Month: January 2024

Switching up from our last discussion, the Top 100 MLB Prospect List was released this week. I am going to cover some of the best prospects on this list and discuss what their future may hold.

One additional metric that will be used in today’s discussion are “tools.” These include: hit, power, run, arm, and field. These tools are graded 20-80 with 80 being unbelievable and 50 being an average baseball player. The best way to understand the grading aspect goes as 80 being generational, 70 being superstar level, 60 being all star level, and 50 being major league level. Everything else is subpar.

Another note: The Minor Leagues (where these guys play) are structured as follows: Rookie Ball, Low A, High A, AA, AAA. AAA is the highest level before MLB.

Jackson Holliday, SS, Baltimore Orioles

Holliday was ranked number 1 on this list and for good reason. I agree that he is the best prospect in baseball and will have an extremely bright future. Holliday’s father played in the majors, most notability for the Rockies and the Cardinals. His dad was always known for his bat, but Jackson’s hitting ability might be even better. Holliday swings it smoothly from the left side, with a 70 grade hit tool and a 60 grade power tool. He has a 70 grade overall and slashed .323/.442/.499 for a .941 OPS. All these great tools and I haven’t even mentioned the most absurd part of Holliday: his age. He is merely 20 years old and got drafted out of college. To potentially be playing Major League Baseball just after turning 20 is unheard of.

Wyatt Langford, OF, Texas Rangers

 

We are moving down the list a little bit here, dropping to number 6, but I have to talk about the absurdity that is Wyatt Langford. At only 22, he went from being the best pure hitter in college baseball to dominating the minors. He started midway through the summer of 2023 in Low A and worked all the way up to AAA by the end of the season. There is a very real chance we see him make the Opening Day roster, and it’s all but a guarantee he will play in the majors this year. He has a 70 grade power tool and slashed a ridiculous .360/.480/.667, good for a 1.157 OPS, not to mention 10 HRs in 44 games.

Ethan Salas, C, San Diego Padres

Continuing down the list to the number 8 prospect in all of baseball: Ethan Salas. Could you imagine being a junior in high school and playing AA baseball, well that’s what Salas is doing. He’s not just playing baseball though, he’s utterly dominating it. He plays the most grueling position on the field defensively at catcher while posting a .752 OPS during his 16 year old season. Salas will enter this next season at 17 and don’t be surprised if the Padres consider bringing him up for a short big league stint at the end of the year, but in my opinion its more likely that he is a 2025 guy, just because of his age and the difficult position he plays. It also doesn’t help that he is blocked by another longtime top prospect in the Padres organization with Luis Campusano.

I will be focusing on MLB and college baseball this semester in my Passion Blog. I will most likely be moving this to its own webpage in the near future. I thought there would be no better way to kick off my Passion Blog than addressing the intersection of the two areas I am focusing on: the MLB Draft. My very own Cleveland Guardians hold the number one pick via the draft lottery, so I figured I would look at what players we potentially could select.

Quickly, I am going to address some common terminology for our non-baseball readers. A slash line consists of batting average, on base percentage, and slugging percentage. Batting average is how many hits a player got divided by their at bats (or times hitting for simple terms that a player does not walk, get hit by a pitch, or sacrifice). On base percentage is like batting average but it includes walks (BB) and hit by pitches (HBP) and it’s divided by plate appearances (all times a player comes to the plate). Slugging percentage is the number of extra base hits a player hit over their total hits. OPS is on base plus slugging, anything above .700 is good and 1.000 (or one dotting) is amazing. Besides that it will mostly be counting stats like home runs (HRs) or runs batted in (RBIs). Home runs are self explanatory, but runs batted in are how many times a player who is batting hits his teammate across home plate.

Nick Kurtz, 1B, Wake Forest

Kurtz is a big power bat. He has been on draft radars since he broke out in his Freshman year slashing .338/.471/.637. A 1.108 OPS as a Freshman is unheard of. He hit 15 HRs that year and showed serviceable defense at first base. His Sophomore season was even better slashing .349/.525/.758, good for a 1.283 OPS. Not to mention he hit 22 HRs and had 64 RBIs. He also walked 62 times compared to 49 strikeouts. He was a Golden Spikes semifinalist (the Heisman of college baseball). Kurtz will be leading the number one team in college baseball this year and is the favorite to win the Golden Spikes. He is about the best a true bat can be.

However, keeping in mind my Guardians, I don’t think he is the pick. We have a great first base prospect that should be debuting this year who does essentially the same thing. Will it hurt to pass up on a generational bat at a position we have struggled to find power, one hundred percent yes, but it needs to be done.

 

Travis Bazzana, 2B, Oregon State

Bazzana is an Australian native who grew up playing both baseball and cricket. His swing is majestic. He exhibits great power compared to MLB second basemen. He slashed .374/.500/.622, good for a 1.122 OPS. That batting average is no joke, especially paired with 11 HRs, 55 RBIs, and 59 BBs. He is a class act and his defense is outstanding. He also showcased elite speed with 36 stolen bases. Bazzana will be leading the number seven team in the country and is a true threat for the Golden Spikes Award.

I love the player Bazzana is. He fits perfectly with what the Guardians typically target, I just think he is even better. I may be biased because I love Oregon State baseball, but this kid is the real deal.

I unfortunately am running out of room to write so I will continue this, hopefully, in my next blog post.

I’m from a city of hard workers

a place where you are expected to do your part.

A city where you are part of one big family

where midwest nice is the way of life

and helping others is all that matters.

From a place where snow and frigid temperatures are overlooked

but not a single person is.

From a place of 1-15, 0-16, burned jerseys, and years in the cellar,

a place where 2016 was heaven, magic, and the greatest time to be alive.

A place where people can tell who are you just based on one question:

“What high school did you go to?”

Two Ideas for “This I Believe”:

• The importance of service as a component of education
• The importance of working at a young age in order to value money, the labor others do, and creating responsibility and accountability

Two Ideas for Passion Blog:

• A continuation of my business breakdowns blog from last semester or a spinoff of it
• A baseball analytics blog covering college baseball and MLB

Two Ideas for Civic Issues Blog:

• Foreign Policy: looking at the current wars, the perception of the US throughout the world, and the growing rivalry with China
• Party Politics: whether the media created it or came from it, what made bipartisanship possible and so strong, and why each side thinks they are never wrong