It is the open of the 2022 international signing period, one of two ways MLB teams can acquire amateur talent each year. His throws are accurate and effortless, and he's always in a position to make the throws. After strikeouts were an issue for him in 2021, he narrowed his approach (which is now surgically precise) and began to attack pitches he could damage, avoiding ones on the outer edge of the zone until he has no choice but to put them in play. Soderstrom may end up like Bryce Harper and Wil Myers, where the As cut bait on him catching to get his excellent bat to the big leagues sooner. Salas is expected to command close to $5 million next January. Javier Osorio, SS, Venezuela Tigers ($2,200,000) More 14. Hes competing for a D-backs rotation spot. Of the teenage hitters on the list, Zavalas feel to hit is probably the most polished. -- $350,000, YankeesJerson Alejandro, RHP, D.R. He had a somewhat rocky first full season in pro ball, running a FIP near 5.00 across 18 starts with Lakeland before finishing up with three fair outings at Western Michigan. : Royals+ ($450,000) More 50. Mauricios measurable power is already plus (45% hard-hit rate, 114 mph max exit velo), and at a strapping 6-foot-4 or so, he might still grow into more. Soderstrom has widened and opened up his stance since the start of his professional career. A bat-only prospect with a well-rounded offensive skill set, Busch may end up a 30-grade second base defender or just play 1B/LF. Williams injury history is concerning, but hes talented enough to make a big league impact in the middle of Clevelands 2023 rotation. Ideally hell play a few different positions based on the game situation. Its still very early in the career of all of these players, and several hurdles to clear. He covers the inner two-thirds of the zone quite well (his in-zone contact rates are actually about as good as Miguel Vargas), but his desire to pull and lift everything leaves him vulnerable on the outer edge and often impacts the quality of his contact. With Kyle Hendricks out of the rotation with injury for the start of 2023, Wesneski seems like a candidate to slot in as the big league teams fourth or fifth starter if he shows well in camp. Its possible he was gassed from playing a career-high 132 games during the regular season, and these issues are uncharacteristic of Rocchio. -- $600,000Joan Gutierrez, SS, Ven. Miller spent his freshman year at Blinn College, then pitched out of the Texas A&M bullpen as a sophomore and junior. -- $497,500Jose Mejia, INF, D.R. Built at age 16 like Maurice Jones-Drew or a late-20s Mike Trout, nobody was totally sure how Domnguezs body and physicality would develop as he entered his 20s, and this (plus the internet hype) is where the Zion comp came from. The Rays gave him a $2.3 million bonus to keep him from heading to Cal and have developed him solely at short. 5. All-Stars will be signed when international free agency opens Saturday. He slashed .287/.388/.476 at High-A in 2022 and hit 43 extra-base hits during the year, but Carters game is much more about soft skills than premium tools. With a fastball like this, his floor is that of an impact reliever. Most of his swings and misses over the last few years have been on fastballs running away from him, but in 2022, he displayed a more advanced ability to poke the barrel at balls on the outer edge of the plate, extending his short levers in an effort to slap outside pitches the other way. He has a polished first step, actions, and internal clock, and enough arm strength for the left side of the infield. The Cubs have had some recent success in tweaking swings and if Hernandez can shorten up his cut and even be a 40-grade contact hitter at maturity, then hes likely to be a good big league shortstop because every other tool is in place. The son of two-time Pro Bowl tight end Eric Green, Elijah became Draft Famous during his junior year, homering a couple of times in high school tournaments held in big league parks and looking much toolsier than all but a couple of the prospects who were a year older than him. Every aspect of his offense is plus except for his raw power, but Manzardos precise feel for the barrel and tendency to hunt pitches he can drive (or spoil ones he cant until he gets something hittable) should enable his game power to play above his batting practice raw. Those teams will then triage prospects later in the process and nix whichever verbal deals they see as the least favorable. The 2021-2022 international signing period began on Jan. 15, 2022, and runs through Dec. 15, 2022. Because Carroll runs such deep counts, his strikeout rates have been higher than one might expect given his reputation as a plus contact hitter. On defense, he has the chance to be an elite defender because of his soft hands, flexibility and blocking skills. AL East: It is alright to target one of the premium talents early if you believe in him. Combine that with your standard issue Astros breaking ball complement (a hard 90-mph cutter/slider and a slower knuckle curveball) and you very likely have an impact big league arm, if a somewhat inefficient one. Initially considered a contact-first prospect, the effort level in Chourios swing ratcheted up in 2022 and he now takes a monster hack, whipping the bat through the zone with all his might, often needing the dirt of the batters box behind him to stop his rotation. His long speed gives him a shot to stay in center field, but his routes to balls can be a bit of an adventure. Juliens stock fell early during the 2019 college season as he struggled badly, then he got hot during a tumultuous postseason run; the Twins drafted him on Day Three. He did this amid multiple wrist injuries, which is something to keep in the back of your mind in the event that it becomes a chronic issue, as Woods wrists are an integral part of keeping his swing short enough to be manageable. If there is a draft, it could remedy some of the exploitative aspects of the current system, namely billion-dollar sports franchises (and the cottage industry of training facilities in Latin America) dealing with, and sometimes leveraging power over, impoverished minors. His rate of hard, impact contact is near the top of the scouting scale when you adjust for age and is already comfortably plus relative to the big league rates in some areas (like barrel rate). I know Im not the only one champing at the bit for those sweet prospect lists! Its tough to be a 2-WAR DH every year (Bryce Harpers 2022 100-game line was good for 2 WAR), but Busch has the hit/power combination to do it. Hes only ever played shortstop in affiliated ball but saw time at third base in LIDOM, where he understandably looked uncomfortable at times. Whichever lucky team gets that selection will be getting a player with plus tools across the board. Perazas true carrying tool is his shortstop defense. 10 player on this. Because just a few months of physical development can be quite meaningful for such young athletes, prospects have a tendency to change a lot between when they make a handshake deal with a team and when they actually sign. Johnsons swing bears some mechanical resemblance to Bryce Harpers, especially its lower half usage and finish. That's also why international free agency will take place during the lockout. Position-wise, there are 20 infielders, 18 outfielders, five catchers, six pitchers and one two-way player. The tools Merrill has in place already make him feel like a high-probability impact player, and if he develops feel for lift without compromising contact as he enters his 20s, then hes going to be one of the top couple of prospects in the minors before he debuts. Many scouts are champing at the bit over Priesters prototypical frame and four- or five-pitch mix, depending on whether you consider his fastballs two distinct pitches. Hes shown the ability to induce significant swing and miss across all four offerings, both in and out of the zone, aided largely by his funky arm action. -- $497,500Daniel Mielcarek, SS, D.R. window.FGWebsite_head_section.buildProspectsListTop100Controls(); There are people capable of standing out in this manner, but generally, even the most accomplished rankers tend to miss on players. Back then, he was a switch-hitting, switch-throwing prepster who would pitch left-handed and play the infield, too talented to be a sideshow but not enough to go in the first round, as 10 high school shortstops were drafted ahead of him. And Carroll can really motor: hes a no-doubt 80 runner and routinely posts sub-4.00 second times to first base. It can be challenging for a grizzled scout to predict how players will translate to the next level. More than 51% of his contact comes off his bat at 95 mph or higher, and 21.1% of that is hit at a launch angle within the sweet spot range for power production. The international signing period usually runs from July 2 to June 15, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic, MLB and the MLBPA agreed to push back the start of the last two signing periods to Jan. 15. Before prospects debut, there are some wildly inaccurate hit tool grades on the international talent. Heres what scouts like: He runs well for a catcher, and he already shows elite bat speed. Hes tracking to debut ahead of his draft class typical 40-man timeline, perhaps as early as mid-2023 if things click with his command. -- $650,000Samuel Acuna, RHP, Ven. That continued in 2022 when Allen reached Triple-A and put himself in position to claim a rotation spot this season should the need arise. He projects to third base, where the offensive bar is much higher. Theres enough hit/power combination for Neto to be a first-division regular there. Dynasty managers are trying to score big when they draft unproven teenagers. If you're just dipping your toe in the Dynasty waters or play in a league that goes only knee-deep. He shares many similarities with Eduardo Escobar. This years 60 FV tier has some players who still show some hit tool red flags (Chourio, De La Cruz, Jones) that kept them from ever really being considered for the tier above. For example, the gap between Padres shortstop Jackson Merrill (No. This level of athleticism might be an indication that Rodriguez will find a way to mature into more raw power despite not having a traditionally projectable frame. He plays with flair and is dedicated to improving. The good news is that Alcantara already has enough pop to do damage to the opposite field and hes probably going to grow into much more as his wispy frame continues to fill out. Some of Lawlars offensive performance has been inflated by his home parks hitting environments, especially Low-A Visalia and Double-A Amarillo. His left-handed swing is very uphill, the sort typically associated with strikeout issues, but his levers are so short that his swing is still fairly compact. 1. The Dodgers and Rangers each forfeited $1,000,000 from their pools for signing players who had rejected qualifying offers to lower their pool to $4,144,000. Cols is exclusively an outfielder now, and he hit .269/.319/.481 in part-time duty with the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks in Japan from 2017-19. Its possible hell be so good upon return that he kicks down the door, but its more likely from a roster timeline standpoint that Miami gives him all of 2023 in the minors so his innings can be manicured with his health and development in mind. There are aspects of his swing that are very exciting and consistent with great big league hitters (his raw power and bat speed are uncommon for a shortstop, while his bent-at-the-waist hitting posture is akin to Mike Trouts and Dylan Crews), but his bat path is fairly grooved, and here the projection is that when the cement dries on Lawlars hit tool, it will be a little south of average. Players with a 40+ FV grade or above tend to be prospects who I think would go in the first two rounds of a draft, while the teenage 40 FV prospects are the sort Id ballpark in the $700,000 to $1 million bonus range as draft prospects, basically the slot amounts just after the second round. But for every player that evolves into a core piece, several others will fail to develop quickly and become a throw-away pick. Theres an All-Star-caliber hit and power combination here, and while a bigger pro data sample might reveal some approach-related issues, Johnson has been one of the best hitters his age for going on a half decade and feels like a relatively high-probability high school hitting prospect. He doesnt have traditional long-term power projection, but hes already so powerful that if all the pop Domnguez ever has is what hes working with now, it will still be plenty for him to be a good everyday big leaguer for as long as hes a center fielder. Because he participated in Team USA and showcase events from a very young age, Collier generated an inordinate amount of amateur data.