Seth Beer (2020 Age: 23): Beer was one of the top hitters in the country at Clemson, where he slashed .321/.489/.648 with 56 home runs over three years, but questions about how his bat would play against pro pitching as well as his lack of defensive value knocked him to the Astros at the end of the first round in 2018. He answered those questions with a strong pro debut in 2018 (.304/.389/.496) and was hitting well again this year when he got shipped to Arizona in the Zack Greinke deal. Between the two organizations, he slashed .289/.388/.516 with 26 home runs and a 113/46 strikeout to walk ratio over 122 games at High A and AA, and it's safe to say those questions about his bat are behind him. Beer is a very competent hitter with both power and the ability to get to it, and while he's not walking at twice the rate he's striking out anymore, he's still controlling the zone well and limiting his strikeouts. The flip side is that he's a defensive liability, as he has played left field for most of his career but as the slowest guy on the field, he wasn't catching much. He's been playing more first base recently and that's probably his spot going forward, but he's far from a stud there either. Fortunately, his bat will play anywhere, as he has the potential for 25-30 home runs annually with high on-base percentages if he can make enough contact.
- Kevin Cron (2020 Age: 27): How do you crack a prospect list as a soon-to-be 27 year old without much defensive value? By taking just 84 games to lead the entire minor leagues with 39 home runs, all the while slashing .329/.446/.777 with a 79/61 strikeout to walk ratio, mostly at AAA Reno. Cron also added six more home runs in the majors to get up to 45 total on the season, slashing .211/.269/.521 with a 28/4 strikeout to walk ratio in 39 games along the way. Cron's a big dude at 6'5" and a listed 250 pounds, and it's no secret what makes the former TCU Horned Frog a valuable player. He has big time power that he has gotten to consistently for years, now with 151 career minor league home runs and a .529 slugging percentage, and the ability to get to that power consistently against high level pitching. Now there is some swing and miss in his game, and it was exposed in his brief time in the majors, and as a first base/third base type with a fringy glove, he has to hit to provide value. He does hit both lefties and righties well, so he's not strictly a platoon bat, and he'll likely be a more of a pinch hitter/bench bat than a full time starter.
- Pavin Smith (2020 Age: 24): Smith's advanced bat made him the seventh overall pick out of UVA in 2017, but he hit for less impact than expected at first and slashed just .255/.343/.392 in High A in his first full season in 2018. He slumped at the beginning of 2019 as well, but he got hot over the last two months of the season to finish at .291/.370/.466 with 12 home runs and a 61/59 strikeout to walk ratio over 123 games at AA Jackson. The biggest thing that he had going for him in college was exceptional plate discipline, which he has retained in pro ball and it makes him nearly impossible to strike out, but so far the big power surge he had as a junior has not fully translated. He did hit more balls in the air in 2019, and I'd wager that most of those came in the second half when he got hot. If that is indeed the case, then Smith may have turned the corner for real and he might be well on his way to becoming a starting first baseman capable of 15-25 home runs per season and high on-base percentages. MLB.com might have given up on him because he's outside their top 30 Diamondbacks prospects, but I'm far from doing so.
- Drew Ellis (2020 Age: 24): Ellis, like Smith, is a 2017 draftee (second round out of Louisville) who has lost a bit of his prospect sheen. He's been an average hitter throughout his time in the minors, and in 2019 he slashed .235/.344/.406 with 14 home runs and a 109/63 strikeout to walk ratio over 118 games at AA Jackson. He's maintained great plate discipline, albeit not on Smith's level, but the overall impact he's generating at the plate isn't quite what was hoped for. He's unlikely to be a full time starter, though he has hit just enough to keep his hopes alive of becoming a bench or platoon bat – he hits lefties well and slashed .271/.353/.504 against them in 2019.
- Tristin English (2020 Age: 22-23): The Diamondbacks picked up English in the third round out of Georgia Tech in 2019, and they signed the senior under slot to save some money for earlier picks. He had a successful pro debut where he slashed .290/.356/.482 with seven home runs and a 24/13 strikeout to walk ratio over 50 games at short season Hillsboro, though he was already 22. English has power as well as a track record of hitting well against advanced pitching, and the fact that he limits his strikeouts so well means he can get to his power consistently. He doesn't draw a ton of walks, as he likes to make contact early in the count, but he doesn't necessarily need to in order to provide value at the plate. As a first baseman, even with his strong arm that could have gotten him drafted as a reliever, he won't be providing too much value on defense, so his bat will have to carry him. He's likely a guy who hits 15-20 home runs per season with decent on-base percentages, which might be just a bit light for a starting first baseman.
- Keep an eye on: Buddy Kennedy, Yoel Yanqui, Spencer Brickhouse, Endy Estrada

Middle Infield
- Domingo Leyba (2020 Age: 24): Leyba was originally a Tigers prospect who came over in the three team, Didi Gregorius/Robbie Ray deal of 2014, and in 2019 he slashed .300/.351/.519 with 19 home runs and a 78/32 strikeout to walk ratio over 112 games at AAA Reno, as well as .280/.367/.440 with a 9/4 strikeout to walk ratio over 21 major league games. Leyba's power surge was probably a bit of a Pacific Coast League mirage, but his high contact rates bode well for his major league future. The Diamondbacks have a pretty crowded infield scene, and Leyba's bat is a bit too light to justify a full time starting role, but he has a good shot at being a utility infielder who could make some spot starts at second base. There's not a ton of upside, but he's ready now.
 - Andy Young (2020 Age: 25-26): Hoping to become the first North Dakota native in the majors since Travis Hafner, Young came over in the Paul Goldschmidt trade and slashed .271/.368/.535 with 29 home runs and a 121/42 strikeout to walk ratio over 133 games at AA Jackson and AAA Reno in 2019. Like Leyba, his power surge in Reno was a bit of a PCL mirage, but he does have more power than Leyba and could hit 10-20 home runs in the majors with decent on-base percentages. He's fairly average all around, with no standout tools and no true weaknesses, and he'll be battling Leyba for a utility infield spot in 2020. Leyba has the better hit tool, Young a bit more power, and Leyba is a bit better on defense.
- Geraldo Perdomo (2020 Age: 20): It's been really interesting to watch the trajectory of Geraldo Perdomo, who signed for just $70,000 out of the Dominican Republic in 2016 then hit a fascinating .238/.410/.285 in the Dominican Summer League. There was virtually no impact in his bat, but at 17 years old he could control the zone like nobody else in his league. He found some of that impact in 2018 by slashing .322/.438/.460 in the low minors, then in 2019 he hit .275/.397/.364 with three home runs, 26 stolen bases, and a 67/70 strikeout to walk ratio over 116 games at Class A Kane County and High A Visalia. Despite coming off his age-19 season, Perdomo has the best plate discipline in the system with the patience to draw tons of walks as well as the bat control skills to make contact at any point in the count. He's a switch hitter with a quick, direct to the ball swing from both sides of the plate, and he's so good at finding that barrel that might be able to tap some power in his 6'3" frame if he chooses to do so. Set to play all of 2020 at just 20 years old and having already shown the ability to handle High A pitching, he's a really interesting guy to follow and I'll be watching closely to see if he can tap some power next year. Of course, we haven't even talked about his defense, which is great and makes him an asset at shortstop, and he's not the fastest guy on the field but his instincts have enabled him to steal 66 bases in his minor league career.
- Liover Peguero (2020 Age: 19): Perdomo isn't the only teenage Dominican shortstop making waves in this system. Peguero, signed for $475,000 in 2017, had an unremarkable .259/.311/.340 run through complex ball in 2018 before breaking out to slash .326/.382/.485 with five home runs, eleven stolen bases, and a 51/20 strikeout to walk ratio over 60 games at rookie level Missoula and short season Hillsboro in 2019. Despite playing the entire season at 18 years old and with just 19 stateside games under his belt, Peguero went straight to rookie ball and raked, showing wiry strength that generated good gap and over the fence power while making consistent hard contact. He's in a pretty similar place to where Perdomo was a year ago, albeit with a bit more power and with less plate discipline, and he should hit full season ball as a 19 year old in 2020. Like Perdomo, he has a strong glove and should stick at shortstop, adding to his value.
- Keep an eye on: L.T. Tolbert, Luis Alejandro Basabe, Blaze Alexander, Jose Curpa, Glenallen Hill Jr.

Outfield
- Alek Thomas (2020 Age: 20): Thomas was a second round pick out of a Chicago high school in 2018, noted more for his feel for the game than for any loud tools at the time. However, he's just hit and hit since then, and in 2019 he slashed .300/.379/.450 with ten home runs, 15 stolen bases, and a 105/52 strikeout to walk ratio over 114 games at Class A Kane County and High A Visalia. He's shown a great understanding of the strike zone for his age and has had no trouble putting the barrel on advanced pitching, and he's even begun to tap some power that he hadn't really shown in high school. He's also a great runner that can make his speed play on both sides of the ball, though at this point his below average arm makes him more of an average center fielder. Overall, he has a lot of great building blocks for a kid who won't turn 20 until April, and with his contact-oriented approach, he could be a leadoff man at the major league level by the time he's 21.
- Jake McCarthy (2020 Age: 22-23): McCarthy was a competitive balance pick out of UVA in 2018, a year after the Diamondbacks drafted his teammate Pavin Smith, though the injury problems that bugged him in college have continued into pro ball. In 2019, he slashed .277/.341/.405 with two home runs, 18 stolen bases, and a 52/17 strikeout to walk ratio over 53 games at High A Visalia, though his season ended on July 7th when he left the game with an undisclosed injury. McCarthy has always had an explosive swing that should be conducive to power, and I liked him on draft day because I thought he could start to generate some, but he continues to be more of a line drive/ground ball hitter rather than one who tries to loft the ball, and I think he could hit for some actual if he did so. The continued injuries don't help him, but hopefully a healthy 2020 can see him drive the ball more in the air and hit 15-20 home runs – he already does hit a lot of extra base hits with 30 doubles and seven triples in 111 career minor league games. McCarthy is also a great runner who has stolen 39 bases in those 111 games, and it helps him play good defense in the outfield, though he might be more of a left fielder than a center fielder in deference to Alek Thomas. I still like McCarthy, but the power has to come at some point if he wants to be more than a fourth outfielder.
- Kristian Robinson (2020 Age: 19): The Diamondbacks picked up Robinson for $2.5 million out of the Bahamas in 2017, and so far, he's been worth every penny. He followed up a strong first season in 2018 with a breakout 2019 where he slashed .282/.368/.514 with 14 home runs, 17 stolen bases, and a 77/31 strikeout to walk ratio over 69 games at short season Hillsboro and Class A Kane County. He has a lot of wiry strength at 6'3", and it helps him generate a lot of raw power that he's beginning to tap in games. He has an all fields, line drive oriented approach, and learning to add loft to his swing could help him hit 25-30 home runs annually. There is some swing and miss in his game, but he has been playing consistently with older competition, as he reached Class A at just 18 years old in 2019. Robinson has the highest ceiling in the entire system, and he just needs time to figure things out. Defensively, he's great in the outfield and could stick in center, giving him the opportunity to impact the game on both sides of the ball.
- Corbin Carroll (2020 Age: 19): The Diamondbacks had seven picks on day one of the 2019 draft and eight of the first 93 overall selections, and their first one, at pick #15, was Corbin Carroll out of high school in Seattle. He was as-advertised in his pro debut, slashing .299/.409/.487 with two home runs, 18 stolen bases, and a 41/29 strikeout to walk ratio over 42 games between the complex level Arizona League and short season Hillsboro. A smaller guy at a skinny 5'10", he was drafted on the basis of his plus speed as well as his exceptional feel for hitting. He doesn't have much raw power, but he maximizes what he does have because he finds the barrel very consistently and can handle advanced pitching. His defense is a work in progress but is trending up, and he should be an asset in center field down the line. In a few years, he and Alek Thomas could be a dynamic 1-2 punch leading off the Arizona lineup.
- Dominic Fletcher (2020 Age: 22): Fletcher, drafted in the second competitive balance round out of Arkansas in 2019, is kind of a case where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Standing 5'9", he lacks standout tools in any area but he makes consistent line drive contact from the left side and was able to hit .318/.389/.463 with five home runs and a 50/22 strikeout to walk ratio over 55 games at Class A Kane County in his pro debut. He's got some pop, but not a ton, and he makes good contact. An aggressive hitter at Arkansas, he was more selective in his pro debut and that paid big dividends for his production. He's also a fringy runner, but his instincts in the outfield enable him to play a solid center field or an above average left field. Fletcher will likely work his way up in a fourth outfield role, but if he keeps hitting for as much impact as he did in his pro debut, he could conceivably start and hit 10-15 home runs annually with solid on-base percentages.
- Wilderd Patino (2020 Age: 18-19): Patino drew a lot of walks in his first pro season in the Dominican Summer League in 2018 but didn't do much else, then broke out to slash .319/.378/.447 with a home run, 14 stolen bases, and a 46/13 strikeout to walk ratio over 40 games in the complex level Arizona League and at rookie level Missoula in 2019. Patino was just 17 years old when he started out in the AZL this year and hit .349/.403/.472 there, though he was a bit exposed as a barely-18 year old in the Pioneer League after the promotion. He doesn't hit for a ton of power at present, but his short, explosive right handed swing could easily generate above average or even plus power down the road, and his advanced approach at the plate has allowed him to hit against much older competition. He's also a good runner, giving him a well-rounded game, and he has some of the better upside in this system. There's still a long way to go but the early returns are great.
- Keep an eye on: Ben DeLuzio, Eduardo Diaz, Jorge Barrosa, Dominic Canzone, Jeferson Espinal, Alvin Guzman

Starting Pitching
- Jon Duplantier (2020 Age: 25-26): Duplantier went in the third round out of Rice in 2016, then went 17-4 with a 1.79 ERA over his first two-plus pro seasons. He bounced between the majors and the minors in 2019, posting a 5.44 ERA, a 1.60 WHIP, and a 50/31 strikeout to walk ratio over 43 innings between AAA Reno and some lower level rehab, as well as a 4.42 ERA, a 1.55 WHIP, and a 34/18 strikeout to walk ratio over 36.2 major league innings. A healthy Duplantier is absolutely a major league starter, as he can sit in the low to mid 90's with his fastball and add a curve, a slider, and a changeup while commanding everything pretty well when he's on the mound consistently. Unfortunately, nagging arm problems have limited him since college, and 2017 was really his only truly healthy season when he threw 136 innings. It's hard to have much faith that Duplantier, now 25, can throw 150+ innings in a season at the major league level, but if he can, they'd be dominant innings and he could be a #3 starter. The Diamondbacks have a bit of a crowded rotation picture, and while it's certainly not impenetrable, he's probably going to have to prove himself in the bullpen first before getting another crack at starting.
- J.B Bukauskas (2020 Age: 23): Bukauskas, who grew up in the same hometown of Ashburn, Virginia as current D-Backs starter Taylor Clarke, was a first round pick out of UNC by the Astros in 2017 then came over to Arizona in the Zack Greinke deal. After an injury-interrupted but strong 2018 (2.14 ERA, 71/24 K/BB), he was more inconsistent in 2019 and posted a 5.44 ERA, a 1.62 WHIP, and a 109/59 strikeout to walk ratio over 92.2 innings at the two AA affiliates. There's no question about the stuff, at all, as Bukauskas sits in the mid 90's with his fastball and adds a devastating slider that has never failed to miss bats consistently, while his changeup has improved since college and he's added a harder cutter. The problem lies with his command, which is well below average and which causes his stuff to play down. Additionally, it's hard to project the 6' right hander to significantly improve his command, one because he hasn't yet and just turned 23 in October and two because he throws with a lot of effort in a jerky delivery. The Astros were unable to smooth him out, and maybe the Diamondbacks will, but it's a big question mark. If he can't get close to average command, his fastball/slider combination can and will make him an impact reliever, one who could potentially even close games, but if he can figure it out somewhat, he could be a mid rotation starter.
- Corbin Martin (2020 Age: 24): Martin grew up in the Houston area and attended Texas A&M, then got drafted in the second round by his hometown Astros one round after Bukauskas and was shipped together with him and others in the Zack Greinke trade. Martin was successful in AAA in 2019 with a 3.13 ERA, a 1.37 WHIP, and a 45/18 strikeout to walk ratio over 37.1 innings, and he also posted a 5.59 ERA, a 1.81 WHIP, and a 19/12 strikeout to walk ratio over 19.1 major league innings. However, something wasn't quite right with his arm and he went down with Tommy John surgery in July, shortly before the trade. That puts his 2020 season in jeopardy, because at best he'll be available in a limited role for the stretch run in September. For 2021 and beyond, though, Martin is one to look forward to. He sits in the low to mid 90's with his fastball and complements it with a big breaking curveball and a harder slider, as well as a changeup, and his command has improved since college. It's a classic #3 or #4 starter profile, and once he gets healthy, he'll be given every chance to claim a spot in the rotation. We'll just have to see how he handles returning from injury and whether the Diamondbacks end up pushing him to the bullpen, where he was successful in college.
- Josh Green (2020 Age: 24): Green was a very under the radar 14th round senior sign out of Southeastern Louisiana in 2018, but he was a known commodity by the end of his pro debut, in which he had a 1.09 ERA and a 25/9 strikeout to walk ratio in short season ball. Green then took a massive leap forward in 2019, posting a 2.71 ERA, a 1.20 WHIP, and a 101/21 strikeout to walk ratio over 126.1 innings at High A Visalia and AA Jackson, then went and dominated in two Southern League playoff starts. If there is one way to describe Green's stuff, it's "heavy." He generates a ton of ground balls with all of his pitches, throwing a low to mid 90's sinker while adding a downer curveball and more of a diving slider, as well as a changeup, and he did a great job of hitting his spots and keeping everything low in the zone in 2019. Everything comes from a closed off delivery that makes him difficult to pick up, and he's proven durable enough to handle a starter's workload, something the names above him on this list very much have not yet. Green's still a bit of a sleeper but he has legitimate rotation aspirations and could stick in the rotation longer than any of those names above him on this list as more of a #4 innings eating guy.
- Levi Kelly (2020 Age: 20-21): I can't currently think of any active major leaguers from western West Virginia, though Charleston-area native Levi Kelly would like to change that (though his high school did produce 1957 World Series MVP Lew Burdette). Kelly, an eighth round in 2018 after transferring to the IMG Academy, had a huge breakout in 2019 with a 2.15 ERA, a 1.11 WHIP, and a 126/39 strikeout to walk ratio over 100.1 innings, often outshining his teammate and the more highly regarded Matt Tabor in that Class A Kane County rotation. He sits in the low to mid 90's with his fastball and has focused on his slider in pro ball, turning it into a real weapon. Those two pitches, combined with a changeup that has improved in pro ball, were too much for Class A hitters, and it will be interesting to see how he fares against most advanced competition. Kelly's command has come along nicely in pro ball, but there is still more work to do on that front if he wants to become a mid-rotation starter.
- Matt Tabor (2020 Age: 21-22): Tabor was a third round pick out of a Boston-area high school in 2017, and while the Diamondbacks have brought him along slowly, he's been effective every step of the way. In 2019, Tabor posted a 2.93 ERA, a 1.00 WHIP, and a 101/16 strikeout to walk ratio over 95.1 innings at Class A Kane County, where he joined Kelly and Jackson Goddard in one of the better Class A rotations around. A raw talent coming out of high school, he's basically a more refined version of what he was in 2017. He still sits in the low to mid 90's with his fastball and adds a good changeup, and his slider still needs work, but he's ironed out his mechanics and is throwing a lot more strikes than he used to. He's a bit more refined than Kelly now, but he's also a year older, and while Tabor has the better changeup, Kelly easily has him beat with the breaking ball. Tabor will need to continue to refine his offspeed stuff, but otherwise, he understands pitching and shouldn't have any trouble working his way up towards the majors, with a #3/#4 starter projection a reasonable ceiling.
- Shumpei Yoshikawa (2020 Age: 25): Yoshikawa grew up in Japan, but he jumped directly from Japan's Industrial League, which is more or less what it sounds like, to the Diamondbacks system and completely bypassed the NPB, Japan's major league. He then posted a 3.75 ERA, a 1.24 WHIP, and a 123/22 strikeout to walk ratio over 103.1 innings at High A Visalia, which certainly isn't half bad in your first taste of a foreign country. Yoshikawa doesn't throw overly hard, sitting around 90 with his fastball, but he gets most of his strikeouts with an excellent changeup that he can deploy against both lefties and righties. His breaking balls need to get more consistent, but fortunately he does fill up the strike zone and taking that step forward could help him become a back-end starter.
- Luis Frias (2020 Age: 21-22): A converted infielder, Frias has made a lot of progress over the last few years and is well on his way towards ditching the "raw power arm" label for good. In 2019, he posted a 2.83 ERA, a 1.14 WHIP, and a 101/29 strikeout to walk ratio over 76.1 innings at short season Hillsboro and Class A Kane County, refining multiple parts of his game along the way. He can sit in the mid to upper 90's with his power fastball, and he adds a big, downer curveball that just keeps on going as well as a harder changeup. While he's no control artist, he's made significant strides with his command and it's approaching average, though it still needs continued refinement. He's still somewhat raw, as he could probably use to sharpen his curveball just a touch and get more consistent with his changeup, but the building blocks are in place and he's shooting up prospect lists. If the rotation doesn't work out, his fastball/curveball combination could make him lethal in relief.
- Drey Jameson (2020 Age: 22): Jameson was a compensation pick out of Ball State in 2019, though he struggled to throw strikes in his debut and posted a 6.17 ERA, a 1.97 WHIP, and a 12/9 strikeout to walk ratio over 11.2 innings at short season Hillsboro. He's a little guy at a listed 6' and 165 pounds, but he throws really hard with a mid 90's fastball and a pair of distinct power breaking balls and he can maintain that stuff deep into games. However, there is significant reliever risk for a multitude of reasons, including his size, the effort in his delivery, and his inconsistent command. In order to stay in the rotation, Jameson will a) need to prove his durability and either b) develop his changeup or c) get more consistent with his command, but given the stamina in his right arm, he'll be able to fight hard to remain a starter. If he does move to the bullpen, the fastball and breaking balls could make him an impact reliever. It's a high risk pick for the compensation round, given that he'll turn 23 at the end of the season, but it could be a high reward one.
- Brennan Malone (2020 Age: 19): Malone went one pick before Jameson out of the IMG Academy, though he grew up in the Charlotte area before transferring for his senior year. The move paid off and in his pro debut he posted a 4.50 ERA, a 1.13 WHIP, and an 8/5 strikeout to walk ratio across eight innings in the complex level Arizona League and at short season Hillsboro. Malone is very athletic, standing 6'4" and throwing four good pitches. He sits in the low to mid 90's with his fastball and adds a great slider, which he developed at IMG, a curveball which is inconsistent but which can flash plus, and a solid changeup. His command is coming along nicely, though he does have more work to do on that front. He's a very well-balanced arm for someone who will play the whole coming season at 19 years old, and he has a shot to become a #3 starter down the road.
- Tommy Henry (2020 Age: 22-23): Henry had an extremely up and down junior year at Michigan, then went in the second competitive balance round in 2019 before allowing three runs (two earned) over three innings at short season Hillsboro in his pro debut, striking out four and walking none. He dominated early in the season, got knocked around a lot in the middle, and got hot in the NCAA Tournament against good lineups, so really, it's hard to say what he'll become. He can sit in the low 90's and add a sharp slider and a good changeup when he's on, though his stuff tends to flatten out at times and you never really know which Tommy Henry you're going to get. His command fluctuates as well, as he can really lock down the strike zone at times but at others, that command plays closer to average. That's better than fluctuating on the other side of the average line, and in all, the lefty has real upside as a #3 starter. There's a lot of risk, though, as he doesn't quite have that power relief profile should he wind up in the bullpen and he'll turn 23 in July, making him somewhat old for a college junior draftee.
- Blake Walston (2020 Age: 18-19): Walston, selected seven picks before Malone in the back half of the first round, has a higher ceiling but more work to do to get there. Coming out of a Wilmington, North Carolina high school, he posted a 2.45 ERA, a 0.91 WHIP, and a 17/2 strikeout to walk ratio over 11 innings between the Arizona League and Hillsboro, though he did get knocked around in the Northwest League playoffs. Walston is a 6'5" left hander, words which can make scouts drool, and he's exceptionally projectable. He currently sits anywhere from the high 80's to the low 90's depending on how fresh he is, and his best secondary is a curveball that can look like a true plus pitch when it's at its best. Walston also adds a slider and a changeup, but in all, he has a long way to go to reach his tremendous ceiling. First off, he needs to hit the weight room and add the stamina to pitch deep into games, and then he needs to get more consistent with his whole arsenal. He won't even turn 19 until June, so he's very young and has a ton of time, so you'd expect that the D-Backs will take it slow with him, but the end product could be a true ace three to five years down the line if this lottery ticket works out.
- Keep an eye on: Jeremy Beasley, Jeff Bain, Kenny Hernandez, Jackson Goddard, Tyler Holton, Michel Gelabert, Avery Short

Relief Pitching
- Taylor Widener (2020 Age: 25): Originally a Yankees' 12th rounder out of South Carolina in 2016, Widener came over in the three team Steven Souza/Brandon Drury deal of 2018 and had a great first season in the organization (2.75 ERA, 176/43 K/BB), but he struggled intensely in 2019 and finished with an 8.10 ERA, a 1.74 WHIP, and a 109/41 strikeout to walk ratio over 100 innings at AAA Reno. Reno is one of the most hitter friendly contexts in minor league baseball, so an 8.10 ERA there might be a 6.10 ERA elsewhere, but it's still not what you want to see and he allowed 23 home runs in 23 starts. He sits in the low to mid 90's with his fastball and adds a slider and a changeup, though neither stand out as plus and he more relies on deception and good arm side fade on the fastball and changeup to miss bats. The stuff might be a little light to work in the rotation, especially with the depth the Diamondbacks have there, but it could play up in the bullpen, where he does have experience dating back to his time at South Carolina. As a reliever, he could be ready out of spring training.
- Ryne Nelson (2020 Age: 22): Nelson was a second round pick out of Oregon in 2019, though as a native of Henderson, Nevada, he's a semi-hometown guy for the D-Backs. In his pro debut, he posted a 2.89 ERA, a 1.34 WHIP, and a 26/10 strikeout to walk ratio over 18.2 innings at short season Hillsboro, then added six dominant innings over a pair of Northwest League playoff appearances. Arizona may try him as a starter, as he was in the Ducks rotation for a time, but his future most likely lies in the bullpen unless they can clean him up considerably. He can sit in the mid to upper 90's with his fastball out of the bullpen, and his hard slider plays better in short stints. However, his command is well below average, and he'd have to make significant strides with it in order to remain a starter. He'll still need to get a bit sharper with his command even as a reliever, because while his slider is tough to square up, it's not a true out pitch at this point. If he can locate his pitches a bit better in the future, he does have the upside of an impact relief arm who could hit 100 down the road.
- Keep an eye on: West Tunnell, Breckin Williams, Mack Lemieux, Matt Mercer, Blake Workman, Conor Grammes

2019 Draft Review: Arizona Diamondbacks

First five rounds: Corbin Carroll (1-16), Blake Walston (1-26), Brennan Malone (1-33), Drey Jameson (1-34), Ryne Nelson (2-56), Tommy Henry (CBB-74), Dominic Fletcher (CBB-75), Tristin English (3-93), Glenallen Hill Jr. (4-122), Conor Grammes (5-152)
Also notable: Avery Short (12-362), Jerrion Ealy (31-932)

The Diamondbacks had an extra first round pick after failing to sign last year's first rounder Matt McLain, picked up a pair of compensation picks for losing Patrick Corbin to the Nationals and A.J. Pollock to the Dodgers, earned a competitive balance pick through the lottery, and obtained an additional competitive balance pick in the trade that sent Paul Goldschmidt to St. Louis. In all, that gave Arizona four of the first 34 picks and eight of the first 93, enabling them to play around with their massive bonus pool and bring on a ton of talent. They went underslot with five of those picks (potentially six if Tommy Henry signs underslot) and used their massive savings to reel in overslot picks in Glenallen Hill Jr. and Avery Short later in the draft, and they may not be done as they still have a few hundred thousand dollars left in that bonus pool. Overall, this massive influx of talent featured five consecutive pitchers after first rounder Corbin Carroll, a personal favorite of mine, there were so many picks that I didn't even get a chance to write about guys like seventh rounder Spencer Brickhouse, a power hitter from East Carolina, or 24th rounder Dylan Eskew, a high-upside high schooler from Tampa.

1-16: OF Corbin Carroll (Lakeside HS [WA], my rank: 8)
With their first of eight million or so picks this year, the Diamondbacks started it off strong and took a player I really like. Carroll is an outfielder from Seattle whose short stature, skinny frame, and lack of present power are no problem when you consider the rest of the package. Listed at 5'10" and 165 pounds, Carroll has exceptional feel for the barrel, so much so that he can actually hit for close to average power if he wants to and he still won't have to worry about too much swing and miss. He also uses his speed and instincts to play very good defense in center field, and that speed plays up on the bases too. On top of it all, he's reported to have a fantastic work ethic, and he should move quicker than most high school players. Carroll's ultimate projection is that of a high on-base, high stolen base, leadoff type of hitter who can also hit 10-15 home runs per season, maybe more if he fills out a little bit. He signed away from UCLA at slot for $3.75 million and is slashing .316/.316/.368 with a stolen base and six strikeouts over his first five games in the complex-level Arizona League.

1-26: LHP Blake Walston (New Hanover HS [NC], my rank: 42)
The Diamondbacks went underslot here, and perhaps no underslot signing at this point in the draft could have given them as much upside as Blake Walston. The Wilmington, North Carolina left hander is 6'4" and has an ideal pitchers' frame, albeit without much man strength on it yet. He sits in the low 90's when he's at his best, but his velocity fluctuates a lot and he is usually down somewhere in the 80's later in games. His curveball can also be a true plus pitch at its best, and even when it loses power and gets loopy, it still has good shape and he should have no trouble refining it into a consistent out pitch. Walston also adds a slider and a changeup to round out his four pitch arsenal, and his command is fairly advanced for his age, especially given how inconsistent his stuff can be. Walston will need some work on his mechanics, but ultimately getting on a pro conditioning program will hopefully help him get that fastball velocity up and get more power on his breaking balls, so he has ace upside. As a bonus, Walston is fairly young for the class and only turned 18 at the end of June. He signed for $2.45 million, which was $200,000 below slot and which kept him from attending NC State.

1-33: RHP Brennan Malone (IMG Academy [FL], my rank: 19)
After going underslot with Walston, I thought it would take an overslot deal to sign Malone away from a UNC commitment here, but they surprisingly got him at slot. Malone moved from Charlotte, North Carolina between his junior and senior seasons to attend the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, and it helped him get more consistent with his stuff. The 6'3" righty now sits in the low to mid 90's with his fastball and gets good movement on it, and he adds a pair of breaking balls and a changeup. His curveball was his out pitch before this season and it can look plus at its best but often flattens out, but this year he added a slider which has become his new out pitch and which is much more consistent. His command has also improved from shaky to average, and his athleticism has helped him along the way. Malone, like Walston, has a high ceiling as a frontline starter, but he has less work to do to get there as he can already hold his velocity through games. However, I think Walston's ceiling is just a bit higher. Malone signed at slot for $2.2 million.

1-34: RHP Drey Jameson (Ball State, my rank: 50)
With their first college pick, the Diamondbacks went underslot and selected a high upside, high risk pitcher in Drey Jameson. The six foot right hander who grew up outside of Indianapolis is a draft-eligible sophomore, but he's very old for the class and would actually be on the older side for a college junior because he turns 22 in August. Jameson improved on his up and down freshman season to post a 3.24 ERA, a 1.16 WHIP, and a 146/32 strikeout to walk ratio over 91.2 innings this year. Not only is Jameson fairly short for a pitcher at six feet tall, he also weighs in at just 165 pounds and likely won't add too much more. Still, he has a live arm that produces a mid 90's fastball and a pair of good breaking balls, and he has the arm strength to maintain his stuff and velocity deep into games. That stuff enabled him to miss a ton of bats in the relatively weak Mid-America Conference, and he should continue to miss bats in pro ball. However, his command tends to come and go, and with a high effort delivery at his size, there are reliever questions. Optimists can look at the arm strength and stuff and project him as a potential mid-rotation starter, but pessimists would argue that his size won't hold up when he moves from the every-seventh-day college schedule to the every-fifth-day pro schedule, forcing him to the bullpen. Still, he could be nasty as a reliever. Jameson signed for $1.4 million, which was $750,000 below slot.

2-56: RHP Ryne Nelson (Oregon, my rank: 72)
Another college pitcher with a premium fastball, another underslot signing. Nelson was a two-way player for Oregon as a freshman and a sophomore, but he became a pitcher-only in the Cape Cod League (2.65 ERA, 26/9 K/BB in 17 IP) and continued with that as a junior this year in Eugene. After that strong showing on the Cape, it was an up and down year for the Las Vegas-area native as he split time between the rotation and the bullpen and finished with a 4.29 ERA, a 1.55 WHIP, and a 104/41 strikeout to walk ratio over 65 innings. Nelson's biggest strength is his mid to upper 90's fastball, which he was able to blow past Pac-12 hitters at a frightening rate this year, and he also adds a good slider that can get its share of swings and misses. However, he lacks much of a changeup and his command is very mediocre this year, so he ended up getting hit harder when he fell behind in the count or when he left balls over the plate. On one hand, he's fairly new to pitching and didn't focus exclusively on it until this year, and his athleticism could help him transition to the rotation and become successful there as he gets more refined. On the other, he's a college reliever who didn't get great results this year, and that's a tough hole to climb out of. His lack of command likely pushes him to the bullpen long term, but we'll see how he progresses. The 6'3" righty signed for $1.1 million, which was $180,000 below slot.

CBB-74: LHP Tommy Henry (Michigan, my rank: 75)
One of the centerpieces of Michigan's surprise run to the College World Series Finals, Tommy Henry has a live arm but has been up and down this spring. After posting a 3.09 ERA and a 77/26 strikeout to walk ratio as a sophomore, he came back this year with a 3.27 ERA, a 1.03 WHIP, and a 135/26 strikeout to walk ratio over 124 innings for the Wolverines, a heavy workload which will probably limit his pro innings this year once he signs. Henry is a 6'3" lefty from just outside Kalamazoo, Michigan, and he has looked very good at his best. He tossed 23 shutout innings with a 34/2 strikeout to walk ratio over his first three starts against SUNY Binghamton, The Citadel, and Cal State Northridge, then stepped up against a fearsome UCLA lineup in his next start and struck out ten over six innings. However, he put up an unsightly 6.50 ERA and a 42/15 strikeout to walk ratio in 45.2 innings in conference play, making it look like he just got lucky in that UCLA start. Then he confused us again by averaging eight innings per start in the NCAA Tournament and striking out 31 to just three walks over 31.2 innings (though three of those four starts came after the draft). When he's on, he sits in the low 90's with his fastball and adds a solid slider and an advanced changeup with good command, but during that run through the Big 10 as well as previously in his career, he sat closer to 90, his stuff flattened out a bit, and his command regressed from above average to average. Pre-draft, I wasn't sold on Henry because I didn't like the idea of drafting someone on Day One just due to a month of good pitching early in the season, but his very good post-draft performance has me more willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, and I might have ranked him ten spots higher if I re-did them today. Henry projects as a back-end starter if he can get to where he has been at his best more consistently, though he could be a #3 if he not only gets there but takes a step forward. However, pitching like he did in the middle of the season will get him bumped to the bullpen, and his early birthday (he turns 22 in July) doesn't help him. He hasn't signed because his season ended less than a week ago, and slot value is $844,200.

CBB-75: OF Dominic Fletcher (Arkansas, my rank: 102)
Fletcher, like Henry, is a bit of an enigma, but for different reasons. The younger brother of Angels infielder David Fletcher, Dominic has performed well at Arkansas despite lacking standout tools. Fletcher had his best year in 2019, when he slashed .313/.385/.528 with eleven home runs and a 54/28 strikeout to walk ratio, and that included a .305/.346/.500 run through SEC play. The Southern California native is only 5'9" and he doesn't show much raw power, but he got to what little power he has frequently at Arkansas and against high level pitching. However, for a 5'9" kid who needs to find the barrel consistently to make an impact, his plate discipline isn't great and that was especially apparent in SEC play, where he struck out 30 times (22.1%) to just six walks. If he wants his approach to work in pro ball, he'll need to get more selective and find pitches he can drive. Defensively, it's a similar story as Fletcher lacks speed but uses his instincts to get to a lot of fly balls in the outfield. He could be playable in center field, but left field would be the better overall fit and he could excel there. Overall, he projects as a fourth outfielder with some power and a decent on-base percentage. He signed for $700,000, which was $131,100 below slot, and he is slashing .300/.364/.400 with a double and a walk over his first three games at Class A Kane County.

3-93: 1B Tristin English (Georgia Tech, unranked)
A two-way player at Georgia Tech, English drew some interest as a right handed reliever as he posted a 3.70 ERA and a 20/7 strikeout to walk ratio over 24.1 innings as the Yellow Jackets' closer this year, doing so with a low 90's fastball and a couple of solid breaking balls. However, his future lies as a hitter after he slashed .346/.427/.710 with 18 home runs and a 30/17 strikeout to walk ratio over 57 games, also leading the ACC by a wide margin with 21 hit by pitches (Florida State's Matheu Nelson was second with 17). The Central Georgia native also slashed .300/.366/.510 with five home runs and a 15/6 strikeout to walk ratio over 32 games on the Cape, and with his 6'3" frame, it's easy to see his power playing up at the next level. He'll need to get a little more patient at the plate to start drawing some more walks, but he has 20-25 home run upside with decent on-base percentages if he can transition to pro ball well. Working against him is his age, as he's a college senior who already turned 22 in May, but seniors have succeeded before. Defensively, he's playable in either corner outfield spot and has done a good job at first base, so while the pressure will still be on his bat, he at least provides some moderate value in the field. He signed for $500,000, which was $127,900 below slot, and he picked up one single in four at bats in his first game with short-season Hillsboro.

4-122: SS Glenallen Hill Jr. (Santa Cruz HS [CA], my rank: 127)
After five straight college picks, the Diamondbacks went back to the high school side and took Glenallen Hill Jr., son of 13 year major leaguer Glenallen Hill who was mostly a fourth outfielder in the 1990's. Junior played his high school ball out in Santa Cruz, which I imagine isn't the worst place to grow up, and he shows a very interesting skills package despite only standing 5'9", which makes him the fourth "little guy" that the Diamondbacks drafted. The switch hitter has plenty of bat speed in both of his swings and shows good loft from the right side, helping him hit for average power despite his size. He doesn't make the most consistent contact, and that will definitely be something to work on in pro ball, but finding the barrel a little bit more will help him become a true threat at the plate. Defensively, he was drafted as a shortstop but will likely have to move to center field, where he can use his plus speed to become an above average defender once he gets more reps. Hill is raw and needs a lot of work, but he has high upside if he can make the necessary adjustments and become a faster Willie Calhoun. He signed for $850,000, which was $381,000 above slot, and he's slashing .185/.214/.370 with a home run, three stolen bases, and a 12/1 strikeout to walk ratio over his first seven games with Corbin Carroll in the Arizona League.

5-152: RHP Conor Grammes (Xavier, unranked)
Grammes, like English, was a two way player in college with draft aspirations both ways, but he ended up being selected as a pitcher. He came to Xavier without much fanfare, as he managed to walk on to the team after emailing the coach. I played against him in high school and while he was a good shortstop at McLean in Northern Virginia, he didn't stand out on the field as much as you would expect from a future fifth rounder, so the progress he has made with the Musketeers is remarkable. Grammes put up fantastic numbers over three years as a hitter for Xavier, slashing .334/.396/.513 with 25 home runs in 168 games. He also posted a 3.95 ERA, a 1.38 WHIP, and a 79/46 strikeout to walk ratio over 68 innings as a starting pitcher this year, and that's what he'll be doing in the Arizona farm system. Grammes sat in the mid 90's as a starter but when he transitions to relief in pro ball, he should be able to sit in the upper 90's with his big fastball. However, given that he is new to pitching and has been a two-way player as well, his fastball is just about his only weapon at this point. His slider is inconsistent and can flatten out, and his command is well below average because he throws from a high-effort delivery. Now that he is giving up hitting, focusing on his slider and command will be his priorities, and he could turn himself into a set-up man at the big league level. He signed for $300,000, which was $50,300 below slot.

12-362: LHP Avery Short (Southport HS [IN], my rank: 111)
The D-Backs built up a bunch of savings with their early picks, and while some of that went to signing Glenallen Hill Jr. away from Arizona State, and even bigger chunk went to grabbing Indianapolis-area high schooler Avery Short in the twelfth round. Short is only 18, but he looks like a college pitcher because his pitchability is so advanced. He sits in the high 80's with his fringy fastball and can occasionally bump it into the low 90's, but he adds a good curveball and slider that can generate swings and misses already in addition to a changeup. He also has very advanced command for his age and mixes his pitches effectively, so he should be able to move more quickly than the typical high school arm. The 6'2" lefty could add some velocity once he gets on a pro conditioning program, and just a little more velocity is all he needs if he wants to be a back-end starter in the majors, if not more, so long as he maintains his command. If Short can improve not just his velocity but his secondary pitches as well, he could be a mid-rotation starter. It took $922,500 to sign him away from Louisville, which counts for $797,500 against Arizona's bonus pool.

31-932: OF Jerrion Ealy (Jackson Prep HS [MS], my rank: 65)
Signability was a concern with Ealy, and evidently his asking price was too high for teams to match and he'll end up at Ole Miss. The Diamondbacks actually have a few hundred thousand left in their bonus pool and could offer him upwards of $500,000, but even that seems a little light to draw him away from school and that money will probably go elsewhere, such as to 16th rounder Brock Jones, a lefty with a nice curveball or to 24th rounder Dylan Eskew, a live armed righty with some upside who ranked 119th on my list. Ealy is arguably the best athlete in the class as he is also a five star running back recruit and will play both sports at Ole Miss. He's following the trend of short draftees and stands just 5'10", but he's built like a tank and packs a lot of strength into his shorter frame. The Carthage, Mississippi native who attended high school an hour away in Jackson had first round hopes coming into the season, but a poor senior season dropped his stock to more of a second round talent. He hits for power but his swing mechanics are very raw and need a lot of work, which caused him to perform poorly this spring against mediocre Mississippi high school competition. His top of the scale athleticism plays very well in center field, where he figures to be a plus defender with a strong arm, as well as on the bases, where he should use his speed to steal plenty of bases. Getting those swing mechanics ironed out will be the biggest challenge for Ealy, but if he can do it, he could be a five tool player at the major league level. We'll just have to wait a few years to let him play for the Rebels.

2019 Draft Preview: High School Outfielders

This isn't a particularly deep class of high school outfielders, with the Atlanta area usually sending us a boatload but remaining quiet this year, but once you get past the top two rounds or so, more names do start to appear. Most of the better bats in this high school draft class will be found on the infield (see Bobby Witt, Brett Baty, Rece Hinds, Tyler Callihan), but it's not empty and there certainly are some headliners.

Tier I: Riley Greene, Corbin Carroll
The two headliners in this year's high school outfield class live three thousand miles apart on perfectly opposite corners of the country, and their skill sets might be just as far apart as well. Riley Greene, playing ball in Orlando and committed to Florida, is the best pure bat in the high school class save for Witt. Greene is imposing at the plate at 6'1" and gets to his plus raw power very consistently, making him as safe a bet as any high schooler to hit in pro ball. He has a big swing, but his very good approach at the plate and hand-eye coordination help him keep his swing and miss rate low, and those two traits combined should help him grow into 25-30 home run pop in the majors. Combine that with his projected high on-base percentages, and Greene should be a solid middle of the order hitter down the road. He's just so-so in the outfield, likely ending up in left field, but he won't be a liability and the added pressure on his bat won't be an issue. He'll definitely go in the top ten picks, more than likely in the top six. Seattle native Corbin Carroll is safely behind Greene on most draft boards, but he provides a very different vision of a player. At a listed 5'11" and 160 pounds, he doesn't look like an impact hitter, but he has one of the best hit tools in the country among high schoolers with an exceptional feel for both the barrel and zone that help him get on base consistently even against high-level competition. Carroll does a good job of using his load to gain ground on the ball, allowing him to drive through the ball and giving evaluators hope that he can add power down the road as he fills out. He's a good defender in center field who should be able to stick there, with his plus speed helping him track down balls in the gaps. He looks to go somewhere in the top half of the first round, though closer to the middle than the front.

Tier II: Sammy Siani, Maurice Hampton, Jerrion Ealy, Trejyn Fletcher
If Greene and Carroll were about as different as it gets, then the four players in this tier (save for Siani) are actually pretty similar. Sammy Siani, younger brother of Reds 2018 fourth rounder Mike Siani, plays ball in Philadelphia and offers an interesting tool set. He's just 5'11" but he has a smooth, uppercut swing that could produce close to average power down the road. Despite his power-oriented swing, he actually does a very good job of getting the bat on the ball consistently and catching up to good pitching, so with less of a need to worry about his strikeout rates climbing to high, he can continue focusing on trying to drive the ball into the gaps and over fences. He's pretty good defensively so that's a slight boost, and he has a fairly wide range of outcomes due to his potential power upside. He looks like a second round pick at the moment. Over in Memphis, Maurice Hampton offers some really interesting upside with his intense athleticism (he's committed to LSU to play both baseball and football) and present tools. Hampton has a quick swing and above average raw power, though like most two-sport athletes, he needs to refine his hit tool and learn to translate his batting practice power into game power. He also needs to get a little more patient at the plate, as increasing his walk rate could help him employ that SEC cornerback speed on the bases. Defensively, that speed makes him a solid center fielder, though he's raw there as well. With an August birthday, Hampton is one of the younger players in the class. which will give him some extra time to refine his game if he chooses to give up football. He looks like he could go in the comp round, but signability will make that uncertain. Interestingly, Hampton isn't the only two-way SEC recruit this year, as Jackson, Mississippi's Jerrion Ealy is committed to Ole Miss as a running back. At 5'10" and 190 pounds, he's built like a running back, too, and that athleticism makes him a really interesting baseball prospect. Ealy hits the ball hard and showed impressive feel for the barrel over the summer, but it's been a rough spring as he has shown that he has a long way to go offensively. His mechanics need to be ironed out so that he can smooth out his swing and add loft, and given his mediocre performance this spring, he comes with a lot of risk. He's better defensively than Hampton at this point, showing a better chance to stick in center field, though he's also a full year older with an August birthday. When Hampton turns 18, he'll turn 19 less than three weeks later, and he looks more like a second or third round pick, also clouded by signability concerns. Trejyn Fletcher isn't committed to an SEC school to play football, but it's a good thing we're talking about baseball because Vanderbilt has a spot waiting for him in its dugout for next season. Despite the lack of gridiron skills, Fletcher is just as interesting as Hampton and Ealy because he reclassified from a junior to a senior this year (which would be age-appropriate for him anyways), and oh yeah, he might be the best high school baseball prospect in Maine history. The Portland native is just as raw as you would expect for a kid from what I as a Virginian consider the Arctic, showing a very choppy, short swing that won't work in pro ball. That said, he's extremely athletic and has been rising on draft boards recently, shooting up potentially into the second round, and his solid glove and strong arm will buy the bat some time to develop. He has high upside and a lot of risk, but it looks like he might get drafted early enough for a team to keep him from following the path that infielder Ryan Flaherty paved from Portland to Vanderbilt.

Tier III: Chris Newell, Trey Faltine, Glenallen Hill Jr., Joshua Mears
These four don't offer quite the upside of the previous four, or if they do, they have a bit less of a chance to get there. Chris Newell, like Siani, lives in the Philadelphia area, and he actually has a fairly similar left handed swing to him. However, while Siani is currently hit over power due to his feel for the barrel, Newell is more power over hit and is already driving the ball with more authority than Siani, at least when he gets to it. There is more swing and miss in his game, giving the uppercut less of a chance to work in pro ball, and he has a fairly similar defensive profile to his crosstown Trey Faltine has one of the more interesting profiles among the guys who aren't SEC football players, as he's probably the most versatile player in the entire class. Faltine, from the Houston area, can play any position but catcher and he's also a legitimate pitching prospect, which I'll leave for a later writeup while I throw him in the outfield group for this one. Offensively, he has a great feel for the barrel with a swing that is more geared for contact than for power, and at 6'3", he could add some power down the road. He's not exceptionally fast but he can play any position, using his instincts to perform well anywhere from shortstop to center field. Despite his feel for the game, he overall lacks the current in-game impact of some of the players ahead of him, but once he decides what position he wants to play and gives up pitching (if he ends up as a position player at all), he should be able to channel his focus into becoming a top of the order hitter with high on-base percentages, some power, and average to slightly above average speed. He looks like a third or fourth rounder at first glance but could sneak into the second round. Glenallen Hill Jr. is the son of former big leaguer Glenallen Hill, and the Santa Cruz native has used his big, powerful swing to put himself on the map as a potential power hitter despite standing just 5'9". He's not too much unlike the Rangers' Willie Calhoun in that regard, though he's faster, can switch hit, and is limited to the outfield defensively. Hill's swing is a thing of beauty, but he has struggled with contact at times and because of his size, the power plays closer to average. Those two issues combined make him more of a third or fourth round prospect, though he has some real upside if he can find a way to get to his power consistently and use his speed to play good defense in the outfield. Lastly, Seattle area-native Joshua Mears doesn't quite match his cross-town opponent Corbin Carroll, but he's got some pop coming from a 6'3", 235 pound frame. Combine that with a good swing that generates plenty of whip and loft, and that will get scouts' attention. He has some swing and miss in his game and he's mediocre defensively, but the upside at the plate if he can gain a better approach at the plate will make him a solid pick in the third or fourth rounds.

Others: Hylan Hall, Dasan Brown, James Beard, Hudson Head