Alex Verdugo came to the Los Angeles Dodgers widely considered the best two-way prospect in the draft. He and the Dodgers both had a choice to make at the professional level, however: Would Verdugo become a pitcher with his 94-mile-per-hour cannon, or would he become an outfielder with a lightning-quick bat?
Based on the results thus far, they chose wisely.
Keep reading for more on Verdugo’s transformation to top prospect.
In late March of 2015, Arian Foster visited the Miami Dolphins. I said on April 1st that the Dolphins brass were foolish for not offering him a contract and locking him up right then and there. Apparently, just a few months later, they agreed.
The Jets would also benefit from getting Ryan Fitzpatrick under contract, but the problem is, they can’t even find him.
Yoan Moncada. Lucas Giolito. Alex Bregman. Jose Berrios. Orlando Arcia — just to name a few. The top-30 prospects’ names roll right off the tongue. Quite a few have already been yo-yoed between the majors and minors this year, and nearly every one of them is on someone’s radar, whether as a potential trade target or on the brink of their highly-anticipated debut.
All but Franklin Barreto, that is.
Alex Jackson entered the 2014 draft heralded as the top high school bat in the nation, with some even arguing that he was the best athlete in the draft. Weeks of speculation had Jackson as the overall top pick, so when the Seattle Mariners were able to lock his then 70-grade power and advanced hitting approach at the sixth pick, they thought they had found a steal.
It has been anything but thus far in Jackson’s young career.
Luis Torrens opened a lot of eyes in his 2014 breakout season for the New York Yankees farm system. The young catcher showed the offense that the Yankees knew could match the sound defense he already had behind the plate. Hopes were high for Torrens to take it to the next level.
And as so often happens with young prospects, those hopes were derailed when Torrens missed the entire 2015 with a torn labrum.
Fully recovered, Torrens is looking stronger than ever in Charleston.
My piece on David Dahl is highlighted. Give it a read!
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David Dahl is a warrior. That’s not an understatement. The Colorado Rockies top outfield prospect fought back from a spleen injury in an on-field collision last season and is having the best season of a really bright, young career. And if the Rockies pull a few strings at the trade deadline — as quite a few expect — he may even be a big leaguer soon.
The Minnesota Twins Jose Berrios has long been one of baseball’s top pitching prospects. The world got a glimpse of the 22-year old future ace late in April when the Twins called him up to The Show. Unfortunately it didn’t go as planned.
To be perfectly honest, I didn’t know much about Erik Gonzalez. I knew he was a shortstop in the Cleveland Indians system that was surpassed to the bigs by Francisco Lindor. I knew that he was the starting shortstop for the International League All Stars when I headed to Charlotte Wednesday night.
Hitting has never been a problem for the Chicago Cubs prospect Dan Vogelbach. He’s done it quite successfully since the day he was drafted. This year, it has been business as usual as Vogelbach is enjoying an All-Star season that saw him as the starting first baseman for the Pacific Coast League Wednesday night in Charlotte.
![Minnesota Twins top prospect Jose Berrios ready for bigs once again [Interview]](https://waynecavadi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/screen-shot-2016-07-16-at-10-47-37-pm1.png?w=672&h=372&crop=1)
![The Chicago Cubs Dan Vogelbach awaiting his turn in Iowa [Interview]](https://waynecavadi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/big-dan.jpg?w=672&h=372&crop=1)
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