Our coverage of the Arizona Fall League continues. Jakob Marsee remains the top hitter with a 1.442 OPS in 44 plate appearances. The title of top pitcher is less clear. Perhaps it’s 27-year-old southpaw reliever Jake McSteen? He’s worked 4.2 innings of hitless ball with six strikeouts. He hit one batter.
Let’s see who else merits a look.
Five Big Hype Prospects
Wilmer Flores, 22, SP, DET
(AA) 80.2 IP, 9.15 K/9, 3.57 BB/9, 3.90 ERA
Flores performs like someone with a Major League future. He induces plenty of whiffs, limits walks, and generally runs around a 50 percent ground ball rate. Typically, pitchers who can show those three traits go on to have a nice career (health permitting). Sometimes, they have to take the long road like Cristopher Sanchez or Erick Fedde.
My contacts don’t like Flores’ pitch design, though it’s been at least half a year since I’ve received an update on that front. In brief, as of April, his pitches didn’t tunnel well. This is his second stint in the AFL. In three games, all relief appearances, he’s thrown eight innings while allowing nine hits, one walk, one hit batter, one run, and nine strikeouts. Flores is Rule 5 eligible this winter. Barring catastrophe, he’ll soon be on the Tigers 40-man roster. Though he has the look and stuff of a starter, a debut in the bullpen would allow him to ignore those pitch design concerns.
Kyle Manzardo, 23, 1B, CLE
(AAA) 415 PA, 17 HR, 1 SB, .237/.337/.464
Widely expected to debut for the Rays in 2023, Manzardo instead turned in a 95 wRC+ for the Durham Bulls. He was traded at the deadline to Cleveland. A lefty-hitter, righty-thrower, Manzardo makes for an unusual first base prospect. At an even six feet tall, he’s on the short end for the position. His discipline- and contact-forward approach isn’t what most clubs crave from the cold corner. Of course, the Guardians are not most teams. They appreciate discipline and high contact rates. It even appears they’ve coached him away from the extreme pulled-contact approach he featured in Durham. He finished the season on a high note for Guardians Triple-A affiliate, batting .256/.348/.590 in 92 plate appearances. In 40 AFL plate appearances, he’s hitting .286/.390/.657.
Ryan Bliss, 23, 2B, SEA
(AA/AAA) 612 PA, 23 HR, 55 SB, .304/.378/.524
The Mariners acquired Bliss at the trade deadline. He figures to serve a utility role going forward, though he’s only a positive defender at second base. Despite 23 home runs, Bliss has below-average quality of contact. His stolen base total also inflates his speed which is merely above average. The trait that makes him a future big leaguer is his ability to hit breaking pitches. A tiny right-hander, Bliss is susceptible to velocity at the top of the zone. If carefully managed, Bliss could play up in a platoon role. In 26 AFL plate appearances, he’s hitting .350/.500/.400.
Colson Montgomery, 21, SS, CWS
(Cpx/A+/AA) 223 PA, 8 HR, 2 SB, .287/.456/.484
After missing much of the 2023 season, Montgomery bears watching. The White Sox top prospect is among the AFL leaders with three home runs in 35 plate appearances. He’s also yet to record a walk in an OBP-centric league. Even worse, he has 11 strikeouts. My guess is the White Sox sent Montgomery to the AFL to work on power and aggression. He’s always verged on passivity and rarely gets to his power in-game. Strikingly, he seems to maximize for day-to-day performance rather than an eventual Major League outcome. Perhaps these less-than-desirable AFL results represent the proverbial one step back for two steps forward.
Robert Hassell, 22, OF, WSH
(AA) 476 PA, 8 HR, 13 SB, .225/.316/.324
A precocious fast-riser in the Padres system, Hassell’s star began to dim not long before he was included in the Juan Soto trade. After a little over a year with the Nats, Hassell has scarcely shown a pulse. That extends his .286/.317/.286 batting line in 38 AFL plate appearances. Along with the lack of pop, he also has 11 strikeouts. At the time of the Soto blockbuster, Hassell was a consensus Top 100 prospect. Now it’s hard to find evaluators who believe he has a second act in him. My two cents: he needs to do something to combat his passivity and lift the ball with more authority. That doesn’t mean selling out for power either. Most of his contact is soft and more than half of his batted balls are grounders. Even an increase in line drive singles would go a long way toward him becoming a viable Major Leaguer.
For those hunting for a silver lining, Hassell is credited with gritty-gamer makeup and might have been negatively affected by a hamate injury suffered in the 2022 AFL. Possibly, he’s tinkered in the wrong direction and merely needs a fresh adjustment to get back on track.
Three More
Harry Ford, SEA (20): Ford is disciplined and powerful as evidenced by his seven walks and three home runs in 25 AFL plate appearances. Those dingers represent the total sum of his hitting – he has a .000 BABIP.
Davis Daniel, LAA (26): Daniel is already on the 40-man roster with 12.1 Major League innings to his name. He profiles as a spot starter or middle reliever – the sort that can provide bulk relief. He’s among the top AFL performers with 10 innings, 15 strikeouts, three hits, three walks, and one run allowed.
Jacob Berry, MIA (22): A former sixth-overall pick from the 2022 draft, Berry is a switch-hitting designated hitter who has looked overmatched at every level. The AFL offers him an opportunity to work with new coaches and possibly get his career back on track. Presently, he’s on the exit ramp.
Did I miss a detail or nuance? DM me on Twitter @BaseballATeam to suggest corrections.
I’ve interviewed Davis Daniel a couple of times. Good guy. I’d love to see him make it.
I also really want to see Wilmer Flores pitch to Wilmer Flores in a game.
Wilmer Flores, 22, SP, DET
– Looking at his BR page, he already has a career MLB WAR of 9.7 and 149 HRs. Although he’s in the Tigers camp, looks like they rented him out to the Mets, DBacks & Giants from 2013 to 2023. He’s listed as a pitcher in this write-up but he hasn’t pitched yet. Guy is only 22, too. That means he joined the MLB when he was 12 years old. Probably gonna be a first ballot HOFer.
His face looks old for 22. He isn’t going to age well.
@Hemlock
Not everyone is born with perfect complexion. Based on his numbers, I don’t think it would matter.
This guy’s going to end up with around 1,400 career HR. I predict at least 750 by age 30. Ohtani is going to be very jealous.
Oh and move over Mariano, there’s another unanimous first ballot HOF.
That’s his brother, also named “Wilmer Flores!” I’m not kidding!
Mom must have had fun raising them…
“Wilmer, stop picking on your brother!”
“But he started it!!!”
“No, the other Wilmer!”
Rougned Odor and his brother Rougned Jose Odor don’t appreciate the copycat shenanigans.
@HHJJ an old buddy of mine has an identical twin brother and both were named Luis! Unsurprisingly they went by their middle names. It seems like this is a bit of a thing in some Latin American countries.
Don’t trade the link out, this Wilmer is very attached to MLBTR and might get emotional in front of EVERYBODY.
That being said, can we get this Wilmer’s link updated to the correct one?
baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=flo…
Hemlock, are they related? Look very similar and both are from Valencia, Venezuela.
They’re brothers. Thanks, internet.
Glad to see Marsee raking. I really thought Hassell would be the steal of the Soto trade. Hate to see dudes struggle like that hope he can turn it around in the spring.
A guy named Davis Daniel and another Wilmer Flores? Is it April 1?
“My contacts don’t like Flores’ pitch design, though it’s been at least half a year since I’ve received an update on that front. In brief, as of April, his pitches didn’t tunnel well.”
Is this a SNL skit?
Hassell is going to be the busted prospect from the Soto deal.
There was always going to be at least one. He just doesn’t make impact contact and puts a lot of balls on the ground. He does this while already having a lousy K rate. I don’t see much more than fodder here at this point. His skills don’t play in a corner.
Does Susana not count? I would think Hassell’s prospects are better then his still.
nothing wrong with Susana’s progress, he’s just young
Susana was a true ancillary piece too. I was really referring to the 4 key pieces. Abrams looks real good. Gore is a ML starter and Wood is obviously one of the top OF prospects in the game.
After reading the rather dismal review of Montgomery, I’d be surprised if CWS doesn’t pick up Anderson’s option this winter. Maybe it’s just wishful thinking on the fans’ part that this kid’s gonna be the answer. White Sox will probably have to trade for a SS prospect who’ll be ready a year from now because it doesn’t sound like Montgomery will.
Says Brad Johnson. One man’s VERY limited view. There’s a lot to worry about as a Sox fan, Colson Montgomery is not one of them.
solaris602: Pretty much all of the reviews in this article are negative. I still don’t see a chance of the Sox picking up TA’s $14m option even if they rush Montgomery up to take his place. My guess is that they’d rather pay a lot less and have Andrus play ss.
It’s way too early to give up on Montgomery. He’s only 21 years old and he missed more than 1/2 of the 2023 season with injuries. He appears to have a great eye at the plate with a .456 OBP in 223 PA and his .940 OPS is quite impressive as well. He won’t be ready for MLB until 2025, but he still shows a lot of promise if you ask me.
You’re right that they should pick up Anderson’s option for 2024 but Monty could still be their answer at SS starting in 2025. He’s obviously working on his power stroke in the AFL in lieu of taking free passes, but he should be fine next year if he can stay healthy.
I mean, kid just got to AA.
Watched Montgomery play in person here in the fall league looked talented but timing still off happens missing half season plus having back issues not ready to give up on him yet