2022 mlb international prospects

He still has two years before he technically has to be added to the 40-man, and theoretically the Phillies could use all that runway to keep developing him as a starter in the hopes that things click, but going on age 24 that feels like a bit of a pipe dream. His left-handed swing has natural pull-side loft and hes adept at impacting the baseball way out in front of the plate from the right side, accomplishing the same goal with a slightly different look. After sitting 94-95 mph in 2021, hes now parked in the 96-98 mph range for entire starts, and his hardest sliders (in the 85-87 mph range) are nearly 10 mph harder than his average curveball was in 2021 (77 mph). -- $797,500, AthleticsRamon Landaeta, C, Ven. While especially adept at launching pitches on the inner third, Johnson also shows some ability to shorten up and cover the top and outer edge of the strike zone. Theres still risk Rafaela walks the Cristian Pache path, as his issues are similar to the ones that have apparently undone the young Athletic, but more likely hes akin to Kevin Pillar, and there are scouts who think Rafaelas frame will continue to add strength such that he hits for more power than Pillar was able to. His fastballs underlying traits will make his current style of pitching effective at the big league level, and Bradleys demonstrated durability and command mean hes going to consume a ton of innings and have some years where hes one of baseballs top 25 or so starters from a WAR standpoint even if that splitter is only ever okay. He worked in the 89-93 mph range as a high schooler, then exploded in college, hitting 100 mph as a freshman and sustaining upper-90s velocity when he finally moved to the rotation as a fourth-year junior in 2021. Again, verbal agreements are sometimes made a couple of years in advance of a player actually being eligible to sign, a phenomena that tends to happen most often with top-of-the-market prospects. Marwys Jorge, RHP, D.R. He slid within this FV tier but his grade didnt change, and hes still a pretty good bet to be a no. Here Berry projects as a DH. Others have referred to it as the international day of joy. He struggles with softer stuff in the bottom of the strike zone, and his in-zone and overall contact rates in 2022 were 78% and 70% respectively, an area similar to Nolan Gorman, Franchy Cordero, Bobby Dalbec and others who have tantalizing power but have sometimes been frustrating big league hitters. It makes everything nice and tidy. Juliens stock fell early during the 2019 college season as he struggled badly, then he got hot during a tumultuous postseason run; the Twins drafted him on Day Three. Maikol Orozco, SS, Ven. There was some worry that Carroll wouldnt be quite the same player when he returned, but he quickly allayed those concerns by dominating the upper minors as soon as the 2022 starter pistol fired, notching an amazing 53 extra-base hits in just 91 Double- and Triple-A games before he slashed .260/.330/.500 during a September big league call-up. The Blue Jays coaxed Barger away from a Florida commitment with $270,000, and he barely played during his first two full seasons, one of them lost to the pandemic. He has plus bat speed, and a compact, athletic swing that features a very flexible lower half and a fair amount of barrel variability. While he could stand to be a little more consistent on defense (many balls got through him early this past winter with Licey), the range, bend, hands, and arm strength to play short are all comfortably here. After slashing .251/.326/.494 at Aberdeen, the 20-year-old was promoted to Bowie for the stretch run. Even as various aspects of his profile remain amorphous, Ramos offensive performance to this point and optimism that hell ultimately be able to play at least one infield position well as he matures put him on the Top 100 despite his variance. No matter if you're a diehard to the format or relatively new, everyone loves prospects and wants to establish a rock-solid core on their dynasty team. : Padres+ ($5,600,000) More 2. Bleis has some of the planets sexiest bat speed and produces shocking power for a young hitter his size. 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 - Sort by Team - ARI ATL BAL BOS CHC CHW CIN CLE COL DET HOU KC LAA LAD MIA MIL MIN NYM NYY OAK PHI PIT SD SF SEA STL TB TEX TOR WSH : Reds+ ($3,100,000) More 5. If youre looking for the prospect most likely to hit 40 home runs in a season down the line, this is your player. Its a tall order for a prospect who already has some hit tool risk. Amador is one of those short-levered switch hitters who is so short to the ball that he gets an extra beat to diagnose pitches before he has to commit to swinging, and he takes advantage of this. . 2022 MLB Top Prospects For Every Team Jackson Chourio (Photo Courtesy Wisconsin Timber Rattlers) By BA Staff on August 10, 2022 Now that the signing deadline for the draft and the trade. Hes going to get to whatever raw power he ends up growing into and has a good shot to be a middle infield regular, though probably not until 2026 or so just based on his 40-man timeline.There are mixed feelings about his defensive fit, with most of Erics sources projecting him to second base (a mix of scouts and analysts), which is where he had him coming out of high school. 3. Welbyn Francisca, SS, D.R. And now, a few important things to keep in mind as youre perusing the Top 100. Its worth developing him at catcher for at least a while since that position is at the very top of the defensive spectrum, and Paradas other seemingly viable positions are at or near the bottom. Walker worked out as a pitcher, shortstop, and third baseman in high school, then had a rough draft spring amid some weight gain, which is part of why he fell deep into the first round. Traded from Cleveland along with Phil Maton for Myles Straw, Diaz slugged his way from Corpus Christi to Sugar Land in 2022, and is now the best hitting catcher on Houstons 40-man roster. His slider has two-plane sweep, while his curveball (more commonly used as an in-zone pitch and against lefties) is north/south and sometimes also has arm-side direction. He ultimately went fourth overall to Pittsburgh, and because hes a relatively advanced hitter with a mature build, theres a good chance the Pirates move Johnson through the minors pretty quickly if he hits the ground running offensively. Hes a young, switch-hitting catcher with cartoonish offensive numbers (especially from a bat-to-ball standpoint) and uncommon defensive versatility, as hes played a bunch of second base and left field as well. : Tigers ($900,000) More 45. Hes shown the ability to induce significant swing and miss across all four offerings, both in and out of the zone, aided largely by his funky arm action. The 55 FV pitchers and above tend to have some combination of monster stuff and good command, whereas the 50 FV pitchers often have one or the other. A big-league ready, mid-rotation starter, Waldichuks arsenal also includes a changeup that he finishes with remarkable precision, but which he reserves almost exclusively for right-handed opponents (hes only thrown one changeup to a big-league lefty). Whichever lucky team gets that selection will be getting a player with plus tools across the board. His heater is only generating about a 14% swinging strike rate, per Synergy Sports, which is above the big league average but not elite. The Phillies pushed him aggressively, going all the way to Double-A Reading late in 2022. The Rangers then took an aggressive approach, assigning him directly to Double-A Frisco for his first year of pro ball in 2022. Blocked by Nolan Arenado, Walker is taking his 70-grade power and arm to right field, where he should hit 35 annual bombs amid lots of strikeouts. His aggressive approach resulted in his walk rate dipping at High-A, while his strikeout rate inflated a bit typical advancement-related growing pains but he still managed to slug .498 and swipe 19 bags at the higher level. Bradleys fastball utility, command, and athleticism enable deep projection on his secondary pitches into his 20s. These dominant results paved the way for a late-August call-up to the big-league squad, where he made a single start before being shut down for the remainder of the season with shoulder inflammation. These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. Hes going to be a star if he ends up with even average raw power, and even if he doesnt, were talking about a switch-hitting catcher who can make an impact on both offense and defense. Casas has plus-plus power and enough bat-to-ball skill to weaponize it. For example, based on Craigs research, the average 60 FV hitter on a list becomes a perennial 5-plus WAR player over his six controlled years 26% of the time, and has a 27% chance of accumulating, at most, a couple of WAR during his six controlled years. Thirty-one of the players on the 2022 Top 50 International Prospects list are from the Dominican Republic. Jhonny Severino, SS, Dominican Republic Brewers ($1,230,000) More 22. At one point, his in-zone contact rate was in the ninth percentile among minor leaguers, even while his triple slash line was out of this world. He was set to pick up winter ball reps in the Dominican Republic for Estrellas Orientales, but was shut down after just five games due to continued back discomfort. Prior to his fifth-round selection in the 2021 draft, Graceffo had been Villanovas Friday starter, routinely called upon to throw well over 100 pitches per outing. Major League and Minor League Baseball data provided by Major League Baseball. His stuff is more comparable to the 50 FV starters on this list, but his command should allow him to work more efficiently and eat more innings than most of that group. Plus athlete, "true shortstop". Updated: Saturday, March 4, 2023 7:42 AM ET, Park Factors He also altered his breaking ball usage (more sliders, fewer curves) and increased his changeup frequency, and was so advanced from a pitchability standpoint that Cleveland quickly saw fit to send him to Akron, where he spent most of his first pro season. Theres front-end upside here, and while Painter is not a complete pitcher yet, the Phillies have promoted him at such a brisk pace that hes already on the precipice of the majors as a teenager. Still, this is a 6-foot-7, 240-pound 20-year-old who might add weight commensurate with his frame as he matures, and the way that shakes out will have a significant impact on his defensive future. This is an attempt to graphically represent how likely each FV outcome is for each prospect. He was a known bat-first prospect from California but time off recovering from a shoulder surgery and the pandemic made him tough to properly evaluate before the draft, tough enough that he was not generally seen as a first round prospect. Poised to compete for a rotation spot when 2023 camp breaks, Ortiz is one of a few high-upside Pirates youngsters who look like theyd fit in a contenders rotation. The fluctuations in velocity, Nelsons mechanical look, and his end-of-year scapula injury in 2022 wrap his profile in long-term relief risk, but thats pretty standard among big stuff pitchers toward the back of the top 100. Were he an infielder, there would be times when a manager would want to substitute for him because of how rough his defense can be, but you dont really want to remove a hitter like this from your lineup in the middle of a game. People with a track record or striking gold on a few lotto tickets tend to be more willing to pursue that path. The pitch has natural tailing action, but Ortiz can also blow it past hitters at the letters when he wants, and his TrackMan data shows hes mixing in four- and two-seamers in the locations where theyre most effective. He may just be a DH, which would obviously make it tougher for him to profile, but there may be elite on-base ability here and that plus the power might be enough for Julien to make an impact that way, too. He tends to work contact to center and right field, especially against fastballs, and he has a clear two-strike approach where he ditches his leg kick and takes a more conservative swing. -- $650,000Samuel Acuna, RHP, Ven. He is the younger brother of Marlins prospect Jose Salas, and he could end up being the best player in the family. Wood has a real chance to both hit and hit for gargantuan power, and while his swing isnt geared for consistent lift at this point, he has the raw strength to do damage anyway. Druw Jones . At the plate, he shows an advanced approach with the ability to hit for average. Because his bat is almost big league ready, it might make sense for Mead to learn left field or for him to debut as a DH while some sort of outfield transition happens on the side. After playing some winter ball for Gigantes del Cibao, Marte saw 520 regular season plate appearances, changed organizations as the highest-profile prospect in the blockbuster Luis Castillo trade in the midst of those, went to Germany as part of Team Spains WBC qualifier roster, and then came back to the US and played for another six weeks in the Fall League. Rosman Verdugo, SS, Mexico Padres ($700,000) More 48. The Rockies are expected to sign Jorge. His numbers backed up in 2022, but thats typical of pitchers who go to work in Reno. Drafting toolsy, athletic players with high marks in power and speed is a legitimate approach. Lawlars hit tool projection is a bit of a conundrum. Hes adept at dropping it into the top of the strike zone, around the hands of left-handed hitters who think its a fastball above the zone until it cuts down onto the corner. Obviously hes ranked here as if hes set to become a star player anyway. Poised to make an immediate impact as Arizonas leadoff hitter, Carroll is the tip of the spear the Diamondbacks are pointing at the Dodgers and Padres. A backfield wunderkind who stood out immediately because of his rare combination of size and athleticism, Alcantara has been a top 100 prospect at FanGraphs for a couple of years now. Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association finalized a deal in March 2020 that addressed the international signing period during the pandemic. On its own, the heater hasnt been much of a bat-misser, but it plays up thanks to two excellent secondaries a changeup and a slider both of which are plus or better, and both of which garnered whiff rates over 50% and chase rates over 40% in 2022. He was a model-friendly prospect because of his age and performance, and a scout-friendly prospect because of his relative polish (especially on defense), physicality, and showcase tools. His hands work with natural lift, but Busch keeps their path short and on time, and he can move the barrel all over the zone. In the past, Ortizs high-effort delivery and sub-optimal fastball shape put him on the starter/reliever line, but hes thrown plenty of strikes across multiple seasons while simultaneously developing more velocity and comfortably projects as a starting pitcher now. His arm slot is not as deliberately north/south as before, but his fastball still plays as an in-zone bat-misser because of his angle and carry. Its important to acknowledge the risk of his profile at this stage, but Mayer still projects as an extra-base machine at shortstop and an impact big leaguer. His huge strides enable him to cover a ton of ground in center field and he is a not only a viable defender out there right now, but he looks like a future plus glove. Enmanuel Bonilla, OF, D.R. When LSU hired Jay Johnson away, Berry was one of several players who transferred out of Tucson, following Johnson to Baton Rouge. These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. Yordany De Los Santos, SS, Dominican Republic Pirates ($1,200,000) More 13. The bumps and bruises suffered from catching can sometimes level players for whole seasons, and Davis had a lot of them in 2022. The 2021-2022 international signing period began on Jan. 15, 2022, and runs through Dec. 15, 2022. One of the top hitters in the class, he hits line drives to all fields and shows home run potential with a mechanically sound swing. Fantasy Update: 2021 Re-Draft Top 25/Dynasty Top 200. Now on the 40-man roster, Cartaya is poised to be a power-hitting All-Star catcher who gets eased into the big league waters in 2024 and 2025, toward the back end of Will Smiths arbitration years. His swing is designed for power; it has a bit of a loop and a steep plane to it, enabling him to crush mistakes to left and center field. This guy hasnt had a clear defensive home for much of his life as a prospect. He hit a whopping .324/.373/.600 at Low-A Carolina during the first half of the year, then slashed a more pedestrian .252/.317/.488 (as an 18-year-old!) He left Arizona with top-five pick buzz and ultimately went first overall to Baltimore. In 2022, he dominated the upper levels (.260/.374/.511) and made his big league debut at age 20 with a five-game cup of coffee. Scouts like Priester, pitch data does not. Collier has stand-out raw strength and generates it across a very short mechanical distance, capable of driving thunderous contact to center and left/center with a flick of his wrists. Wiemer is a power/speed freak who might bust or be a power-hitting anomaly. Diaz has plus, all-fields power and covers the outer third of the plate especially well. Cincinnatis present roster situation funnels him to third base, but Jonathan Indias injury history, Joey Vottos age and handedness, and the Reds willingness to play Kyle Farmer at shortstop in the past likely mean that Steer will see time all over the infield throughout the next few years, and this flexibility along with his hitting skill should make him nearly an everyday, every-inning player despite some of his defensive blemishes. All of the prospects below also appear on The Board, a resource the site offers featuring sortable scouting information for every organization. Teams keep track of rival clubs bonus allocations both to gauge the market and to assess the total amount of money still available, as well as how much each team has promised to players. If he develops into a plus shortstop defender with a well-rounded offensive game, hell easily be an impact big leaguer, and probably soon. Henderson, still just the age of a college draft prospect, had one of the best offensive performances in minor league baseball in 2022 and made his big league debut late in the season. He only averaged 91-94 mph during the 2019 season, but he has been parked in the 94-97 range since that 20 instructs period. The Mariners are listed as the favorites to sign two of. 5 Packs per Box, 5 Cards per Pack (Factory Sealed). Chronic shoulder issues have derailed the careers of countless pitching prospects, and the new information caused Espino to be repositioned from the 60 FV tier (he was close to 12th overall on early drafts of the list) to here, where both his ceiling and heightened bust risk are factored in. -- $650,000Yeiker Reyes, OF, Ven. His feeds around the bag sometimes lack touch and accuracy, but hes otherwise a capable shortstop defender and would easily be plus at third base. He matriculated to Florida Atlantic, where the Owls considered him athletic enough to deploy as a two-way player during his freshman season before he focused more on pitching in 2019 and 2020. -- $520,000Breyias Dean, 3B, Bah. Just shy of age 21 in 2022, he was a draft-eligible sophomore and somehow improved on an incredible freshman season (.318/.379/.550) by nearly tripling his home run total, walking as often as he Kd and slashing .361/.453/.709 as a soph. This is also when I start to collect biographical data like dates of birth, height/weight, position, and handedness, all of which later finds its way on The Board. He is similar to Henry Davis and Kyle Schwarber, in that he may have to move out from behind the plate due to poor receiving, ball-blocking, and his raw arm strength, though he is pretty accurate. Pages swing is as geared for lift as any hitter in the minors, and he should get to enough power to profile in a corner. Hes a plus rotational athlete, his hands are exceptionally strong, he can drive his top hand through contact to punish pitches at the top of the zone and he sometimes alters his footwork and the bend in his lower half to dip down and barrel low pitches. Even with the back issue, the Giants put Luciano on their 40-man roster during the winter. Its possible hell find a way to play a mold-breaking style of third base defense over time, but an elbow sprain (which happened amid a throwing program to try to improve his arm strength) ended his 2022 and required a PRP injection, which is often a precursor to Tommy John for pitchers. This projection is a little more bullish about him staying at short, at least for a while, largely based on Lees feel for the position. Hes also adept at positioning his body to be ready to throw as he fields the baseball, his transfer is quick, and his internal clock is well-calibrated. Hes a little bit upright in the box but has a well-timed, toe-tap stride and great-looking swing that has typically been on time despite a little bat wrap and hitch in his hands. He can be beaten with high velocity more regularly than anything else, but if pitchers miss and catch too much of the meat of the zone, that mistake is going to get hit hard somewhere. Some of what Ramos does on defense is very impressive. Even though his stride is relatively conservative, he is still generating so much force with his legs that his back foot will sometimes come completely off the ground as hes making contact, la Bryce Harper. As far as defensive projection is concerned, a boxy frame, medium straight line speed, and an awkward running gait push and pull against Mayers defensive instincts, first-step quickness, and strong arm. Simon Juan, OF, Dominican Republic Mets ($1,900,000) More 17. But Browns fastball has the sort of action that gives pitchers margin for error in the strike zone, and his stuff is so nasty that he can be imprecise and still beat hitters. Just seven games into his 2021 minor league season, Carroll sustained a posterior capsular avulsion fracture and a labrum tear during a swing on which he homered. Now that hes on the 40-man roster, proactive experimentation makes sense so that Ramos can move the moment he needs to. Across the season as a whole, his fastball only sat 95 mph, and in his final start of the year it was mostly in the 93-96 mph range, which is a two-tick regression from 2021, when Rodriguez sat 96-98 all year. This is technically the 2021-22 signing period, and the players who sign Saturday would have signed last July 2 in a normal year. Historically, Wesneski has favored his four-seamer overall, though against big league righties, his awesome slider and sinker out-paced the heater in terms of usage, with both secondaries garnering above-average chase rates and aiding his ability to maintain a high groundball rate. After the Reds gave him some time at first base in 2022, Steer now has experience at all four infield positions. Certainly from a velocity and spin (about 200 rpm) standpoint they had, though each is still capable of missing bats. Remember that there was pre-draft consternation around his age (he was well over 19), which draft models tend to penalize prospects for because of the historical success of younger players. Lever length still limits Batys ability to make consistent, quality contact in certain part of the zone, but he still shows you impressive barrel control as he tries to get the bat where it needs to be. 2 overall prospect, then was shut down with what Miami described as arm fatigue.. Lee is a skilled, switch-hitting shortstop (for now) with power. Arnaldo Lantigua, OF, D.R. When you bounce his skill set off of those of recent top high school prospects, Bleis compares favorably. Jarlin Susana, RHP, Dominican Republic Padres ($1,700,000) More 32. His time on the Twins roster was too short-lived to put much stake in, but was just as brilliant more so, given his ability to translate those above-average across-the-board numbers to the highest level. His defensive ability alone gives him a big league floor, and his power gives him a big ceiling if he can get to it in games. Felnin Celesten, SS, Dominican RepublicCelesten shows big tools across the board and has a chance to be a five-tool player if he continues to develop at a normal pace. Unfortunately, he did neither. Gian Zapata, OF, D.R. Pitchers tend to be volatile and subject to heightened injury risk, plus their usage is being spread out among more pitchers in the majors, reducing the impact of individuals. : Mariners ($600,000) More 43. De La Cruz is a boom-or-bust prospect who could really bust or go supernova. Romo is a plus-gloved catching prospect with uncommon feel for contact from both sides of the plate, though the contact he makes is not very hard. It's not very often that a prospect comes along that projects to have plus to double-plus grades on his hit tool, power, and speed. He worked out in Panama during the offseason and the Guardians thought he was a full-go for spring training 2023, the start of his 40-man evaluation year. The start of the international signing period is one of the most important dates on the baseball calendar. Thats because we have also included the 50 FV prospects whose ranking fell outside the 100, an acknowledgement both that the choice to rank exactly 100 prospects (as opposed to 110 or 210 or some other number entirely) is an arbitrary one and that there isnt a ton of daylight between the prospects who appear in that part of the list. He has retained foundational feel for the barrel while coming into all that power, and is one of the higher-ceilinged all-around players in the minors. His trademark breaking ball, which has plus-plus spin and flashes huge depth, tends to finish in the strike zone and isnt yet a consistent putaway pitch. Jobe was the consensus top high school arm in the 2021 draft and earned a bonus of nearly $7 million as the third overall pick. It makes sense that there has been some second base experimentation here over the last few years, as Ramos range and actions make it plausible that he could eventually fit there, and Colson Montgomerys third base projection might force the issue. His fantastic bat-to-ball skill has enabled him to rake in the minors, but he has a tendency to offer at pitches that are way, way off the plate, pitches most hitters instantly know arent competitive. PCA is one of the best defensive center fielders in the sport and a swing change unlocked dormant power in 2022. Anthony Gutierrez, OF, Dominican Republic Rangers ($1,997,500) More 7. Its prudent to bake this context into how one thinks about Marte, but there are also some statistical yellow flags evident in his regular season performance as well as some harsh realities to come to grips with regarding his trajectory on defense. With the Dragons in 2022, Rece earned the Reds Minor League Player of the Month Award for May. Jung had a rough 2022 that were chalking up to injury-related rust rather than severe skill regression. -- $300,000, MarlinsJancory De La Cruz, OF, D.R. And while its not the ideal strategy, theres something to be said about coming out of your prospect draft with the best available talent, in hindsight. More disappointing though is that the shape of the heater hasnt played the way it was hoped to or how the TrackMan data that came out of his time at Vandy hinted that it might, having lost some of the ghost-like deception that flummoxed opposing college batters. His ceiling is as lofty as he is. The Dodgers and Blue Jays forfeited $500,000 from their pools for signing players who had rejected qualifying offers -- Trevor Bauer and George Springer, respectively -- last offseason, so each has a pool of $4,644,000. Parada was the rare high-profile California high schooler who left the state for college, traveling all the way to Atlanta for two years at Georgia Tech. Here are the new Top 30 Prospects lists. His strikeout rate improved upon promotion to Triple-A, albeit in a smaller sample. Meet the top international prospects expected to sign when the period commences in January: 1. The switch hitter has improved in every facet of his game as he has matured physically in the last year, and he has a chance to have plus speed, arm, and raw power as a result. He looked great at the start of the Fall League before pitchers figured out they could get him to chase whatever and started junk-balling him to death. What a difference a year makes. He showed a tendency to expand the zone and make some sub-optimal contact as an amateur and in his 2022 pro sample, but there are times when Johnson does this and rather than frustrate scouts and analysts, he impresses them with his ability to identify and adjust to breaking balls, his barrel feel, and his hand-eye coordination. Joendry Vargas, SS, Dominican RepublicAt 6-foot-3, the long and lean teen will face questions about his ability to stay at shortstop, but he already shows a quick first step, good hands and plus instincts for position. In contrast, his 2022 was a tough-luck grind, as Yorke hit just .232 at Greeneville and dealt with myriad injuries, including turf toe, back stiffness, and wrist soreness that reared its ugly, uh, wrist during the regular season and again when he went to Arizona to pick up reps in the Fall League. He has a simple, well-leveraged swing that takes advantage of his strength, and the long levers that come with his 6-foot-5, 220 pound frame produce jaw-dropping home runs when he really squares one up.