Minor League Barometer: Risers & Fallers

Everyone always wants to know the next prospect set to shoot up the rankings, so I'll give a few names I'm watching. Curtis Mead, 20, is a second baseman from Australia in the Rays farm system who has had an intriguing start to the 2021 campaign slashing .358/.410/.589 with seven home runs, 35 RBI and eight steals at Low-A. Another second base prospect with a scintillating start to the season is Samad Taylor in the Toronto organization. The 22-year-old is batting .303/.393/.567 with 12 home runs, 31 RBI and 17 steals in 48 contests at Double-A. Taylor struggled to hit for average during his previous stops and that severely limited his production, but he's always had that power/speed combination. And watch out for Kyle Harrison, a teenaged hurler in the Giants system. He's a third-round pick from last year's draft directly out of high school who's produced a staggering 67 strikeouts in only 41.2 innings at Low-A.

Here are some more prospects making news in this edition of the Minor League Barometer:

UPGRADE

Jarren Duran, OF, BOS – At first, the Red Sox said they had no plans to rush Duran to the big leagues. Now, he's been left of the USA Olympic roster at the request of the club because they believe he may be called up shortly. Duran is raking over his last 13 contests at Triple-A going .300 with four home runs, 11 RBI and four steals. And he's already racked up double-digit home runs and steals in less than 50 games at that level.  It appears Duran is destined for Beantown within the next couple of weeks.

Marco Luciano, OF, SF – Luciano is on a hot streak at Low-A with five home runs while knocking in 12 runs over his last nine contests. The teenager has more than held his own on the season by slashing .274/.371/.574 against largely older competition while drawing 27 walks across 50 contests and even swiping three bags. But Luciano's prodigious power has really turned some heads as he leads all of Low-A in homers. He remains an elite phenom who should see High-A soon.

Jose Miranda, 3B, MIN – Miranda started the season off on fire and hasn't stopped hitting.  Beginning in Double-A, he hit .345/.408/.588 with 13 home runs and 38 RBI in 47 games. Not only did Miranda show superior power, but his contact skills remain sharp. While he doesn't get a lot of walks, he's extremely difficult to strike out fanning just 54 times in 119 games during 2019 and 62 in 131 in 2018. Over six games since being promoted to Triple-A, Miranda is 10-for-26 (.385) with three homers and eight RBI. The disappointing Twins should be sellers at the trade deadline, so Miranda could end up in the big leagues before long - especially if Josh Donaldson gets dealt.

Korey Lee, C, HOU – For whatever reason, Lee is still flying under the radar in the Astros organization. Expect that to change soon. He boasts the prospect pedigree having been selected in the first round of 2019. Lee is a catcher by trade, but he can really hit. He began the season at High-A and was impressive posting a .330/.397/.459 line with three home runs, 14 RBI and a stolen base from 29 contests. Lee received a quick bump to Double-A, where he's arguably looked even better hitting .323 with seven home runs and 18 RBI across 17 appearances with almost as many walks (six) as strikeouts (seven). He may not end up staying behind the dish in the field, but he's in the zone in the batter's box. For now, Lee should be considered one of the top emerging catching prospects in baseball at only 22.

CHECK STATUS

Peyton Battenfield, P, TB – A ninth-round selection in 2019, Battenfield is showing out in his first official minor league season. He began the year at High-A, where he boasted a 1.45 ERA and 49:5 K:BB in 31 innings. That resulted in a quick promotion to Double-A, where Battenfield has exceled with a 2.11 ERA and 26:3 K:BB over 21.1 innings. He's shown exceptional command along with the ability to miss bats. Battenfield is 23 and projects an ideal size for a starter. The Rays have a plethora of arms, but he's still a name to watch.

Xzavion Curry, P, CLE – A seventh-rounder in 2019, the polished Georgia Tech product has found little resistance thus far in the lower minors. And perhaps, at 22, he shouldn't be having difficulty.  Between Low-A and High-A, Curry has posted a 1.77 ERA and 64:8 K:BB across 45.2 innings while opposing batters are hitting .163 against. He wasn't on the radar prior to this season due to his lack of size, a shoulder injury suffered in college and the fact he doesn't throw particularly hard.  However, the numbers speak for themselves with Curry quickly making a name for himself -although Double-A will be a big test as to his future path.

Ezequiel Tovar, SS, COL – Tovar doesn't offer the same prospect pedigree as Marco Luciano above, but the youngster is also displaying standout tools at Low-A to begin 2021. At 19, he's slashing .316/.355/.519 with eight home runs, 41 RBI and 14 steals through 50 outings. The concern for Tovar is the lack of patience at the dish with just nine walks in over 200 at-bats. That's less of an issue when hitting .316, but more of a problem when your average is not up to snuff as has been the case at previous stops. Tovar has speed to burn, blossoming power and the ability to make consistent contact, but we want to make sure he can hit for average before declaring him an emerging star.

Mason Martin, 1B, ATL – At this point, Martin's prospect profile is pretty clear. He has tremendous power, but strikeouts will always be part of the equation. A curious development this year is that he hasn't been drawing as many walks as in the past. In both 2018 and 2019, Martin picked up at least 60 walks. So far in 2021, he's only got 13 free passes from 48 outings. Whether this is just an aberration, the result of lack of reps from the postponed 2020 campaign or something else, this certainly bears monitoring. If Martin can hit in the .250-.260 range, his powerful bat will have value at the higher levels. But if the walks suddenly disappear, that will slightly hurt his future profile.

DOWNGRADE

CJ Abrams, SS, SD – A collision at second base will prematurely end the 2021 campaign for one of the game's top prospects. Abrams suffered a fractured left tibia along with a sprained MCL last week, and results of subsequent diagnostic tests confirmed the bad news. He was enjoying a typical standout season at Double-A slashing .290/.363/.420 with two home runs, 23 RBI and 13 steals across 42 contests. Let's hope the lower body injuries do not sap Abrams of his superb speed and that he's able to return in 2022 following a fairly lengthy recovery and rehabilitation.

Nate Pearson, P, TOR – It would be difficult to have a worse 2021 than Pearson, who went from a seemingly guaranteed rotation spot in the bigs prior to the season to being unable to get on the mound due to injury. He's been dealing with a groin issue that doesn't seem to be healing, leaving him to seek more than one medical opinion and opening the door to the possibility he may end up being shut down for the rest of the season. While that is premature, the fact remains Pearson hasn't been able to shake the injury bug during his brief professional career. He boasts a live arm with plenty of potential and upside, but his durability is a real concern.

Sixto Sanchez, P, MIA – Sticking with this unfortunate theme, Sanchez will undergo season-ending surgery on his right shoulder after a recent MRI revealed a small tear in the posterior capsule of the shoulder. The Marlins are hopeful he will be ready to go for the opening of the 2022 campaign, but this is definitely a disappointing development for the organization's prized pitching phenom.  In the short term, look for arms like Max Meyer, Jake Eder and Edward Cabrera (once deemed fully healthy) to reap possible benefits.