The first week of Spring Training is in the books. After some of the league’s top hitting prospects made their presence known early on, some of the top arms in the pipeline showed out later in the week.
Here is a look back at which of the Top 100 prospects stole the spotlight in week one.
Bobby Witt Jr.
The second overall pick in the 2019 draft, Bobby Witt Jr. has gotten off to a torrid start in his third training camp with the Royals. Witt Jr. knocked in his first RBI of the spring on Monday afternoon with an infield single in his first plate appearance of the day and has kept hitting ever since.
On Tuesday, Witt reached base twice with a base on balls in his first plate appearance and plated a run on an RBI single in the fifth inning before coming around to score his second run of the day.
Blasting his first home run of the spring on Friday, Witt turned more heads with his performance on this no doubter.
Andrew Vaughn
White Sox slugging prospect Andrew Vaughn knows a thing or two about home runs. On Tuesday, serving as the designated hitter, Vaughn wasted no time and belted a three-run shot to the moon in the first inning.
The 22 -ear-old first base prospect tallied two more hits, an RBI, a run scored, three base on balls, and even added a stolen base across his next 10 plate appearances. Vaughn is certaining making a case for himself to break camp with the big league roster, posting a slash line of .375/.583/.750 through the first week of camp.
The former University of California Bear and 2018 Golden Spikes winner has never had his power in question and his bat to ball skills will certainly play at the next level.
Ke’Bryan Hayes
The presumptive Opening Day third baseman for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Ke’Bryan Hayes, has had his tools on display this spring in the Grapefruit League.
The 24-year old is off to an excellent start posting a slash line of .455/.500/.909 over his first 11 at bats including four extra base hits, which is key to those wondering where his true power lies.
In a season that could be tough for Pirates fans to stomach, Ke’Bryan Hayes is the light at the end of the tunnel.
The 32nd overall pick in the 2015 draft, came up to join fellow 2015 first rounder, Kevin Newman, on the left side of the infield in Pittsburgh. After impressing with his glove and putting up a slash line of .376/.442/.682 during a 24-game debut, the youngster earned Rookie of the Year votes.
While not much else might be for the Pirates, the future of the left side of the infield is bright.
Jarren Duran
A name you might be surprised to see on this list is Boston Red Sox’s young outfield prospect, Jarren Duran. Duran has been arguably the most impressive bat in camp this spring. As an under the radar prospect, expectations could be rising for the 24 year old, especially with the departure of Andrew Benintendi and Jackie Bradley Jr. from the outfield.
Duran profiles mostly as a second baseman, where he has spent the majority of his playing days, but with plus-plus speed, the Red Sox hope they can improve his route running and make him a serviceable outfielder.
The 24 year old has a compact swing from the left side that is built for high end bat to ball skills. Adding in plus-plus speed, Duran has the ability to leg out ground balls for hits and wreak havoc when he's on base.
This spring, Duran has five hits in eleven plate appearances and has already left the yard twice.
The Red Sox are hoping Duran can add to the outfield duo of Alex Verdugo and newly acquired Franchy Cordero.
Prospect Arms
On the opposite side of the diamond, top prospects such as Mackenzie Gore, Casey Mize, Matt Liberatore, and Ian Anderson have all twirled scoreless frames in their season debuts.
Padres’s Adrian Morejon has also impressed early in his four innings of work allowing only two hits while punching out five. Morejon’s command has been far from perfect, but the stuff has been impressive thus far.
We are looking forward to seeing these young stars get stretched out as the spring rolls on.