MLBTR’s Jeff Todd has already run through the American League Central and the American League West in previewing some of the interesting young talent that could surface in the Majors this season. We’ll tackle the NL West next — a particularly interesting division given the enviable bevy of young talent that has been cultivated by both the Dodgers and Padres. Los Angeles and San Diego have two of the game’s best systems, but there are varying degrees of high-end talent bubbling to the surface for all five NL West clubs…
Arizona Diamondbacks
Jon Duplantier is a former top 100 prospect whose debut effort in 2019 was slowed by shoulder troubles. He notched a 4.42 ERA and 34-to-18 K/BB ratio in 36 2/3 innings when on the roster, though he was optioned to Triple-A five times. There’s no room in Arizona’s rotation at the moment, but Duplantier and his career 2.54 minor league ERA with 10.5 K/9 will be one of the first lines of defense should a need arise. Righty Kevin Ginkel also got his feet wet in the big leagues and, after posting a 1.48 ERA and a 28-to-9 K/BB ratio in 24 1/3 innings of relief, should have the inside track on a bullpen spot whenever play resumes.
Elsewhere in the D-backs’ system loom catcher Daulton Varsho, infielder Andy Young, first baseman Seth Beer and right-hander J.B. Bukauskas. Varsho is a homegrown talent who’s considered to be among baseball’s 100 best prospects, although the presence of Carson Kelly in the big leagues puts a roadblock in his path to Phoenix. He’s yet to play above Double-A, but a big Triple-A showing and an injury to Kelly and/or Stephen Vogt could propel Varsho to the bigs.
Young, Bukauskas and Beer were all acquired in trades — Young alongside Weaver and Kelly in the Paul Goldschmidt swap and the others in the Zack Greinke blockbuster. Arizona’s infield is stacked at the moment, but Young can play anywhere in the infield, so he’s a nice depth piece … who happened to bash 21 homers and slug .611 in 277 Triple-A plate appearances last year. Beer showed big pop of his own in a pitcher-friendly Double-A setting last season. Bukauskas will be looking for a rebound after a poor showing in Double-A.
Colorado Rockies
Rox fans have been waiting since 2015 to get a good look at Brendan Rodgers, the No. 3 overall pick in that year’s draft. Rodgers has ranked among the game’s elite prospects each season since being drafted, and he finally made his big league debut in 2019 … only to undergo shoulder surgery after all of 81 plate appearances. He might open the year in the minors, but Rodgers will be looming in the event that Ryan McMahon and Garrett Hampson struggle or get hut. Either way, if he’s healthy, Rodgers should force the team’s hand.
Elsewhere on the roster, expect to see Sam Hilliard play a prominent role in the outfield mix. He received a similarly sized cup of coffee to Rodgers and made the most of it, raking at a .273/.356/.649 clip. Charlie Blackmon and David Dahl are locked into two spots, but Hilliard will vie for at-bats with Raimel Tapia as Ian Desmond slips further into a reserve role. Yonathan Daza could also factor in as a bench option, depending on the health of those ahead of him on the depth chart.
Someone asked me in this week’s MLBTR chat who might step up in the event of a Nolan Arenado trade, and the club isn’t short on options — including Arenado’s own cousin, Josh Fuentes. He’s already 27, though, and had a rough showing in Triple-A this past season. More intriguing options include Tyler Nevin — yes, Phil’s son — and Colton Welker.
Southpaw Ben Bowden could emerge in the bullpen, and given the uncertainty at the back of the big league rotation — Chi Chi Gonzalez might’ve been the favorite in the fifth spot — we could see either of righty Ashton Goudeau or Antonio Santos get a look.
Los Angeles Dodgers
Gavin Lux, one of the game’s top 1o prospects, will get the opportunity to claim second base as his home for the foreseeable future. He didn’t do much in 82 MLB plate appearances last season, but if you want a laugh, check out Lux’s line in 49 Triple-A games: .392/.478/.719 with 13 home runs, 18 doubles and four triples in 232 plate appearances.
The Dodgers have an embarrassment of wealth in terms of young pitching, headlined by righty Dustin May, who’s already posted a 3.63 ERA and 32-to-5 K/BB ratio in 34 2/3 MLB frames. Fellow righty Tony Gonsolin impressed in his own ’19 debut, and the Dodgers added some triple-digit heat to the bullpen by acquiring Brusdar Graterol from the Twins. Behind that trio? Josiah Gray, acquired in the Homer Bailey salary dump with the Reds, posted a 2.28 ERA with 147 punchouts in 130 Double-A innings in ’19.
Catcher Keibert Ruiz is somewhat blocked by fellow youngster Will Smith, but he could be in line for a promotion should Smith sustain an injury. If there’s an injury (or multiple injuries) elsewhere on the roster, any of corner infielder/outfielder Edwin Rios, center fielder DJ Peters or Swiss army knife Zach McKinstry could get the call. Rios hit well in a limited debut last season, and McKinstry is cut from the Chris Taylor/Enrique Hernandez cloth, having appeared at shortstop, second base, third base and all three outfield slots in recent seasons. (Sometimes it feels like the Dodgers grow these guys on trees.)
San Diego Padres
You won’t find many (any?) organizations with a more tantalizing pairing of pitching prospects than lefty MacKenzie Gore and righty Luis Patino. Either or both could conceivably reach the Majors in 2020. Gore is particularly touted, generally ranking inside the game’s top 10 overall prospects after posting a sub-2.00 ERA in 20 starts between Class-A Advanced and Double-A.
Center fielder Taylor Trammell still hasn’t tapped into his raw power, but his tantalizing package of tools landed him among the game’s top 100 prospects for a third straight offseason. The Padres’ outfield has turned over in a major way, and while Trammell might need a big showing in Triple-A to force the organization’s hand, he’s not far off after spending all of 2019 in Double-A.
The Padres have plenty of players with rookie eligibility who briefly saw the big leagues this past season. Righty Michel Baez and lefty Adrian Morejon aren’t quite on that same level as the Gore/Patino combo, but they were both high-profile international signings — Baez commanding a $3MM bonus and Morejon landing $11MM — and have both been top 100 entrants themselves. (Morejon still is.) Righty Ronald Bolanos also commanded a seven-figure bonus (just north of $2MM) and briefly debuted in ’19. Reliever David Bednar was sharp in Double-A and logged 11 MLB frames with San Diego, too.
If there’s a particularly intriguing prospect here, it could be Jake Cronenworth. He’s not considered a premium prospect, but the 26-year-old posted a .949 OPS in Triple-A with the Rays last year and has been developing as a two-way player. He’s more in the Michael Lorenzen mold, so he might not get two-way designation anytime soon thanks to MLB’s bizarrely stringent eligibility requirements — essentially, only Shohei Ohtani or Brendan McKay could qualify — but he brings a unique skill set to the table all the same.
San Francisco Giants
Expect Mauricio Dubon to get a long look, perhaps even in center field. The former Brewers/Red Sox middle infield prospect played there earlier in spring and could be an outfield option, depending on how the team uses Wilmer Flores and (if he makes the roster) Yolmer Sanchez. Slugger Jaylin Davis didn’t hit much in a 17-game September cameo, but he cranked 35 long balls between Double-A and Triple-A, which should get him a look on a power-starved Giants roster.
Logan Webb could end up as the team’s fifth starter — particularly now that Tyler Beede will miss the 2020 season. Webb didn’t fare well in eight MLB starts a year ago and has been hobbled by injuries since being a fourth-round pick in 2014, but he shoved with a 1.84 ERA across three minor league levels in 2019 prior to his promotion.
The big question for Giants fans is, of course, when will they get their look at Buster Posey’s heir apparent? Joey Bart, the No. 2 pick in the 2018 draft, has flat-out raked at every stop and is a rare, fast-rising catching prospect. He won’t turn 24 until next offseason, but Bart is a .284/.343/.532 hitter in the minors — including a .316/.368/.554 effort in a 22-game showing at Double-A last year.
edit: Cronenworth is 26 not 29
edit: Dodgers getting Mookie for only 100 games is total Dodger karma
Dodgers are winning the west if they play 1 game or 300 games. They traded for a postseason with Mookie and thats what they’ll get.
This is spot on. They traded for him purely for his bat in the playoffs – they are 99% going to the postseason, they don’t need his regular season production.
99%, sounds like theres a chance they miss the playoffs
So you’re telling me there’s a chance…
One game? If MLB goes with that format the World Series could be the Marlins vs. the Orioles.
That’s Funny !!
debatable
Extremely debatable! It’s a bigger picture than that!!!
Agh, thanks for pointing that typo out. Fixed.
There is a lot lots in there. May want to re-read again.
So is Verdugo’s bad back and Sale’s injury.
Verdugo is a good ball player, but super immature that leads to problems with team chemistry. I’m glad he’s gone.
Yeah and SD’s spending with nothing to show for it is the Pud’s Karma.
The dodgers are a well run Organization from top to bottom. Coming from a Phillies fan.
First time I’ve seen an intelligent, yet obvious, statement from a Phillies fan.
Don’t get used to it
The Dodgers are going to have to make a tough choice on who gets cut( if the even play a season) they have sooooo many guys on the roster especially after adding Mookie and Price
They don’t have to cut anyone really. Most of their depth pieces have minor league options.
The Mookie trade only cost them one roster spot. And next offseason when Mookie leaves and the Red Sox have to protect Connor Wong the Dodgers will have gained a roster spot.
Dodgers roster was set before Betts trade, & even more so after. They’ve traded/DFAd all but a Floro of players out of options. The only decision, should health remain same, on the offensive side of the ball is the battle between Rìos and Beaty. There might be a battle between the 12th & 13th man out of the pen, but this is an extremely easy team to handicap, without the thought of losing anything important.
Jake Cronenworth was left unprotected in the Rule 5 draft by an organization that survives based on the ability to identify and develop young talent.
Ray’s haven’t developed their own hitting talent since Longoria.
Diaz- Indians
Wendle and Robertson- Athletics
Martinez and Arozarena- Cardinals
Meadows- Pirates
Renfroe and Margot – Padres
Brandon Lowe, Kaimaier and Willy Adames are the Rays developed players but Adames looks like Andrelton Simmons, defense with ok offense, not bad by any means. And Kaimaier is all defense little offense.
Willy Adames was acquired from the Tigers in the David Price trade.
After the 2018 season, teams probably didn’t think a guy who hit .253/.321/.345 in AA/AAA the year before was ready for MLB service time. That’s why he was left exposed.
Then he went on to hit .334/.429/.520 with excellent K & BB rates, while playing solid defense at SS, oh and he showed that he might have some promise as a relief pitcher. What did the Rays do? They selected his contract last November to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. Go figure.
They didn’t have to think he was ready. Some rebuilding team could have taken him anyway and then just grin and bear it with him on the major league roster for one season then he’s their’s. This is what the Padres did with Luis Perdomo and Luis Torrens.
What the Padres did was highly unusual and I don’t know that we’ve seen anyone else do anything like it. The guys picked in the Rule 5 are typically expected to contribute in some limited role and stick at he major league level. Stashing guys at the end of the bench so you can option them after the season only makes sense for the tankingest of teams, and we haven’t even seen the Tigers, Orioles, or Marlins reach like that.
Exactly. There was no reason for the Tigers, the Orioles or even the Marlins to not take Cronenworth last offseason if they thought he would eventually become something decent.
Shhhhh dont tell or everyone is gonna come pick from the dodger tree lol. Build a fence around it and post gaurds to protect it.
The Padres for once have a lot of exciting players. Let’s see if that equals success, it should.
They are going to have one hell of a pitching staff!
Is this Giants roster a 100 loss team? Discounting the Coronavirus possible cutting the season short.
That’s a big yes, the giants are still in rebuild mode.
The Giants have lost 100 games once since 1883. Like them or hate them they don’t tank. It would be to their benefit to tank, but that’s not how the Giants work.
the Giants.Lol……the laughing stock of the NL West
Wow righty, you added six extra words to your usual post. Why so verbose this evening?So very intelligent of you!
rightyspecialist, lol…the laughing stock of MLBTR.
Hey must have had a can of Red Bull…S**t?
…yeah but they’ve lost 90+ games 11 times including 98 in ’17 (and just missing out on a 12th with an 89 loss ’18). L column doesn’t need a 3rd digit for it to look an awful lot like the Giants are in the middle of tanking.
OntariGro:
Wow, really trying hard to make the Giants look bad. Did you look at other teams? Like the Dodgers, who lost over 100 games twice and and lost 90+ games 9 times including 2005. Or the Red Sox? they lost 100+ 6 times and 90+ 10 times. How about the Phillies who lost 100+ games 14 times, and 90+ 26 times. The Braves lost 100+ 13 times and 90+ 20 times. The Cubs 3 times losing 100+ and losing 90+ 20 times. The Reds lost 100+ just once, but lost 90+ 19 times.
I could go on with A’s, Indians, WSox, Twins, etc, all with a much worse losing history than the Giants. Clearly, refuting what you were attempting to do, the Giants have one of the best records as far as losses go.
Obviously you went looking for a negative about the Giants, and didn’t bother to see how they compared with other teams. Not too biased are you?
“Did you look at other teams?”
Since I was responding to “The Giants have lost 100 games once since 1883. Like them or hate them they don’t tank. It would be to their benefit to tank, but that’s not how the Giants work,” which was a statement about the Giants relative to the team’s own history/philosophy. There was no comparison/connection being made to any other team, so listing various various historical W-L records for a grab-bag of other teams would be a waste of everyone’s/my time
“Obviously you went looking for a negative about the Giants, and didn’t bother to see how they compared with other teams. ”
Obviously, because the comparisons would be immaterial.
Bleedsblue cited the Giants rebuilding efforts as making a 100 Loss 2020 likely (implying the Giants are “tanking” a’la the early-20teens Astros. The original response pointed out the single 100 L season. He used the fact that there was just 1 such season to illustrate his “the Giants don’t “tank” claim,. followed by implying that the team’s philosophy/operations are too virtuous to involve themselves with something like tanking.
I thought that was both inaccurate and deeply silly in its aggrandizement, as if the Giants were some order of monks and not a baseball team. I simply pointed out that 100 Losses isn’t Tanking’s Minimum Benchmark and that the 3 90+ Loss and 1 85 Loss seasons in the last 4 seasons certainly resembles tanking on the Giants part.
I don’t dislike the Giants. I hope they become a good team again soon, but they are absolutely tanking and to imply that they aren’t (and NEVER WOULD!). is condescending and ill-researched.
Take a deep breath. Do a couple jumping jacks. I’m not your OR the Giants’ enemy.
Well thought out response ontarigro. But my major criticism of your comment is that they are absolutely tanking. You don’t know what tanking is.
There are 15 veterans in that team. Contracts that are not movable. Cueto, samardzija, posey, Longoria and on and on. Teams that have tanked ( your word not mine) if in fact you’d call it that are teams that went with extremely low payrolls and used unproven rookie rosters. Astros, cubs, etc.
And by definition, a rebuild means taking something completely apart, like an auto or a home, and using replacement parts to REBUILD it.
Posters use throw around cliched expressions like “rebuild” and “tanked” cuz they’re too easy to rely on in an argument or discussion.
I think some of your comments are ok but to use “condescending” and “ill- researched” in your response shows condescension in itself.
Please research the teams I mentioned above that many in the media say “tanked” and prove to us that the giants mirror them. Do tanking teams go after the Harpers and Stantons?
I think you need to research
And assuming the giants were a 100 loss team is very arguable with the potential of a new analytically driven staff guiding them. There were many candidates for resurgence. Hell, this website posted a story of MLB players capable of a resurgence and several giants made the list. You want to use a dodger fans opinion to defend your argument and nothe same breath criticize a poster for being biased. Great source there. Maybe we should ask him why a team with that great of a farm system and supposedly us is a model for other organizations to follow hasn’t won a title since 1988. Instead of bleedsblue showing his jealousy of the Giants by wasting his energy to bash them, maybe he needs to direct more energy to figuring out how to end the Dodger drought.
Ontari, I’m not agro about your post in the slightest. However, I don’t honestly think that the Giants have been tanking, at least intentionally. Yes, they have been terrible for 3-4 years. The numbers don’t lie. But intentionally tanking is another thing altogether. I think the terrible results of the past few years for the Giants are the result of bad contracts and crappy trades, paired with a terrible farm. They have history of rewarding their accomplished players after they peak, and for paying them for too long. Lincecum’s last contract was horrible, and Crawford and Belt’s contracts have been dragging the team down. Maybe, if there is a season in 2020, Posey will bounce back, but his contract isn’t helping us out much right now either. Add that we’re stuck with Longo and had Cutch/Holland/Pomeranz and the like under contract over the past few years….well you get my point. (Yeah, Pomeranz surprised outta the Pen after we traded him….). Giants’ farm is stronger (now
Middle of the pack) and two more years and we’ll be out of bad contracts, and ready to spend on FAs. No disrespect,
I just don’t think it’s been a case of intentional tanking (like the Asteriks a few years back). 2023, the Giants will be strong (I hope!). Stay healthy everyone !!
Ontariogro:
Your response to my post is not addressing what your first post did, which that the Giants, although losing 100+ only once, had lost 90+ a bunch of times. My point was that that was not correct, and appeared to be biased because they have lost 90+ games fewer times than the vast majority of other teams.
If you wanted to address the issue of tanking, you went about it the wrong way, as the stats you posted were not looked at in context with other teams. And certainly the number of losing games in ’17 and ’18 is no indication of tanking since they spent big for Cueto the year before and tried to acquire Stanton.
Plus they weren’t tanking in 2019 having pursued Harper. And they absolutely are not tanking in 2020. They didn’t spend big, but they have signed a number of bounce back candidates. If they wanted to tank they would be hoping for poor performances. They aren’t. They want good production from those guys to move for prospects. That is not tanking.
The thing about the Dodgers is that they have so much depth, that a player who would normally get called up when he is ready, will spend another season or more in AAA. That is why when they do come up they perform so well.
I feel this reporter only did research on the players he really wanted to. He talks about Webb and says he was injury prone in the minors and didn’t have a good debut in the majors. But if you look at Webb his entire minor league career was successful, and when he got to the majors he had some really good games a few bad ones that raised his ERA.