As the final week of Spring Training comes to a close, we take a look back at some of the prospects that made a name for themselves, and earned a spot on the roster.
Alejandro Kirk
Fan favorite Alejandro Kirk is back for another tour of duty with the major league club to start the season. In 11 games last season, he enamored Blue Jays fans with his physique, hustle, and raw talent.
The stocky 22-year-old hit .292 with two long balls and an OPS north of .900 in his short stint in the show last summer.
Kirk continued to mash this spring tallying seven hits in 22 at-bats including two homers and a double.
The Mexico native needed a strong spring to win a catching job with the Blue Jays and Kirk delivered.
The backstop will most likely split time with fellow catching prospect, 26-year-old Danny Jansen, to start the season, but with Jansen’s sub-par MLB showing thus far, there is every chance that we see Kirk take over the starting role this year.
Kirk is more of a bat to ball type player than a power bat, but as indicated by his OPS last season, he does have some pop in that 5-foot-8 frame.
Jazz Chisholm
On the opposite end of the spectrum, lanky Jazz Chisholm has won the starting job in Miami from Isan Diaz. Chisholm started off the spring slowly in a 1-for-17 slump, but turned it on towards the end of his campaign, boosting his slash line to .250/.294/.531 this spring. Not super impressive, but better than his counterpart Isan Diaz who had a tough spring.
The potential is there with Chisholm. After coming over from the Diamondbacks in exchange for ace, Zac Gallen, there has been much pressure on him to succeed. And the native of the Bahamas has held up his end of the bargain quite well so far.
At just 23, Chisholm is said to have a projectable frame by Marlins scouts and coaches. He stands at only 5-feet-11 inches and 165 pounds, but there is a sense that he will fill out and carry 20 home run potential with his 20 SB potential.
Another surprising aspect of Chisholm’s game this spring was the ease with which he transitioned to second base, making this a less difficult decision for the Marlins’s front office.
Andrew Vaughn
If you’ve been following along this spring, you know Andrew Vaughn has been dropping bombs and dropping jaws this spring.
With Eloy Jimenez going down for what is expected to be 5-6 months, there is every indication that the young slugger will find himself in the lineup on Opening Day.
The question then just becomes where he will be slotted. The White Sox have been working out the Cal product in left field and in limited action, Vaughn has held his own out there.
Regardless of his defense, Vaughn is poised to have a major impact offensively on a White Sox team hoping to find themselves back in the playoffs this spring.
The one thing that has really stood out about Vaughn’s game aside from his power is his extreme patience at the plate. In today’s game, it is very rare that we see young hitters with the type of discipline that Vaughn has shown at the dish.
The number 3 overall pick in the 2019 draft has drawn seven walks this camp while only going down on strikes nine times.
Bobby Dalbec
In other first base news, Bobby Dalbec has appeared to win himself the job in Boston after annihilating baseballs all spring.
After blasting eight homers in 80 big league at-bats last year, Dalbec wasted no time, leaving the yard seven times in his first 45 at-bats this spring.
The main concern in Dalbec’s game has always been his bat to ball skills. The big right-hander is an all or nothing type asset for Boston. He has been known to either go down by way of the K or go deep. There has not been much in between for Dalbec in this area, but he has posted an impressive .308/.400/.821 slash line this spring, winning himself the starting first base job in Beantown.
Taylor Trammell
Taylor Trammell has spent much of his brief career bouncing around minor league organizations at this point.
The 23-year-old finds himself in Seattle in a system with a glut of top outfield prospects.
But it was Trammell that put on the best show this spring. The former first round pick of the Reds has raked, posting a .318 average and a 1.059 OPS in camp.
He added in three nukes and swiped two bags on his way to earning a roster spot.
It appears that Trammell is poised to be the starting left fielder to open the season in Seattle this year next to Mitch Haniger and last year's Rookie of the Year Award winner, Kyle Lewis.
What has made Trammell such a coveted piece in all the deals of which he has been a part is his excellent track record in the minors and his potential to post 20-20 seasons in his prime.
He was one of the main pieces in the three-team trade that sent Trevor Bauer to the Reds from Cleveland and Trammell from the Reds to San Diego.
Trammell was then flipped from San Diego to Seattle in the deal that brought Austin Nola to California.
The Georgia native was named MVP of the All-Star Futures game after tripling and blasting a go-ahead homer in the midst of his rise up prospect boards in 2018.
Look for Trammell to be a contributor to a rebuilding Seattle team this year.