While the Midwest League (Low-A) only boasts three Top 100 prospects to start the season in Wander Franco, Nolan Gorman, & Jordyn Adams, there is still an exciting collection of teenage talent and 2018 early round draft picks to give this league plenty of intrigue. Furthermore, almost every club has an exciting young prospect manning the shortstop position.
2019 Top 100 Prospects
6. Wander Franco, SS - TB (Bowling Green Hot Rods)
43. Nolan Gorman, 3B - STL (Peoria Chiefs)
88. Jordyn Adams, OF - LAA (Burlington Bees)
Trending Up
Carlos Guzman, SP DET - West Michigan Whitecaps; The converted third baseman skyrocketed onto the Tigers prospect scene last year with a dynamite fastball/change-up combo. Guzman has reportedly been dialing up the gas to 96 this spring and the change is already a plus pitch that he commands exceptionally well.
All-Prospect Team Preseason
C - Bo Naylor (CLE)
1B - Bren Spillane (CIN)
2B - Yunior Severino (MIN)
SS - Wander Franco (TB)
3B - Nolan Gorman (STL)
OF - Jordyn Adams (LAA)
OF - Cole Roederer (CHC)
OF - Alek Thomas (ARI)
UT - Leandro Cedeno (STL)
SP - Brailyn Marquez (CHC)
SP - Luis Oviedo (CLE)
SP - Ryan Weathers (SD)
SP -Josiah Gray (LAD)
Team Reports
Beloit Snappers (OAK)
Beloit is void of top prospects in the system with Marcos Brito, ranked 13th, the lone prospect from Oakland’s Top 30. Brito profiles as a plus defender, likely a future utility profile who needs to muscle up and develop at least some gap power. He just turned 19 though and the A’s continue to be aggressive with his path.
Oakland Athletics Top 30 Prospects
Bowling Green Hot Rods (TB)
The biggest name in Bowling Green is also the league’s biggest star. Wander Franco just turned 18 on March 1, which will likely make him the youngest player in the MWL. He is a switch-hitter who did pretty much whatever he felt like doing against Appalachian League pitching last year. Franco’s bat speed is plus-plus and generates easy power to all fields. Shane McClanahan was taken 31st overall in the 2018 draft. He throws a mid-90’s fastball with a plus slider. Chris Betts, the former 2nd round pick in 2015, whose career has been slowed by ongoing injuries will start in Bowling Green. If he’s healthy, he will hit. Other sleepers to keep an eye on are OF Tony Pena and 3B Osmy Gregorio
Tampa Bay Rays Top 30 Prospects
Burlington Bees (LAA)
When the Angels made Jordyn Adams the 17th overall pick in 2018, they were hoping for another Jo Adell athlete. Adams is known for his 80 grade speed. He’s a freak athlete with raw tools that will need some time to develop. Always bet on the athlete. The Bees will also see the full season debuts of Kevin Maitan and Livan Soto.
Los Angeles Angels Top 30 Prospects
Cedar Rapids Kernels (MIN)
The Kernels will roll out another prospect laden lineup in 2019. While none of the prospects are of the Lewis-Kirilloff-Graterol caliber, there is still a lot of upside. Yunior Severino is a switch-hitter that finds the barrel and should continue to grow into some power. The sleeper that will not be a sleeper for long is Jordan Balazovic. He has grown two inches and packed on 25 pounds of good weight since being drafted back in 2016. Now 6’5”, 195 lbs., Balazovic fanned 78 in 61.2 innings with Cedar Rapids last season. Gilberto Celestino is a plus runner with plus defensive attributes. Celestino made easy work of the New York-Penn League, hitting .323 and swiping 14 bags in as many attempts in just 34 games with Tri-City. Blayne Enlow and Luis Rijo are two RHP with pitchability and upside.
Minnesota Twins Top 30 Prospects
Clinton LumberKings (MIA)
The Marlins made waves when they promoted three teenagers from the GCL to the South Atlantic League. Connor Scott, Will Banfield, and the injured Osiris Johnson lead a new wave of Marlins prospects under the Jeter administration. Scott and Banfield are athletes with serious projection. Scott, who played with Kyle Tucker in highschool, has received a lot of comparisons to the Astros top prospect. However, they are different players with Scott being a plus runner and defender in CF. Banfield is a plus defensive catcher.
Miami Marlins Top 30 Prospects
Dayton Dragons (CIN)
Mike Siani was drafted in the 4th round in 2018 and signed for $2 million, well over the slot for a fourth-round pick. Siani is a 5-tool player with an overall well-rounded skill set and high floor. As good as Siani is though, Mariel Bautista may be even better. The 21-year-old can do it all on the field. He shows good barrel control and picks up spin. Bautista makes solid contact and hasn’t shown swing-and-miss at this stage of his career. The bat has thunder in it too. Jacob Heatherly and Lyon Richardson are young, projectable arms that will lead the rotation. Another deep sleeper that could emerge is Jonathan Willems. The approach is overly aggressive right now, but Willems hits the ball with authority.
Cincinnati Reds Top 30 Prospects
Fort Wayne Tin Caps (SD)
The Padres continue to churn out studs. Xavier Edwards is a tooled up SS with 80-grade speed. The approach is contact-oriented at present. Edwards put up a .453 OBP in 45 AZL and NWL contests last year. Ryan Weathers was the seventh overall pick last June and has big league pedigree. Tucupita Marcano burst onto the scene after destroying the AZL in 2018 to the tune of 366/.450/.438, 155 wRC+, 12.7% BB, 6.8% K.
San Diego Padres Top 30 Prospects
Great Lake Loons (LAD)
Miguel Vargas torched rookie ball in 2018 but struggled in a 23-game stint for Great Lakes. He returns to the MWL for his first full season of pro ball. Josiah Gray was acquired for Alex Wood. Gray has a live arm with projection. Niko Hulsizer may be a sleeper. Aside from the 80-grade name, the Dodgers’ 18th-round pick has serious raw power. The Pioneer League was no match for the 22-year-old college draftee out of Morehead State, as you’d expect, but the MWL will be more of a fair fight. Still though, he’s probably too advanced for the MWL. The Dodgers have a great track record of finding college guys that rake.
Los Angeles Dodgers Top 30 Prospects
Kane County Cougars (AZ)
Geraldo Perdomo is a switch-hitting SS that raked in the AZL and NWL as an 18-year-old last season to the tune of a .438 OBP. Perhaps most impressively, he walked 15 percent of the time while striking out at just a 17 percent clip. Perdomo also cleaned up his swing which has increased his bat speed. Here is a clip of Perdomo last fall vs. the spring. Alek Thomas is tooled up with projection and future 60 hit tool.
Arizona Diamondbacks Top 30 Prospects
Lake County Captains (CLE)
Tyler Freeman is a barrels machine with gap power. Freeman has elite barrel control and uses all fields. Luis Oviedo, 19, dominated the college-aged hitters of the NY Penn League in 2018. His fastball touches 97 with run. Oviedo will need to refine his secondaries. Will Benson returns for season two at Lake County. A 6’5”, 225 lb. physical specimen, he hit just .180 a year ago and struck out 152 times in 123 games. That said, he did walk 82 times and 34 of his 75 hits went for extra bases. Still just 20 years old, Benson is a “damage-doer”. His lack of hit tool neutralizes his plus power.
Cleveland Indians Top 30 Prospects
Lansing Lugnuts (TOR)
2018 first rounder Jordan Groshans has plus power to all fields. He leads the next wave of Blue Jay teen prospects with Eric Pardinho. Pardinho is an advanced right-hander with a high baseball IQ, plus command, and stuff with projection. He will begin the season on the Injured List. Dom Abbadessa and McGregory Contreras are two athletic outfielders with good bat speed. The sleeper is Alejandro Kirk, who is a robust catcher with good feel for the barrel.
Toronto Blue Jays Top 30 Prospects
Peoria Chiefs (STL)
If there is a bigger name than Wander Franco in the MWL, it might be Nolan Gorman. Gorman destroyed the Appy league as a teenager showing plus-plus bat speed with plus game power. He struggled after a promotion to Peoria with strikeouts which killed his average. The power was still there though with six home runs in 94 at bats. Leandro Cedeno is an under-the-radar sleeper who put up numbers just as good as Gorman in the Appy. Delvin Perez; Remember him? The former first-round pick hasn’t hit at any level yet. He’s still only 20 years old and Cardinals fans are holding onto hope that maybe this is the year he puts it together.
St. Louis Cardinals Top 30 Prospects
Quad Cities River Bandits (HOU)
Jairo Solis is a RHP with an athletic, projectable frame. His fastball sits mid 90’s and Solis has shown an ability to miss bats. OF Alex McKenna is a college bat drafted in fourth round last June who has nice combination of power, speed, and feel for the barrel.
Houston Astros Top 30 Prospects
South Bend Cubs (CHC)
The Cubs rotation will be led by Brailyn Marquez, a physically imposing lefty that can touch 98 with below-average secondaries. Cole Roederer was the 77th pick in the draft. He’s a power-speed combo CF with a quick, compact swing. Both players rank in the Cubs Top 10 prospects. The sleeper on this squad is Fidel Mejia; A 20-year old switch-hitter, Mejia burst onto the scene with a .389 OBP in the AZL last season. He’ll need to get stronger to add some pop which isn’t a present part of his game.
West Michigan White Caps (DET)
Wenceel Perez lit up the Gulf Coast League, then made a brief pit stop in the New York-Penn League, and ultimately found his way to the MWL. There are questions about whether the power will come for Perez, but his bat-to-ball skills are perhaps the best in the system. Parker Meadows was the Tigers second-round pick in 2018. The younger brother of Austin Meadows is one of the best athletes in the system. His swing can get long but there is serious power projection here.
Detroit Tigers Top 30 Prospects
Wisconson Timber Rattlers (MIL)
In Wisconsin, a pair of 19 year olds in Pablo Abreu and Je’Von Ward will be interesting to follow. Perhaps not with the ceilings of Bautista and Siani in Dayton, but both Abreu and Ward have interesting upsides, despite totally different frames. Abreu comes in around 6’0”, 175 lbs., with minimal projection remaining, while Ward is a towering 6’5”, 190, and has plenty more good weight to add. Brice Turang and Aaron Ashby are two of the team’s top four 2018 draft picks. Both posses tremendous upside. Adam Hill, acquired for Keon Broxton, is a big righty at 6’6” out of the University of South Carolina. Hill features a low 90’s fastball with run, an effective slider, and a useful changeup. His stay in low-A is expected to be brief.
Milwaukee Brewers Top 30 Prospects
Wishlist
Wander Javier, SS (MIN)
Matthew Liberatore, SP (TB)
Kristian Robinson, OF (ARI)
George Valera, OF (CLE)
A little quad issue is holding Javier back in extended spring training down in Ft. Myers. We’re excited to see how he comes back from the labrum surgery that cost him all of 2018. Liberatore will likely head off to short-season Hudson Valley. If all goes well, maybe we’ll get a pleasant late-season glimpse at him in Bowling Green. We had hoped to see Robinson in Kane County, but suspect he’ll make his way there at some point before season’s end. He just turned 18 in December so there really is no need to rush him. Valera is coming back from a broken hamate bone. He’s a sexy name for 2019 and will be a fast riser, effective immediately.
Kenon Carter @kenon_carter
Jason Woodell @jasonatthegame