Archives

Roster of the Month: 2018 All-Minor League Team

By Daniel R. Epstein

Posted on September 13, 2018

Share

Tweet

Share

Share

Email

Comments

The MLB regular season is rounding the final bend, but the minor leagues are all pretty much wrapped up. With stats mostly finalized, it’s the perfect time to dedicate the Roster of the Month to the most awesome minor leaguers of the year. What follows is the best 25-man roster of minor leaguers based on their 2018 performance. First, a few ground rules/disclaimers:

1. Any 2018 minor leaguer is eligible. Stats from all affiliated minor leagues can be used, including players who spent time at more than one level.
2. Major league stats will not count. Neither will college, high school, foreign, or independent leagues.
3. Preference will be given to players at higher levels of the minors, but if someone had an especially great year in the low minors he will certainly make the team.
4. Prospect rankings are irrelevant for this exercise. Only on-field performance matters, not future value or potential.

Away we go!

Starting Lineup

1. CF Michael Reed (ATL): Reed is something of a late-bloomer. He earned brief spells in the majors with the Brewers from 2015-16, but hit just .208 in double-A last year and became a minor league free agent. The Braves scooped him up and he completely resurrected himself. His .459 on base percentage was 50 points better than anyone else in the triple-A International League. Unfortunately, he injured his back, so Braves fans won’t see him this September.
2. 3B Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (TOR): Surely you must have heard the legend of Vladito by now, haven’t you? As a 19-year-old, he hit .404 in double-A and .382 across all levels, including a month in triple-A. He’s the consensus #1 prospect in baseball and near certain Minor League Player of the Year. Also, his father entered the Hall of Fame, so overall a pretty good summer.
3. 2B Jeff McNeil (NYM): Before we go any further, it’s important to note that the triple-A Pacific Coast League is a notorious hitters league, and it’s easier for batters there to put up video game numbers. Even in that light, McNeil’s 1.029 OPS in double-A and near-match 1.027 in triple-A are still outstanding. He proved his worth in the major leagues as well, batting .323/.387/.468 in 139 plate appearances for the Mets.
4. LF Eloy Jimenez (CWS): Jimenez is a top five prospect in all of baseball, no matter how you slice it. He has possibly the best power bat in the minors. Splitting his time evenly between double-A and triple-A, he slugged his way to a 168 wRC+ due in part to 22 home runs. Along with Guerrero, he will be a top candidate for 2019 AL Rookie of the Year.
5. 1B Nathaniel Lowe (TBR): Sometimes stats speak louder than scouts. Look at Rhys Hoskins. He ws never a highly valued prospect, but hit like crazy at every level. This year he’s played all season in the majors, hitting .251/.361/.491. Lowe, a big left-handed slugger like Hoskins, was a 13th round pick in 2016. In 2018, he slashed .331/.417/.571 across the three highest levels of the minors. Expect the Rays to get a good look at him in 2019.
6. DH Malcom Nunez (STL): The Dominican Summer League is as far as you can get from the major leagues in organized baseball. The league is comprised of teenagers signed out of Central American baseball academies, so it takes an awful lot to get noticed. Nunez, a Cuban national who signed on July 2, hit .415/.497/.774. Read that again. .415/.497/.774. His 238 wRC+ was light years above anyone else in baseball at any level. Only two players have ever topped that mark in the major leagues: 2002 Barry Bonds (244) and 1920 Babe Ruth (239). Nunez has a long way to go, but it’s hard to get off to a better start than this.
7. RF Kyle Tucker (HOU): Tucker entered the season as the Astros’ best hitting prospect and hasn’t disappointed. He roasted the PCL to the tune of .332/.400/.590, and his 155 wRC+ was third best in the league. He saw a little bit of major league action earlier this season and he’ll certainly get an extended stay next year.
8. SS Fernando Tatis Jr. (SDP): The average age of the double-A Texas League is 24. Tatis played the whole season there at age-19, though he did miss time with injuries. He proved he belongs by amassing an .862 OPS with 16 steals and slick defense at shortstop. He’s the consensus #1 shortstop prospect in the minors and he will likely make his way to San Diego at some point next year.
9. C Christian Bethancourt (MIL): Well, well, well. It looks like the Padres decision to turn their elite defensive catcher into a pitcher was pretty stupid. If only someone had recognized how dumb this was, and that it could ruin Bethancourt’s development. After a lost year in 2017 due to organizational mismanagement, he hit .295/.328/.508 at his natural position in triple-A for the Brewers. Thankfully, he hasn’t pitched all season.

Bench

• C Joey Bart (SFG): The second overall pick in this June’s draft wasted no time making an impression. He spent most of the year in the short-season Northwest League, laying waste to opposing pitchers at the rate of .298/.369/.613. Some franchises can go forever without a decent catcher, and the Giants get to succeed Buster Posey with Bart. Don’t tell the Rays; they’ll get crazy jealous.
• OF Alex Kiriloff (MIN): Kiriloff was a first round pick by the Twins in 2016, then won the rookie-level Appalachian League MVP. His ascent was stalled by Tommy John surgery, causing him to miss all of 2017. He picked up right where he left off this year, with a league best 176 wRC+ in low-A and 168 wRC+ in high-A.
• 2B/OF Brandon Lowe (TBR): No relation to organization-mate Nathaniel (or Nathaniel’s brother Josh for that matter), Brandon Lowe split time between second base and left field in double-A, triple-A, and the majors. His .391 on base percentage and 22 home runs in the minors make him a great fit for this roster. He’s hitting .263/.382/.474 in 68 major league plate appearances, which makes him an even better fit on the Rays’ real life roster.
• MI Gavin Lux (LAD): Lux, a 20-year-old shortstop and second baseman, earned a promotion to double-A by slashing .324/.396/.520 in high-A. He posted nearly identical stats at the higher level (..324/.410/.500). His defense needs work, and shortstop might not be his final position, but his bat has turned heads nonetheless.
• OF Dom Thompson-Williams (NYY): Thompson-Williams enjoyed a breakout year, playing mostly in the high-A Florida State League. He displayed power and speed, collecting 22 home runs and 20 stolen bases with a 156 wRC+, and spent the majority of his time in center field.

Starting Rotation

1. RHP Josh James (HOU): Throw draft status out of the window. This former 34th round pick struck out 171 batters in 114 1/3 innings in double-A and triple-A. His 36.3 percent strikeout rate was by far the best in the high minors. He debuted for the Astros on September 1, striking out nine batters in five innings.
2. RHP Michael Kopech (CWS): Kopech is arguably the best pitching prospect in the game, but he could lose prospect eligibility by the end of the year. He struck out 170 batters in 126 1/3 innings in the hitter-friendly PCL, leading the league with a 3.31 FIP. He picked up where he left off upon his call to the majors, yielding just one run in his first eleven big league innings.
3. LHP Patrick Sandoval (LAA): Sandoval started the year pitching in low-A for the Astros and finished in double-A for the Angels. He departed for the Angels system in the Martin Maldonado trade, and compiled a 2.41 FIP and 30.2 percent strikeout rate through four different leagues.
4. RHP Perry DellaValle (STL): After being drafted in the 27th round this June, DellaValle had to pitch well to prove he even belongs in the organization next year. Mission accomplished. His 1.32 FIP was the best by any pitcher at any level of baseball in 2018. He struck out 67, walked just seven, and surrendered zero home runs through 45 2/3 innings in the Gulf Coast Rookie League.
5. LHP Taylor Widener (ARI): Widener was double-A’s best pitcher in 2018. His 176 strikeouts were second in all of minor league baseball, and his 31.9 percent strikeout rate was second in the high minors to Josh James. There’s also nothing wrong with his 2.75 ERA or 2.99 FIP.

Bullpen

• RHP Demarcus Evans (TEX): After flopping as a starter earlier in his career, Evans became the premier stopper of the low-A South Atlantic League. He struck out 103 of the 220 batters he faced, allowing just 28 hits and one home run in 56 innings. Furthermore, 22 of his 35 appearances were more than one inning, so he retained a lot of his starting pitcher durability.
• LHP Caleb Frare (CWS): Frare worked to a 0.62 ERA for the Yankees in double-A before he was traded in July for international bonus money. The White Sox sent him to triple-A where he gave up one run in 12 2/3 innings. He pitched a scoreless inning in his major league debut on September 2, striking out two batters.
• RHP Kevin Ginkel (ARI): Ginkel is a workhorse out of the bullpen, throwing 70 innings in high-A and double-A. He has an even 100 strikeouts with a 1.41 ERA and 0.829 WHIP on the season.
• LHP Colin Poche (TBR): Simply put, Poche was the absolute best reliever in all of minor league baseball this season. He gave up seven runs (six earned) in 66 innings, pitching mostly in triple-A. The Rays grabbed him from the Diamondbacks mid-season as the player-to-be-named-later from an earlier deal, so he’s not a super prospect. For whatever reason, he just seems to get everyone out almost literally, as evidenced by his minor league best 37.8 percent strikeout-minus-walk rate.
• ?HP Pat Venditte (LAD): Why can’t we have nice things? We’ve had only fleeting looks at the switch-pitching Venditte in the majors over the years, and with little success. In spite of this, he continues to dominate triple-A batters, posting a 1.75 ERA and 2.51 FIP in the PCL. He’s back in the big leagues with the Dodgers at age-33, his fourth major league team.
• RHP Bobby Wahl (NYM): Wahl found himself in the Mets organization after a July trade from the A’s for Jeurys Familia. He struck out 73 of 171 batters in the PCL- a 42.7 percent strikeout rate- and only allowed 40 baserunners in 45 innings. The Mets called him to the big leagues in August, but he strained his hamstring and is currently on the DL.