10 MLB Top Prospects Off to Red-Hot Starts in the Minor Leagues
Plenty of words have been written about hot starts at the MLB level in the early part of the 2023 season, but it's time to show some love to the prospects in the minor leagues who have also started strong.
A big first month can lead to an early promotion to the next rung on the minor league ladder, and a number of top prospects have already been moved up a level, including 2022 No. 1 overall pick Jackson Holliday.
He is among our list of minor league prospects off to red-hot starts.
These 10 guys are by no means the only players who have begun strong, so feel free to offer your own suggestions on prospects worth keeping an eye on who have stormed out of the gates.
LHP Andrew Abbott, Cincinnati Reds
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Viewed more as a high-floor starter than a future front-line option when he was selected in the second round of the 2021 draft out of the University of Virginia, Andrew Abbott has exceeded expectations early in his pro career.
The left-hander went 10-7 with a 3.81 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 159 strikeouts in 118 innings between High-A and Double-A last year, earning a spot in the Futures Game during All-Star weekend.
The 23-year-old opened the season at Double-A Chattanooga, logging a 1.15 ERA, 0.57 WHIP and a 36-to-3 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 15.2 innings over his first three starts to earn a quick promotion to Triple-A.
On this trajectory, it won't be long before he joins Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo and Graham Ashcraft in the MLB rotation.
SS/3B Junior Caminero, Tampa Bay Rays
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Dealing with a 40-man roster crunch, the Tampa Bay Rays dealt MLB-ready pitcher Tobias Myers to the Cleveland Guardians for teenage prospect Junior Caminero in November 2021.
Myers has since been traded to the San Francisco Giants for cash considerations, claimed off waivers by the Chicago White Sox and signed to a minor league deal by the Milwaukee Brewers, while Caminero is rapidly rising through prospect rankings.
The 19-year-old hit .314/.384/.498 with 20 extra-base hits in 63 games in his stateside debut last year and then posted a .981 OPS with 14 home runs during a 39-game stint in the Australian Baseball League during the offseason.
He is one of the youngest players in High-A and more than holding his own, hitting .382/.433/.673 in 60 plate appearances. Once again, it looks like the Tampa Bay front office has uncovered a diamond in the rough.
OF Evan Carter, Texas Rangers
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Evan Carter filled box scores while soaring up leaguewide prospect rankings last season, hitting .295/.397/.489 with 21 doubles, 10 triples, 17 home runs, 73 RBI, 86 runs scored and 28 steals in 106 games between High-A and Double-A.
The five-tool outfielder won't turn 21 years old until August, but he is already making a strong case for a promotion with a stellar start to the year at Double-A Frisco.
Through 13 games, he is hitting .380/.516/.640 with five extra-base hits, three steals and more walks (13) than strikeouts (11), making a strong case to climb even higher when Top 100 lists are updated for the first time this season.
With the Rangers still searching for consistent production in the outfield alongside Adolis García and looking like a potential contender, Carter could play his way into a promotion.
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SS Jackson Holliday, Baltimore Orioles
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Jackson Holliday hit an absurd .685/.749/1.392 and had 89 hits in 41 games during his senior season at Stillwater High School before going No. 1 overall in the 2022 draft to the Baltimore Orioles.
The 19-year-old began the year at Single-A Delmarva and needed just 13 games before he earned a promotion after hitting .392/.523/.667 with nine extra-base hits and 14 walks in 65 plate appearances.
He went 0-for-3 with two walks in his first game with High-A Aberdeen on Tuesday, but don't be surprised if he makes quick work of that level as well thanks to his elite hit tool and advanced approach.
"His combination of pure tools and high baseball IQ could mean he moves through the system quicker than a typical prep player," wrote MLB.com.
LHP Matthew Liberatore, St. Louis Cardinals
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The St. Louis Cardinals acquired left-hander Matthew Liberatore from the Tampa Bay Rays prior to the 2020 season in a swap that sent Randy Arozarena the other way.
That might look like a lopsided deal in the Rays' favor right now, but at the time it was the Cardinals who looked like the big winners as Liberatore ranked No. 42 on the Baseball America Top 100 prospect list heading into the 2020 campaign.
The 23-year-old made his MLB debut last season, posting a 5.97 ERA and 1.73 WHIP in 34.2 innings, and he returned to Triple-A to start the 2023 season.
In light of his 2.60 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and a 36-to-9 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 27.2 innings, it won't be long before he's back in the big leagues, especially considering the St. Louis starters have struggled to a 5.22 ERA that ranks 24th in the majors.
3B Justyn-Henry Malloy, Detroit Tigers
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The Atlanta Braves have one of the best third basemen in the game in Austin Riley, and after he signed a 10-year, $212 million extension last season, the path to playing time for prospect Justyn-Henry Malloy became even cloudier.
He was flipped to the Detroit Tigers during the offseason in exchange for All-Star reliever Joe Jiménez, and that is quickly looking like a deal the usually savvy Atlanta front office could regret in the coming years.
Malloy, 23, is hitting .391/.539/.580 with four doubles, three home runs, 14 RBI and more walks (20) than strikeouts (17) in 20 games at Triple-A Toledo.
With Detroit third basemen hitting a paltry .125/.214/.260 on the year, and six different players already making at least one start at the position, he could get a quick call-up and see everyday playing time at the hot corner for the rebuilding Tigers.
SS Ronny Mauricio, New York Mets
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Ronny Mauricio tallied 26 doubles, 26 home runs and 20 steals at Double-A last season, but those solid counting numbers were accompanied by a .296 on-base percentage and 125 strikeouts in 123 games.
His prospect stock dropped a bit as a result of those shortcomings, but he took a major step toward rebuilding it when he won Dominican Winter League MVP honors with an .803 OPS and 22 extra-base hits in 46 games for the Tigres del Licey.
The 22-year-old has continued to impress in the early going this season, hitting .350/.395/.688 with 14 extra-base hits in 21 games at Triple-A Syracuse, though he has also recorded 20 strikeouts in 86 plate appearances.
A shortstop throughout his pro career, he has started at second base in each of his last three games, and with Francisco Lindor blocking his path in the big leagues, a defensive shift always seemed inevitable.
C Dalton Rushing, Los Angeles Dodgers
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The Los Angeles Dodgers did not have a first-round pick in the 2022 draft as a max-level penalty for exceeding the luxury-tax threshold the previous year, yet they still appear to have walked away with one of the best prospects in the class.
With their first pick moved back 10 spots to No. 40 overall, they drafted Louisville catcher Dalton Rushing.
After sitting behind 2021 No. 1 overall pick Henry Davis for two years, Rushing took over as the team's starting catcher last spring and hit .310/.470/.686 with 23 home runs and 62 RBI in 64 games to send his draft stock soaring.
He hit .424/.539/.778 in 128 plate appearances at Single-A last year after signing, and he has continued to rake this year with a .271/.463/.583 line and eight extra-base hits in 67 plate appearances at High-A Great Lakes.
3B/OF Sterlin Thompson, Colorado Rockies
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Sterlin Thompson hit .354/.443/.563 with 16 doubles, 11 home runs and 51 RBI in 66 games last spring at the University of Florida to establish himself as one of the top college hitters in the 2022 draft.
The Colorado Rockies called his name with the No. 31 pick, and he put together one of the best pro debuts of anyone from his draft class, hitting .307/.351/.436 in 111 plate appearances between rookie ball and Single-A.
With a 6'4", 200-pound frame, he still has some untapped power potential but will likely always have a contact-over-power approach that results in plenty of doubles and a high batting average.
The 21-year-old is hitting .438/.482/.625 over 56 plate appearances in the early going this season at High-A Spokane while playing third base exclusively after splitting his time between the hot corner and right field last year. Regardless of where he ends up defensively, his bat could make him one of the first players from the 2022 class to reach the majors.
RHP Gavin Williams, Cleveland Guardians
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Gavin Williams established himself as one of baseball's elite pitching prospects last season when he logged a 1.96 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and 149 strikeouts in 115 innings between High-A and Double-A.
Armed with an elite fastball that sits in the upper 90s and can bump triple-digits, a hard slider, a slower curveball and a quality changeup, he has the repertoire to be a front-of-the-rotation starter, and his 6'6", 250-pound frame should have no trouble holding up to a starter's workload.
He has continued to showcase that dominant stuff over his first three starts at Double-A Akron this year, logging a 0.63 ERA, 0.63 WHIP and a 20-to-3 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 14.1 innings.
The Guardians won't rush the 23-year-old to the majors, but he could force their hand if he continues to dominate and earns a quick promotion to Triple-A.
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