With spring training underway, the regular season is now officially near.
As we are wont to do, we decided to preview the upcoming year in all things prospects by bugging Rotoworld's Christopher Crawford. Crawford can be found on Twitter here, and in the past has wrote for publications like ESPN and Baseball Prospectus.
Why is Ronald Acuna considered the best prospect in baseball?
I think it's just a wide variety of what Acuna can do at such a young age. There's power, there's a chance to hit for average, the speed is obvious, and he's a darn good defender in center. There's a high ceiling, but the floor is definitely high, as well.
Who has the best farm system in baseball right now?
I would say it's still Atlanta, followed by the Yankees and the Padres. They have the best prospect in baseball in Acuna, and they have a boatload of premium arms. This will probably be San Diego after Acuna and Gleyber Torres graduate, but for now it's the Braves.
Which Yankees prospects are most likely to impact their season?
Torres is the obvious answer, assuming he's healthy. There's just so many things he can do. I think Chance Adams has a chance of pitching in their rotation, and Miguel Andujar could get some raps that the hot corner as well. The rest of the system is most likely to make an impact in 2019 or later.
Say Acuna wins the the NL Rookie of the Year -- who do you think takes the AL version?
Maybe I'm just not willing to go out on a ledge, but I'd be shocked if anyone but Shohei Ohtani won. It's one thing that he's one of the best pitching prospects in baseball if not the best, but the fact that he might give them 20 homers if he gets enough playing time makes this an easy match. If he's not healthy someone like Michael Kopech or Torres could win.
Are the Cubs finally out of high-quality prospects?
Pretty much. There's some interesting pitching down the road, but if you're looking for the next Kris Bryant or Javier Baez or even Willson Contreras, you're going to be waiting a while. Luckily the team is so good and so young, it shouldn't be a big deal while they rebuild the farm.
What about last year's World Series teams, the Astros and Dodgers?
Both the Astros and Dodgers still have a lot in their system to play with. Even with the suspension Forrest Whitley is still one of the best pitching prospects in baseball for Houston, and Kyle Tucker can really hit. The Dodgers have Walker Buehler and Alex Verdugo who could make an impact in 2018, and Yadier Alvarez and Jeren Kendall are strong long-term bets. These teams aren't going anywhere anytime soon.
Is there a prospect you're higher on than rest of the industry seems to be?
I don't read a ton of lists, but I think I'm higher on Brendan Rodgers than most of the industry. I think both the hit and power tools can be plus and I think he's going to be able to stick at shortstop. If not he can certainly play second base and the bat will more than play there.
Lower on?
I certainly like Sixto Sanchez a lot, but I have a lot of question marks that some other folks don't seem to have. The talent is obvious, but I have questions about the durability, and I think we might be a little too aggressive calling him an upper echelon prospect. That's just me.
Who are the top candidates to go first overall in June's draft?
Right now I would say the top candidates are South Florida left-handed Chad McLanahan, Florida RHP Brady Singer, Oregon State 2B Nick Madrigal, and Mountain Ridge HS Matthew Liberatore.
Has anything changed with Tim Tebow's prospects of becoming a useful big-league player?
Maybe a little. Tebow has reportedly shortened his swing, which should allow him to get to the one true skill he has, the power. I'm still very skeptical, and doubt he ever reaches the big leagues.
Again, many thanks to Crawford, who can be found on Twitter here.