Inbox: Best double-play combos among prospects?

By Jim Callis | March 8, 2018

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Spring Training stats don't mean a lot, especially in small sample sizes, but it did catch my eye that the Arizona Fall League's biggest standouts are swinging hot bats in big league camps. From our AFL Top 25 Prospects list, here's how the five best position players are faring in the Cactus League and the Grapefruit League:
Ronald Acuna, OF, Braves: .423/.500/.538, 1 HR, 2 SB
Victor Robles, OF, Nationals: .259/.310/.481, 1 HR, 1 SB
Francisco Mejía, C, Indians: .417/.462/.750, 1 HR
Luis Urías, 2B/SS, Padres: .444/.545/.722
Kyle Tucker, OF, Astros: .400/.400/.920, 4 HR 
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In a word: no. Shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. is one of the best prospects in baseball and second baseman Luis Urias is one of the best pure hitters in the Minors, so the Padres duo can't be topped. Check out the video at the top of this story for my top seven double-play prospect combos in the game.

Since the start of the 2017 season, the Yankees have parted with several quality prospects to add Giancarlo Stanton, Sonny Gray, since-departed Todd Frazier, Brandon Drury, David Robertson and Tommy Kahnle. If they had held on to all of those farmhands, they'd have baseball's best farm system (but not what may be the best big league club). It's a tribute to their depth that they still came in sixth in MLB Pipeline's system talent rankings.
With the exception of 18-year-old shortstop Jose Devers, who was part of the Stanton trade with the Marlins, all of the prospects Brian asked about would have made our Yankees' Top 30, with six of them cracking the upper half of what would have been an insanely loaded list. So would right-hander Zack Littell, who went 19-1 with a 2.12 ERA between high Class A and Double-A last year and went to the Twins in the Jaime García trade in July.
Here's where all of the departed prospects would have fit on the Yankees Top 30:
1. Gleyber Torres, INF

  1. Estevan Florial, OF
  2. Justus Sheffield, LHP
  3. Miguel Andújar, 3B
    Jorge Mateo, SS/OF (to Athletics in Gray trade)
  4. Albert Abreu, RHP
  5. Chance Adams, RHP
    Blake Rutherford, OF (to White Sox in Frazier/Robertson/Kahnle trade
    Dustin Fowler, OF (to Athletics in Gray trade)
    Jorge Guzman, RHP (to Marlins in Stanton trade)
    James Kaprielian, RHP (to Athletics in Gray trade)
  6. Luis Medina, RHP
  7. Freicer Perez, RHP
  8. Domingo Acevedo, RHP
    Nick Solak, 2B (to Marlins in Drury trade)
  9. Thairo Estrada, SS/2B
  10. Dillon Tate, RHP
  11. Matt Sauer, RHP
  12. Clarke Schmidt, RHP
    Taylor Widener, RHP (to Diamondbacks in Drury trade)
  13. Jonathan Loáisiga, RHP
  14. Trevor Stephan, RHP
  15. Deivi Garcia, RHP
    Zack Littell, RHP (to Twins in Garcia trade)
  16. Cody Carroll, RHP
  17. Domingo Germán, RHP
  18. Billy McKinney, OF
    Ian Clarkin, LHP (to White Sox in Frazier/Robertson/Kahnle trade)
  19. Glenn Otto, RHP
  20. Nolan Martinez, RHP
  21. Giovanny Gallegos, RHP
  22. Dermis Garcia, 3B/1B
  23. Everson Pereira, OF
  24. Juan Then, RHP
  25. Tyler Austin, 1b/of
  26. Jake Cave, OF
  27. Canaan Smith, OF
  28. Nick Nelson, RHP
  29. Trevor Lane, LHP

Elite prospects tend to reach the big leagues faster than we think, and it's easier for a hitter than a pitcher to put up Rookie of the Year-worthy numbers. So with those factors in mind, here are my top three ROY candidates for each league for 2019:
American League

  1. Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 3B, Blue Jays
  2. Bo Bichette, SS/2B, Blue Jays
  3. Forrest Whitley, RHP, Astros
    National League
  4. Brendan Rodgers, SS/2B, Rockies
  5. Fernando Tatis Jr., SS, Padres
  6. Keston Hiura, 2B, Brewers

The complete list is below, and there's no correlation between prospect age and our organization rankings. Four of our top 10 farm systems rank among the 10 youngest Top 30s (Braves, White Sox, Athletics, Blue Jays), and three rank among the 10 oldest (Reds, Yankees, Phillies). The average age of the 900 players on the Top 30s is 22.23, while the average age of the players in the 10 best systems is 22.20.
1. Braves: 20.94

  1. Rangers: 21.30
  2. White Sox: 21.31
  3. Brewers: 21.50
  4. Angels: 21.61
  5. Nationals: 21.69
  6. Athletics: 21.69
  7. Indians: 21.73
  8. Blue Jays: 21.80
  9. Marlins: 21.82
  10. Twins: 22.08
  11. Cardinals: 22.11
  12. Dodgers: 22.18
  13. Astros: 22.25
  14. Cubs: 22.26
  15. Red Sox: 22.27
  16. Mets: 22.29
  17. Rays: 22.32
  18. Padres: 22.35
  19. Tigers: 22.36
  20. Pirates: 22.45
  21. Diamondbacks: 22.45
  22. Royals: 22.46
  23. Rockies: 22.72
  24. Reds: 22.77
  25. Yankees: 22.79
  26. Orioles: 22.80
  27. Mariners: 23.16
  28. Giants: 23.61
  29. Phillies: 23.88