2024 Prospects thread

[D-train]

Right. Will be great to see him in 6 weeks in person both at the Complex and in games....

[GL_Storm]

Here's my list:

Tier 1 - Guys we're really excited about and have some data on

Cole Young
Harry Ford
Colt Emerson
Lazaro Montes

Tier 2 - Guys we like but not quite as much as Tier 1

Gabriel Gonzales
Michael Arroyo
Jonatan Clase
Tyler Locklear
Emerson Hancock

Tier 3 - Guys with a chance, but a bit more fringy than Tier 2

Ryan Bliss
Prelander Berroa
Ty Adcock

Tier 4 - Young guys we like a lot but don't have much info about

Felnin Celesten
Jonny Farmelo
Tai Peete
Aiden Smith
Teddy McGraw
Cole Phillips
Jeter Martinez
The new international guys

Tier 4 - Guys with tools and some track record that could still break out

Walter Ford
Ashton Izzi
Michael Morales
Zach Deloach
Blake Hunt
Taylor Dollard
Axel Sanchez
Jimmy Joyce
Travis Kuhn
Marcelo Perez
Spencer Packard

Tier 5 - probably not but maybe

Walking Cabrera
Alberto Rodriguez
Josh Hood
Juan Mercedes

[D-train]

Well well well looks like an expert likes Colt's swing too and agrees with my Harry Ford assessment sliding him to 3rd.

[Juliooooo]

Well well well looks like an expert likes Colt's swing too and agrees with my Harry Ford assessment sliding him to 3rd.

Did G2 make it?

[D-train]

Well well well looks like an expert likes Colt's swing too and agrees with my Harry Ford assessment sliding him to 3rd.

Did G2 make it?

Doesn't look like it. His debut in Everett might have cost him a spot..

[bpj]

Well well well looks like an expert likes Colt's swing too and agrees with my Harry Ford assessment sliding him to 3rd.

I hadn't seen the kid before so had to go check it out, looks like a good little player.

Here's a few links for anyone else that hasn't seen him:

https://youtu.be/XTEpsYyp2QM?si=S1zJmgSOzdNjjJ1d

https://youtu.be/vFqgwnpm-Hw?si=zKMgB0f7uHn7F7z2

https://youtube.com/shorts/bGgtpdbwic0? ... gc_9-5WJg6

[D-train]

Emerson could be a career .300 hitter. Heard it here first...

[D-train]

[GL_Storm]

Here's the writeup from Keith Law on Colt Emerson, ranked at #37 on this list:

There’s always at least one guy from every draft who goes out for a month or so after signing and makes people ask why he wasn’t drafted higher — Dalton Rushing was that guy in 2022, Zack Gelof in 2021 — and Emerson certainly did that last summer. The 22nd pick in 2023 went 15 for 28 in a week in the ACL and then hit .302/.436/.444 in 16 games in the Cal League when he was barely 18 years old, wowing scouts with his feel to hit for such a young player from an Ohio high school. Emerson has a loose, easy left-handed swing, favoring contact over power, without a lot of work coming from his lower half yet to drive the ball — something I imagine the Mariners will work on right away — although he already makes solid-average contact quality. He’s a 45 or barely 50 runner, not likely to stay at shortstop, and split time between there and second in his few weeks in the minors. Before the draft, I said he had the upside of a “high-average, 15 to 20-homer sort of hitter at second base,” and pro scouts and analysts seem to agree with that after his pro debut, but with more confidence than I had pre-draft that he’ll get there. It’s early days, but Seattle might have a steal on their hands.

[GL_Storm]

And here's Cole Young, ranked at 46:

Young was Seattle’s first-round pick in 2022, going 21st out of a Pittsburgh-area high school, and was their top prospect until Colt Emerson took the field in August. Young is also a left-handed-hitting middle infielder, but it’s a different profile, as Young’s a better athlete, better runner, and has a significantly better chance to stay at shortstop in the long run. He’s got a great feel for the barrel, with a strikeout rate last season under 15 percent. There were 13 minor leaguers who had 600+ plate appearances in 2023, and Young had the lowest strikeout rate of any of them, which is especially impressive since it was his first full pro season and he even moved up to High A after the All-Star break. He’s got a fairly simple swing and plenty of bat speed, although without a lot of loft in his finish he might peak around average power. It could be an elite hit tool, though, and even 8-12 homers a year would be plenty for a high-average, high-OBP shortstop to be an All-Star.