Below is our list of the 100 most promising players in baseball. Scout summaries are compiled from existing data and information provided by industry sources, as well as our own observations. This is the second year we’ve made a distinction between the two expected pitcher roles, and you’ll see the abbreviations in the “Position” column below: MIRP for the multi-inning reliever and SIRP for the one-inning reliever.
Now, here are a few important things to keep in mind when reading the top 100. You will notice that the leads are ranked numerically as well as in a hierarchy divided by their future value rating. FV rank is more important than ordinal rank. For example, the gap between Julio Rodriguez (#4) and Triston Casas (#16) is 12 places, and the talent gap between them is huge. Meanwhile, the difference between Mark Vintos (64th) and Patrick Bailey (76th) is 12 figures, but the difference in talent is relatively small. As you may have noticed, there are over 100 leads and over 100 scout resumes in the table below. This is because we also included 50 FV leads that didn’t make it into the top 100. Their report appears below under the heading “Other 50 FV Perspectives”. The same principle of comparison applies to them.
You’ll also notice that each prospect on the list has a future value distribution map. This is an attempt to graphically represent how likely each FV result is for each lead. Before leaving ESPN, Kylie McDaniel used the excellent work of our former colleague Craig Edwards to find the base rate for each FV level prospect (for forwards and pitchers, respectively) and the probability of each FV outcome. For example, according to Craig’s research, a batter on a lineup with an average FV of 60 has a 26% chance of becoming a 5+ WAR regular in the 6 years he controls and has a 27% chance of accumulating no more than a few in the 6 years he controls. years of war. We start with base rates for each player on this year’s roster and then manually adjust them based on our more specific comments about the players. For example, Ellie De La Cruz and Steven Kwan are both potential buyers of 50 FV, but they are completely different. De La Cruz could be a shortstop with positive and negative energy, or he could turn into Seoul Mathias. Meanwhile, Kwan has leveled up and will almost certainly contribute to a major league team, but he doesn’t have nearly the same power or high level potential as De La Cruz. We want the distribution map to reflect these differences.
This year, the outlook is down slightly at the 60 and 55 FV levels. Typically, the 55 FV level ranks 50th out of the top 100 (again, not quite the top 100, and ranking all leads with 50 FV and above, but this title is an SEO nightmare), but this year the panel only extends to 32nd place. . This could be due to random changes in potential demographics, or a lost year of development in 2020, or new rookie selection rules, resulting in several players leaving our roster earlier than in the past. For example, José Barrero and Caliber Ruiz could qualify under the old roster rules. These people can be found in the Alumni section of the board. Or maybe our assessment was wrong.
For a further explanation of the advantages and disadvantages of Future Value, read this and this. If you’d like to read a whole book on the subject, it’s available here.
Rutchman is a great defender, he’s also a pretty good striker, he has a lot of power, and he’s also a warm, charismatic leader.
Rutchman is a promising team-changing player and one of the most exciting young players in all of the sport. He’s a daring hitter with a combination of batting and strength that can make him an All-Star anywhere in the Diamond, an excellent defensive end in baseball’s toughest positions, and an energetic, loud, charismatic leader. His stellar stats and consistent scouting record for nearly five years make him the best baseball player in our eyes.
Since the fall of his first season, Luchman has been named the best player in the 2019 draft. He ended up hitting .353/.473/.559 throughout his career at OSU, where he also briefly played on the football team and was separated from the rest of the American College team. Unsurprisingly, he was selected No. 1 in 2019 and signed to an $8.1 million contract. 2021 is Rutchman’s first full professional season due to the pandemic. The Orioles sent him straight to Double-A Bowie where he hit .271/.392/.508 and was promoted to Triple-A Norfolk. All season he’s hitting .285/.397/.502, walking almost as many as strikeouts and 50 off bases. In the midst of all this, he went to a futures game, where his batting practice was one of the loudest and most impressive of the elite talents. In the middle of the game, he would switch sides and begin to serve the ball to his place at Coors Field without moving so that he would be comfortable on that side. Rutchman’s swing is very athletic for someone his size, and while it’s usually a labor-intensive swing, he hardly feels it, reaching 6.7 percent of his swing in 2021 and among the best in his junior years. That mark would place Luchman 16th in the major leagues eligible for 2021, slightly better than Jose Artouf and Justin Turner in that particular statistical division.
Rutchman catches the ball in a traditional crouch, but sometimes goes down on one knee when he receives the pitch to improve his play against the referee. He is strong enough to serve in the bottom of the strike zone without letting his target sag in the first place, which is what many other receivers need to do. His best rebound time is hovering around 1.90 and he’s up, although Rutchman’s longer leverage and bigger frame sometimes means he needs an extra tenth of his talent when he has to reach across his body to catch a fake interception attempt. His fiery lively make-up is adapted to the situation. At times he leads the pitchers calmly, and at other times he is completely Brian Dawkins style, lighting fires under teams and crowds.
Rutchman is a near-perfect prospect and has sparked internal discussions about whether he should be our second player with 80 FV. We ditched this mainly due to the nature of the catcher position, which tends to cut games and is often accompanied by (sometimes long) recreational offensive stretches due to physical catching charges. There’s also a small gap between Rutchman’s measured brute force and his visual record, and his barrel speed in 2021 is slightly below the major league average. Adli made a lot of touches, but not always in the sweet spot of the ball, which made us expect a double-double all over the court, and not an elite total of homer. However, he is considered an All-Star regular and MVP regular, the top wide receiver in baseball for the next decade.
Witt, a seasoned athlete with baseball’s perfect physique, plans to stay shortstop, hit 25 home runs a year, and be the cornerstone of Kansas City’s recovery.
The pace at which Werther developed made Ocarina of Time speedrunners jealous, as the Royals effectively skipped the talented shortstop and sent him to Double-A Northwest Arkansas in early 2021. This is his first full season with a partner ball. Witt started the year as a 20-year-old hitting .290/.361/.576 in a season that was evenly split between two AAs and triple A’s. In just 123 games, he hit 72 overruns, including 33 home runs, and hit 29 bases with 73 – percentage chance of success. The 33 minor leagues rank fourth among all the minor leagues, behind only Marlins rookie Griffin Konin (whose father had a brief stint with the team in 1995) and draw partners M.J. Melendez and Nick Pratto.
In over five years of continuous dominance, Witt has been instrumental in major competitions, both physically and fundamentally, during the 2020 summer camp and reserve field, and during the 2021 spring training. In junior high school, he was a renowned elite player due to his physical talent and composure, eventually finishing behind Adley Rutchman in the 2019 draft. His hit tool was picky pre-draft, which is only natural given the after Luchman combo is a couple of older hit tools like Witt and Andrew Vaughn, CJ Abrams and Riley Green. Witt’s base stats suggest there’s still a lot to be desired here, as he has some issues swaying inside hard sliders on the outside edge, and his swing average (14.3%) is below the 2021 average. But because he is a viable defensive shortstop with a lot of raw power and has proven he will use that power in the game, Werther only needs a level 40 punch to become a star and looks like a WAR player locked down for at least 3 years, even if everything works out there. At Omaha it was superb in speed, hitting .800 on trails of 93 mph and up (albeit only a 77-pitch example), and it turned on the heater particularly well. He is a 30-homer threat and can create a stable lineup of Trevor Storey and Willie Adams as Witt is closer to their size than XL Tatis/Correa/Seeger. Witt lost multiple lightning bolts for the first time in late 2021 and has become history. It’s not too bad due to the short risk for Witter, but it’s worth watching in early 2022 as many of Witter’s other defensive traits (his range and hand) are already good, but his moves are great. The Royals’ player-friendly and honest approach to promotion means Vetter could start the season in the big leagues, but the presence of Adalberto Mondez and Nikki Lopez makes Vetter more likely to spend his time in several different positions on the pitch rather than as everyday. shortstop, part of an infield team that could help Whit Merrifield keep his feet fresh. Witt hit several second bases during spring 2021 training and dropped to third during Mondesi rehab in Omaha. There may be a period of adjustment as Whitt gains experience in other positions and meets major league skaters in the regular season, but in the end he will become a superstar and be an exciting young royal.
Rodriguez changed his body in high school and developed tremendous speed, and Baltimore helped him develop a good or even better pitching repertoire. He is on his own level as a pitching prospect in the minors.
Rodriguez, who graduated 11th overall in Texas High School in 2018, noticed an improvement immediately after turning pro. He made another leap in 2020 during his stint on the alternate court and then somehow found another pass last season with dominant play in minor tournaments where his strikeouts were nearly legal to triple his hitting. It’s hard to say that anyone other than Rodriguez is the best player in baseball and no one can match him for the depth and quality of his arsenal. His fastball now hits 96-98 mph and hits three figures a few times, and he added a 90s low-speed ball cutter that came out fast and scored extra points. As good as his fastball speed and movement is, his by-product is even better as both of his powerful breakballs received 70s from some scouts thanks to his low slip in the 80s. on Curveballs with similar speeds. His low stance variant from the 80s gives him a fifth or better, with a big speed gap and a lot of fading action. He had a starting frame and fixed many flaws in his serve, ending with a clumsy finish that left him far from the only batsman to choose from. These changes have changed the pitcher from one with a reputation for being in command to one who can better position all the fields in the area. It sounds too good to be true, but in terms of Rodriguez’s current abilities or future potential, there isn’t much to like. Rodriguez could make his major league debut in 2022 and could be the No. 1 starter and Cy Young candidate.
An outgoing young striker (unless you’re 60’6), Rodriguez combines heavy touch with power, making him the highest-rated corner bat on this list.
He showed some vulnerability to well-placed sliders during his lucky 2020-21 LIDOM and there is concern if Rodriguez can make the necessary adjustments to fix his approach without slowing him down in the game. major leagues. But his minor league play in 2021 is near flawless. In 28 Low-A games, he hit .325/.410/.581, shooting 21.6% and moving 10.4%. After being promoted to Double-A, he improved in almost every category, with fewer strikeouts, more walks, and a significant .363/.461/.546 record in 46 games. Only twice has he played two or more games in a row without hitting, and never more than three.
As part of the Summer Olympics, Rodríguez left his sister club representing the Dominican Republic, first in the qualifiers in June and then at the Olympics in the summer. He was able to impress in those stops, starts and long drives. Seeing Rodriguez in the context of the Olympics (once against an elite NPB team and tomorrow against a player of his age from South Korea) made his fitness more evident than in senior affiliated games. Compared to the 40-year-old runner in 2019, Julio’s physique has deteriorated significantly. That, combined with changing his swing to instantly take him out of the paint, should help him run in 2021. When he returned to the US, he picked up where he left off with an OPS of 1,047 and a wRC+ of 185, and his strikeout rate (13.8% and 185% respectively) over the final five weeks of the season of 15.2%) is almost one of the youngest players in Double-A. His ability to be so picky at the plate while maintaining contact and power is not only impressive, but extremely rare for a batsman like Rodriguez.
In past reports, Eric has noticed some changes in Rodriguez’s forefoot, which speaks to his ability to adapt to serves in different places. His footwork in boxing doesn’t look like it will be as variable until the 2021 season. But if you look at the last three home runs he’s hit with a double-A, and his hitting times are the same – culminating when the pitcher pulls his hands away and lands after the release – his touchdown points have some variation that seems to be intentional. applying his strength in all areas, sending the ball to the left, right and center. Assuming he can stay healthy (he’s had several hand and wrist injuries in his career), he’ll go on to play as a perennial All-Star and MVP contender with a personality that has earned him the face of the franchise.
Possibly the best college hitter of the last decade, Thorkelsen’s bat lives up to his image but has elite potential.
Thorkelsen was considered one of the best offensive players in all of baseball even before he turned pro, as his performance and fundamentals at Arizona State ruined some drafting models. As the No. 1 pick in the 2020 draft, Thorkelsen may not have produced some of the expected breakout stats in his professional debut, but that speaks more to high expectations than actual results as he reaches AAA and shows he’s near the top. league. ready after just 121 games in the minor leagues. Thorkelsen has the potential to be a strike bat that can hit championship-caliber lineups at three or four holes. His brute strength is close to or top notch, but he’s also a great striker with a tight swing and a sense of barrel control that some scouts get when he closes a few holes in the bottom of the Foretelling area plus tool hits. the decisions are nearly flawless, but sometimes he can become passive, waiting for the perfect pitch, giving up on those he has proven he can drive. While he never played in the hot corner in college, the Tigers dabbled with him there during the season, but the results were disappointing; on average he was a low twitch player with the best hands, just a second baseman at first base. Thorkelsen’s bat is his ticket to the big leagues, and it’s hard to find someone who thinks he won’t be a formidable paint player in the coming years and a strong candidate for Rookie of the Year in 2022.
Green’s jiggle is cute and kind of ferocious. His odd walk belies his athleticism, which is most evident (and most important) in batsman boxing, where he is the ultimate prodigy.
Green has only been raking since high school, and now he’s been raking all the way to Triple-A, which he got just a few weeks before his 21st birthday. Green, who was sent to Double-A in early 2021, played in just 24 professional baseball games all season, ending a year of playing against alternate fields time and time again. His response was a combination of 0.301/0.387/0.534 at both levels. The performance was astounding and solidified Green’s longtime industry determination to have exceptional hitting talent. His backswing has controlled ferocity (Green has excellent lower body flexibility) that sprays all over the court with enough raw juice to hit the ball in any crevice. His strike rate is a bit higher than the typical player with such a superb record on paper, and he swings and concedes more shots in the Toledo zone than we can imagine. But then again, Green is only 20 years old and at the AAA level. His notoriety as an amateur allows him to showcase his shot vision, and we think that’s enough for him to make adjustments if necessary. Although he lacks athleticism at times (we threw him into the far corners of the field), Green fishes where it matters most: in the penalty area. We think he shoots enough to be a multiple All-Star.
Built like an SEC guard, the curvaceous Alvarez has explosive rims and a great throw to stay behind the plate, giving him the ceiling of a cathedral.
Alvarez has been one of the most hyped players in the Mets system since leaving Venezuela in 2018 for nearly $3 million, and he has pretty much lived up to the hype. Considered too advanced for the team’s Dominican complex, he made his U.S. career debut in 2019 before hitting a .941 OPS in two A’s at age 21 as a teenager. major league level. His striking decisions are beyond his years, and his plus or minus brute strength is regularly seen in the game. Alvarez starts with an open setup, then straightens up at the beginning of the swing without stepping or needing a timing mechanism. His swing is designed for strength, there is a bit of a ring and a steep flat, but his hand-eye coordination allows him to achieve enough contact for a decent average.
Defensively, Alvarez is a bit mixed. He has a lot of power in his arms, but he takes a while to get up from a crouch, and his accuracy is below average, as he tends to get more than two stitches to the bag rather than four. His chest is strong and voluminous, and he needs to stay in good physical shape to adequately block and catch the ball. Álvarez loves to play in this position and wants to control the floor, so although he has been described as an attacking player, he is unlikely to be a real liability and has enough tenacity to make up for his defensive shortcomings. He is only 20 years old, will be relegated in 2022 and could be ready for a full-time job in the big leagues next season.
Perhaps not on this planet, the 6ft 7in Cruz somehow survived the shortstop and evolved into an elite brute force. His approach and the length of the leverage creates an out risk.
Our discussion of Pittsburgh’s top prospects boils down to a simple question: Will Cruz go 1-1 in the 2021 draft if he’s eligible? This is a slightly banal reworking of “Who are you?” Between Cruz and the player the Pirates actually picked, Henry Davis, but the artwork also helps to illustrate Cruz’s unique profile. Will the club really spend the first pick in the draft on a 6ft 7in fielder weighing 210lbs? A player with a contact ratio below 70%? A guy who may or may not stick to a shortstop? In this risk-averse industry?
Yes, they will. Or at least in our opinion they should, given Cruise’s amazing skills, tools and strengths. It’s hard to find a player with 80 raw, 70 hands and extra wheels. Cruz brings it all into play by playing a decent shortstop, which is amazing, even considering his size. About that growth: It’s obviously hard to hit the ball fast when your leverage looks like pinwheel blades. However, there is precedent for Cruz being so tall and significantly more athletic than Aaron Judge, Rich Sexson and Nate Freeman. He is an explosive player and his wrists are terribly strong. He can hit all over the area and actually has a sub-league double-A strikeout of 22. As Michal Givens can attest, you can unbalance Cruz with a good overdrive in the box and he can still send the ball to Allegheny Field. Because of his wide approach, he will probably have quite a few outs and we wouldn’t be shocked if he moved to another position in his 20s, but if everything goes well, that’s fine. Are there any risks here? Yes. Cruise’s approach can be reckless and immature. If he slips defensively and never improves, he will be on thin ice. He is also one of the few players who has the potential to be an 80 year old, or at least an 80 year old player of the season, because his swing decisions lead to season-to-season variance.
Jung made a successful hitting substitution that allowed him to pull more consistently in 2021 and go through the minors. His other skills are already in place, and now he plans to become a third baseman.
Jung was an elite college player at Texas Tech—.348/.455/.577 with more walks than strikeouts in his entire career—but not there. opposite field. When Jung was at Tech, 51 of the 71 shots recorded by Synergy Sports came from midfield or right. This bolstered his confidence in feeling the ball and raised questions about whether there was a way for Jung to get more power in the game by stretching the ball more often and whether that would compromise his ability to touch.
To the naked eye, it looks like Jung is starting to play more in the top leagues for 2020, but without a minor league season, it’s hard to gauge the real impact of this change. Then the start of his 2021 season was delayed due to a stress fracture in his left foot. He went through rehab during extended spring training and was released in mid-summer on a two-tier pitching — he hit 10 home runs hitting .308/.366/.544 in 43 games — on the COVID protocol. Missed some time and then the rest of the season, he got promoted and went wild in Triple-A, hitting .348/.436/.652 with nine homers in 35 games. He pulls the ball more, but not quite, a change that matches Young’s changes in his loading position and bat angle. While the elements of his backswing look choppy and stiff, Jung is athletic and you can see the flexibility in his lower body as he leans in to hit the ball in the lower zone. Jung’s leverage and swing are actually quite short for a player of his size. He posted average backswings using a reworked mechanic against the top serve after a year away from regular baseball.
When Jung was a junior, some thought he would end up at first base, but he was an agile third baseman with great flexibility and agility, a medium hand and a fast hand. He is especially good at pitching defensive players on 5-4-3 runs and throws as a third base linebacker. There are no holes in Yung’s game and if he’s healthy he’s basically big league ready, but a shoulder injury in the gym ahead of spring training in 2022 could see him start his second season in a row. It won’t change our predictions about Jung if we don’t know that surgery will be required. He’s a cornerstone of the Rangers’ future and a promising third baseman.
The sportiest catcher since JT Realmuto, the power output of Moreno in 2021 is a bit ironic, but his striking ability is real and impressive.
During the dark 2020 minor league season, when any prospect could explode, Moreno did. He had a pretty good 2019 and then featured in videos on other sites, in training and later in the Venezuelan Winter League where he hit .373/.471/.508. The length of his year is as close to replicating a full 2020 season as any attractive player, back when there was enough buzz for us to list Moreno in last year’s top 100. 2021 then began with Moreno starting with an epic tear, batting .650 in the New Hampshire Double-A before missing several months with a broken thumb. He ended up playing fewer than 40 regular season games before being introduced to the Arizona Fall League and Venezuelan Winter League.
The visual assessment of Moreno’s strength doesn’t support the idea that he can beat his .500 career milestone. It could be argued that this is due to the widespread belief that the hand injury may have weakened him, but his batting statistics prior to injury also suggest that his double scoring is overstated. However, you can’t fake the 11 percent strikeout rate that is the hallmark of Moreno’s career. Despite being an aggressive hitter who occasionally throws punches that don’t sound at all, he has 70 levels of punch control and tends to find a way to poke, splatter and slash across the field. He can increase his speed, and although his overall tool rating is lower than his rough barrel control due to his erroneous approach, he has enough offense to make him an All-Star offensive player. He also has rare speed in this position and shares the skill set of the less instrumental Jason Kendall. Defensively, Moreno catches the ball on one knee until there is a runner or two hits, and then crouches very wide as if he is always ready to block a gap in the mud. Sometimes he ends up on one knee trying to pitch on the edge even if he doesn’t start there. During the fall league, he shot in the 1.95–1.98 range, with a slightly above average number of shots to second base.
Buzz has been a dynamite since high school, he started pitching all the way from the stretch and found enough mechanical stability to start.
Buzz entered the 2021 season without a ball, but by the end of the year, his resume will include pitching in front of an empty Olympic Stadium, pitching in a bustling Yankee Stadium during a tight playoff chase, and at the end of the game. year. The playoff stage itself. On top of that, Buzz has improved his control. In 2021, he has a career strikeout rate of 23.9 percent and an exit rate of 11.6 percent, and he’s bolstered that at breakneck speed, including hitting triple digits at times. His low-intensity repeat shot has changed, so Buzz keeps firing.
Historically, Buzz represents two different versions of himself. The former is a mid-90s four-pitch player with Buzz replacing him in 2020, and his slower speed may be at least partly due to a less competitive atmosphere. The other is a premium flamethrower from the 90s with a more limited repertoire. In 2021, Buzz has combined the best profiles in the minor leagues. He started the year in Double-A where he hit over 40 percent of his batters while he faced a ridiculous 1.6 percent walking rate – just two batters in 32.2 innings. He was promoted in June and went on to dominate Triple-A (with a short hiatus for Olympic silver) before making his major league debut in September. In his first two major league starts, he played over five innings and his fastball speed was in the 96–98 mph range, even on his later jobs. But in his last regular season start against the Yankees and in his ALDS start against the Red Sox, he struggled to keep the innings countdown and couldn’t get major league players to chase the future as consistently as he did against attackers. . He was also penalized for several passes, missed his position and left the ball in the center of the plate. However, no matter how hot it gets in the spotlight, Buzz never seems to sweat. That composure will be useful even if he ends up being unable to pass the team more reliably with a few missed pitches and ends up becoming a strong pitcher.
Wolpe stepped up and found a swing that was suitable for extreme climbing without sacrificing a lot of contact. His arms may be too short for the left side of the infield.
After finishing 30th overall in 2019, Wolpe made a poor professional debut but transformed into a losing pandemic season and returned in 21st with one of the best records in all the minor leagues, hitting .604 at both levels and not missing. hit after receiving a mid-season promotion from Low-A to High-A. Working with a personal trainer every day during the pandemic, Wolpe has completely redesigned his swing, which is now very tight and simple, as well as focusing on the trajectory of the punch, which leads to a straight throw and more air strikes. He supplemented this work with a training regimen that added 15-20 pounds of muscle mass without sacrificing athleticism.
Wolpe has a solid approach and potentially a plus on a touch and wide board bat. Despite an insipid home run total, his strength is in the positive category rather than anything intimidating, although some raters believe he could hit 20-25 home runs a year at .280 if all together to .300. Despite stealing 33 bases in 2021, he is more of a consistent runner than a burnout; however, his results reflect his baseball instincts and are far from him in all aspects of his game beyond his age. Wolpe also impressed defensively. He’s not a special fielder and his hands are just average, but he’s good enough to hold a shortstop and break into the big leagues as a regular quarterback in one of baseball’s toughest positions. He won’t turn 21 until the end of April, but Wolpe should start the year at Double-A Somerset, and while a major league debut in 2022 is unlikely, it’s not impossible.
Marte is a strong young shortstop with a huge amount of power for someone his age, and despite missing a key year due to the pandemic, he’s off to a good statistical start.
In 2021, many raters saw Matt face-to-face with a professional pitcher in the US for the first time, allowing them to better gauge his ability to show his strength in the minor leagues. Over the course of the season, he improved his swing timing by combining kicking and racketing, which allows him to send the ball to all areas. His batting line in his first full season in pro ball is promising, with Malt hitting .273/.366/.459 with 11-plus walks and 118 wRC+, as well as 17 homers and 24 base steals. Most of this came in the Low-A, although he ended the season in the High-A where his strikeouts increased and his walks decreased. However, he only played eight games there – not enough to fully adapt to the more advanced pitching – and his performance during that time more than makes up for it in all games but one. They all arrived safely at base.
Malt’s last homer for 2021 came in early August, meaning he finished his season in 30 games, his longest run of the season at nearly three games. The depletion of power is not enough to worry us about Marthe’s popularity (she certainly still exists), which may indicate that at this point in his development, the focus is on access rather than power. Also, Malt had some slump in July and was able to come out of it, which speaks to his mental maturity beyond his years. It is still possible that he will eventually leave the shortstop as he continues to rise (and, lest we forget, he won’t turn 20 before the off-season). He played shorts all of 2021 and made 30 errors there (more than any other shortstop in the top 100), leading among those who believe he will eventually find a new defensive home that people believe in.
Carroll is an avid baseball player who got off to a great start before a shoulder injury ended his 2021 season.
Carroll’s performances in the 2020 Study League and Spring of 21 have continued to reinforce the notion that he is one of the most experienced and advanced youngsters in all of the minor leagues, a dangerous and quintessential lead hitter. But after playing just seven games in the 2021 regular season, he suffered an avulsion fracture of the posterior capsule (this is when a person breaks a small part of their shoulder off the bone, often taking the bone with it). And his upper lip tore his home run. during his swing. He spent much of the rest of the year in Arizona, often sitting in the scouting area during major league games, where he was seen wearing a corset/bandage for several weeks following his surgery. Although his injury happened in a similar fashion (the injury caused by Carroll’s explosion is higher than what his shoulder could handle), unlike Fernando Tatis, Jr., who had a shoulder subluxation, he was able to recover quickly and remain productive. This is no ordinary injury and the profession does not have a long history of healing, it is possible that Carroll’s shoulder problems had a lasting effect on some of his skills.
But as a talent, Carroll is relatively safe, combining physical talent with breathtaking baseball acumen. His striker has the qualities of a major league veteran and while he is unlikely to be able to hit the ball with significant punching power (mostly due to his approach rather than lack of power), Carroll will whistle the ball. launch it very quickly at top speed and punish the slow outfielders surrounding the ball by turning their weak field into an additional base. Carroll’s hand-eye coordination and muzzle accuracy are excellent, especially for his age, and he now has better hitting predictions in junior grades. This skill is very similar to Brett Gardner, except that Carroll can play in midfield. Players at this age have a higher ceiling due to their potential power, but Carroll has very high prospects and we expect him to be an All-Star for most of his career, provided full power is restored.
Injuries plague Abrams in 2021, but he has the skills of an old-school leading hitter (plus hitting and speed) and has the potential to grow into a significant force as he matures.
Like the Royals, the Gunners Padres tend to move their prospects up the minor league ladder faster than other teams. They sent the exciting Abrams to San Antonio in early 2021 after the 20-year-old barely played an entire season in 2019 (his draft year). Abrams responded by hitting .296/.363/.420 in two healthy months on the mission. He then ended his year with a broken left leg and dislocated MCL in an on-pitch collision with Egi Rosario at the end of June. It was hoped that Abrams would return to his fall league duties in time, but he only played in a narrow coaching window and suffered another injury, this time with a bruised shoulder.
Post time: Oct-08-2022