7/10/2062
I’m gonna shake up my format a little bit to mimic what Ron’s been up to with his “Prospect Watch” series. I still want to assign letter grades but listing some ratings on the screen and limiting myself to a top 5 should make it more readable.
Here is a link to the last time I analyzed my corner infield prospects. Those were mostly third baseman, but don’t let that trick you into thinking we don’t have any first baseman worth ranking. We’re deep at this position with _raw_ prospects. I’m going to classify
Ajwad bin Fateen,
Marzuq Sariyah,
Abdul-Mujib bin Raghib, and
Jafar Bhutani as second baseman for now since we’re shallow at that spot and there’s still a chance their defense bumps. But realistically they’re going to be first baseman down the line if their bats develop.
#1
Dan Plank (C-) | Age: 21 | A
| OVR/POT | CON | BABIP | AVK | GAP | POW | EYE |
|---|
| 30/45 | 4/6 | 4/6 | 4/6 | 4/4 | 7/7 | 3/4 |
Despite being a 10th round pick, Plank was given a $550K signing bonus to forego college and get his professional baseball career started early. He’s already tapped into his plus power and has 17 home runs in A ball. He still needs to develop his hit tool but eventually he projects to supply a decent BA. The lefty will have some platoon splits and won’t walk much. He feels like one of those guys who will either wash out or bump in a big way.
#2
Clay Short (D+) | Age: 22 | AA
| OVR/POT | CON | BABIP | AVK | GAP | POW | EYE |
|---|
| 40/45 | 6/7 | 6/7 | 6/6 | 4/4 | 5/5 | 4/5 |
Short was a minor league FA acquired in 2060 after being cut by Charm City. He’s got an above-average hit tool while the rest of his tools are mediocre. Short hit .361 in A ball to open the season so we promoted him to AA where he’s struggling in his first few weeks of action. His worst feature is ugly intangibles. There’s a need for a short side platoon bat on the major league team if he can finish off his development and produce in the high minors.
#3
Cristo Casillas (D+) | Age: 19 | SA
| OVR/POT | CON | BABIP | AVK | GAP | POW | EYE |
|---|
| 25/45 | 4/7 | 4/8 | 5/6 | 4/5 | 4/4 | 3/5 |
I’m loathe to rank/grade Casillas any lower than this because an 8 BABIP potential rating on a switch-hitter makes me salivate. Nothing else about his game impresses so he does need to bat over .300 to see time at first. Unfortunately, his production has been poor in the short season minors meaning the teenager still has a long way to go before he sees the show.
#4
Farooq bin Basil (D+) | Age: 21 | SA
| OVR/POT | CON | BABIP | AVK | GAP | POW | EYE |
|---|
| 25/45 | 4/7 | 4/5 | 5/7 | 4/4 | 3/6 | 3/4 |
A minor league free agent signing who already passed thru the Des Moines and Tokyo orgs, bin Basil is another raw prospect difficult to distinguish from those listed above and below him. When developed he should hit for moderate power and average but won’t supplement it with many walks. On the bright side, if he can maintain his .302/.366/.365 triple slash the whole season in SA he should be ready for A ball next year.
#5
Diego Torres (D+) | Age: 19 | R
Thanos Thanou (D+) | Age: 19 | R
Now a couple more D+ raw first base prospects with B+ names. These two were San Fernando bonus babies. They’re still teenagers who don’t have a clear path to playing time in rookie ball but have the offensive tools to be league average hitters someday without bumping. They receive demerits for how unlikely that is to happen.
