Arizona shortstop Didi Gregorius Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports
As we inch closer to spring camps opening in Florida and Arizona, we have put together an outlook for the top prospects of each Major League team who will be in those camps.
Will they make the squad out of Spring Training? Will they be sent to the minors knowing that they are just a month or two away from the big leagues? We cannot answer these questions, but we can provide you with a look at the top prospects who have received invites to their parent teams’ camps. This is the first installment in our six-part series.
Arizona Diamondbacks
Arizona’s camp will feature some newcomers to the organization, especially top shortstop prospect Didi Gregorius, who came over from the Reds in a three-team deal that sent former top prospect Trevor Bauer to the Indians. Gregorius is considered as the team’s shortstop of the future, but is not guaranteed a spot on the Opening Day roster. Aside from Gregorius, who is on the 40-man roster, will be joined by a very talented group of youngsters, some who have Major League experience.
Tyler Skaggs and Adam Eaton will be battling in camp for roster spots, Skaggs in the rotation and Eaton as a regular in the outfield. Eaton could make the team as a starting outfielder with the trades of Justin Upton and Chris Young during the off-season. Skaggs made six starts in 2012 for the D’backs and could figure into this year’s rotation.
Other top prospects either on the 40-man roster or who have received invitations to camp include Nick Ahmed, Matt Davidson, Chris Owings, Zeke Spruill, Evan Marshall, A.J. Pollock and Chase Anderson. All of these players appear on the Diamondbacks’ top 20 prospect list found on their website. Of the 20 listed, half of the list will be in big league camp this year. Ahmed and Spruill were acquired from the Braves in the Upton trade.
Atlanta Braves
Atlanta Pitcher Julio Teheran Credit: Daniel Shirey-US PRESSWIRE
Atlanta is entering a new era, post-Chipper Jones, with two Upton brothers leading the way in the outfield.
B.J. was added via free agency and Justin was added via a trade with Arizona.
In that trade, the Braves also unloaded Martin Prado, Randall Delgado, and a couple of prospects.
In Atlanta’s camp, located in Lake Buena Vista, there are still some very intriguing prospects left who will appear in big league camp this year.
Atlanta’s number one prospect, Julio Teheran, heads the list and is on the 40-man roster. Catcher Christian Bethancourt is the number two prospect and is on the 40-man roster. He could see significant playing time to begin the regular season at the Major League level if Brian McCann is not healthy enough to go on Opening Day.
Other top prospects who are either on the 40-man roster or who have received invitations to camp include J.R. Graham, Sean Gilmartin, Alex Wood, Todd Cunningham, Juan Jaime, Aaron Northcraft, Joe Terdoslavich, and Evan Gattis. Out of the top 20 list, these players account for half of it. From this group, Atlanta fans very well could see Teheran, Bethancourt, and even Gilmartin at the big league level in 2013.
Baltimore Orioles
Following a surprising 2012 season and playoff appearance, the Orioles are looking to remain competitive in the AL East in 2013. Baltimore’s crop of top prospects is very impressive and the list is led by Dylan Bundy, who made his Major League debut last year after flying up the organization’s Minor League ladder. L.J. Hoes is also on the top prospect list and he made his ML debut last year as well for the O’s.
Other top prospects in camp worth watching this spring include Kevin Gausman, Eduardo Rodriguez, Jonathan Schoop, Xavier Avery, Mike Wright, Steve Johnson and Mike Belfiore. The Orioles are loaded with excellent pitching talent in their system, with most at the lower levels, so 2013 will be a major development season for their big arms.
Boston Red Sox
The only Red Sox prospect from their top 20 list on their website to play in the Majors last year was shortstop Jose Iglesias. He struggled at the plate in 25 games, hitting .118. He might see a lot of time in the Majors this season for new manager John Farrell and some of his counterparts from the system could be fighting for playing time as well.
The rest of the top 20 list in big league camp includes Jackie Bradley, Allen Webster, Deven Marrero, Drake Britton, and Christian Vazquez. This is one of the smaller groups of prospects in big league camps so far in 2013 across the league. It is going to be interesting to see how Iglesias responds to his struggles last year and builds towards more playing time this season.
Chicago Outfielder Jorge Soler Credit: Michael O’Day/Icon SMI
Chicago Cubs
Chicago saw some of its prospects graduate to the big leagues last year, one of whom is being relied on to take over the everyday catching duties in 2013 in Welington Castillo.
The Cubs have signed some interesting players this off-season in the hopes of beginning the rebuilding process under Theo Epstein. Top prospects who will be in big league camp who have Major League experience include Brett Jackson, Arodys Vizcaino (made ML debut with Braves in 2011), Josh Vitters, and Alberto Cabrera.
Other prospects from the Cubs top 20 list who will be in camp via the 40-man roster or as a non-roster invitee include Javier Baez, Jorge Soler, Christian Villanueva, Matt Szczur, and Robert Whitenack. The Cubs have a ton of impressive raw talent in their system, with a couple of the guys on the verge of breaking the starting lineup in Chicago for good in the coming years.
Keep a close eye on Jackson and Vitters this year, who could see a ton of playing time if the injury bug bites and the Cubs struggle. Vizcaino missed all of 2012 due to Tommy John Surgery, but was still included in the trade deadline deal that sent Reed Johnson and Paul Maholm to the Braves. The Cubs also received Jaye Chapman, who made his ML debut with Chicago last year, in the deal.
Stay tuned for the second installment of this series, which will look at the top prospects in the big league camps of the Chicago White Sox, the Cincinnati Reds, the Cleveland Indians, the Colorado Rockies and the Detroit Tigers.
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Jim is the creator and editor of At the Dish, Cinn City Sports, Life with Tony and Enzo and owner of JAVFreelancing. He coached baseball for five years, three at his former high school (Holy Cross in Delran, NJ) and two at prominent Division III program Rowan University in Glassboro, NJ as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. He has worked for the Courier-Post in Cherry Hill, NJ; Metro Networks in Bala Cynwyd, PA; and was the play-by-play announcer for the Camden Riversharks of the Independent Atlantic League of Professional Baseball for two seasons (2007-2008) on Rowan Radio 89.7 WGLS-FM, the student-run radio station at Rowan University. Jim earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications and minor in Journalism from Rowan University in 2008. While in school he was the Assistant Sports Director at WGLS for two years and the Sports Director for one year. He also covered the football, baseball, softball and both basketball teams for the school newspaper 'The Whit.' Jim lives in New Jersey with his wife Nicole, sons Tony and Enzo and dog Phoebe. He can be reached at jimvassallo@mlbdrafts.com.
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