Four Among Baseball America's Top 10 SAL Prospects
The Greenville Drive's talented stable of prospects during the 2015 season went noticed by Baseball America, as the publication placed four Drive players on the South Atlantic League Top Prospects List.
The list goes 20 players deep, but all four members of the Drive were among the league's top 10 prospects.
Leading the charge was second baseman Yoan Moncada, who topped Baseball America's list, adding to his considerable accolades which include being named the top prospect in the South Atlantic League by coaches, general managers and broadcasters, as well as being selected to the SAL Annual All-Star team. After joining the Drive in mid-May, the 20-year old showed off his considerable tools and posted strong numbers, with his 49 stolen bases ranking third in the league. He also hit .278 over 81 games with eight homers, 38 RBI and a .380 on-base percentage.
Shortstop Javier Guerra was listed as the fourth best prospect by Baseball America. In addition to his sparkling defense all year long, Guerra posted solid offensive numbers while playing the entire 2015 season at 19 years old, finishing second on the Drive with 15 homers and 68 RBI and sporting a .279 average. Guerra was selected by Drive fans as the Hale's Jewelers Player of the Year and was selected as the Southern Division's starting shortstop in the SAL All-Star Game.
The fifth prospect on Baseball America's list was third baseman Rafael Devers. The 18-year old was one of the youngest players in the South Atlantic League all season long, and he showed talent far beyond his age, leading the club with 135 hits, 38 doubles and 70 RBI while hitting .288 and smacking 11 homers. Devers was also selected to the SAL All-Star Game as the Southern Division's starting third baseman.
Rounding out the Drive representatives on Baseball America's list was right-handed pitcher Michael Kopech, who was the 10th prospect. The 19-year old used a blazing fastball and solid offspeed offerings to post a 2.63 ERA over 15 starts while striking out 70 over 65 innings. Like Guerra and Devers, he was selected to the South Atlantic League All-Star Game.
To view Baseball America's full top 20 prospects list, click here.