Minor League Barometer: Risers & Fallers

Alek Manoah dazzled in his MLB debut for the Blue Jays by stymying a potent Yankees' offense. The 23-year-old righty tossed six shutout innings while allowing just two hits and fanning seven for his first career big league win. Manoah has come on strong since spring training, and at 23 is in the unique position of having pitched just 35 minor league innings due to the canceled 2020 season. While it was expected Nate Pearson would be the prospect to stick in the Toronto rotation in 2021, it appears Manoah will now get the chance to keep a spot at the back end.

Let's take a look at some other prospects with potential in this edition of the Minor League Barometer.

UPGRADE

Noelvi Marte, SS, SEA – The Mariners are flush with hitting phenoms right now, and Marte's upside should include him in the exciting young group along with Jarred Kelenic and Julio Rodriguez. Only 19, he's off to a hot start in his first taste of full-season ball slashing .315/.411/.533 with five home runs, 19 RBI and four steals through 22 contests. Marte's intriguing combination of power and speed makes him an upper echelon fantasy asset. Even though Marte's behind Julio Rodriguez on the depth chart, he has the chance to be viewed as a similarly special prospect.

Brennen Davis, OF, CHC – A head injury delayed the start of the 2021 campaign for Davis, but he has returned with a vengeance batting .321/.406/.607 with two home runs, five RBI and two steals over eight games at High-A. He's extremely athletic, boasts superior bat speed and tantalizing power while being much more polished at the dish than anticipated, so he should move to Double-A shortly. And while it's unlikely we see Davis in the big leagues this season, the current lackluster outfield for the Cubs only furthers the notion he could be a mainstay as early as next season.

Nick Pratto, 1B, KC – The turnaround for Pratto deserves its due, especially considering he looked completely lost in 2019. After a mediocre 2018 season, the former first-round pick hit a putrid .191 in 124 games at High-A while fanning 164 times. Pratto had to wait patiently for another chance after the 2020 campaign washed out, but he excelled during spring training hitting .345 with four home runs and six RBI and hasn't stopped hitting since the minor league season started slashing .308/.446/.731 with nine home runs, 17 RBI and four steals at Double-A while drawing almost as many walks (19) as strikeouts (23). With first base a shallow fantasy position right now, Pratto has emerged as one of the better prospects at that position.

Grayson Rodriguez, P, BAL – If we're being honest, Rodriguez did not really belong at High-A to begin the season anyway. He made mincemeat of the opposition by posting a 1.54 ERA and 40:5 K:BB in just 23.1 innings. Rodriguez spent 2019 in Low-A, so the fact he started 2021 in High-A was a bit conservative, though perhaps the Orioles were simply exercising caution after a long layoff while being gun shy due to the organization's recent lackluster history in churning out pitching prospects. Rodriguez's next start will be at Double-A where he'll join fellow top pitching prospect DL Hall (who should probably be in Triple-A).

CHECK STATUS

Cole Winn, P, TEX – The struggles of the Rangers in developing pitching prospects has been well documented, but Winn may have turned a corner. A first-rounder in 2018, he looked mediocre in 2019 and struggled in particular with control at Low-A. Now at Double-A, Winn has been solid through four starts with a 2.08 ERA and 25:7 K:BB through 21.1 innings. His last start was a dandy tossing six no-hit innings while striking out six batters. Winn is arguably the Rangers' top pitching prospect while they have one of MLB's worst team ERAs.

Jo Adell, OF, LAA – It's curious the Halos will not promote Adell (or Brandon Marsh for that matter) with Mike Trout on the Injured List, especially since he's cracked 11 home runs in 21 games at Triple-A. Should we be reading anything into this decision? Adell struggled mightily in 38 games in the big leagues during 2020 and his strikeout issues are well documented. In fact, that could be the reason the Angels have yet to promote him as he's been punched out 34 times while only drawing six walks. However, the real reason could be the Angels are in last place in the AL West, so with Trout on the shelf for the next month or two they have little chance at making the postseason. The Angels also have to be aware of the almighty dollar, as they carry the sixth-highest payroll in the big leagues and by far the worst record of any of the teams around them in this category. This move could be just as much about dollars and cents as it is about actual baseball.

Bailey Falter, P, PHI – Falter's MLB premiere did not go so well, but he's been carving up Triple-A to start the season with a 1.93 ERA and 35:6 K:BB in just 23.1 innings. The uptick in strikeouts is particularly noteworthy, since the southpaw didn't do so at such a high clip during his previous stops in the minors. At 24, Falter appears to be big-league ready but may be used out of the bullpen if called upon.

Tucker Davidson, P, ATL – Another hurler on the precipice, Davidson tossed a quality start for the Braves a couple of weeks ago but was immediately sent back to the minors. He's found little resistance thus far at Triple-A in 2021 by posting a 23:4 K:BB mark across 20 innings while the opposition is batting just .119 against and his much-improved command - which plagued him in prior campaigns - is especially promising. If the newfound command is for real, Davidson will be back in the big leagues in short order, especially due to the injuries to Mike Soroka and Huascar Ynoa along with the struggles of Drew Smyly.

DOWNGRADE

Robert Puason, SS, OAK – Perhaps unsurprisingly, Puason has scuffled to begin 2021. He's just 18 and is hitting a paltry .197/.279/.230 through 19 games in his first crack at full-season ball while not recording a homer and only one steal. Puason looks the part, but struggled against older competition at the alternate site last season and his hit tool lags way behind while his in-game power has also yet to develop. Puason is extremely raw and has plenty of time to develop, but the continued doubting of his hit tool is not a good sign.

George Valera, OF, CLE – Valera is a top-100 prospect based on upside, but there's not much actual data to go on at this point. He was reportedly impressive at the alternate site in 2020, although he played in just seven games at High-A to start the year before being sidelined with an oblique injury. These types of ailments can be troublesome, so Valera may not be expected back anytime soon. He is only 20 and will be brought along slowly, but certainly seeing him get everyday at-bats in the minors will be the first order of business on his eventual rise to the big leagues. Unfortunately, that may not happen until mid-summer at this point.

Hunter Bishop, OF, SF – Bishop has been sidelined for nearly a month after playing just three games at High-A, and there has been little information on the type of injury or the status of his return. One of the top prospects in the system, it's worth noting Heliot Ramos has been raking ahead of him while uber-prospect Marco Luciano is hot on his tail at Low-A. The Giants have been one of the surprise stories 2021 so far, but it feels like a bit of smoke and mirrors especially when one looks at the outfield depth chart. Add in Luis Matos and Bishop is going to have some heavy competition for at-bats once everyone is ready.

Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF, NYM – Before we could even get really excited about Crow-Armstrong's start to the season, he suffered a shoulder injury that will require surgery and likely sideline him for all of 2021. A first-rounder in last year's Draft, Crow-Armstrong was hitting .417 at Low-A before getting hurt. The Mets have had a rough start to the season in terms of injuries, both at the big-league and minor-league levels. Top pitching prospect Matt Allan had Tommy John surgery while J.T. Ginn is still making his way back from the same procedure, meaning three of the top five prospects for the organization are currently sidelined. Crow-Armstrong is only 19 with plenty of better days ahead of him, but this clearly was not envisioned for this year.