The son of two-time Pro Bowl tight end Eric Green, Elijah became Draft Famous during his junior year, homering a couple of times in high school tournaments held in big league parks and looking much toolsier than all but a couple of the prospects who were a year older than him. Its still quite the arsenal, its just that the breaking balls arent all 60s and 70s anymore, or at least they werent at the end of 2022. by Eric Longenhagen December 16, 2022 Michael Chow-Arizona Republic The final installment of this week's set of international player updates revolves around the amateur prospects who will. This isnt an iron clad offensive profile (theres some vulnerability to up-and-away fastballs as a LHH and slightly more chase than average), but Rocchio is a damn fine hitter who looked like his usual self in what was his first season on the Cleveland 40-man. As hes gotten stronger, Amadors defensive projections have shifted to second base. His strikeout rate began to decline after that, and while his fastball was averaging just over 96 mph across his first four professional starts, it was just below 94 mph over his last four. Naylor is a power-hitting catcher who should grab hold of the everyday job in Cleveland within a year or two. Stone raced to the upper levels of the minors and generated one of the highest swinging strike rates among Double-A pitchers who threw at least 70 innings in 2022. This is another potential homegrown star for the Sox. He has had the most impressive BP session at each of the last two Futures Games, launching satellite-threatening baseballs to the very outer reaches of big league stadiums. You can see the power and athleticism in Davis lower half throughout other aspects of his game, and its an indication that he has the ability to polish this stuff up and control the running game. Toronto didnt accelerate his promotion schedule to make up for the lost time, so he began 2021 back at Low-A as a 21-year-old and (mostly) flew under the FanGraphs prospect radar as an old-for-the-level player until 2022, when Barger hammered High- and Double-A pitching as a 22-year-old. Hassell went to the Fall League, where he broke his right hamate; he had surgery and was shut down. His hard-hit and barrel rates are already well above what is typical for a big league shortstop, and he still has more room for mass on his frame. Initially considered a contact-first prospect, the effort level in Chourios swing ratcheted up in 2022 and he now takes a monster hack, whipping the bat through the zone with all his might, often needing the dirt of the batters box behind him to stop his rotation. From 2021's inaugural MLB Draft League team, Mitchell Bratt will represent Canada, while 2022 players Branden Berry has plus bat speed and raw power, with an uppercut bat path from both sides of the plate. As is often the case with top international prospects, Arias has been on the scouting radar for years even though he is only 17. He shares many similarities with Eduardo Escobar. March 1, 2023. This combined with the undercooked hit tool might lead to some big league growing pains and medium production at first, but over time Casas should become a middle-of-the-order force capable of hitting 35-plus annual homers. His open batting stance and deep pre-stride crouch are much more extreme than they were last year, and this change might have enabled him to see the ball better (similar to the way opening his stance helped unlock peak D-backs Luis Gonzalez) and improve his bat-to-ball ability enough for all of his modest power to play, especially in the Cal League. Ortiz had one of the fastest ascents up the minor league ladder in 2022 and now projects as a mid-rotation starter or elite reliever in Pittsburgh, depending on what he can develop beyond his lethal fastball/slider combo. Most of his swings and misses over the last few years have been on fastballs running away from him, but in 2022, he displayed a more advanced ability to poke the barrel at balls on the outer edge of the plate, extending his short levers in an effort to slap outside pitches the other way. Tony Ruiz, OF, D.R.31. But if Eder does have to move to the bullpen, there might be another gear of velocity in the tank, which gives him the out of being a premium reliever with two plus-plus pitches. While the righty struggled with walks early in his tenure as a starter (he walked 75 hitters in 180 innings in 2019 and 57 hitters in 121 innings in 2020), free passes have become less of an issue during the last two seasons. Naylors defense is still pretty rough around the edges. There is some analytical fire to back up the smoke the scouts are smelling. -- $300,000, RockiesAlessander De La Cruz, D.R. The Yankees are the favorite to sign both consensus number 1 international prospect Roderick Arias and number 3 international prospect Diedo Benitez in 2022. In 2022, he established himself as one of the premiere pitching prospects in the Cardinals system, issuing 81 strikeouts and just 15 walks over his 52.1 innings at Low-A, where he spent the entire season. Yorke may end up as a 40-grade infield defender, but he can really hit, and were staying on him despite a rough, injury-riddled 2022. He shows power from both sides of the plate, especially by the right side. A powerful on-mound athlete, Pfaadt is one of few pitching prospects capable of missing bats with every one of his weapons. Johan Barrios, OF, Venezuela Brewers ($1,385,000) More 24. He needs to improve at framing pitches in the bottom of the zone, especially breaking balls, which he tends to let travel too deep, making them appear to be below the zone. Mayo keeps hitting despite his odd swing, and we think the hit/power combo will be enough for him to be an impact player, even with a move off the dirt projected. Its hard to know how much of that was caused by the back issue, which may have been compromising his movement. He still hits the ball really hard for a player his age and looks the part in the uniform, but theres growing risk here, enough to reposition Lucianos FV into this tier. The visual evaluation of Hassells feel to hit was consistently strong until the last couple months of 2022. When he returned to the mound in August, he leapfrogged his way up the minor league ladder. Prospect Headlines Volpe's 1st spring HR a sign of things to come March 2, 2023 Flexing: Each team's top power-hitting prospect March 2, 2023 Waino unconcerned about velo dip as focus shifts to Classic March 2, 2023 'That kid is a stud': Lee has Twins gushing March 2, 2023 Healthy G-Rod back on MLB's doorstep March 2, 2023 'Who are you?' On paper, Amador is still generating flat, groundball and line drive contact a lot of the time, but we think his feel for the barrel and for the zone together will enable him to hit for average power at maturity, maybe more as a left-handed hitter. Luis Guanipa, OF, Ven. Though hes been playing a lot of shortstop, he isnt a fit there and his hands and actions are below average. March 1, 2023. But the best parts of Libbys game are offset by the fact that they dont fit with the rest of his profile, which puts a mild damper on it. Opinions on Tiedemann vary depending on how much stock is put in his early professional performance: He sat 96 mph at instructs in 2021, but skeptics questioned whether that was a short-term effect of him airing things out in short stints, or if receiving higher-quality development and instruction than he got in his amateur environment had actually unlocked something. -- $840,000Carlos Mateo, RHP, D.R. He is much more adept at doing this from the left side; his righty swing is relatively grooved. *** . Its enough that Julien comfortably projects as an everyday second baseman if it turns out he can stay there, and even though he has experience at other positions, second base is the only one he played in 2022. Hes now a career .303/.394/.533 hitter and has had meaningful statistical success up through Double-A, where he spent about a month toward the end of 2022. Major League Baseball's international signing period opens on Jan. 15, 2023. For example, based on Craigs research, the average 60 FV hitter on a list becomes a perennial 5-plus WAR player over his six controlled years 26% of the time, and has a 27% chance of accumulating, at most, a couple of WAR during his six controlled years. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings. The Angels, Phillies and Red Sox each forfeited $500,000 from their pools for signing players who had rejected qualifying offers -- Noah Syndergaard, Nick Castellanos and Trevor Story, respectively -- last offseason, so each has a pool of $4,644,000 . Knee and hamstring surgery effectively knocked him out for the 2020 season, then Lee hit .341/.384/.626 in 2021 and had a huge summer on Cape Cod, with six homers in just 21 games. Minnesota sent Lee to High-A almost immediately and he raked there, blowing scouts away. He does not take casual BP hacks he maxes out and swings with all-out effort, which extends to his in-game approach, a feature that gives some scouts pause and worry that big league pitchers will pull the rug out from under him. His swing is a spectacle, lots of fun when hes on time and frustrating when hes late, utilizing a narrow, open stance and a huge leg kick. After that it seemed like Ramirez was asked to try to demonstrate better plate discipline. Again, verbal agreements are sometimes made a couple of years in advance of a player actually being eligible to sign, a phenomena that tends to happen most often with top-of-the-market prospects. He shows good throwing mechanics and a strong arm. : Red Sox ($1,400,000) More 26. He must turn 16 before he signs and be 17 before Sept. 1 the following year -- in practical terms, that means players born between Sept. 1, 2005, and Aug. 31, 2006, will be eligible to sign in the upcoming signing period. 1 guy." pic.twitter.com/XXOd1D8KKQ Joe Doyle (@JoeDoyleMiLB) December 20, 2022 In totality, Miller made 24 starts (if you count his Futures Game outing), worked 113 innings and posted a top-25 K-BB% among minor leaguers who threw at least 100 frames. The Phillies are expected to sign Bergolla. The signing period closes Dec. 15. 1. The progress Williams made at ECU amid these issues (some of which date back to high school) was remarkable. He has one of the more picturesque swings in the minors and is extremely difficult to make whiff inside the strike zone. Even though his career walk rates are extremely low (7%) for a complex-level prospect (where pitchers often struggle to throw strikes), Bleis chase rates are closer to average. + indicates that the club has officially announced the signing. Some aspects of Mauricios defense need to be cleaned up. Hes a lovely, loose rotator for a hitter his size and is willing to use the opposite field when pitches are away from him. Carroll has evolved in some surprising ways as a hitter. -- $500,000, RedsAlfredo Alcantara, SS, D.R. Carter has put up video game numbers in the mid-minors but his visual scouting report doesnt really jive with his surface-level output. He must turn 16 before he signs and be 17 before Sept. 1 the following year -- in practical terms, that means players born between Sept. 1, 2004, and Aug. 31, 2005, will be eligible to sign in the upcoming signing period. Position-wise, there are 20 infielders, 18 outfielders, five catchers, six pitchers and one two-way player. Hes poised to start his age-22 season at Triple-A and likely make his big league debut at some point in 2023, perhaps usurping Gleyber Torres as the everyday second baseman if it becomes clear that Volpe is a superior offensive option. His four-seamer sits comfortably around 96 mph with gravity-defying carry, and a scout Tess spoke with described his curveball as having the potential to become a similarly elite offering. Waldichuk came to Oakland as part of the return for Frankie Montas, bringing with him a nicely shaped four-seamer and an intimidating, sweepy slider with tons of horizontal movement. The curve features similar movement with longer break and both are nasty when he runs them off the plate glove side, though both play in the strike zone, as well.