Here's a team-by-team look at each organization's Hitting and Pitching Prospects of the Year, as chosen by the MLB Pipeline staff, based on Minor League performance.
Here's a team-by-team look at each organization's Hitting and Pitching Prospects of the Year, as chosen by the MLB Pipeline staff, based on Minor League performance.
AL EAST
Blue Jays
Alejandro Kirk (Bluefield 2018), C: Kirk followed up a great pro debut in 2018 with strong showing in 2019, hitting .290 with more walks (56) than strikeouts (39) between Class A Lansing and Class A Advanced Dunedin.
Rays
Wander Franco (Princeton 2018), SS: Just 18, Franco ascended to the No. 1 overall prospect in baseball after a stellar season in which he slashed .327/.398/.487 -- and more impressively, struck out just 35 times against 56 walks in 495 plate appearances -- between Class A Bowling Green and Class A Advanced Charlotte. Could he reach The Show in 2020?
AL CENTRAL
Twins
Trevor Larnach (Elizabethton 2018), OF: Taken 20th overall in the 2018 Draft out of Oregon State, Larnach had a strong first full year in professional baseball. In 127 games across Class A Advanced and Double-A, he hit .309 with an .842 OPS. He knocked 13 homers and had 66 RBIs.
AL WEST
Astros
Abraham Toro (Greeneville Astros 2016), 3B: Toro's strong campaign earned him a late-August callup. Before reaching the Majors, he hit .324/.411/.527 in 114 games for Double-A Corpus Christi and Triple-A Round Rock combined. Toro hit 17 homers and drove in 80 runs.
Cristian Javier (Greeneville Astros 2016), RHP: The 22-year-old spent time at three levels of the Minors in 2019, pitching at Class A Advanced, Double-A and Triple-A. Overall, he had a 1.74 ERA in 113 2/3 innings, including a 1.64 mark in Triple-A specifically. He struck out 13.5 batters per nine innings and maintained a 0.97 WHIP.
Mariners
Jarred Kelenic (Kingsport 2018), OF: Acquired from the Mets in the Robinson Cano/Edwin Diaz deal, the 20-year-old immediately became the club's top prospect and then went out and hit .291/.364/.540 with 23 taters and 20 thefts in reaching Double-A Arkansas in his first full pro season after going sixth overall in 2018.
NL EAST
Braves
Drew Waters (Danville 2017), OF: Waters has increased his yearly batting average in each of his three seasons playing professional baseball, from .278 in 2017 to .293 in 2018 to .309 in 2019. This year, he played 134 games across Double-A and Triple-A, hitting 40 doubles.
Ian Anderson (Danville 2016), RHP: Anderson, the third overall pick in the 2016 Draft, had a strong season at Double-A Mississippi before making five starts at the Triple-A level and struggling a bit. In Double-A, Anderson threw 111 innings in 21 starts, posting a 2.68 ERA and 11.9 strikeouts per nine innings.
Mets
Mark Vientos (Kingsport 2017, 18), 3B: Vientos hit .255/.300/.411 with 12 home runs and 27 doubles in 111 games for Class A Columbia. Vientos was the youngest player taken on Day 1 of the 2017 Draft and played the entire season at 19 years old, meaning he's still got plenty of room to grow.
NL CENTRAL
Brewers
Trey Supak (Bristol 2015), RHP: The 2014 second-rounder found his groove at Double-A this season before struggling a bit in Triple-A. With Biloxi, he made 20 starts and posted a 2.20 ERA, with an 0.87 WHIP and just six home runs allowed.
Pirates
Mason Martin (Bristol 2018), 1B: The 2017 17th-rounder displayed some pretty hefty power in 2019, hitting 35 homers and driving in 129 runs in Class A and Class A Advanced combined, in 131 games. He had a .558 slugging percentage.
