Every MLB season sees young talent come out of nowhere and deliver at the Major League level. Some of these players are known, but perhaps just underrated (a Jake Cronenworth perhaps), while others are almost completely unknown to most fans (Such as Ryan Schimpf). It's hard to find hidden gems in baseball with all the variables that go it, but hey, it doesn't hurt to try, so let's do so! I will be splitting this subject into six posts, one for each division, as I want to provide a solid write-up for each prospect.
Atlanta Braves - Bryce Elder
Elder didn't quite jump right to the Majors like Garrett Crochet did, but amongst 2020 draftees he's already been one of the biggest movers, making seven starts at AAA alone last season. A 2.75 ERA and a 10.1 K/9 highlighted his season, and in spite of decent numbers he's not quite getting top-100 love yet. If he hasn't exceeded rookie limits by mid-season though, this may change.
Miami Marlins - Lorenzo Quintana
Yes, I named a 33 year-old prospect here, but feel quite confident in this ranking, even with a decent number of contenders I looked at for Miami given just this. Quintana is an ex-Serie Nacional star backstop who made his stateside debut in 2018 at 29. Over three years of Minors action, Quintana has a .286/.341/.497 slash line, and he posted a .294/.354/.525 with AAA Jacksonville after coming over from Houston during the 2021 season. Sure, time is not on Quintana's side, but neither was it for Yadiel Hernández, a player with a similar career progression who mashed as a 33 year-old rookie last year. With the DH in the NL and Quintana's recent experience playing C, 1B, and 3B, he could certainly force his way onto Miami's roster this season.
New York Mets - Kevin Gadea
A less-than-stellar Mets system has a few candidates for this spot, but let's go for the deepest of sleepers. Gadea is a name familiar to Rays fans, as he was a 2016 Rule Five pick of theirs. However, injuries kept him off the field following the 2016-17 Venezuelan Winter League season through the end of his Rays tenure. Released in 2019 by Tampa, he caught on with the Yankees, then finally began to play again for Somerset in 2021, and it looked like he didn't miss a beat. He charted a 2.97 ERA and a 13.1 K/9 over 36.1 innings out of the bullpen for the new affiliate. Most impressive? This was his first action above the A level - not A+, A. Finishing the year with five ER-free innings over two outings for AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Gadea topped off a strong comeback season. Now a Mets prospect, he has a chance to deliver where the club most needs help - in the bullpen.
Washington Nationals - Joey Meneses
Finding a viable option here was frustrating after I realized that Andres Machado and Riley Adams were no longer rookie-eligible. Well, here's Joey Meneses, who has played all over the place and turns 30 in May. I know of Meneses from his days in Lehigh Valley, where he shocked the International League as it's MVP in 2018. Thereafter he went to Japan, got suspended, went to Mexico, produced mixed results, then returned to affiliated ball last year in the Boston chain. He excelled at AA, unshockingly, then did well again in his AAA return later in the season. With the Nationals still reworking their roster, mostly with younger players, Meneses could work his way into the 1B, OF, or DH mixes. While far from a perfect comp, he wouldn't be the first Nationals rookie success at 30+.
Philadelphia Phillies - Simon Muzziotti
I'm tempted to name a RP like Brian Marconi or Braden Zarbnisky under the personal belief that the club has some decent AAA RP depth, but with Marconi's lack of AAA experience and Zarbnisky being a question-mark injury-wise, we'll tab Simon here. While certainly not unknown amongst Phillies fans, Muzziotti's lost 2020 and mostly-lost 2021 have seen him fly under the radar as far as overall prospects go. He perhaps became the only player to appear at every stateside level of the revamped Minors in 2021, largely in rehab, but showed solid promise along the way. He managed a .313/.353/.438 slash in four AA games - his first action there, then jumped to AAA and posted a .563 OBP over his final four games there. A similar late-schedule jump popped up in the AFL, showing an impressive adaptability. Following a stint with Zulia in the Venezuelan Winter League, Muzziotti had played 45 games for a remarkable seven separate teams, but his adaptability allowed him to maintain decent production. With The Phillies CF situation unsettled, he could force his way in my mid-season.
No comments:
Post a Comment