Bobby Witt Jr. - 3B - Omaha Storm Chasers (Royals Triple-A)
Rarely does a player with Witt’s fanfare stroll through AAA. I arrived at the park to Witt signing autographs for kids and spurning adults with bags of baseballs. Bobby Witt Jr. has a presence about him that is unlike any prospect I’ve been fortunate to see. He simply stands out on the field. He’s a legitimate 6’1” and lean throughout. It’s a great baseball body with room to add strength/weight. He’s calm and collected, yet confident, and it was immediately apparent when he stepped into the box for his first at-bat. Witt stands tall and slightly open with the bat near his shoulder prior to the pitch. He uses a small leg lift as he loads. His hands stay out front and remain quiet throughout. His hands are exceptionally fast and he’s quick to the pitch. It’s plus bat speed on a mostly linear plane, although there is a slight uppercut at times. His first swing - on the first pitch he saw - created one of the loudest pieces of contact I’ve heard this year. The ball was drilled, through a strong wind, out of the ballpark in left field, which is his pull-side. The ball jumps off the bat, and it sounds different, too. It’s a powerful right-handed swing. Easy plus raw power that he’s getting to during games this year.
Although Witt has a solid eye at the plate, and is capable of laying off, he's so confident in his natural ability that he swings early and often. He takes big cuts and is looking to drive the ball with each swing. It’s an aggressive approach at the plate, but he makes it work for him because of how good his hand-eye coordination is. He lined a double off the right-center wall in the top of the fourth inning and later hit a hard ground ball down the 3B line for another double. He’s an extra-base machine. On the double down the line, he kept his eye on the ball, took a big turn at 1B, and was able to coast in for a standup double. I did not get a usable H-to-1B time, but he hit an extra gear rounding 1B, and I’d agree with our offseason report that he’s a plus runner.
I did not get an opportunity to see Witt make any plays in the field, but I was fortunate to sit amongst several of the Iowa Cubs’ front office staff who have seen him several times this season. The talk at the stadium so far during this series is simply that there is no question Bobby Witt Jr. is ready for the big leagues from an offensive standpoint. He’s by far the most impressive player that has come through Des Moines this season. However, there are questions about his defense. One staff member said he’s had the yips at SS in warmups and questioned whether he’d stick there. Those are strong words. Another said his athleticism would allow him to play any position on the field. Those are also strong words. In any case, the bat is ready and any justification the Royals have for keeping him down at this point is either tied to his defense, where he’s played exclusively on the left side, or contractual control. Regardless of whether he’s a SS or 3B in the end, he’s absolutely one of the best prospects in the game. It was a joy to watch him.
Nick Pratto - 1B - Omaha Storm Chasers (Royals Triple-A)
Nick Pratto not only gets overshadowed by Bobby Witt Jr. in the Royals organization, but he also gets knocked some for how poorly he’s played in the past. Gone are the days of him struggling to hit. Pratto utilizes a crouched, left-handed stance with a slight hunch towards the plate. He has some pre-pitch bat movement, and there is some noise in the hands, but he shows good bat-to-ball skills. Pratto does take some big cuts, which can be a detriment at times, and there’s definite strikeout concerns with the profile. Most of the pitches I saw him swing through were off-speed. He struck out in the first inning, grounded out in the second inning, and then shellacked a monstrous homerun in the fourth inning. He has big pull-side power, and if he continues to make contact with the ball, there’s 25+ HR pop in the bat. He struck out in his other 2 at-bats. He does not necessarily have an all-or-nothing approach, but there are some three-outcome possibilities here.
Pratto is fluid in the field. He moves well and is a heady defender that is always well-positioned. He stays low and keeps the ball in front of him, and I saw him make several nice plays at 1B, one of which involved snagging a chopper down the line and beating the runner to the bag. He communicates well with the pitcher and the other infielders. I only saw him make one throw, but it’s above-average to plus arm strength. He’s smooth and athletic, and as a whole, is a plus first baseman.
Although Pratto continues to strike out at a high clip, he’s drastically improved his ability to barrel the ball, and he now has the look of a legitimate starting first baseman. It’s above-average or better in-game power, and there’s reason to believe he can end up with an average hit tool, too, if he continues to make improvements. Combined with his defensive prowess at the bag, it's not unreasonable to think Pratto can play an Eric Hosmer-like role for the Royals in the coming seasons.
MJ Melendez - C - Omaha Storm Chasers (Royals Triple-A)
MJ Melendez, like Nick Pratto, has resurrected his prospect status this season, primarily because of the contact-ability and power he’s flashing in the upper minors. He was the minor league home run leader entering the game I caught. Melendez stands crouched and open in the box. His hands stay low and out front, and he starts with his knees bent. His swing is smooth throughout. It’s a quick bat, with above-average or better bat speed. He has a patient approach, much more so than either Witt or Pratto. He’s looking for a pitch to hit, but he’s not necessarily trying to kill every ball.
Melendez struck out once in the first inning and grounded out on the first pitch he saw in the third inning. After that, he settled down and was otherwise a tough out. He’s advanced in the box and makes the pitcher throw him strikes. He had a couple hard-hit foul balls to stay alive in the count, and he drew a walk in the fourth, which ended up being his only time on base. Melendez is clearly capable of driving the ball when he gets his pitch, but those opportunities were limited. He may not have hit a HR like Witt or Melendez, but there were flashes of his offensive ability all night.
Behind the dish, Melendez had few opportunities to showcase his defense and plus arm. He is a good receiver and framer, however, something his offseason report noted. He moves well behind the plate and has a somewhat nontraditional body for the position in the sense that he’s not at all thick; quite the opposite, in fact. He certainly has room to fill out. I was privy to some internal discussion during the game about who is the better prospect between Melendez and Pratto and what that precisely means for the future of the Royals organization. There’s obvious everyday upside here, and Melendez has the ability to stay behind the plate, but the Royals already have a five-time Gold Glove winner locked up long term. The power Melendez has shown this year translates to a DH role, and, barring a trade, that’s probably how he breaks into the big leagues beyond spelling Salvador Perez at certain times during the grueling season.
Rudy Martin - RF - Omaha Storm Chasers (Royals Triple-A)
One of the joys of going to games is finding someone not previously on your radar. Rudy Martin made an immediate impression as he stepped into the box as the Storm Chasers’ leadoff hitter. He’s short and diminutive, listed at a cool 5’7” and 155 pounds. That alone catches your eye. Martin stands slightly crouched and open in the box. His hands stay at his back shoulder, and he uses a small toe tap as his timing mechanism. It’s average bat speed, but he has some bat-to-ball skills and is a tough out. In his first at-bat, he hit a slow dribbler that was fielded by Adbert Alzolay. He beat the throw to first, and I had him timed at 4.02 from the left side. That’s plus-plus speed.
He came up again in the second inning with a guy on 2nd and 3rd and fell behind in the count 1-2 after getting fooled by one of Alzolay’s disgusting sliders. He hit a short flare to shallow CF on the next pitch to get both of the runners in. He subsequently stole 2nd without issue, sliding in well before the tag. Although Martin has big-time speed, it’s worth noting the Storm Chasers’ identified a weakness in the scouting report and exploited the Cubs for five stolen bases on the night. Martin came back up in the fourth inning and took a walk after fouling off a 3-2 pitch to stay alive in the count. He has an above-average eye and is walking at a high clip so far this season. Martin ended the night with another single and two strikeouts.
Martin has played all over the outfield this season. He was penciled in at RF during my live look, and he looked good by all accounts. In the bottom of the first inning he threw out Alfonso Rivas at second base from just inside the warning track after cleanly fielding a ball off the wall. It was an accurate throw with above-average carry. In the sixth he fought the heavy inward-blowing wind to catch a long flyball hit by Greg Deichmann. He has the look of an above-average fielder in right field, and his foot speed plays everywhere on the grass.
This is a profile the Royals have found a use for before. Martin may not regularly impact the baseball due to his size and lack of strength, but he gets on base, has legitimate speed, and can play defense. There’s a major league role for this kind of player, and he should show up on our Royals board this offseason.
Greg Deichmann - RF - Iowa Cubs (Cubs Triple-A)
Deichmann was acquired by the Chicago Cubs at the trade deadline, along with Daniel Palencia, in return for Andrew Chafin. Deichmann got a brief cup of coffee with the Chicago Cubs and was then demoted to Iowa. Deichmann bats left-handed and stands mostly upright in the box with his knees slightly bent. His hands stay at his chest and there’s minimal pre-pitch movement. It’s a level swing that is designed to generate line-drive contact. He takes some big cuts, but he has bat-to-ball skills and does well to get the ball in play. Deichmann struggled to make good contact in his first couple of at-bats, first popping up and then hitting a slow roller to the second baseman. In both instances Deichmann was visibly frustrated with himself. Deichmann later connected with a ball that would have been a homerun to right field had the wind not been blowing in. Deichmann ripped a triple in the eighth.
Deichmann had few defensive opportunities despite the Storm Chasers putting up 10 runs. He moves well enough to stick in RF and has a strong right arm that plays there, too. His ultimate ceiling will be defined by his bat, but he has the look of a future bench piece with the possibility for a bigger role while the Cubs rebuild.
Alfonso Rivas - 1B - Iowa Cubs (Cubs Triple-A)
I’ve seen Rivas a half dozen times this season, and I’m always impressed. He’s not a power hitter, does not look like a traditional first baseman, and he has little-to-no fanfare. But he’s a ball player, and he does a lot of things well. In the box, he keeps his knees bent and the bat out front. There’s significant pre-pitch movement. He uses a small leg kick as he loads and steps into the pitch, and there’s some noise throughout. He has a patient, contact-oriented approach, and he shows restraint on difficult-to-hit pitches. When he does swing, it’s average or better bat speed. Rivas rarely lifts the ball, mostly by design, and the power plays below average. There is fringe-average raw power here, though, and he carried the ball to the deep part of the field on two occasions. In the bottom of the first he ripped a liner off the right field wall but was thrown out at second. He lacks top end speed. In the sixth, he drove the ball to left field, but he got slightly underneath it and the wind killed it. Had he barreled it, it would have been a no-doubt home run.
Rivas moves well at 1B. He has quick reactions to balls hit in his vicinity, and he does well to keep the ball in front of him. He made a great read and catch along the Storm Chasers’ dugout railing on a ball that was skied high. He made another good play along the first base line in the third inning. He has soft hands and in all, I have him as an above-average defender at the bag. I’ve also seen him in LF this year.
Rivas was drafted in the 4th round in 2018 by the Athletics. He has some pedigree, and he’s performing well in AAA this season. It’s a lighter-than-desired offensive package for either LF or 1B, but he’s going to get a shot at some point in the future, and I’ll push for him to stay on the offseason Cubs list as a 40 OFP.