The 2022 Watchlist Pt. II - Issue #6B
Prospect Hitters I'm Watching in 2022
ARI - 3B Deyvison De Los Santos
De Los Santos seems to impress with every tweet of a mammoth home run he's hit and it's been a looong time (maybe never?) since the D-Backs have had a prospect hitter with this much buzz. In 37 games of Low A ball, he put together a .276/.340/.421 line with 3 HRs and 12 doubles.
A solid 3B with this type of game and raw power at only 18? That's gotta be something to watch out for in the upcoming season.
What I'm Watching For:
I want to see how De Los Santos' hit tool adapts to a full season of pitching that's a little bit more advanced than rookie ball. After that promotion last season, his K rate rose from 25.3% to 26.9% while the walk rate shrunk to 8.1%. That'd not the direction you want to see from such a young hitter. Teenagers who are aggressive early and can only hit mistake pitches quickly fizzle out. De Los Santos will have to prove he's better than that.
BAL - 3B Coby Mayo
I asked this question rhetorically in my recent breakdown of the Pitcher List Prospect Tournament but I'm becoming more and more convinced that he actually ends this 2022 season as the Orioles' 3rd best prospect.
What I'm Watching For:
How aggressive is this Orioles regime with raw talent? It's relatively easy to ease an Adley or Grayson asking when they're that refined. But to take a prep bat that showed good power but still was a raw hitter and have them show as well as Mayo has thus far should force the organization to react. It will be telling if Mayo spends more than a month at Low A Aberdeen.
COL - OF Yanquiel Fernandez
The first DSL guy on my list, Fernandez torched the league to the tune of a 154 wRC+. Listed at 6'2, 198lbs, Fernandez has a frame that could add some additional weight from strength training. He has solid swing mechanics with a quiet setup & good load with hand/hip separation plus some bend to generate power.
What I'm Watching For:
With DSL players, the first big hurdle is always the same and that's playing in the US. For many of these guys, it's their first time and they're teenagers typically so the obstacles go beyond what's on the field. For Fernandez he's already started the acclimation process through fall instructs. Fernandez is the reason the Low A Fresno Grizzlies are getting penciled in as one of my MiLB.tv "Must See" teams.
OAK - SS Zack Gelof
Anytime a player ends up playing Triple A by the end of the season in which they were drafted, they're bound to get your attention. Yes, Gelof only played in 3 games and yes, it was only as an injury replacement. But still, it says something about Gelof that out of all of the possible players, the A's thought enough of him and his development to put him in such an advanced environment. And he didn't disappoint. In those 3 games, he went 7/13 with 1 double and a walk while only striking out twice. In his conventional Low A environment, he knocked 7 HRs along with a 13.1% BB rate.
What I'm Watching For:
I want to see how hungry Gelof is to return to that high level of competition. I assume he'll start in A ball (possibly High A) and while he lacks one major carrying skill, his ability to walk, solid defense and slight pop make him a prime candidate for a multi-level promotion. We already know that the A's have faith in him.
PIT - C Endy Rodriguez
Stop me if you heard this one before but there's a really good catching prospect working his way up the rankings. While it seems like the fantasy community is up to its eyeballs in talented catching prospects, I do think Rodriguez could be something truly special. He hits everything hard (2021 Max EV: 108.7 MPH) and has an advanced approach at the plate as evidenced by his 11.5%BB rate. In his first full season of baseball, Rodriguez slammed 15 HRs and 25 doubles.
What I'm Watching For:
At 21 years old, Endy is slightly older than you'd want a prospect in Low A. However, it was his first full season of baseball after two years of rookie ball stints in the Mets organization before 2020. With that said, I want to see him wreck Low A and then begin to show his skills at High A Greensboro. Hitting 15 homers in the FCL isn't easy and I'd love to see how many of those doubles might fly out of the park as well. Additionally, given his incredible strong arm and his lean frame, I'm a proponent of a position change and I'd love to see if Pittsburgh fells the same.
SEA - OF Gabriel Gonzalez
I'm not going to compare Gonzalez to one of the most talented prospects in existence who also plays in the same organization. I am going to say that there's some uncanny similarity between both of their age-17 seasons. Now obviously, Rodriguez moved from rookie ball to being on the MLB doorstep in three seasons. If that was easy to do, he wouldn't be the remarkable player he is, so again I'm tempering my expectations for Gonzalez. But putting up numbers to even get yourself in this conversation is a great start to his career.
What I'm Watching For:
A great start is nothing without a follow-up. Gonzalez should make his stateside debut this season and I'm watching to see his plate discipline. If Gonzalez can keep the approach that delivered a .60 BB/K rate while continuing to develop power to all fields, he'll be well on his way.
SFG - SS Aeverson Arteaga
Arteaga is someone who popped onto my radar thanks to some tweets from Giants writer (and great follow) Roger Munter. Arteaga got some ink spilled in some prospect circles in July after he went on a multi homer binge in the DSL, hitting 7 in the month. He's been rated highly defensively with praise for his range & footwork at shortstop which helps his potential future value.
What I'm Watching For:
I doubt that Arteaga will be much of a home run hitter as he matures but ideally his swing remains consistent to assist doubles from gap to gap. He got an opportunity to play in 1 Low A game after the DSL season ended, which I had the chance to watch. He looked fine in the field and at the plate though not overly advanced. He has some above average speed and baserunning instincts which helped him go from 1st to 3rd on a single to LF. I want to see this type of player through a full Low A season and watch if he's able to stay within himself ass line drive hitter rather than sell out for power.
WAS - SS Brady House
House is the type of player that would be labeled "ATH" of he were a football recruit. A prep bat who also pitched well in HS, House seems to be committed to staying at SS but you could see him playing several different positions due to his size. If he grows anymore, his body may leave the Nationals no choice but to put him in a corner role, either INF or OF. Regardless, the bat is the carrying tool as House has an advanced hit tool, showing patience and bat to ball skills that are printed to develop. He already torched the FCL last season so A ball is the clearly the next step.
What I'm Watching For:
But which level of A ball? On one hand, House is only 18 and few 18 year olds are ready for the general advanced nature of High A in their 2nd pro season. On the other, the Nationals farm system is rather pedestrian, especially with position players. Maybe they get aggressive with House's assignment or even promote him quickly after a solid month at Low A Fredericksburg. How House develops will be an interesting indicator of the Nationals plan for the next five years.
Next month...
Opening Day approaches for MLB and MiLB! Between my life, my job, and the content I'm creating for Pitcher List & Prospects1500, I need a break somewhere. So no newsletter from me in April (your inboxes are welcome 😁) but I'll be back at it in May. Thanks for reading as always, feel free to comment and share your thoughts.
Check out On The Farm from Pitcher List hosted by yours truly and visit Prospects1500.com, where I'll be writing about the Astros' minor league system. See y'all in May!