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Recently at RotoBaller, we began rolling out our Top 10 fantasy baseball prospects lists for every organization in baseball. We began with a look at the National League West clubs, which were followed by the American League West and the NL Central teams. Today, we roll out the AL Central clubs.
Ranking prospects over the past year hasn’t been easy. However, with a good portion of the minor league season now behind us, we’re starting to get a good handle on which prospects thrived during the unusual 2020 season and which prospects were hindered by it. From early observations, there is a bigger gap than ever between the top prospects and the average or borderline prospects — likely because the top prospects had opportunities to spend time at the alternate training sites and likely had access to better equipment, etc. The less-fortunate prospects were nowhere near as lucky and were left to their own devices.
To be eligible for the list, prospects must have fewer than 130 at-bats or 50 innings pitched at the MLB level. I have also removed a few players that are closing in on those totals. Players selected in the 2021 amateur draft have not been included. They will be added in during our offseason update.
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Kansas City Royals
1. Bobby Witt Jr., SS
2. Jackson Kowar, SP
3. Nick Pratto, 1B
4. MJ Melendez, C
5. Daniel Lynch, SP
6. Asa Lacy, SP
7. Erick Pena, OF
8. Jonathan Bowlan, SP
9. Kyle Isbel, OF
10. Nick Loftin, SS
Notes: The Royals have a very strong upper half of the Top 10 led by Witt Jr., who has surpassed all expectations in 2021 despite being rushed to Double-A. He and Pratto could both be ready to open the 2022 season as members of the Royals’ starting infield, assuming service time is not an issue. The young first baseman has gotten a lot of attention for his massive improvements between 2019 and 2021 (with the lost year in between) but Melendez deserves a ton of attention, too. I was a huge fan of him in 2017/18 but his dreadful ’19 season made me lose hope. He has been a different player in 2021 while balancing plus power with an improved feel for hitting. Kowar looks like a future No. 2/3 starter while both Lynch and Lacy have battled command and/or control issues and look more like mid-rotation arms unless they iron out the wrinkles in their respective games. Pena remains intriguing, but he’s had a rough season to date. However, he’s still just 18.
Cleveland Guardians
1. George Valera, OF
2. Nolan Jones, 3B
3. Tyler Freeman, SS
4. Daniel Espino, SP
5. Gabriel Arias, SS
6. Angel Martinez, SS
7. Tanner Burns, SP
8. Brayan Rocchio, SS
9. Bo Naylor, C
10. Ethan Hankins, SP
Notes: The Cleveland system is interesting because it doesn’t have any massively-hyped guaranteed future stars, but it’s deep with talent. With that said, Valera has a chance to be an above-average player — although since signing in 2017, he has yet to play in more than 52 games in a season. He should surpass that mark in 2021 though, if he stays healthy. Valera has the raw skills to hit for average, power, and be an on-base machine. Jones has a chance to be a future impact player, but he’s still struggling to get to his raw power on a consistent basis and the swing-and-miss has shown little improvement. Still, there is 30-homer raw power there if he can get the ball in the air enough. Freeman is pretty much the antithesis of Jones. The middle infielder has a plus hit tool but it remains to be seen if he can hit for enough consistent power to be more than an average regular. He also doesn’t run much so he’s pretty much a one-tool prospect. Espino and Burns both have a shot at being mid-rotation arms. Arias and Martinez are toolsy up-the-middle talents that could develop into everyday bats. Sleeper: Isaiah Greene
Detroit Tigers
1. Riley Greene, OF
2. Spencer Torkelson, 1B
3. Matt Manning, SP
4. Dillon Dingler, C
5. Gage Workman, SS
6. Daz Cameron, OF
7. Roberto Campos, OF
8. Colt Keith, 2B/3B
9. Daniel Cabrera, OF
10. Joey Wentz, SP
Notes: The Tigers organization got exciting for a little while, but the depth is starting to thin out again as prospects like Casey Mize and Tarik Skubal graduate to the majors. The system is still strong at the top though. Greene and Torkelson should both develop into impact bats at the MLB level. I have the young outfielder ranked a little higher because he has a wider collection of tools while the former college first baseman’s value is tied to his power and on-base rate. Dingler had a great start to the year, but his aggressive approach has been exposed since being promoted to Double-A. The same can be said for the toolsy Workman, although he’s stumbled since moving from Low-A to High-A and is a step behind. Keith is injured and likely to miss the rest of the year, but he’s a sleeper bat to keep an eye on in 2022. Wentz had his career derailed by Tommy John surgery, but he's slowly working his way back into prominence.
Chicago White Sox
1. Yoelqui Cespedes, OF
2. Andrew Dalquist, SP
3. Jake Burger, 3B
4. Norge Vera, SP
5. Matthew Thompson, SP
6. Jonathan Stiever, SP
7. Jared Kelley, SP
8. Jose Rodriguez, SS
9. Jimmy Lambert, SP
10. Romy Gonzalez, SS
Notes: There’s really no easy way to say this, but the White Sox system is a bit of a mess. Cespedes is intriguing, but the plate approach needs a lot of work — and he wasn’t helped by the long layoff from playing baseball before signing his first pro contract. The pitchers on this list all have potential, but they’ve also all struggled and the White Sox organization doesn’t have a strong track record of keeping young pitchers healthy. Vera is a big wildcard and we really don’t know what the club has with him just yet. Burger is a great story, but his massive strikeout rates are going to limit his offensive ceiling. There are two intriguing bats to keep an eye on at the end of the Top 10 list: Rodriguez and Gonzalez. Both players have intriguing power/speed mixes with the former having a little more feel for hitting.
Minnesota Twins
1. Austin Martin, OF/SS
2. Royce Lewis, SS
3. Jose Miranda, 1B/3B
4. Matt Canterino, SP
5. Jordan Balazovic, SP
6. Josh Winder, SP
7. Joe Ryan, SP
8. Simeon Woods Richardson, SP
9. Jhoan Duran, SP
10. Brent Rooker, OF/DH
Notes: The Twins’s top prospect ranking has skewed very heavily to the pitching side thanks in part to the recent trade deadline. The organization’s trend of drafting young, raw, toolsy players has also led to a lot of misses. Canterino, Balazovic, Winder, and Ryan all have shots at developing into mid-rotation starters. If the Twins can unlock consistent mid-90s heat for Woods Richardson, then he also has a chance. However, if he’s going to sit more around 90-93 then he’s more of a No. 4 guy. Duran is intriguing but has struggled to stay healthy and could end up as a high-leverage reliever. On the offensive side, Martin was deemed expendable by Toronto because his throwing issues will likely push him to the outfield on a long-term basis. Lewis lost valuable development time in 2021 due to injury, but has the great makeup needed to rebound. Miranda is one of the more exciting players to break out across minor league baseball in 2021 given his ability to hit for both average and power. He has also continued to get better while moving from Double-A to Triple-A.
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