After taking home the Texas League (AA) championship last season, the Tulsa Drillers take aim at back-to-back titles. And their Opening Day lineup might be the best in the league. Forget the fact that the Drillers are returning 18 members from the championship squad, the rest of the league simply doesn’t have the same level of fire power. You could make a case for the Arkansas Travelers -- but those are clearly the top two teams heading into the season.
Top 100 Prospects:
58. Gavin Lux, SS LAD (Tulsa Drillers)
68. Keibert Ruiz, C LAD (Tulsa Drillers)
84. Adrian Morejon, LHP SD (Amarillo Sod Poodles)
Trending Up:
Hudson Potts, 3B, SD
Potts has always been known for his plus raw power. The tool is especially impressive when you consider that Potts, 20, is often one of younger players in Double-A. He reached Double-A in 2018 at 19 years old, and struggled to make contact. He put the struggles behind him and impressed on both sides of the ball in the Arizona Fall League.
Pre-Season All-Prospect Team
C - Keibert Ruiz, LAD (Tulsa Drillers)
1B- Evan White, SEA (Arkansas Travelers)
2B - Kevin Merrill, OAK (Midland Rock Hounds)
3B - Hudson Potts, SD (Amarillo Sod Poodles)
SS - Gavin Lux, LAD (Tulsa Drillers)
OF - Khalil Lee, KC (NW Arkansas Naturals)
OF - DJ Peters, LAD (Tulsa Drillers)
OF - Kyle Lewis, SEA (Arkansas Travelers)
UT - Elehuris Montero, STL (Springfield Cardinals)
SP - Adrian Morejon , SD (Amarillo Sod Poodles)
SP - Dustin May, LAD (Tulsa Drillers)
SP - JB Bukauskas, HOU (Corpus Christi Hooks)
SP - Justin Dunn, SEA (Arkansas Travelers)
Honorable Mention: Emmanuel Rivera (NW Arkansas Naturals), Edward Olivares (Amarillo Sod Poodles), Brock Burke (Frisco Rough Riders), Jonathan Hernandez (Frisco Rough Riders), Jake Fraley (Arkansas Travelers), Dom Thompson-Williams (Arkansas Travelers).
Team by Team Storylines
Inaugural season for Sod Poodles
In addition to Morejon, several other notable Padres pitching prospects are on display in Amarillo. Right-handers Pedro Avila (No. 21), Reggie Lawson (No. 22), and Andres Munoz (No. 24) head up the group.
In the outfield, Edward Olivares (No. 19) and Buddy Reed (No. 23) are two of the Padres’ four best outfield prospects. And it wouldn’t be a surprise, even given the glut of outfield options, to see Olivares get called up at some point -- he’s already on the 40-man roster.
San Diego Padres Top 30 Prospects
Bukauskas looks to sharpen his change-up with Hooks
The Houston Astros have a nice collection of prospects in their system. Unfortunately, not many of them will be on display in Corpus Christi. Earlier this offseason, we chronicled Bukauskas and his repertoire. As the clubs No. 6 prospect, the 22-year-old is the youngest pitcher on the Double-A roster. He will be challenged with being the leader of this staff, which could prove to be beneficial for other guys like Brandon Bailey (No. 19), and Brandon Bielak (No. 24).
Houston Astros Top 30 Prospects
Mariners affiliate could travel their way to a championship
While a quick look at the Tulsa Drillers lineup will lead you to believe that they are poised to repeat as champions, don’t sleep on the Arkansas Travelers. Justin Dunn (No. 3), Evan White (No. 8), Kyle Lewis (No. 9), Jake Fraley (No. 11), Dom Thompson-Williams (No. 17), Ricardo Sanchez (No. 19), and Wyatt Mills (No. 23) are key pieces to this club’s chances at a title. Roster moves, trades, and injuries make it nearly impossible to predict what the roster will look like come late August, however, this is a roster that is constructed to do well in 2019.
Seattle Mariners Top 30 Prospects
Rough Riders lacking big names at Double-A level
Brock Burke (No. 9) will get the ball on Opening Day for the Rough Riders, and Jonathan Rodriguez (No. 10) is another well-liked arm in the organization -- but that’s about as much as there is to like for this team. Perhaps the most interesting guy to watch here is left-handed pitcher Joe Palumbo (No. 18). After missing significant time in 2017 and 2018 (Tommy John surgery), you don’t really know what to expect from the former 30th rounder. If he can stay healthy, Frisco would gladly take a repeat of his 27% K% and 2.59 FIP from his time at Double-A last season.
Texas Rangers Top 30 Prospects
Oakland not sending many top prospects to Double-A
The Athletics’ farm system is not one of the elite -- it’s not even good. Names like Parker Dunshee (No. 12), Kevin Merrill (No. 15), and Grant Holmes (No. 20) are the biggest names reporting to Double-A Rockland, and their “prospect” status could soon be in jeopardy. In fact, there’s not much to like after you get past the top four or five guys. Looking at prospects ranked 11-30, there are 16 of them that are over 22. That doesn’t give you much room for error. Oh, and one of the four guys under the age of 22 -- Kyler Murray. So, yeah, there’s not much in the way of high-end upside talent here.
Oakland Athletics Top 30 Prospects
Lee, Viloria lead the way for NW Arkansas Naturals
Having played in 29 games at Double-A last season, Khalil Lee (No. 3) begins the season exactly where he ended in 2018. He posted a nice 26.7% LD% while with High-A. However, after being called up, he pounded the ball in the dirt too often (58.1% GB%) and his LD% dropped to 16.2% with the Naturals. He’ll be joined by Meibrys Viloria (No. 15) -- who was rumored as a possible Salvador Perez replacement prior to this season -- and Emmanuel Rivera (No. 22) as the only prospects from our Top 30 list. Speaking of Rivera, Here is a name to keep an eye on. He has a strong arm and a good power profile. If you show me a guy that can hit .265 with 20 home runs and play above-average defense at third base, I’ll show you a guy that has a home someday on a big-league roster.
Kansas City Royals Top 30 Prospects
Highly regarded third base prospect heading to Springfield
The best Cardinals prospect heading to Springfield is Elehuris Montero (No. 5) -- not Nolan Gorman. Which isn’t unexpected given Gorman’s age. Montero could be forgotten by some -- don’t be that person. A near .200 ISO with expected increases in his batted ball profile are reason to follow the 20-year-old third baseman in 2019. He needs to make some adjustments to his approach -- he doesn’t utilize his lower half like you’d expect -- although he has the ability to drive the ball out of the park with just his hands.
St. Louis Cardinals Top 30 Prospects
Drillers aim for back-to-back titles
Tulsa is the odds-on favorite here based on these initial rosters. On a roster loaded with talent, the big sleeper here is RHP Mitchell White. It’s easy to forget about White given the list of pitching prospects the Dodgers have compiled over the last few years. Injuries are the biggest issue for the 24-year-old hurler. If he can stay healthy, you are looking at a guy with an above-average three-pitch mix (4FB, CUT, CRV), and the makings of a changeup that would give him a fourth option. The most interesting prospect here is Keibert Ruiz. The Dodgers’ No. 2 prospect is arguably the best catching prospect in all of baseball. Coupled with 32-year-old Josh Tole, Ruiz could thrive under the tutelage of an eight-year major league veteran. And then you add the fact that LA’s No. 3 prospect, Dustin May, and No. 4 prospect, Gavin Lux are also in Tulsa to start the season and you see why they should at least start the season strong.
Los Angeles Dodgers Top 30 Prospects
Wish List:
Nolan Gorman: It would be interesting to see how aggressive the Cardinals are with their 2018 1st-Round pick. He hit 17 home runs in 63 games last season, becoming just the seventh first-round pick to reach full-season ball in his debut season over the last decade. Likely to spend the season between Peoria (Low-A) and Palm Beach (High-A), it’s a wish list for a reason.
MJ Melendez: Don’t be surprised if Melendez cruises through High-A and finds his way to NW Arkansas this season. He’s one of the best catching prospects in the game and if Viloria gets called up, Melendez could be tested at Double-A.
Seth Beer: I’ll be honest, I’m not as high on Beer as many of you might be right now (see what I did there?), but I want to see the 22-year-old tested. Yordan Alvarez is younger and performing well at Triple-A, it’s time to put Beer on the fast track.