Boy, can it be hard to rank Low Minors prospects without a real scout's perspective! I learned this the hard way with my prospect rankings for the guys who topped out with the Low-A Clearwater Threshers (57-71) last season. Going through the names eligible for the Low-A list, I found 37 (!) guys worth ranking alone. As things stand, this list wraps around from the 3rd to the 4th page of my Google Docs file, the split occurring after entery 12, which actually felt like a good cut off point. Here are those names:
Justin Crawford$
Emaarion Boyd$
Estibenzon Jimenez^
Eiberson Castellano
Alex Rao$
Jared Wetherbee
Caleb Ricketts$
Alexeis Azuaje
Jordan Viars^
Alex McFarlane$
Tommy McCollum
Micah Ottenbreit
Crawford and Boyd were 2022 draftees out of high school. Crawford is an exciting prospect and the son of Carl Crawford (making him the second Phillies 1st rounder from the Crawford Family after J.P.!), while Boyd is a speedster who started his pro career on a heater (.361 AVG last season in 11 games). Jimenez and Castellano are a pair of guys signed out of Venezuela at a little older than the typical age who excelled last season in their stateside debuts (Jimenez was a little better, but Castellano jumped directly from the DSL to Clearwater). Rao, Wetherbee, and McCollum are a trio of relievers who have charted high strikeout rates, while McFarlane may end up in the bullpen in the future as well. Ricketts looks the part of a catcher with the all-around ability to be a strong Major Leaguer. Finally, Viars and Ottenbreit were 2021 draftees who dealt with injuries last season. Viars could be a breakout prospect this season, while Ottenbreit will hopefully return at some point this season after undergoing Tommy John Surgery.
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