Winter leagues: Cards' Arozarena mashing in Mexico
The Arizona Fall League is over, but there's plenty of notable prospect action taking place across the various offseason leagues.
The Liga de Beisbol Profesional de la Republica Dominicana (i.e., Dominican Winter League), which began in mid-October, is in full swing and features four Top 100 prospects in Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (No. 3), Eloy Jimenez (No. 4), Fernando Tatis Jr. (No. 51) and Jorge Mateo (No. 97), though only the latter has seen regular playing time since this series' previous installment.
The Liga Mexicana del Pacifico and Liga Venezuela Beisbol Profesional are also underway, as is the Australian Baseball League, which usually features an interesting collection of younger prospects. For context, Braves No. 1 prospect Ronald Acuna (No. 5 overall) slashed .375/.446/.556 in last year's ABL before his tremendous 2017 campaign.
Liga de Beisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente (Puerto Rico Winter League), meanwhile, will have its typical late-October start pushed back to January due to Hurricane Maria.
Here's a look at the top prospects currently making waves in offseason leagues.
Australia
• Brett Cumberland, C, Braves' No. 24 prospect -- The 2016 Competitive Balance Round B pick had a strong first full professional season, hitting .266/.409/.445 with 40 extra-base hits and 69 RBIs in 111 games between Class A Rome, where he was a mid-season All-Star, and Class A Advanced Florida. Now playing in the ABL, the 22-year-old backstop has produced a .321/.472/.536 line with one homer and three doubles in his first eight games with the Melbourne Aces.
• Garrett Whitley, OF, Rays' No. 9 -- Whitley, a 2015 first-rounder, began to put his entire game together this past season as he batted .249/.362/.430 with 13 homers, 18 doubles and 21 stolen bases in 104 games in the Class A Midwest League. He's shown good plate discipline during his first week-plus in the ABL, where he's accrued more walks (nine) than strikeouts (six) while posting an .800 OPS in eight games for Perth.
Dominican Republic
• Jorge Mateo, SS/2B, Athletics' No. 4 -- Mateo leads the DWL with 10 stolen bases in 27 games for Toros del Este, during which he's slashed .231/.279/.385 with eight extra-base hits and 12 runs scored. Acquired from the Yankees in the Deadline blockbuster for Sonny Gray, the 22-year-old speedster batted .292/.333/.518 with 16 extra-base hits and 13 steals in 30 games for Double-A Midland following the trade.
• Franchy Cordero, OF, Padres' No. 12 -- Cordero has raked of late, collecting hits in nine of his past 10 games for Leones del Escogido. He's batting .353 during that stretch and .308/.379/.470 with 10 extra-base hits and an improved 13-to-26 walk-to-strikeout ratio in 32 games this offseason. The 23-year-old outfielder tallied nine extra-base hits and 15 runs scored but also struck out 44 times in 30 games with the Padres in 2017.
• Dawel Lugo, 3B, Tigers' No. 15 -- Lugo has piled up 24 hits in 19 games en route to a .324 average for Tigres del Licey after a regular-season campaign in which he slashed .277/.321/.424 with 45 extra-base hits in 131 Double-A contests between the Tigers' and D-backs' systems. He's hit safely in seven of his past eight contests for Licey and owns a .462 average (6-for-13) average against left-handed hitters.
• Raudy Read, C, Nationals' No. 14 -- The 24-year-old catcher found his power stroke in 2017, as he connected on a career-high 17 home runs -- surpassing his combined total in 188 games during his previous two seasons -- in his first Double-A campaign. That progress earned Read his first big league callup in September, and with it a 3-for-11 showing at the plate in parts of eight games with the Nats. In the DWL, Read has delivered three homers and seven RBIs this month in seven games for Toros del Este. He's hit safely in six of those seven contests.
Mexico
• Randy Arozarena, OF, Cardinals' No. 11 -- Signed by St. Louis for $1.25 million in July 2016, Arozarena reached Double-A in his first pro season in the U.S. while producing an overall line of .266/.346/.437 in 121 games spanning two levels. The 22-year-old outfielder is building on that success in a big way in the MWL, where he owns a .311/.362/.571 slash line through 38 games for Mayos de Navojoa. What's more, Arozarena is leading the league in both doubles (16) and home runs (tied with eight) after totaling 32 doubles and 11 homers during the regular season.
Venezuela
• Chuck Taylor, OF, Mariners' No. 29 -- Selected by the Mariners (from Arizona's system) in the Minor League phase of the 2016 Rule 5 Draft, Taylor made the most of the fresh start by hitting .274/.369/.397 and setting career highs in nearly all counting offensive categories. Now building on that success in Venezuela, the 24-year-old Taylor owns a .324/.487/.419 line with 48 hits (11 extra-base hits) in 37 games for Cardenales de Lara.