As Spring Training draws to a close and we are inching closer to Opening Day in both the Majors and the Minors, I think it's time to take a look once again at the top 30 prospects list and see how did the Spring Training performances shaken up the list positively and negatively. I know that Spring Training stats are full of crap and I base it on the eye test, whether I see something that I like or not like. As a result, I made some bold decisions in terms of the rise and fall in terms of prospects.
I know ranking prospects are also full of crap so it's better to base them on my tiers or their current value. I do believe all prospects has 80 ceiling and I am seeing their likely value.
If you want to read my thoughts on the prospects that are not here, you can view my prospect primer and see if you find what you are looking for. After all, my in-depth analysis on the top 30 prospects pre-Instructional Leagues are there and my other thoughts on the prospects in the system. You will see plenty of NTSH especially in the back-half portion of the list because all of the thoughts about them are on the primer. All of my new thoughts about the prospects are here.
Stock Up (Descriptions in their rankings)
Joey Bart
Marco Luciano
Tyler Beede
Travis Bergen
Jairo Pomares
Luis Toribio
Aramis Garcia
Diego Rincones
Stock Down
Garrett Williams
Mike Gerber
Ray Black
Chris Shaw
Description of Tiers (Based on the 20-80 scale)
I know ranking prospects are also full of crap so it's better to base them on my tiers or their current value. I do believe all prospects has 80 ceiling and I am seeing their likely value.
If you want to read my thoughts on the prospects that are not here, you can view my prospect primer and see if you find what you are looking for. After all, my in-depth analysis on the top 30 prospects pre-Instructional Leagues are there and my other thoughts on the prospects in the system. You will see plenty of NTSH especially in the back-half portion of the list because all of the thoughts about them are on the primer. All of my new thoughts about the prospects are here.
Stock Up (Descriptions in their rankings)
Joey Bart
Marco Luciano
Tyler Beede
Travis Bergen
Jairo Pomares
Luis Toribio
Aramis Garcia
Diego Rincones
Stock Down
Garrett Williams
Mike Gerber
Ray Black
Chris Shaw
Description of Tiers (Based on the 20-80 scale)
Tier 1 - 55 overall
Tier 1.5 - 50+ overall
Tier 2 - 50 overall
Tier 2.5 - 45+ overall
Tier 3 - 40+ - 45 overall
Tier 4 - 35+ - 40 overall
Tier 1
1. Joey Bart - Do I have to tell you why he is at the top? I think the more pressing question is will we see him play in Oracle Park this year? To be honest, I don't think so.
Hit 50 | Power 60 | Speed 35 | Arm 60 | Glove 60
Tier 1.5
Hit 50 | Power 60 | Speed 35 | Arm 60 | Glove 60
Tier 1.5
2. Heliot Ramos - Yes, the maquina is still in my top 2. His power, speed still impresses my eyes, especially when he hit that dinger against Kenley Jansen, but there's more polish to be done on the jumps that he is taking to field at center. From what I have seen on several videos, there's more uppercut in the swing and better use of the back leg compared to a flat, line drive swing last year. Expecting more ding dongs from the bat of Heliot in 2019? Hell yes, I am.
Hit 45+ | Power 60 | Speed 60 | Arm 60 | Glove 55
Hit 45+ | Power 60 | Speed 60 | Arm 60 | Glove 55
3. Marco Luciano - Luciano really grew on me for the past couple of months at the start of the instructional league. The only knock that I have against Luciano is that his arm action while throwing from shortstop tends to get long and I thought he would move to the outfield if he does not work on it. He looks pretty casual on his Instructs drills that I do not like but I like that he's smooth even on a casual setting and he shortened up the arm action.
From the power swing to the maturity on the field at age 17 (!), I think that he is a year or two advanced on his development and I think some casual Giants fans can get excited about at the end of the year. There's a reason he is highly touted out of the IFA market.
Hit 50 | Power 60 | Speed 50 | Arm 60 | Glove 50+
Tier 2
From the power swing to the maturity on the field at age 17 (!), I think that he is a year or two advanced on his development and I think some casual Giants fans can get excited about at the end of the year. There's a reason he is highly touted out of the IFA market.
Hit 50 | Power 60 | Speed 50 | Arm 60 | Glove 50+
Tier 2
4. Shaun Anderson - I am tempted to retain Anderson at three even though he only pitched in two outings in Spring Training with a good late-80s slider and a 95 MPH heater, but Luciano's potential with the bat outweighed the polish that Anderson currently has. I am actually surprised why they placed Anderson to the minor league camp too early for my taste. I actually thought that he is on the cusp of joining the pitching staff as soon as late last year and that he will be better facing better competition in Arizona than in the backfields.
FB 55 | SL 55 | CH 55 | CB 50 | CMD 55
FB 55 | SL 55 | CH 55 | CB 50 | CMD 55
5. Sean Hjelle - The towering righty got his feet wet this spring, touching 93-95 MPH per Joe Ritzo's account and been pretty dominant to start. I still think that Anderson's pitch mix and close proximity to the Majors made Hjelle a peg under him. Oh man, Ritzo's gonna have a field day with three of the top 5 prospects in the organization playing for the little Gigantes.
FB 55 | CB 60 | CH 50+ | SL 45 | CMD 55
6. Gregory Santos - I don't want to get ahead of myself but Santos really has the potential to become the top pitching prospect after this year or two years from now with the way his fastball that touches 97 MPH and breaking ball's been going. I do want to see a third pitch from Santos to free himself from the relief risks that guys with big development curves have. But it's safe to say that Santos is breathing the same air as his fellow former Red Sox comrade and last year's second round selection, with the highest ceiling among the three.
FB 60 | SL 60 | CH 55 | CMD 50+
7. Alexander Canario - Canario falling a couple places it not a knock against him at all. I think that I have been too high on him too be honest and when I thought about it after seeing some videos of him in the instructs and in the backfields, the stock is actually pretty stable. The swing looked less violent now and that could mean more chances for his eyes to do work and hit balls better, if not drawing more walks. He will also get the center field reps that he needs. I just want him to hit for average better while drawing the same amount of walks this year. If not, his star will slowly fade in this improving farm system.
Hit 50+ | Power 50 | Speed 55 | Arm 55 | Glove 55
Tier 2.5
8. Heath Quinn - Even though Quinn does not have any news for us Giants fans to get hyped up, it's a good thing to be low-key especially with the guys that are making the most noise in camp early on.
Hit 50 | Power 55 | Speed 45 | Arm 55 | Glove 50+
9. Logan Webb - Nice to see Webb get reps on the Spring Training squad. A second taste of the Eastern League will be huge for Webb. If he can break the reliever risk that I sense on him, I would not be surprised. I do hope the changeup and command will be better this year to compliment his plus fastball and plus-flashing breaker.
FB 60 | CB 55 | CH 50 | CMD 45
10. Melvin Adon - Even though he is just a full-time reliever for a little more than half a year, it make me think that why not place him in relief sooner to enjoy his triple-digits stuff and big slider sooner? I mean I saw the reliever profile ever since he is pitching for Salem-Keizer back a couple of years ago. But Adon put himself on the cusp and might force his way to the big leagues this season because he's shown he can be Ray Black with more knowledge where the ball is going. He is what Joan Gregorio would be (but I am never high on Gregorio anyway).
FB 80 | SL 55 | CMD 45
Tier 3
11. Jairo Pomares - I wrote my prospect primer without Pomares in the Top 30 because I took a more conservative approach in terms of ranking him because personally, I would love to see videos of him in the instructs before making a final call but he does have promising tools. Jason Pennini had a video of Pomares in the instructs and even though it's just a BP session, first thing I thought of is "Wow, this dude is very athletic". As the BP rolls on, the bat speed is very quick, Pomares is very quick twitch, and even though the power is only average at best, I think the bat has the potential to be very good. At the end, I can see Pomares as a lefty version of Canario in terms of ceiling with less power but more potential to hit for average because of his body control and the consistency of his swing path and bat speed.
Hit 55 | Power 45 | Speed 50+ | Arm 50 | Glove 50
12. Ryan Howard - I have seen plenty of good in Howard's Spring Training appearances to make me feel confident about the plus hit tool that I set for him. Howard struck out more than usual but he's shown that he can really square up a baseball on a consistent basis. I hope he can continue to barrel baseballs and I expect him to be in Sacramento to start his 2019 campaign.
Hit 55 | Power 40 | Speed 50 | Arm 55 | Glove 50
13. Tyler Beede - The biggest winner of the offseason so far has been Beede, no doubt about it. What he did in the cold months has been incredible. Beede went back to what made him highly touted out of Vanderbilt. It's as if nobody knew that Tyler can throw 97-98 MPH because it's been greatly overshadowed by his highly inconsistent sinker and cutter over the years. He also picked up a new curveball grip and the RPMs went up 300, to 2600+ RPM and it really showed up to be flashing above average in his outings, nothing like what he threw for the past years. And as usual, the changeup has been filthy as ever and the fastball and curve will put his bread-and-butter back to its plus potential.
What Tyler really strive to achieve is better command, and he's reverted back to his mechanics in 2016, again as if nobody knew that he had that mechanics because of how problematic the 2018 mechanics was. However, there are times where Beede will miss spots in a pretty good margin with his fastball and breaker that average at best command is the reality now. Nonetheless, I hope Beede will perform in Sacramento this year and reach the Majors again, staying there longer than his stint last year hopefully.
FB 60 | CH 60 | CB 55 | CMD 45
14. Jake Wong - After seeing some videos of Wong, I did realize that yeah, this guy is a starter. Hard to see him be a reliever anytime soon. There's less polish than let's say a Hjelle and there's less nasty than a Blake Rivera but I think he find of fits in between the two draftees. Wong has a higher ceiling than Hjelle and Rivera due to how deep the repertoire is and the ease of mechanics but there's more work to be done for him to be a true top 10 prospect in my eyes.
FB 60 | CB 55 | CH 50 | SL 45 | CMD 50
15. Travis Bergen - One of the biggest winners of the Spring Training, if not the biggest, is Bergen. In a loaded bullpen that the Giants will carry towards the regular season, a rule 5 draftee is one of the guys who are not going to be considered heavily to win a spot but that's what Bergen has done. The deceptive lefty did not allow any run this Spring Training with more strikeouts than innings pitched and he flashed his calm under pressure when he gets out of tight spots in some of his outings.
His funky arm action sure deceives hitters and while the stuff is not exemplary, his ability to throw quality strikes in tight spots sure is commendable. I think Bergen deserved to be in the pen as a middle relief option for 2019.
FB 55 | CB 50+ | CH 50+ | CMD 50
16. Aramis Garcia - I think the backup catcher role in 2019 is Aramis' spot for the taking thanks to a nice Spring Training. I do not think Rene Rivera will get his spot anytime soon because Garcia did show that the great September cup-of-coffee that he enjoyed was not a fluke. He's putting the barrel to the ball well and did looked better than the stats suggest and did some nice defensive plays on the crouch.
I honestly think that there's more or less a handful of teams that he can be a starting catcher right now. Ah, what a nice luxury for us Giants fans.
Hit 45 | Power 50+ | Speed 30 | Arm 55 | Glove 50
17. Abiatal Avelino - Avelino's Spring Training has been so-so in my book, struggling to put the barrel to the ball but made plenty of defensive plays with the glove. I think that Avelino will get plenty of looks all over the field, possibly get his newest looks in the outfield, in order to be a utility player for the big league club.
Hit 45 | Power 35 | Speed 60 | Arm 60 | Glove 50
18. Luis Toribio - I did not have Toribio in the earlier top 30 because of the same reason Pomares is not here: I need more video evidence before I do a comfortable ranking of him. So here I am, ranking Toribio in the top 30. The video of him in Instructs really reflected what I noticed last year: Toribio is a pull-heavy hitter. Even in just a BP session, that's pretty concerning for me, as you want to drive the ball to where it was thrown during BP. Pull-heavy guys this early often do not project well as they move forward the ladder so I hope that the coaches will make him incorporate the opposite fields more.
Defensively, he looks promising as his actions look good and the arm is strong. I think he will be a third baseman long-term so I have him ahead of Jacob primarily because of the ability to stick in the hot corner. The body looks more mature than what an 18-year old body will suggest and the swing looks nice. Overall, Toribio needs to improve on his approach but the ability to hit and the power looks solid, the arm is a plus and should be at least average once he cleans up his fundamentals to fit his athletic profile.
Hit 50+ | Power 50 | Speed 45 | Arm 60 | Glove 50
19. Chris Shaw - I think the Giants do have a conundrum about Shaw after showing a similar Spring Training to what he had been doing last year. Yes, Shaw can hit baseballs very far and do generate plenty of clicks in social media but the ability to hit baseballs and draw walks consistently are still the big issues. And given his lack of positional versatility due to his 20 speed, he could be the next prospect to bite the dust. I think I have brought this point far too many for the past year or so.
Hit 40 | Power 60 | Speed 20 | Arm 55 | Glove 40+
20. Jacob Gonzalez - After some time, the Instructional Leagues came around, and that gave me a chance to see the new Jacob Gonzalez swing makeover. I think it's a more quiet set-up and the swing sure looks better than it was last year. It's just BP sessions and I would like to see in-game videos with the new swing if the results match up with the swing mechanics in order to get my thumbs up.
Why a heavy fall compared to the Primer top 30, you ask? I have given the rankings plenty of thought and I felt that I ranked Gonzalez too high now that there's Toribio who got a better chance to stick at the hot corner than he did and his ability to hit is better than Jacob but with less power.
Hit 45 | Power 55 | Speed 45 | Arm 55 | Glove 45
21. Ray Black - Black's spring was no bueno for me, and the stats proved that one. In a team where there's so many viable relievers jockeying for open spots in the pen, you have to bring your A-game as early as March or you will be left out.Too bad Black did not and he will have to do it from the ground up once again and perform well in the PCL.
Good thing for Black that he got some of the otherworldly spin rates and raw velocity in all of baseball to be hopeful with his 2019 season but there's a saying that a blade is useless without a good handle and Black's handle sure looked iffy at the start of this year.
FB 80 | SL 55 | CMD 40
Tier 4
22. Seth Corry - NTSH except that I think that I have been a little too high on him. Reports are his fastball sits at 92-93 MPH, curveball is at 76-77 MPH and the changeup is at 84 MPH according to GPT.
FB 55 | CB 60 | CH 55 | CMD 40
23. Blake Rivera - NTSH.
FB 60 | CB 60 | CH 45 | CMD 45
24. Diego Rincones - I think I am very, very low on Rincones when I first did my top 30 because I felt like I have seen this one coming. But when I looked again, hey, I think he got a great shot at moving to the top half of the top 30 list mid-season. I think that the ability to barrel baseballs quite effortlessly is something to be commended. His ability to put the barrel to the ball consistently in the lower levels is quite similar to what Fabian and former legend Miguel Gomez has done early in their career, with little walks and strikeouts. Mechanics-wise, I do love Rincones' swing more than Gomez and Fabian, as it looks really free and easy that. I think the potential for his power and hit for average is plus, as long as he improves on his walk rates, and there's already accounts that he can take a walk in the backfields.
The only knack that have against him is that he does have the body of a Miguel Gomez and it can need maintenance in terms of diet and workout regimen. He only had 1 error in 444 innings, and that suggests that he does the things that he can control quite well, but the things that he can't, specifically his lack of range and arm strength, will only limit him at left field. The ceiling that I see from Rincones is a Willie Calhoun-type of player where all of his value is tied to his bat but the bat has the potential to be loud if he matures well. The floor is lower than most due to the lack of value that he can provide defensively. I think he slots nicely here in the early-20s as I see the guys ahead of him providing better value
Hit 50+ | Power 50+ | Speed 40 | Arm 45 | Glove 50
25. Juan de Paula - NTSH.
FB 60 | CB 50+ | CH 50 | CMD 50
26. Camilo Doval - NTSH except that his fastball is at 95 MPH in the backfields according to GPT.
FB 75 | SL 50 | CMD 45
27. Sandro Fabian - I might have been very harsh on Fabian at the start of the year and after giving thought, I think his ability to put the barrel to the ball is still good. It's just that Fabian does not pick pitches to drive on, often getting beat by sequencing even though the reports are he is an intellectual player and he does play decent defense. I'll give Fabian a little more leash for optimism but there's already a track record in terms of his pitch selection and overall approach at the plate.
Hit 45 | Power 45 | Speed 45 | Arm 60 | Glove 50
29. Sam Wolff - NTSH.
FB 60 | SL 55 | CB 55 | CMD 50
29. Aaron Phillips - NTSH.
FB 55 | CB 60 | CH 45 | CMD 50
30. Pat Ruotolo - NTSH.
FB 55 | CB 55 | CMD 50
Before I go, I would like to wish those players who got released all the best in their lives moving forward. I would also wish Drew Ferguson all the best after being DFA'd and returned back to the Houston Astros. I hope he will have a great 2019 season!
FB 55 | CB 60 | CH 50+ | SL 45 | CMD 55
6. Gregory Santos - I don't want to get ahead of myself but Santos really has the potential to become the top pitching prospect after this year or two years from now with the way his fastball that touches 97 MPH and breaking ball's been going. I do want to see a third pitch from Santos to free himself from the relief risks that guys with big development curves have. But it's safe to say that Santos is breathing the same air as his fellow former Red Sox comrade and last year's second round selection, with the highest ceiling among the three.
FB 60 | SL 60 | CH 55 | CMD 50+
7. Alexander Canario - Canario falling a couple places it not a knock against him at all. I think that I have been too high on him too be honest and when I thought about it after seeing some videos of him in the instructs and in the backfields, the stock is actually pretty stable. The swing looked less violent now and that could mean more chances for his eyes to do work and hit balls better, if not drawing more walks. He will also get the center field reps that he needs. I just want him to hit for average better while drawing the same amount of walks this year. If not, his star will slowly fade in this improving farm system.
Hit 50+ | Power 50 | Speed 55 | Arm 55 | Glove 55
Tier 2.5
8. Heath Quinn - Even though Quinn does not have any news for us Giants fans to get hyped up, it's a good thing to be low-key especially with the guys that are making the most noise in camp early on.
Hit 50 | Power 55 | Speed 45 | Arm 55 | Glove 50+
9. Logan Webb - Nice to see Webb get reps on the Spring Training squad. A second taste of the Eastern League will be huge for Webb. If he can break the reliever risk that I sense on him, I would not be surprised. I do hope the changeup and command will be better this year to compliment his plus fastball and plus-flashing breaker.
FB 60 | CB 55 | CH 50 | CMD 45
10. Melvin Adon - Even though he is just a full-time reliever for a little more than half a year, it make me think that why not place him in relief sooner to enjoy his triple-digits stuff and big slider sooner? I mean I saw the reliever profile ever since he is pitching for Salem-Keizer back a couple of years ago. But Adon put himself on the cusp and might force his way to the big leagues this season because he's shown he can be Ray Black with more knowledge where the ball is going. He is what Joan Gregorio would be (but I am never high on Gregorio anyway).
FB 80 | SL 55 | CMD 45
Tier 3
11. Jairo Pomares - I wrote my prospect primer without Pomares in the Top 30 because I took a more conservative approach in terms of ranking him because personally, I would love to see videos of him in the instructs before making a final call but he does have promising tools. Jason Pennini had a video of Pomares in the instructs and even though it's just a BP session, first thing I thought of is "Wow, this dude is very athletic". As the BP rolls on, the bat speed is very quick, Pomares is very quick twitch, and even though the power is only average at best, I think the bat has the potential to be very good. At the end, I can see Pomares as a lefty version of Canario in terms of ceiling with less power but more potential to hit for average because of his body control and the consistency of his swing path and bat speed.
Hit 55 | Power 45 | Speed 50+ | Arm 50 | Glove 50
12. Ryan Howard - I have seen plenty of good in Howard's Spring Training appearances to make me feel confident about the plus hit tool that I set for him. Howard struck out more than usual but he's shown that he can really square up a baseball on a consistent basis. I hope he can continue to barrel baseballs and I expect him to be in Sacramento to start his 2019 campaign.
Hit 55 | Power 40 | Speed 50 | Arm 55 | Glove 50
13. Tyler Beede - The biggest winner of the offseason so far has been Beede, no doubt about it. What he did in the cold months has been incredible. Beede went back to what made him highly touted out of Vanderbilt. It's as if nobody knew that Tyler can throw 97-98 MPH because it's been greatly overshadowed by his highly inconsistent sinker and cutter over the years. He also picked up a new curveball grip and the RPMs went up 300, to 2600+ RPM and it really showed up to be flashing above average in his outings, nothing like what he threw for the past years. And as usual, the changeup has been filthy as ever and the fastball and curve will put his bread-and-butter back to its plus potential.
What Tyler really strive to achieve is better command, and he's reverted back to his mechanics in 2016, again as if nobody knew that he had that mechanics because of how problematic the 2018 mechanics was. However, there are times where Beede will miss spots in a pretty good margin with his fastball and breaker that average at best command is the reality now. Nonetheless, I hope Beede will perform in Sacramento this year and reach the Majors again, staying there longer than his stint last year hopefully.
FB 60 | CH 60 | CB 55 | CMD 45
14. Jake Wong - After seeing some videos of Wong, I did realize that yeah, this guy is a starter. Hard to see him be a reliever anytime soon. There's less polish than let's say a Hjelle and there's less nasty than a Blake Rivera but I think he find of fits in between the two draftees. Wong has a higher ceiling than Hjelle and Rivera due to how deep the repertoire is and the ease of mechanics but there's more work to be done for him to be a true top 10 prospect in my eyes.
FB 60 | CB 55 | CH 50 | SL 45 | CMD 50
15. Travis Bergen - One of the biggest winners of the Spring Training, if not the biggest, is Bergen. In a loaded bullpen that the Giants will carry towards the regular season, a rule 5 draftee is one of the guys who are not going to be considered heavily to win a spot but that's what Bergen has done. The deceptive lefty did not allow any run this Spring Training with more strikeouts than innings pitched and he flashed his calm under pressure when he gets out of tight spots in some of his outings.
His funky arm action sure deceives hitters and while the stuff is not exemplary, his ability to throw quality strikes in tight spots sure is commendable. I think Bergen deserved to be in the pen as a middle relief option for 2019.
FB 55 | CB 50+ | CH 50+ | CMD 50
16. Aramis Garcia - I think the backup catcher role in 2019 is Aramis' spot for the taking thanks to a nice Spring Training. I do not think Rene Rivera will get his spot anytime soon because Garcia did show that the great September cup-of-coffee that he enjoyed was not a fluke. He's putting the barrel to the ball well and did looked better than the stats suggest and did some nice defensive plays on the crouch.
I honestly think that there's more or less a handful of teams that he can be a starting catcher right now. Ah, what a nice luxury for us Giants fans.
Hit 45 | Power 50+ | Speed 30 | Arm 55 | Glove 50
17. Abiatal Avelino - Avelino's Spring Training has been so-so in my book, struggling to put the barrel to the ball but made plenty of defensive plays with the glove. I think that Avelino will get plenty of looks all over the field, possibly get his newest looks in the outfield, in order to be a utility player for the big league club.
Hit 45 | Power 35 | Speed 60 | Arm 60 | Glove 50
18. Luis Toribio - I did not have Toribio in the earlier top 30 because of the same reason Pomares is not here: I need more video evidence before I do a comfortable ranking of him. So here I am, ranking Toribio in the top 30. The video of him in Instructs really reflected what I noticed last year: Toribio is a pull-heavy hitter. Even in just a BP session, that's pretty concerning for me, as you want to drive the ball to where it was thrown during BP. Pull-heavy guys this early often do not project well as they move forward the ladder so I hope that the coaches will make him incorporate the opposite fields more.
Defensively, he looks promising as his actions look good and the arm is strong. I think he will be a third baseman long-term so I have him ahead of Jacob primarily because of the ability to stick in the hot corner. The body looks more mature than what an 18-year old body will suggest and the swing looks nice. Overall, Toribio needs to improve on his approach but the ability to hit and the power looks solid, the arm is a plus and should be at least average once he cleans up his fundamentals to fit his athletic profile.
Hit 50+ | Power 50 | Speed 45 | Arm 60 | Glove 50
19. Chris Shaw - I think the Giants do have a conundrum about Shaw after showing a similar Spring Training to what he had been doing last year. Yes, Shaw can hit baseballs very far and do generate plenty of clicks in social media but the ability to hit baseballs and draw walks consistently are still the big issues. And given his lack of positional versatility due to his 20 speed, he could be the next prospect to bite the dust. I think I have brought this point far too many for the past year or so.
Hit 40 | Power 60 | Speed 20 | Arm 55 | Glove 40+
20. Jacob Gonzalez - After some time, the Instructional Leagues came around, and that gave me a chance to see the new Jacob Gonzalez swing makeover. I think it's a more quiet set-up and the swing sure looks better than it was last year. It's just BP sessions and I would like to see in-game videos with the new swing if the results match up with the swing mechanics in order to get my thumbs up.
Why a heavy fall compared to the Primer top 30, you ask? I have given the rankings plenty of thought and I felt that I ranked Gonzalez too high now that there's Toribio who got a better chance to stick at the hot corner than he did and his ability to hit is better than Jacob but with less power.
Hit 45 | Power 55 | Speed 45 | Arm 55 | Glove 45
21. Ray Black - Black's spring was no bueno for me, and the stats proved that one. In a team where there's so many viable relievers jockeying for open spots in the pen, you have to bring your A-game as early as March or you will be left out.Too bad Black did not and he will have to do it from the ground up once again and perform well in the PCL.
Good thing for Black that he got some of the otherworldly spin rates and raw velocity in all of baseball to be hopeful with his 2019 season but there's a saying that a blade is useless without a good handle and Black's handle sure looked iffy at the start of this year.
FB 80 | SL 55 | CMD 40
Tier 4
22. Seth Corry - NTSH except that I think that I have been a little too high on him. Reports are his fastball sits at 92-93 MPH, curveball is at 76-77 MPH and the changeup is at 84 MPH according to GPT.
FB 55 | CB 60 | CH 55 | CMD 40
23. Blake Rivera - NTSH.
FB 60 | CB 60 | CH 45 | CMD 45
24. Diego Rincones - I think I am very, very low on Rincones when I first did my top 30 because I felt like I have seen this one coming. But when I looked again, hey, I think he got a great shot at moving to the top half of the top 30 list mid-season. I think that the ability to barrel baseballs quite effortlessly is something to be commended. His ability to put the barrel to the ball consistently in the lower levels is quite similar to what Fabian and former legend Miguel Gomez has done early in their career, with little walks and strikeouts. Mechanics-wise, I do love Rincones' swing more than Gomez and Fabian, as it looks really free and easy that. I think the potential for his power and hit for average is plus, as long as he improves on his walk rates, and there's already accounts that he can take a walk in the backfields.
The only knack that have against him is that he does have the body of a Miguel Gomez and it can need maintenance in terms of diet and workout regimen. He only had 1 error in 444 innings, and that suggests that he does the things that he can control quite well, but the things that he can't, specifically his lack of range and arm strength, will only limit him at left field. The ceiling that I see from Rincones is a Willie Calhoun-type of player where all of his value is tied to his bat but the bat has the potential to be loud if he matures well. The floor is lower than most due to the lack of value that he can provide defensively. I think he slots nicely here in the early-20s as I see the guys ahead of him providing better value
Hit 50+ | Power 50+ | Speed 40 | Arm 45 | Glove 50
25. Juan de Paula - NTSH.
FB 60 | CB 50+ | CH 50 | CMD 50
26. Camilo Doval - NTSH except that his fastball is at 95 MPH in the backfields according to GPT.
FB 75 | SL 50 | CMD 45
27. Sandro Fabian - I might have been very harsh on Fabian at the start of the year and after giving thought, I think his ability to put the barrel to the ball is still good. It's just that Fabian does not pick pitches to drive on, often getting beat by sequencing even though the reports are he is an intellectual player and he does play decent defense. I'll give Fabian a little more leash for optimism but there's already a track record in terms of his pitch selection and overall approach at the plate.
Hit 45 | Power 45 | Speed 45 | Arm 60 | Glove 50
29. Sam Wolff - NTSH.
FB 60 | SL 55 | CB 55 | CMD 50
29. Aaron Phillips - NTSH.
FB 55 | CB 60 | CH 45 | CMD 50
30. Pat Ruotolo - NTSH.
FB 55 | CB 55 | CMD 50
Before I go, I would like to wish those players who got released all the best in their lives moving forward. I would also wish Drew Ferguson all the best after being DFA'd and returned back to the Houston Astros. I hope he will have a great 2019 season!
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