Top Prospect Report Cards Midway Through 2017 MLB Spring Training
Spring training is an opportunity to stretch muscles, shake off cobwebs and get in reps.
For MLB's blue-chip prospects, however, it's a lot more than that.
Whether they're vying for spots on Opening Day rosters or merely looking to make strong first impressions, the game's most-hyped up-and-comers can use the exhibition slate as a launching pad.
Some do, some don't—which is where the intrigue comes in.
While the usual small-sample caveats apply, let's run through the game's top 15 prospects, according to MLB.com, and grade their performances thus far.
Some have seen significant action, relatively speaking, while others have had only brief auditions. But we're including all of the top 15, with the exception of Alex Reyes. The St. Louis Cardinals right-hander checks in at No. 14 on MLB.com's rankings but is on the shelf after undergoing Tommy John surgery in February.
Andrew Benintendi, LF, Boston Red Sox
1 of 15
Andrew Benintendi entered the spring as the Boston Red Sox's presumed left fielder and has done nothing to change that thinking.
In 30 Grapefruit League at-bats, the 22-year-old is hitting .367 with five doubles, two home runs, six RBI and a 1.158 OPS.
Boston is considering batting the lefty-swinging rookie second or third in the lineup this season, per Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal. After his strong 2016 audition and his performance thus far in the Grapefruit League, he looks capable of handling any assignment.
"A lot of times, a player is going to tell you what he's ready for or capable of and how you would think he would handle adversity by not being fragile mentally," manager John Farrell said, per Rosenthal. "If we didn't feel that way about Andrew, I don't know that he'd be in the big leagues last year."
Grade: A
Yoan Moncada, INF, Chicago White Sox
2 of 15
Yoan Moncada was the prime chip in the deal that sent ace Chris Sale from the Chicago White Sox to Boston. He's understandably under the microscope in his first spring with his new team.
So far, the results have been mixed.
Moncada has two doubles and a triple among his six hits and has driven in six runs. He's also struck out 13 times in 35 plate appearances after whiffing 12 times in 20 plate appearances with the Red Sox last season.
He has the tools to be a star. He's just 21 years old. The White Sox are in rebuild mode and can afford to be patient.
His rawness, though, still obscures the potential greatness.
"He's had some things where you go, 'He's not standing out from anybody,'" manager Rick Renteria said, per Paul Skrbina of the Chicago Tribune. "Till he puts the barrel on the ball. Then you go, 'Ah.' When he barrels it, there's some life to it.'"
Grade: C-
Gleyber Torres, SS, New York Yankees
3 of 15
Gleyber Torres hasn't reached the legal U.S. drinking age and has never played an inning above Single-A. Still, New York Yankees fans can be forgiven for imagining him in pinstripes.
After winning Arizona Fall League MVP honors shy of his 20th birthday in December, Torres is 10-for-22 with four doubles, a triple, two home runs, seven RBI and seven runs scored this spring.
Didi Gregorius, the Yankees' incumbent shortstop, is playing for the Netherlands in the 2017 World Baseball Classic. That's opened the door for Torres, and he's sprinted through it.
"He's mature for his age," manager Joe Girardi said of Torres, whom New York acquired from the Chicago Cubs at the 2016 trade deadline for closer Aroldis Chapman, per Dan Martin of the New York Post. "He puts good at-bats up one after another."
Grade: A
.png?w=256)
Dansby Swanson, SS, Atlanta Braves
4 of 15
Spring training started on an auspicious note for Dansby Swanson.
The Atlanta Braves' top prospect went 7-for-16 with a double and a home run in the Grapefruit League before being sidelined March 4 by a balky back.
He's been hitting off a tee and is moving toward a return, per Michael Cunningham of the Atlanta-Journal Constitution.
The Braves are correct to be cautious with their burgeoning franchise player. And while the injury dings his grade, Swanson's early returns can only be seen as encouraging.
Grade: B
Amed Rosario, SS, New York Mets
5 of 15
Amed Rosario was demoted to the New York Mets' minor league camp Tuesday, an expected move for the organization's top prospect.
The 21-year-old showed flashes this spring, going 8-for-30 with a double, but he also struck out seven times.
With some work at Triple-A, he could easily make his Mets debut at some point in 2017.
"I don't think there is any question," manager Terry Collins said, per Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News. "He's got to shrink the strike zone a little bit. ... I think he kind of got caught being in big league camp and showing everybody what he can do, but I tell you what, he is going to be a good player."
Grade: B-
J.P. Crawford, SS, Philadelphia Phillies
6 of 15
In 87 games last season at Triple-A, J.P. Crawford hit .244 with a .647 OPS, his lowest totals at any level.
The 22-year-old remains the top prospect in the Philadelphia Phillies system, but he came into spring with something to prove.
So far, he's posted a .214/.290/.250 line in 28 at-bats with one extra-base hit. He went 2-for-2 with a pair of RBI March 11 against the Toronto Blue Jays but said he'd been pressing.
"Recently, I've been swinging way too hard," Crawford said, per MLB.com's Todd Zolecki. "I've been trying to hit a home run every at-bat, basically. Today, I just tried to hit the ball right back up the middle and get a base hit, and I did."
Grade: C
Victor Robles, CF, Washington Nationals
7 of 15
Victor Robles turned some heads in an intrasquad game in February, using his enviable wheels to leg out an infield hit against Washington Nationals right-hander Tanner Roark.
Later, he smacked a ball into the outfield in a scene painted by Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post:
"As a teenager in a nameless No. 91 jersey flew around first base and the baseball he hit flew toward center field, a few fans watching in the bleachers behind home plate nudged their neighbors.
"Is that him?" one asked, a little more audibly than the rest, because the kid was not on her roster. Yes, someone told her: The kid with his socks pulled high, charging around Field 6 at Ballpark of the Palm Beaches, was Victor Robles.
"
Since then, Robles has gotten just four hitless at-bats with Washington, striking out once and scoring a run. It's unfair to grade him on that minuscule sample, but after the Nats dealt several top prospects this winter, it's safe to say Robles is the buzz-generating jewel of their system.
Grade: INC
Tyler Glasnow, RHP, Pittsburgh Pirates
8 of 15
In his first appearance this spring, top Pittsburgh Pirates pitching prospect Tyler Glasnow struck out six in two innings.
In two appearances since, he's surrendered six earned runs in 4.1 frames.
The tall right-hander is in the conversation for a rotation spot with the Bucs. He wasn't among the first round of cuts, at least.
Still, his odds of breaking camp with the big club diminish with each rough outing.
"I saw him moving the ball around the first two innings," manager Clint Hurdle said Monday after Glasnow was roughed up by the Braves, per Stephen J. Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "But, when the ball gets elevated up here, it's hard for anybody to pitch. I think he sat on 94 [mph]. That's nothing that's going to rearrange anybody's mindset at the plate. He's just got some work to do."
Grade: C-
Austin Meadows, CF, Pittsburgh Pirates
9 of 15
Speaking of Pirates prospects, 21-year-old Austin Meadows has gotten an extended look with outfielders Andrew McCutchen, Gregory Polanco and Starling Marte all participating in the WBC.
The 2013 first-round pick has risen to the occasion, going 6-for-20 with three doubles, a home run and six RBI.
Meadows has battled various injuries in the minor leagues, including hamstring and oblique issues and a broken orbital bone suffered during a game of catch.
"That experience wasn't fun, but it made me realize not to take things for granted and to take care of my body," Meadows said, per Rob Biertempfel of TribLive.com.
So far this spring, he's also taking care of business.
Grade: B+
Ozzie Albies, INF, Atlanta Braves
10 of 15
Ozzie Albies' spring debut was delayed as he recovered from September elbow surgery.
Turns out, it was worth the wait.
Starting at second base and batting leadoff March 9 agains the Yankees, Albies rapped out a single in his first at-bat. Was the 20-year-old tentative after six months of no action?
"No," he said, per MLB.com's Mark Bowman. "I just let it eat."
Albies now has three hits in nine at-bats. It's a small enough bite to give him an incomplete, but the diminutive switch-hitter gets credit for jumping back into action with both feet.
Grade: A
Lucas Giolito, RHP, Chicago White Sox
11 of 15
When the Nationals traded Lucas Giolito to the White Sox as part of a package for outfielder Adam Eaton, it appeared the stud right-hander's stock had fallen.
So far this spring, he's mostly lifting it up again.
Yes, Giolito struggled Tuesday in his fourth Cactus League start, yielding four earned runs in 0.2 innings.
Coming into the game, however, he owned a 2-0 record and 2.00 ERA.
"He's had really good moments in the games he's played," Renteria said, per Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune.
Like Moncada, Giolito will probably begin the season at Triple-A. He's shown enough, however, to indicate he'll be part of the White Sox rotation soon.
Grade: B-
Cody Bellinger, 1B, Los Angeles Dodgers
12 of 15
Sometimes, spring is about learning hard lessons. Just ask Cody Bellinger.
The Los Angeles Dodgers' top prospect has struck out 13 times in 33 Cactus League at-bats and owns a .182 average.
As J.P. Hoornstra of the Orange County Register put it, "Bellinger has been exposed to more major league pitching in the last week of his life than, well, ever, and the gap in experience is beginning to show."
The 21-year-old has eye-opening power and looks like the heir apparent to Adrian Gonzalez at first base.
Clearly, though, he needs more seasoning.
"They know I can hit," Bellinger said. "I know I can hit. My defense has been there. I'm trying to show what I can do on the basepaths as well. Your bat's not always going to be there."
Grade: C-
Eloy Jimenez, LF/RF, Chicago Cubs
13 of 15
The Chicago Cubs lineup is stuffed with rising stars. Apparently, it's time to make room for another one.
Through 16 spring contests, outfielder Eloy Jimenez has gone 9-for-28 with two doubles and two home runs. He won't crack the Opening Day roster with Chicago's outfield depth chart already overcrowded, but he appears to be on the big league fast track.
"Sky's the limit," Cubs vice president of player development Jason McLeod said of the 6'4" Dominican, per Patrick Mooney of CSN Chicago. "I think he's someone who can sit in the middle of a lineup and wreak a lot of havoc on some pitching across the major leagues."
Jimenez's bat has backed that up.
Grade: A
Brendan Rodgers, SS/2B, Colorado Rockies
14 of 15
Brendan Rodgers is batting 1.000 in the Cactus League.
OK, fine, it's in one at-bat taken Feb. 26 against the White Sox. Rodgers, the third overall pick in the 2013 draft, doubled and scored a run.
It's not enough to give him a grade. But, along with the 19 home runs and 31 doubles he clubbed last season at Single-A, it should give Rockies fans hope the 20-year-old will be ready to do damage at Coors Field before too long.
Grade: INC
Michael Kopech, RHP, Chicago White Sox
15 of 15
By now you've heard the legend of No. 16 overall prospect Michael Kopech and his triple-digit heater.
It's showed up this spring, singeing radar guns as expected. Turns out, that's not enough to befuddle big league hitters.
Through four spring innings for the White Sox, the flame-throwing 20-year-old has an 11.25 ERA and has given up six hits, including a home run.
He's also struck out six and is working with Chicago's instructors—including renowned pitching coach Don Cooper—on refining his off-speed offerings, per Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times.
"The ultimate goal is to dominate at the big-league level," Kopech said. "I realize that [the major leagues] might not be right away, but it's about trusting the process we have going on."
Grade: C+
All statistics current as of Wednesday and courtesy of MLB.com and Baseball Reference unless otherwise noted.
.png?w=480)
