It has been a week of movements throughout the minor leagues.
In just the last few days, members of the MLB Pipeline Top 100 Prospects rankings such as Spencer Torkelson, Hunter Greene, Cade Cavalli and Shane Baz, were promoted through the ranks within the minors after dominating starts this season in 2021. Before of them, Grayson Rodríguez and the Venezuelan Francisco Álvarez also rose through the ranks in recent weeks. After the canceled 2020 campaign left each club’s minor league systems somewhat at a loss as to where to place their promising youngsters before spring begins, organizations have begun moving some of their brightest youngsters into an attempt to present them with new challenges and opportunities to improve their tools.
The above, logically, leads us to wonder who will be the next. Here are four names of Latin American players who could soon move up the ladder in the minors:
Julio Rodriguez, OF, Mariners (Seattle No. 2, MLB No. 5)
A single player aged 20 or younger has a better wRC + than Rodríguez’s 179 in this first part of the season: Venezuelan Álvarez, at 180, who has already earned a promotion. Rodriguez is hitting .330 / .419 / .589 with a 1.017 OPS by Class-A Alta Everett. Despite his young age, assigning Rodriguez to Everett at the start of the year seemed like a conservative move and the young man has lived up to all expectations, including a brilliant performance for the Dominican Republic in the Olympic Games qualifying tournament. The trip to Double-A Arkansas can’t be too far.
Oneil Cruz, SS, Pirates (Pittsburgh No. 4, MLB No. 51)
A good clue when looking for those players who could be upgraded is to check if the level is repeating. Dominican Cruz played 35 games for Double-A Altoona in 2019 and returned to the same level two years later. The tall slugger is off to a predictable productive start, with a .934 OPS in 32 games, seventh-best in Double-A Northeast, and has been building his power over the days. Four of his eight home runs have come during his 12 games in June and he is slugging .705 in the second month of the season. The big question regarding Cruz remains defensively – he continues to play only at shortstop – but that left-handed bat is still special. With almost half a double-A shift season in his career, the time is coming when Cruz could move up to Triple-A Indianapolis.
Noelvi Marte, SS, Mariners (Seattle No. 6, MLB No. 87)
Is it risky to suggest that a 19-year-old Dominican with no previous experience beyond the Dominican Summer League go from Class-A Low Modesto to Class-A High Everett? Yes of course. But the Mariners have been aggressive in the past with their best prospects. In 2019, Jarred Kelenic climbed three notches in his first full season. It seems like Marte makes his case night after night and is hitting .324 / .423 / .576 in 34 games. His eight home runs are the most in the minors of any player 19 and younger, while his .999 OPS is second-best in the same group, behind only Alvarez’s 1.022. Like others on this list, Mars has improved over the days, hitting .340 / .446 / .660 in June compared to .315 / .411 / .533 in May. If there’s one teenager you can be aggressive with at this point, it’s Mars.
Jose Barrero, SS, Reds (Cincinnati No. 4, MLB No. 89)
Barrero made 68 plate appearances in the majors last year as Cincinnati tried to find a shortstop. While no one can say that it turned out very well, the 23-year-old is doing much better two notches down with Double-A Chattanooga in 2021. Barrero is hitting .330 / .391 / .539 with homers in 29 games . They are just three homers less than his personal top and he still has a lot of campaign left. This is a very promising sign for a player who was thought to have below-average batting power. Sure, the Reds sent Barrero to Double-A to regain confidence after his difficult debut in the Big Top, but we’re getting to the point where that goal seems to have been reached. Barrero’s talent at bat looks ready for a bigger challenge at Triple-A Louisville.
.