In this post, I’m going to spotlight a handful of players that are still very early in their Major League careers. Most of these players I have the perception that their current stock is a bit low or just slept on entirely altogether. Let’s get into it:
Nolan Jones (COL):
Jones had really caught the eyes of a lot of people after back-to-back impressive offensive seasons in 2018 (A, A+) and 2019 (A+, AA). Then there was no Minor League season in 2020, and in 2021 Jones really struggled in his first season at the AAA level. He slashed .238/.356/.431 in a offensive friendly league and posted a 59/122 BB/K ratio.
He repeated AAA to start 2022 and accumulated 248 PA’s in total at the level last season. He put up a 31/64 BB/K ratio and a .276/.368/.463 slash line. He also debuted at the Major League level and totaled 94 PA’s there for a .244/.309/.372 slash and an 8/31 BB/K for Cleveland before they dealt him to Colorado this offseason.
Jones has always been, and always will be a high K, high swing/miss profile at the plate. There’s significant loft in his path and I’m confident he’ll be able to elevate batted balls. There’s holes in the stroke, notably up, but that’s what always accounted for his high K totals coming up through the pro ranks.
Jones arguably has elite-raw power and I think he’s going to start tapping into that the more comfortable he gets at the ML level and the more at-bats he gets under his belt. It very well might be a 40-hit, 60-game power offensive profile in his prime.
Maikel Garcia (KC):
I saw Garcia a lot in the 2018 and 2019 seasons and he was always someone that stuck out as a guy that could just play. Smooth actions, lateral quick-twitch ability, and soft hands gave him value defensively and he always showed quality bat-to-ball skills and a knack for barreling baseballs up.
His path has some loft to it, but given there’s not much raw strength on Garcia’s frame so his extra-base hit production usually comes in the form of doubles. He has a hand hitch during his load, but he gets them back up for a high-slot entry before firing.
I don’t forsee Garcia turning into an All-Star at the Major League level, but he’s a name that didn’t catch much attention coming up and I think he’s going to have a long career ahead of him at the Major League level. He has a shot to be a special utility type player.
Francisco Morales (PHI)
Morales will only be 23 during the 2023 season and tallied five innings of work at the ML level and 51 frames in AAA. Over those 51 AAA frames last season, he posted 70 K’s but also issued 45 free-passes to batters.
I had Morales in my coverage in 2019 and I had a double-plus future grade on his slider because of it’s very late two-plane break that regularly missed bats. The slider is still incredibly sharp and late-biting but he’s really had issues harnessing his stuff in the zone. He doesn’t repeat his delivery well, and in turn his timing is frequently not in sync at foot-landing.
Morales’ fastball sits 93-96 mph but lacks above-average carry through the zone and he shows well-below average command of the heater at best. It’s definitely a power over precision operation when it comes to Morales and his four-seamer. Morales has high-leverage potential if he can work in the zone more because the slider is a legit swing and miss weapon.
Logan O’Hoppe (LAA)
O’Hoppe was traded to the Angels in the Brandon Marsh deal and I really think O’Hoppe is going to have value on the offensive side of the ball as a catcher. O’Hoppe really stood out to me back in 2019 when I saw him playing in Williamsport (A-) as a 19-year old. He caught four of the six games I sat on and hit what seemed like nothing but doubles the entire week.
My in-person look back then left me with the feeling he’d be an average defender behind the plate. An average defensive catcher that shows advanced feel to hit and juice in the bat? That’s a valuable player is what that is. He only got 16 PA’s at the Major League level in 2022, but posted a .283/.416/.544 slash with a 70/74 BB/K ratio over 447 PA’s at the AA level.
O’Hoppe utilizes his lower half especially well throughout his swing and has quality rhythm overall. He has a bit of a tendency to rushing his swing, but he’s able to cover that up with his above-average bat-to-ball skills. Above-average hit, average game-power, average glove catcher is what I think O’Hoppe brings to the table and his MiLB track record only backs that up.