Prospect Power Rankings 2023

[Tony-OH]

These "power rankings" are a fun way to track prospects throughout the year. They are not "official" prospect rankings that are completed at the end of the year after a full evaluations. To be eligible for the list, a player must play at least one game on an active roster. Players starting off in extended spring training or in the DSL are not eligible until they play a game in June. (Updated as of Sep 5th) These are the final 2023 Power rankings. 

RK	Name	POS	Prev	U/D	Team	INJ
1	Jackson Holliday	SS	1		Nor (AAA)
2	Coby Mayo	3B/RF	2		Nor (AAA)
3	Samuel Basallo	C	3		ABN (A+)
4	Colton Cowser	OF	4		Nor (AAA)
5	Heston Kjerstad	1B	5		Nor (AAA)
6	Joey Ortiz	SS	6		Nor (AAA)
7	Enrique Bradfield Jr.	CF	7		ABN (A+)
8	Dylan Beavers	OF	9	Up	BOW (AA)
9	Creed Willems	C	8	Down	ABN (A+)
10	Chayse McDermott	RHP	14	Up	Nor (AAA)
11	D.L. Hall	LHP	15	Up	BAL
12	Mac Horvath	2B/3B	12		ABN (A+)
13	Cade Povich	LHP	10	Down	BOW (AA)
14	Max Wagner	3B	11	Down	ABN (A+)
15	Seth Johnson	RHP	13	Down	ABN (A+)
16	Jud Fabian	OF	16		BOW (AA)
17	Braylin Tavera	CF	17		FCL O's
18	Connor Norby	2B	18		Nor (AAA)
19	Jackson Baumeister	RHP	19		FCL O's
20	Luis DeLeon	LHP	20		DEL (A)
21	Keifer Lord	RHP	21		FCL O's
22	Luis Almeyda	CF	22		DSL O's
23	Trace Bright	RHP	23		ABN (A+)
24	Carlos Tavera	RHP	24		BOW (AA)
25	Levi Wells	RHP	25		FCL O's
26	Brandon Young	RHP	26		BOW (AA)
27	Leandro Arias	SS	27		FCL O's
28	Joshua Liranzo	3B	28		DSL O's
29	Carter Baumler	RHP	29		DEL (A)
30	Hudson Haskin	OF	30		Nor (AAA)	INJ
31	Justin Armbruester	RHP	31		Nor (AAA)
32	Jean Pinto	RHP	32		BOW (AA)
33	Aron Estrada	2B	33		FCL O's
34	Garrett Stallings	RHP	34		Nor (AAA)
35	Jake Cunningham	OF	UR		DEL (A)
36	Frederick Bencosme	INF	35		ABN (A+)
37	Thomas Sosa	OF	36		FCL O's
38	Matthew Etzel	OF	UR		ABN (A+)
39	John Rhodes	OF	37		BOW (AA)
40	Tavian Josenberger	OR	UR		DEL (A)
	Bubble Players	INF			FCL
	Alex Pham	RHP	38		BOW (AA)
	Kyle Brnovich	RHP	39		BOW (AA)
	Maverick Handley	C	40		Nor (AAA)
	Silas Ardoin	C			BOW (AA)
	Yaqui Rivera	RHP			ABN (A+)
	Jared Beck	LHP			DEL (A)
	Juan Nunez	RHP			ABN (A+)
	Luis Guevara	INF			DSL O's
	Aneudis Mordán	C/1B			FCL O's
	Billy Cook	OF			BOW (AA)
	Deivy Cruz	LHP			DEL (A)
	Francisco Morao	LHP			DSL O's
	Jesús Palacios	RHP			DSL O's
	Juan De Los Santos	RHP			DEL (A)
	Adriander Mejia	C			DSL O's

[glenn__davis]

It's the most wonderful tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimmmmmmmmme of the yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeear.

[TheDeau52]

Love these lists! Thanks for all of your hard work, Tony.

[Frobby]

Isn’t Gunnar still technically eligible for another couple of games?  Oh well, he’d be off soon enough where I suppose there’s no point in listing him.  

[Tony-OH]

59 minutes ago, Frobby said:

Isn’t Gunnar still technically eligible for another couple of games?  Oh well, he’d be off soon enough where I suppose there’s no point in listing him.  

Yeah, that was my line of thinking.

[btdart20]

Thanks Tony! 

Our top 15 is looking really good!  And I think the next 15 has a few bullets too!

[Frobby]

It’s pretty crazy to see that 6 of our top 8 prospects are at Norfolk.  

[UMDTerrapins]

Seeing this list/thread makes me happy. Let’s play some ball!  If Kjerstad is our #12 we’re going to very very happy fans.  

[Tony-OH]

52 minutes ago, UMDTerrapins said:

Seeing this list/thread makes me happy. Let’s play some ball!  If Kjerstad is our #12 we’re going to very very happy fans.  

I didn't really change any rankings from the end of last year besides jumping Holliday over Rodriguez to start the year. Kjerstad could make a big jump early after his spring and if he gest off to a hot start at Bowie.

[sportsfan8703]

Thanks @Tony-OH

 

I think there's an argument that can be made to have Westburg #3 if these are power rankings.  Big ST.  Off to a good start.  Overall, he has 19 HR 77 RBI in 94 AAA games.  

[Tony-OH]

3 hours ago, sportsfan8703 said:

Thanks @Tony-OH

 

I think there's an argument that can be made to have Westburg #3 if these are power rankings.  Big ST.  Off to a good start.  Overall, he has 19 HR 77 RBI in 94 AAA games.  

He's off to quite the good start for sure. I'll update the real 1st update for the year after this week's of games. Might be hard for him to jump to #3 in the initial rankings but he could see #3 at some point if he keeps it up.

[jamesenoch]

https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/dylans-prospect-breakout-team-for-2023/

OF Dylan Beavers, Orioles
High-A Aberdeen • Age: 21

With plus grades for power, speed and arm strength, Beavers has a high floor and the ability to play any outfield position. If he could approach even an average hit tool, he would be a potential offensive monster. After drafting him in the supplemental first round, the Orioles altered Beavers' swing, and the returns were immediate: his contact rate, in-zone contact rate and ability to lay off pitches out of the zone were all above-average to plus when compared to his peers in the Carolina League. More impressively, in a small pro sample, Beavers managed to hit 16% of his batted balls at 95 mph or harder between a launch angle of 10 and 30 degrees—optimal hard contact—which was well above the league average of 11%. Beavers has a chance to advance to the cozy confines of Double-A Bowie by year’s end as a 21-year-old.

 

LHP Juan Rojas, Orioles
Extended spring training • Age: 19

I’m going off the beaten path for this pitcher spot. Part of the Orioles' return from the Twins for Jorge Lopez, Rojas already shows advanced control of three pitches as a teenager. As he matures, his fastball could develop into an above-average pitch. Purely from a data perspective, Rojas looked like one of the more impressive Rookie complex league pitchers last year with a strikeout-to-walk ratio not much different than that of more well-known Jarlin Susana. The Orioles' pitcher development apparatus has been excellent, and I expect them to refine Rojas’ abilities. Look for Rojas to join Low-A Delmarva after he is built up at extended spring training.

 

 

[jamesenoch]

https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/50-prospects-standing-out-to-scouts-in-2023-spring-training/

Chayce McDermott, RHP, Orioles

McDermott was Houston’s fourth-rounder in 2019 out of Ball State who was subsequently dealt to the Orioles as part of the three-team swap that helped Trey Mancini land with the Astros. The righthander struggled a bit last year upon reaching Double-A, where he allowed too much contact and too many walks. On the backfields this spring, he’s shown a promising mix of a mid-90s fastball that has peaked at 98 mph as well as a slider and a curveball that each flashed average potential. There’s a changeup in the mix as well, but it is a distinct fourth pitch. McDermott’s longer arm stroke may hinder his command, but his raw stuff is enough for him to remain intriguing.

[RZNJ]

When is the first update?   How far does Kjerstad move up from 12 and where does Trace Bright debut on this list?

[ChuckS]

10 hours ago, RZNJ said:

When is the first update?   How far does Kjerstad move up from 12 and where does Trace Bright debut on this list?

I thought the updates were weekly last year.

I see Bright debuting in the top 20 and Denoyer making a big jump. 

Who do you move down for Kjerstad? Despite the strong start against Double A pitching, I can’t say definitively he’s a better prospect than any of the players ahead of him. 

I think DL Hall sees the biggest drop in the first rankings. Still probably in the top ten. 

Edited April 16, 2023 by ChuckS