Here at Legends on Deck our passion is prospects and the offseason presents an outstanding opportunity for us to showcase some of baseball’s top up and comers. Throughout the offseason, we will be bringing you the top ten prospects from all 30 organizations. We will start with the Arizona Diamondbacks and work our way alphabetically all the way through the Washington Nationals. This series is the opinion of Jake Berry, Senior Editor at Legends on Deck and does not reflect any official MLB rankings.
#10 – 3B Danny Diaz
2019 Opening Day Age: 18 ETA: 2023 Top Future Tool: Power
2018 Stats (Foreign Rookie): 105 AB’s, .238/.283/.476, 6 HR, 27 RBI, 27 SO, 5 BB
I’ve gotten to see very little film on Diaz, but from what I have read, he has impressed at instructs. Currently just 17, Diaz is an athletic 6’1 and possesses plus raw power. The product of Venezuela is also a good fielder with a plus arm. I like the ceiling on Diaz and it was a no brainer, thanks to the upside, to stick him in the top 10 of this lackluster system.
#9 – 1B Josh Ockimey
2019 Opening Day Age: 23 ETA: 2020 Top Future Tool: Power
2018 Stats (Double-A/Triple-A): .245/.356/.455, 20 HR, 71 BB, 149 SO, 70 BB
One of the better known names in the Red Sox system among the prospect community, many think Ockimey is a one trick pony. There is no question the power is there, but he does leave something to be desired with the rest of his tools. The .811 OPS and .356 OBP across two levels in 2018 was an encouraging sign. Still, it might not be enough to outweigh the shortcomings in Ockimey’s game.
#8 – RHP Durbin Feltman
2019 Opening Day Age: 21 ETA: 2020 Top Future Pitch: FB
2018 Stats (Rookie/Single-A/High-A): 23.1 IP, 1.93 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 36 SO, 5 BB
I feel like eight is a fair spot for Feltman. He is a relief pitching prospect which turns a lot of people away at first glance, but when you consider he has the potential to be a solid closer thanks to a high 90’s running fastball and a hard slider, you can see the value in this bullpen arm.
#7 – RHP Mike Shawaryn
2019 Opening Day Age: 24 ETA: 2019 Top Future Pitch: SL
2018 Stats (Double-A/Triple-A): 3.44 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 132 SO, 38 BB
It is more about deception and secondary stuff for Shawaryn. He can throw an effective slider in the strike zone and also get hitters to chase on it. Plus, he has improved his change up over the past couple of seasons which has really helped his stock rise.
#6 – SS Antoni Flores
2019 Opening Day Age: 18 ETA: 2022 Top Future Tool: Glove
2018 Stats (Rookie): 53 AB’s, .340/.435/.528, 1 HR, 14 RBI
In the limited video from instructs that I have gotten to see, Flores does a good job of getting the barrel through the zone. Reports say that he draws most of his attention for his shortstop play and he projects to stay there. As far as I can tell, the young Venezuelan has the potential to be solid both at the plate and in the field and will grow into some more power as the body matures and the swing gets tweaked.
