We are fastly approaching the half way point of the minor league season, so I'm curious to see who people have moving up and moving down. I am not including guys drafted this year.
1. Moncada: Considered by some to be the number 1 prospect in all of baseball, he hasn't done anything this season to disappoint. He has improved across the board and was just recently promoted to Portland where he should be challenged. Moncada has improved his walk rate and hit for more power. While he has struck out more, it was a modest increase and shouldn't be a huge concern moving forward.
2. Benintendi: Another elite prospect, Benintendi was fast tracked to Portland after toying around with Salem pitchers. He struggled to adapt for awhile, but appears to have adjusted lately. In his last 9 games, he is 13/36 with 3 2b, 3 HR, 3bb/5k. .361/.410/.694.
3. Anderson Espinoza: Holding his own in Greenville at just 18 years of age, Espinoza has 57k/21bb in 57.2 ip this year. He has had a few duds but has also shown off his potential with a few masterpieces as well. He and Raudes are probably on strict IP limits so it may not be too much longer until they are both shut down or move to the bullpen. Ace stuff.
4. Devers: Devers has struggled mightily this year despite the glowing prospect reports. While he is hitting only .233/.300/.355, there are some encouraging signs. He has nearly doubled his walk rate since last year and most of his misfortunes seem to be bad BABIP luck. Still, at some point you'd like to see him start hitting and hitting for power. A full season of this will diminish his stock slightly.
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5. Kopech: Kopech just recently returned to action, having pitched a few days ago. He's already started to develop a reputation as a headcase but it's clear the talent is there and no other players have really pressed the issue to bump him from my top 5.
6. Chavis: He missed some time due to injury but it looks as if he hasn't missed a step. While it's alarming he had to repeat the league, Chavis is still only 20 and has made strides this year and cut his strikeout rate from 31% to 13%. As a result, he has been making much better and harder contact. If this improvement is sustainable (he has 105 PA and k rates stabilize early on), he could find himself on some top 50 lists pretty easily.
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7. Sam Travis: An injury ended Sam Travis's season early but he was putting up another Sam Travis type performance. The injury couldn't have happened at a worse time as Travis could have potentially helped the big league club this year with Hanley scuffing of late. While he will never hit for much power, Travis should hit and walk enough to be a serviceable 1b.
8. Brian Johnson: Hasn't been the same pitcher since returning from injury and was never really considered more than a 4 or 5 type. He's looking more like Anthony Ranuado 2.0 by the day. I'm hesitant even putting him in my top 10 but the other choices have their flaws too.
9. Luis Alejandro Basabe: Helium, but I'm a believer. After struggling with injuries his first couple years, Alejandro is finally healthy and has been having a monstrous year for a 19 year old in Greenville. I probably have him 10 spots higher than anyone else but I think guys with his plate approach struggle to put up results against inferior pitching because they never see an actual strike to swing at/drive. His numbers bear that in mind, as his look% as decreased as he's moved up in levels. Plus, the people you could potentially place ahead of him don't really have much of a ceiling. At the time he signed, he and his brother were both considered legit prospects, with Alexander having more power and speed but Alejandro with the better bat control. While it looks like that is still the case, Alejandro has closed the power gap considerably and is quite fast himself.
10. Josh Ockimey: Another guy I probably have 5-10 spots higher than anyone else. I just think a lot of the Redsox prospects that publications have in the 8-20 range are awfully uninspiring. Devin Marrero? Pat Light? No thanks. A 5th round draft pick in 2014, Ockimey was sent to the gulf coast where he struggled to the tune of a .524 OPS in 130 PA. In 2015, he was assigned to Lowell and while he struck out a staggering 78 times in 229 PA, he fared much better overall and hit for significantly more power. This resulted in his ISO going from .044 in 2014 to .156 in 2015. This year, Josh has raised his ISO from .156 to .234, while his k% is down from 34% to 23% and his bb% is up from 11% to 20%. He also started wearing contacts in 2016 and credits some of his success to that, although given he is only 20 years old, a lot of it is probably natural growth.
11. Travis Lakins
12. Marco Hernandez
13. Luis Alexander Basabe
14. Mauricio Dubon
15. Trey Ball
16. Nick Longhi
17. Pat Light
18. Deven Marrero
19. Roniel Raudes
20. Aaron Wilkerson
1. Moncada: Considered by some to be the number 1 prospect in all of baseball, he hasn't done anything this season to disappoint. He has improved across the board and was just recently promoted to Portland where he should be challenged. Moncada has improved his walk rate and hit for more power. While he has struck out more, it was a modest increase and shouldn't be a huge concern moving forward.
2. Benintendi: Another elite prospect, Benintendi was fast tracked to Portland after toying around with Salem pitchers. He struggled to adapt for awhile, but appears to have adjusted lately. In his last 9 games, he is 13/36 with 3 2b, 3 HR, 3bb/5k. .361/.410/.694.
3. Anderson Espinoza: Holding his own in Greenville at just 18 years of age, Espinoza has 57k/21bb in 57.2 ip this year. He has had a few duds but has also shown off his potential with a few masterpieces as well. He and Raudes are probably on strict IP limits so it may not be too much longer until they are both shut down or move to the bullpen. Ace stuff.
4. Devers: Devers has struggled mightily this year despite the glowing prospect reports. While he is hitting only .233/.300/.355, there are some encouraging signs. He has nearly doubled his walk rate since last year and most of his misfortunes seem to be bad BABIP luck. Still, at some point you'd like to see him start hitting and hitting for power. A full season of this will diminish his stock slightly.
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5. Kopech: Kopech just recently returned to action, having pitched a few days ago. He's already started to develop a reputation as a headcase but it's clear the talent is there and no other players have really pressed the issue to bump him from my top 5.
6. Chavis: He missed some time due to injury but it looks as if he hasn't missed a step. While it's alarming he had to repeat the league, Chavis is still only 20 and has made strides this year and cut his strikeout rate from 31% to 13%. As a result, he has been making much better and harder contact. If this improvement is sustainable (he has 105 PA and k rates stabilize early on), he could find himself on some top 50 lists pretty easily.
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7. Sam Travis: An injury ended Sam Travis's season early but he was putting up another Sam Travis type performance. The injury couldn't have happened at a worse time as Travis could have potentially helped the big league club this year with Hanley scuffing of late. While he will never hit for much power, Travis should hit and walk enough to be a serviceable 1b.
8. Brian Johnson: Hasn't been the same pitcher since returning from injury and was never really considered more than a 4 or 5 type. He's looking more like Anthony Ranuado 2.0 by the day. I'm hesitant even putting him in my top 10 but the other choices have their flaws too.
9. Luis Alejandro Basabe: Helium, but I'm a believer. After struggling with injuries his first couple years, Alejandro is finally healthy and has been having a monstrous year for a 19 year old in Greenville. I probably have him 10 spots higher than anyone else but I think guys with his plate approach struggle to put up results against inferior pitching because they never see an actual strike to swing at/drive. His numbers bear that in mind, as his look% as decreased as he's moved up in levels. Plus, the people you could potentially place ahead of him don't really have much of a ceiling. At the time he signed, he and his brother were both considered legit prospects, with Alexander having more power and speed but Alejandro with the better bat control. While it looks like that is still the case, Alejandro has closed the power gap considerably and is quite fast himself.
10. Josh Ockimey: Another guy I probably have 5-10 spots higher than anyone else. I just think a lot of the Redsox prospects that publications have in the 8-20 range are awfully uninspiring. Devin Marrero? Pat Light? No thanks. A 5th round draft pick in 2014, Ockimey was sent to the gulf coast where he struggled to the tune of a .524 OPS in 130 PA. In 2015, he was assigned to Lowell and while he struck out a staggering 78 times in 229 PA, he fared much better overall and hit for significantly more power. This resulted in his ISO going from .044 in 2014 to .156 in 2015. This year, Josh has raised his ISO from .156 to .234, while his k% is down from 34% to 23% and his bb% is up from 11% to 20%. He also started wearing contacts in 2016 and credits some of his success to that, although given he is only 20 years old, a lot of it is probably natural growth.
11. Travis Lakins
12. Marco Hernandez
13. Luis Alexander Basabe
14. Mauricio Dubon
15. Trey Ball
16. Nick Longhi
17. Pat Light
18. Deven Marrero
19. Roniel Raudes
20. Aaron Wilkerson