Minor League Barometer: Risers & Fallers

The Michael Harris hype train is real, so it's best to get on board soon. He had everyone drooling this spring and his minor league season thus far has not disappointed hitting .352 with three home runs, 18 RBI and nine steals through 20 games at High-A. Only 20, Harris is super-athletic and has emerging power. While he carries some swing and miss in his game, batting .352 is likely going to make some strikeouts easier to swallow. The scary part is that Harris may only be cracking the surface of his potential. Imagine if he really becomes a left-handed Ronald Acuna.

Here are some other players making waves in this week's Minor League Barometer.

UPGRADE

Adley Rutschman, C, BAL – Rutschman's prospect pedigree has been well documented, but his polish at the dish has been simply impeccable at Double-A. Over the last 11 contests, he's posted a .500 OBP while drawing 14 walks and only striking out seven times. Rutschman's mastery of the strike zone is second to none, but he's also notched three home runs and nine RBI. While the Orioles are headed nowhere fast this season, Rutschman is a game changer who could see everyday at-bats before the season is through, with an eye towards being the cornerstone of the big club to begin 2022.

Brett Baty, 3B, NYM – It would be ironic if a prospect with the word "bat" in his name couldn't hit.  Fortunately, that hasn't been the case for Baty in 2021 hitting .369/.476/.595 through 24 games at High-A. He boasts impressive raw power to all fields and has cracked four home runs since the start of June. Baty isn't afraid to take a walk and even has two steals to his credit. Third base has been a wasteland for the Mets this year and while it would be foolish to think we'd see Baty in 2021, a late 2022 debut suddenly may not be out of the question.

Angel Zerpa, P, KC – Zerpa is just 21, but the southpaw has left the competition overmatched at High-A with a 44:6 K:BB in 29.2 innings over a span of five starts. He finished 2019 with 22 scoreless innings, and his stock has clearly been on the rise even though he didn't pitch in 2020 due to the pandemic. Zerpa throws strikes and induces plenty of ground balls, but the uptick in strikeouts over his time with the organization is particularly noteworthy. He went from having no idea how to finish off batters as a precocious teenager to possessing wipeout ability as a polished hurler. Zerpa will certainly be overshadowed by names like Jackson Kowar, Daniel Lynch and others on the Kansas City farm, but he could shoot up the rankings.

Spencer Strider, P, ATL – A fourth-round pick out of Clemson in 2021, Strider has found little resistance at High-A racking up 40 strikeouts in just 19.1 innings while only surrendering eight hits across five starts. He dealt with Tommy John surgery and then the pandemic during his collegiate career, so he did not pitch much at Clemson and there are questions about whether he may eventually end up in the bullpen. Strider has shown surprisingly stellar command of his fastball, but his off-speed pitches may need some work. Still, it's a promising start for someone who was a surprise early selection last year and had plenty of question marks coming into the campaign.

CHECK STATUS

Cal Raleigh, C, SEA – Raleigh is scalding the baseball at Triple-A right slashing .361/.409/.691 with six home runs and 22 RBI through 23 contests. Even though none of the catchers for Seattle have really hit this season, there are a plenty of them: Jose Godoy, Tom Murphy, Luis Torrens and Jacob Nottingham, to name a few. As a result, it may simply be a numbers game at this point for Raleigh, who appears to be blocked in the short term. He should debut with the big club in 2021, but it may not be anything more than a cup of coffee in September with an eye towards everyday at-bats in 2022.

Mitchell Parker, P, WAS – Parker was selected in the fifth round out of junior college last year and has overwhelmed the competition at Low-A in his first professional stint. His last two starts in May were particularly ferocious allowing only one hit over 12 innings while fanning a staggering 22 batters. Parker led all of junior college in strikeouts and strikeout rate last season, so these early results should not come as a surprise. The southpaw has a funky, deceptive delivery and his curveball may be his best pitch. Parker should see High-A soon, even with a bit of a bumpy start in his last outing.

Luis Gil, P, NYY – The Yankees have two pitchers named Luis who are both upper-echelon pitching prospects. While Luis Medina generally gets more publicity and is off to a rousing start this year at High-A, Gil has certainly been no slouch either at Double-A with a 3.12 ERA and 43:11 K:BB in 26.0 innings. He offers an electric arm and can hit triple-digits on the radar gun, but his breaking ball and changeup remain works in progress and he's been a tad wild in the past. If Gil can harness his stuff, he will quickly become a hot commodity.

Greg Jones, SS, TB – On a positive note, Jones finally appears to be healthy and is getting everyday at-bats at High-A. Injury as well as the pandemic have hurt his the development, but he's hitting .274/.410/.516 with four home runs, 11 RBI and 10 steals through 16 tilts. Speed is the 23-year-old's calling card, though the bump in power is also worth noting. The issue for the switch-hitting Jones is the bevy of up-the-middle prospects ahead of him on the depth chart, including but not limited to Wander Franco, Vidal Brujan, Taylor Walls and Xavier Edwards. As a result, Jones will either need a position switch or a trade to avoid being buried on the depth chart with the notoriously stingy Rays.

DOWNGRADE

Thaddeus Ward, P, BOS – It has been a rough year for Red Sox pitching prospects. Tanner Houck is currently nursing a sore elbow, Connor Seabold is dealing with elbow inflammation and Ward had been sidelined with a forearm strain. Unfortunately, an MRI revealed the worst and Ward underwent Tommy John surgery this past Thursday. Due to the timing of the injury and the procedure, Ward will not only miss the remainder of the 2021 campaign but likely all of 2022 as well. That means he could be 26 when he next pitches in a live game, virtually knocking him off the prospect radar.

Bo Naylor, C, CLE – The younger brother of current Cleveland outfielder Josh Naylor, Bo has struggled with the bat at Double-A through the first month of the season. Even with four hits in a weekend series with Erie, Naylor is still slashing just .164/.263/.284. He's also produced 32 strikeouts in just 19 games. At 21, he may be a bit over his head at this level, especially when also learning the catching position.

Matt Canterino, P, MIN – A 2019 second-round pick, Canterino had simply dominanted at High-A. The Rice product produced a 1.00 ERA and a staggering 35:3 K:BB in only four starts - a span of 18 innings - while opposing batters hit .154 against. Canterino offers a four-pitch arsenal at his disposal, but the increase in velocity on his heater and the improvement of his changeup in particular boosted his results. Unfortunately, he recently went on the Disabled List with an elbow sprain. As that type of injury is never a good sign for a pitcher, Canterino and the Twins organization are certainly holding their breath.

Canaan Smith-Njigba, OF, PIT – Smith-Njigba was one of four players to come over from the Yankees in the Jameson Taillon deal. While he was considered the top prospect in the haul, Roansy Contreras has been terrific thus far at Double-A, Maikol Escotto had a hot start before landing on the Injured List, and Miguel Yajure is closest to the big leagues at Triple-A.  Smith-Njigba is batting .065 over his last 10 contests at Double-A to lower his average to .205. Always a high OBP player, he's still drawing plenty of walks, but also has 12 strikeouts during that same period. Add in mediocre power at best and Smith-Njigba's value is hurt if he can't hit for average.