Akil Baddoo
The Tigers have one of the top farm systems in baseball headed by the likes of Spencer Torkelson, Riley Greene, Tarik Skubal, Casey Mize, and Matt Manning.
But it was an under the radar outfield prospect that walked away with the most notable performance of the week.
The Tigers tested out the 22-year-old in the leadoff spot this weekend and he capitalized on the opportunity, homering for his third straight game. In that contest, the speedster also stole his first bag of the spring.
On Sunday, the left-hander connected for his fourth long ball in the past six games.
The former second round pick of the Twins is now slashing an impressive .357/.500/.857 with six extra-base hits, nine RBI, and eleven runs scored over fifteen games this spring.
Upping his slash line to 1.357 this spring and adding a base stealing element to his game, the Rule 5 pick Badoo is pushing the Tigers to take him with them when they head North in two weeks despite High-A being his highest level.
Jarred Kelenic
Since returning from his adductor muscle strain, the superstar in the making has picked up right where he left off. The former first rounder blasted a home run on Sunday afternoon, his second of the spring, to push his average to .333 with an OPS of 1.095 in his seven appearances this spring.
While Kelenic has impressed and certainly has the talent to produce at the major league level, the Mariners organization decided to begin the 22-year-old in the minor leagues.
The plan for Kelenic is to have him man left field for years to come in Seattle, but the Mariners gave him a shot in center field this week and he rose to the challenge making some elite defensive plays. Keep an eye on where Kelenic is slotted in the outfield. There is no doubt that he has the speed to hold down center field. Something that has made him attractive to scouts, his incredible strength for his age and his ability to kick it into gear and swipe bags.
Kelenic, our top prospect for dynasty leagues here at Prospects Live, has the upside of 30/30 in peak seasons.
Julio Rodriguez
Seattle's second ranked prospect also delivered his second homer of the spring on Saturday. Since coming over in the infamous trade from the Mets before the 2019 season, Jarred Kelenic has been linked to teammate Julio Rodriguez. J-Rod, as they call him, is only 20 years old and has already wowed scouts with his unmatched bat speed in the minor leagues. J-Rod blasted his first homer of the spring campaign on Wednesday, a ball that left his bat at 115 mph.
How significant is this? Well only 10 home runs were hit at that exit velocity across the sport last year.
In his 23 appearances so far, the young Dominican Republic native has posted a slash line of .304/.429/.522. He will not be in the Majors this year as he is working on being more disciplined at the dish — particularly on off speed pitches. But one thing is for sure, there is no better outfield prospect duo than Julio Rodriguez and Jarred Kelenic.
Ryan Mountcastle
On Sunday, the Baltimore Orioles outfielder extended his hitting streak to three games, tallying multiple hits for the second straight game. The 24-year-old Florida native and former first round pick has now compiled multiple hits in three of his last five outings.
Orioles fans got a glimpse of what the big first baseman could do last year as he performed extremely well after being a late season call up, smashing five home runs and driving in 23 runs. He has continued to show them more of that this spring as he cranked another homer on Sunday, his second in as many days.
And he wasn’t done after that. Mountcastle later ripped an RBI double to tack onto his already impressive resume. Over his last three games, the right-handed slugger is hitting nearly .500 with two homers, a double, five RBI and four runs scored.
Mountcastle is a lock to be penciled into the Orioles’s lineup card on Opening Day. Also making himself even more valuable is his ability to man either position in the corner outfield, as well track down fly balls in the outfield.
But, most notably, Mountcastle will be another name that is remembered for making Camden Yards look small.