Post by chinmusic on Jan 22, 2021 23:03:10 GMT -8
BA writers are having their annual discussion about the best MLB prospects in baseball. It's also a popular topic from the Front Offices of the MLB teams down to the Professional Scouts who are evaluating prospects every day.
This year's discussion centers around three elite prospects that are considered to be a full tier above the other 97 players that are listed on the BA Top-100 Prospect list. Tampa Bay's SS phenom Wander Franco has an 80 grade hit tool with emerging power while reaching Advanced A at 19 years of age. He signed at 17 out of the Dominican Republic. Julio Rodriguez is a young 21 year old OF that has + grades in hitting and power. A Mariner future star and also from the Dominican. Adley Rutschman is Baltimore's prized prospect who has the best grades of all but like the other two hasn't played above Advanced A. All 3 were hurt by the 2020 Pandemic but perhaps Rutschman more than any - he'll be 23 soon.
Let's focus on the BA comments on Adley.
After doing my research I arrived on three players who I believe are in the elite, top tier of prospects in all of baseball: Wander Franco, Adley Rutschman and Julio Rodriguez. I think all three of these players would be deserving No 1s, with solid arguments for each of them.
Rutschman is one of just two position players with three 70s or 80s on his card—and would be perfectly defensible choices at No. 1 overall. However, both players have small warts.
Adley Rutschman and Julio Rodriguez have a chance to be future superstars in their own right. If we look back 10 or 15 years from now and one or both have had a better career than Franco, no one should be shocked. That’s not a knock on Franco. That’s a credit to the prodigious talent both Rutschman and Rodriguez possess, and a big reason why most front office officials around the game group them with Franco as the consensus top three prospects in baseball, with all others considered a full tier below.
Rutschman is one of the toolsier prospects in the game and one of the best catching prospects we have had since at least Matt Wieters in 2009. His offensive and defensive skills give him a chance to be a tremendously valuable player at a position where teams are rarely getting impact, middle-of-the-order bats. I think Rutschman is one of the highest-probability players on this list to become an impactful, regular at the big league level. Ultimately concerns about the position itself and Rutschman’s age (23 on Feb. 6, 2021 relative to Franco 20 on Mar.1, 2021 and Rodriguez was 21 on Dec. 29, 2000) led me to putting him in the No. 3 spot.
Among the top trio of prospects, Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman was hurt the most from having no minor league season in 2020 to prove himself. At least he worked with Baltimore's burgeoning pitching talent at the alternate training site. It would surprise no one if Rutschman's offensive upside and defensive/leadership value make him the third catcher ever to rank No. 1 next year. Joe Mauer (2004-05) and Matt Wieters (2009) are the other No. 1 catchers.
Josh Norris: I did briefly entertain the thought of voting for either the Mariners' Julio Rodriguez or the Orioles' Adley Rutschman. Both players have extremely loud tool sets—Rodriguez has had trouble staying healthy over the last two seasons, which limited him to 84 regular-season games in 2019 and kept him out of the alternate training site in 2020. Rutschman, of course, doesn't have much of a sample size as a professional. Moreover, none of the experience he got after being drafted in 2019 came at a level with universally better pitching than he saw in college at Oregon State. He got more advanced work on both sides of the ball at Baltimore's alternate training site, but the controlled nature of that environment might tamp down the developmental value somewhat.
Kyle Glaser: Adley Rutschman and Julio Rodriguez have a chance to be future superstars in their own right. If we look back 10 or 15 years from now and one or both have had a better career than Franco, no one should be shocked. That’s not a knock on Franco. That’s a credit to the prodigious talent both Rutschman and Rodriguez possess, and a big reason why most front office officials around the game group them with Franco as the consensus top three prospects in baseball, with all others considered a full tier below.
J.J. Cooper: Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman has a chance to be as accomplished a hitter as Franco with more power and exceptional defense behind the plate. Mariners outfielder Julio Rodriguez has significantly more power potential than Franco. Rodriguez's 117 mph exit velocity on a double in instructional league demonstrated his ability to hit the ball as hard as pretty much anyone—in the majors in 2020 there were only five balls hit that hard or harder.If 2020 had been normal, there would have been a great debate, as Rutschman and Rodriguez could have added to their admittedly brief professional resumes.
This year's discussion centers around three elite prospects that are considered to be a full tier above the other 97 players that are listed on the BA Top-100 Prospect list. Tampa Bay's SS phenom Wander Franco has an 80 grade hit tool with emerging power while reaching Advanced A at 19 years of age. He signed at 17 out of the Dominican Republic. Julio Rodriguez is a young 21 year old OF that has + grades in hitting and power. A Mariner future star and also from the Dominican. Adley Rutschman is Baltimore's prized prospect who has the best grades of all but like the other two hasn't played above Advanced A. All 3 were hurt by the 2020 Pandemic but perhaps Rutschman more than any - he'll be 23 soon.
Let's focus on the BA comments on Adley.
After doing my research I arrived on three players who I believe are in the elite, top tier of prospects in all of baseball: Wander Franco, Adley Rutschman and Julio Rodriguez. I think all three of these players would be deserving No 1s, with solid arguments for each of them.
Rutschman is one of just two position players with three 70s or 80s on his card—and would be perfectly defensible choices at No. 1 overall. However, both players have small warts.
Adley Rutschman and Julio Rodriguez have a chance to be future superstars in their own right. If we look back 10 or 15 years from now and one or both have had a better career than Franco, no one should be shocked. That’s not a knock on Franco. That’s a credit to the prodigious talent both Rutschman and Rodriguez possess, and a big reason why most front office officials around the game group them with Franco as the consensus top three prospects in baseball, with all others considered a full tier below.
Rutschman is one of the toolsier prospects in the game and one of the best catching prospects we have had since at least Matt Wieters in 2009. His offensive and defensive skills give him a chance to be a tremendously valuable player at a position where teams are rarely getting impact, middle-of-the-order bats. I think Rutschman is one of the highest-probability players on this list to become an impactful, regular at the big league level. Ultimately concerns about the position itself and Rutschman’s age (23 on Feb. 6, 2021 relative to Franco 20 on Mar.1, 2021 and Rodriguez was 21 on Dec. 29, 2000) led me to putting him in the No. 3 spot.
Among the top trio of prospects, Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman was hurt the most from having no minor league season in 2020 to prove himself. At least he worked with Baltimore's burgeoning pitching talent at the alternate training site. It would surprise no one if Rutschman's offensive upside and defensive/leadership value make him the third catcher ever to rank No. 1 next year. Joe Mauer (2004-05) and Matt Wieters (2009) are the other No. 1 catchers.
Josh Norris: I did briefly entertain the thought of voting for either the Mariners' Julio Rodriguez or the Orioles' Adley Rutschman. Both players have extremely loud tool sets—Rodriguez has had trouble staying healthy over the last two seasons, which limited him to 84 regular-season games in 2019 and kept him out of the alternate training site in 2020. Rutschman, of course, doesn't have much of a sample size as a professional. Moreover, none of the experience he got after being drafted in 2019 came at a level with universally better pitching than he saw in college at Oregon State. He got more advanced work on both sides of the ball at Baltimore's alternate training site, but the controlled nature of that environment might tamp down the developmental value somewhat.
Kyle Glaser: Adley Rutschman and Julio Rodriguez have a chance to be future superstars in their own right. If we look back 10 or 15 years from now and one or both have had a better career than Franco, no one should be shocked. That’s not a knock on Franco. That’s a credit to the prodigious talent both Rutschman and Rodriguez possess, and a big reason why most front office officials around the game group them with Franco as the consensus top three prospects in baseball, with all others considered a full tier below.
J.J. Cooper: Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman has a chance to be as accomplished a hitter as Franco with more power and exceptional defense behind the plate. Mariners outfielder Julio Rodriguez has significantly more power potential than Franco. Rodriguez's 117 mph exit velocity on a double in instructional league demonstrated his ability to hit the ball as hard as pretty much anyone—in the majors in 2020 there were only five balls hit that hard or harder.If 2020 had been normal, there would have been a great debate, as Rutschman and Rodriguez could have added to their admittedly brief professional resumes.
