Quality of the Class: This is a solid group, with a mix of near-big league ready talents (Byron Buxton, Bradley Zimmer and Brett Phillips) and high-ceiling potential stars who are further away (Andrew Benintendi, Victor Robles and Alex Verdugo).
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_IGNORED: Max Headrom-esqtvd-QRich3-EBledsoe12-alon8882-45clip The State of the System: Is this the best system money can buy? No, but it's one of the best in baseball.
The Top Ten
- SS Corey Seager
- LHP Julio Urias
- RHP Jose De Leon
- RHP Grant Holmes
- RHP Frankie Montas
- RHP Yadier Alvarez
- OF Alex Verdugo
- OF Yusniel Diaz
- 1B/OF Cody Bellinger
- RHP Jharel Cotton
1. Corey Seager, SS
DOB: 04/27/1994
Height/Weight: 6’4” 215 lbs.
Bats/Throws: L/R
Drafted/Acquired: Drafted 18th overall by Los Angeles in the 2012 Draft, Northwest Cabarrus HS (Concord, NC); signed for $2.35 million
Previous Ranking(s): #1 (Org), #7 (101)
2015 Stats: .293/.344/.447, 18 HR, 4 SB in 550 PA at Double-A Tulsa and Triple-A Oklahoma City; .337/.425/.561, 4 HR, 2 SB at major league level
Future Tools: 70 hit, 60 power, 60 arm
Role: 70—Perennial All-Star shortstop or third baseman
There are some swings that you can watch over and over again without ever getting tired of the repetition. Corey Seager has one of those swings. His ability to keep his hands in while still generating extension with above-average bat speed gives him a legitimate chance of winning batting championships. That’d be enough to make Seager an elite offensive prospect. When you add strong wrists and just enough loft to project plus power? Forget about it. If there’s a weakness here it’s that he can get aggressive and you’d like to see him take more pitches, but that’s nitpicking.
Seager’s bat plays anywhere, but it’s looking more and more likely that the landing spot will be shortstop. Even with below-average speed, his natural instincts allow him to get to balls he shouldn’t, and his plus arm allows him to turn hits into outs. If he was to move over to third base he’d be a plus defender, and there’s still a very strong chance that the hot corner becomes his long-term position. It’s just no longer a foregone conclusion.
Even if Seager were a first baseman, this would still be the best hitting prospect in all of baseball. It’s easy to get hyperbolic, but consider that sentence and then consider that he’s likely to stick at a premium position. This is the type of player who wins MVPs.
Bret Sayre’s Fantasy Take: The most amount of complaining you can do about Seager is that he’s being slightly overdrafted in redraft formats this year, as he’s not quite the fourth rounder yet. But, whatever. Seager has the talent to hit .300 perennially and pair 20-plus homer power with it—making him a top-five option at shortstop (and even at third base if he ever has to move).
Major League ETA: Debuted in 20152. Julio Urias, LHP
DOB: 08/12/1996
Height/Weight: 6’2” 205 lbs
Bats/Throws: L/L
Drafted/Acquired: Signed as part of a group of players August 2012 out of Mexico for $1.8 million (it's complicated)
Previous Ranking(s): #2 (Org.), #10 (101)
2015 Stats: .3.18 ERA, 80.1 IP, 73 H, 22 BB, 88 K at Arizona Complex, High-A Rancho Cucamonga, Double-A Tulsa and Triple-A Oklahoma City
Future Tools: 70 fastball, 60 curveball, 60 change, 55 command
Role: 70—Top-of-the-rotation starter
Not only do the Dodgers have the best hitting prospect in baseball, they have the best left-handed pitching prospect, as well. Always nice to see a small-market club like this building a sustainable talent base from within, right? Urias’ fastball isn’t double-plus because of velocity (90-94 while touching 97), but because of how much life the pitch has, and how much command Urias has with it. There are two plus off-speed pitches at his disposal, led by a curveball with stupid spin and break; he can drop it in for a strike or bury it down when ahead in the count. The only way you can tell the difference between his change and fastball is by looking at the radar gun, and the late fade makes it a third pitch that will cause hitters to reach for the Zantac.
Urias has above-average command and a ridiculous amount of feel for all three offerings, but some still wonder if his future really is in a rotation. He’s never topped 90 innings, and while that’s almost entirely because the Dodgers have coddled him, it’s still something doubters will take into consideration. I’m not a doubter, so I see it more as a positive than a negative. The upside here is a no. 1 starter, and because of his feel for pitching, the floor is mid-rotation starter or “this isn’t going to be fun” reliever.
Bret Sayre’s Fantasy Take: There’s plenty to like here, as Urias has the potential to sneak into SP1 value. Despite his age, there’s relative safety here, which makes him the third best fantasy pitching prospect in the game, behind Lucas Giolito and Alex Reyes. He has the capability of being a high-end performer in all four categories he’ll touch, pairing 200 strikeouts with a sub-3.00 ERA.
Major League ETA: 2016
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1. Los Angeles Dodgers
Dodgers' Top 30 Prospects | Breakdown
Dodgers in Top 100: 5 - SS/3B Corey Seager (No. 1), LHP Julio Urias (No. 4), RHP Jose De Leon (No. 24), RHP Grant Holmes (No. 62), RHP Frankie Montas (No. 95)
Prospect Points (MLB rank): 319 (3rd)
Shortstop Corey Seager, baseball's top prospect, and left-hander Julio Urias, the game's second-best pitching prospect, give the Dodgers a fine head start. But they rank No. 1 on this list because their depth of talent runs so much deeper than it did a year ago. Thanks to breakout players (right-hander Jose De Leon, first baseman Cody Bellinger), fast-developing 2014 draftees (righty Grant Holmes, outfielder Alex Verdugo) and products of a nine-figure 2015 international spending spree (righty Yadier Alvarez, outfielders Yusniel Diaz and Starling Heredia), this system is loaded.
Biggest jump/fall
Here are the players whose ranks changed the most from the 2015 preseason list to the 2016 preseason list.
Jump: Jharel Cotton, RHP (2015: 27 | 2016: 9)
Fall: Julian Leon, C (2015: 13 | 2016: NR)
Best tools
Players are graded on a 20-80 scouting scale for future tools -- 20-30 is well below average, 40 is below average, 50 is average, 60 is above average and 70-80 is well above average.
Hit: Seager (70)
Power: Seager (60)
Run: Micah Johnson (75)
Arm: Alex Verdugo (65)
Defense: Ronny Brito (60)
Fast ball: Jacob Rhame (70)
Curve ball: Urias (60)
Slider: Frankie Montas (55)
Changeup: Urias (60)
Control: Zach Lee (55)
_IGNORED: Max Headrom-esqtvd-QRich3-EBledsoe12-alon8882-45clip 8. Corey Seager, SS, Dodgers
Last Year: Not Ranked
It might seem bold to rank a player this high when his entire major league track record consists of just 27 games played. But the most valuable commodities in baseball are players who display exceptional skills at an early age and burn as little service time as possible. While Seager might only have those 27 games in the majors, we’ve got a pretty good stack of evidence to suggest that he’s going to be a star. In 390 minor-league games, he batted a robust .307/.368/.523. Much of that damage came while playing in hitter-friendly ballparks, but Seager also racked up most of those numbers before turning 21. To that, you can add his eye-opening .337/.425/.561 major league debut, as well as the fact that he plays shortstop at a time when nobody hits remotely that well at the position anymore. Seager is still just 21 and offers six years of team control; 29 rival teams are hiring hypnotists to go infiltrate Dodgers president Andrew Friedman’s office as you read this.
43. Julio Urias, SP, Dodgers
Last Year: Not Ranked
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At just 19 years old, Urias is the youngest pitcher in this group—and someone the Dodgers have deemed untouchable over years of trade talks. He also made it all the way to Triple A by season’s end, a fast and impressive pace for someone that young. The Dodgers made multiple moves to shore up their rotation this winter, and Urias can benefit from more seasoning down on the farm. But a Kershaw-Urias combo atop the rotation is a real possibility in the near future.
21. Clayton Kershaw, SP, Dodgers
Last Year: Not Ranked
Kershaw didn’t win the Cy Young award this time around (though he had a pretty good argument for it), but he's still widely considered the best pitcher on the planet, given his rare combination of top-of-the league track record and youth. Ah, but that contract. The Dodgers have more money than several sovereign island nations, so $163 million (not including performance bonuses) over the next five seasons—or $98 million over the next three, if Kershaw exercises his post-2018 opt-out—poses no problem for their gargantuan payroll. Then again, it’s hard to imagine a penny-pinching team like the Rays running to spend that kind of money, let alone giving up three or four great young players in trade for the privilege of spending all that dough. Call this ranking a happy medium, then feel free to mock me as a know-nothing Canadian on your forum of choice.
_IGNORED: Max Headrom-esqtvd-QRich3-EBledsoe12-alon8882-45clip Scouting report: Moyer didn't hit much at all during his days at UC Irvine, but in 2013 with UC San Diego he had a relatively solid offensive campaign. While he didn't show any power, Dillon hit .298 and tied for first on the team with 15 doubles. He was 15 for 17 on stolen base attempts, and it should also be noted that Moyer is a switch hitter.
Based on what I've read Moyer is a very strong defensive shortstop with good quickness and a great arm. He made 10 errors at in 2013 for a .956 fielding %, but again he spent the entire season at shortstop which is of course the toughest position on the field. Overall he reminds me of Scott Wingo for some reason, with less offense and better defense.
_IGNORED: Max Headrom-esqtvd-QRich3-EBledsoe12-alon8882-45clip _IGNORED: Max Headrom-esqtvd-QRich3-EBledsoe12-alon8882-45clip The Dodgers need Adrian Gonzalez's bat in the lineup more than anybody's this year, but when the day comes to replace the All-Star first baseman, it will probably be done by Cody Bellinger.
At 20 years old, Bellinger is younger than Corey Seager but he's batting almost 500 points higher this spring after getting three more hits off the bench in Wednesday's 13-13 tie with the Angels. Bellinger's average is an eye-popping .667 (6-for-9), and even in March that's hard to dismiss.
"The game doesn't speed up on him," said manager Dave Roberts. "He looks comfortable out there. The more you see, the more you like."
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Bellinger is smooth like James Loney at first base and he's played some outfield in the Minor Leagues, and he said he expects to play more there in hopes of increasing his versatility.
"I'm all for that," he said. "Whatever gets me up there, I'm up for it."
_IGNORED: Max Headrom-esqtvd-QRich3-EBledsoe12-alon8882-45clip Diaz batted .348/447/.440 as an 18-year-old in the Serie Nacional, Cuba's top league, in 2014-15 and likely would have been its rookie of the year had he not defected. He might have the best all-around tools in the system, with plus speed, a quick right-handed bat, the ability to barrel balls easily, a strong arm and the chops to play center field. Slated to make his pro debut this April at one of the organization's Class A affiliates, he singled and walked against four-time All-Star Chris Sale in a B game.
"He's a high-impact athlete with five-tool projection," Carr said. "He's a good runner with solid instincts. I think his approach will play more to contact and average than to big power, but he has physical potential."
MLBPipeline.com: After your strong pro debut, you hit just .213/.254/.274 without a homer in the first two months of last season before going on a .356/.380/.520 tear with nine homers in the final three months. What adjustments did you make?
Verdugo: To start the year off, I wanted to get more power. I was doing a leg kick, not a big one, but it threw off my timing. After doing that for two months, I got with my hitting coach, Jay Gibbons, to find a stance that would work best for me. We went with a toe tap and I was seeing the ball better, recognizing pitches, and it all started to come together. I was immature, thinking leg kick equals more power. Now I realize it doesn't. Just hit the ball hard. Just stick with my approach, make solid contact, hit line drives and occasionally they'll go out.
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MLBPipeline.com: How much do you think you have improved compared to when you signed not quite two years ago?
Verdugo: It's unreal. From the first day I signed to now, I think the most improved part of my game is the mental side. Last year was the first time in my life I had struggled and I didn't know how to deal with it. I had a lot of meetings and conversations and realized I've got to cool myself down. Baseball is a game of failure, it's about grinding and getting through it. Physically, I feel like I've always been there, but the ball is getting off my bat better, my speed and my defense are getting better.
_IGNORED: Max Headrom-esqtvd-QRich3-EBledsoe12-alon8882-45clip _IGNORED: Max Headrom-esqtvd-QRich3-EBledsoe12-alon8882-45clip Rob Segedin, 3b, Dodgers. Acquired from the Yankees in a deal for Ronald Torreyes—who made New York’s Opening Day roster—and lefthander Tyler Olson—Segedin himself is making a surprising push to go west with L.A. Segedin—never among the Yankees’ Top 30 Prospects despite being a third-round pick in 2010—has a .944 OPS this spring with four homers. “I want to continue to see Rob Segedin. He’s going to make the trip out there, as well as Charlie Culberson,” manager Dave Roberts told reporters about the Freeway Series lineup. “Austin Barnes, Trayce Thompson and those guys are still in the mix.”
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Los Angeles Dodgers: Corey Seager, SS (No. 1; No. 1 on Top 100); Austin Barnes, C (No. 12); Trayce Thompson, OF (No.15), Ross Stripling, RHP (No. 16) - It's looking like Seager will be just fine for Opening Day after a minor knee issue. Yasmani Grandal's injury helped Barnes make the team, but Barnes' positional flexibility could allow him to stick around. Similarly, Andre Ethier's injury insured a spot for Thompson, who can play all three outfield positions. Stripling surprisingly emerged to win the Dodgers' fifth-starter spot, despite having never pitched above Double-A. Roster | Top 30 Prospects
_IGNORED: Max Headrom-esqtvd-QRich3-EBledsoe12-alon8882-45clip _IGNORED: Max Headrom-esqtvd-QRich3-EBledsoe12-alon8882-45clip With Garlick’s three home runs in Lancaster on Monday, including an inside-the-parker, the 24-year-old has hit nine home runs in his first 24 games with the Quakes, including five in 14 games last season. So going into Tuesday night’s game, Garlick hit a home run once every 11.8 plate appearances with the Quakes.
Garlick said his numbers have been aided by some California League air, but his confidence has risen this year because of what he’s been able to do with offspeed pitches. When he got his feet wet in Rancho last year after starting the season in the Rookie Arizona League, he saw mostly fastballs. Two of his home runs on Monday were off sliders.
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Quietly, Garlick had the highest slugging percentage of any Dodger minor leaguer last season with a minimum of 250 at bats — .591.
Garlick said he got stronger this offseason after working on some baseball-specific weight-training at Thousand Oaks-based Sportswest Performance, which lists Ryan Braun, Trevor Plouffe and Barry Zito as some of its clientele.
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