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- 8 Players Headline New-Look Prospect Report (March 20, 2024)
8 Players Headline New-Look Prospect Report (March 20, 2024)
Multiple Orioles prospects go deep. Chase DeLauter continues to mash. There's also a Rangers prospect not named Langford or Carter who could impact the majors in 2024, plus check out our helium pick of the day.
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Prospect Standouts
Justin Foscue, 2B, Rangers: Behind the Rangers’ dynamic duo of Evan Carter and Wyatt Langford, Justin Foscue might have a case for the most playing time in the big leagues in 2024. His defensive home will always be in question, but he’s hit at every stop in the minors. He added a pair of hits to his Cactus League stat line on Tuesday, including a double, in Texas’ tilt with Oakland. He’s 11-for-40 with four doubles and a home run this spring.
Chase DeLauter, OF, Guardians: Health is a wonderful thing, isn’t it? The early portion of Chase DeLauter’s career was marred by injuries that largely kept him on the shelf. Once those were in the rear-view, he immediately began showing why the Guardians spent their first-round pick on him in 2022. He mashed in the minor leagues, then mashed some more in the Arizona Fall League. And in the Cactus League? You guessed it: He’s mashing. The lefty slugger put three more hits on his ledger on Tuesday, including a home run. All three of his hits produced exit velocities of better than 102 mph, including a single that clocked in at 110.6 mph. The longball—his fourth of the spring—traveled an estimated 418 feet.
Ryan Bliss, SS, Mariners: A year ago, Ryan Bliss was one of the best hitters in the minor leagues. His season was outstanding enough that he became part of the deal that brought reliever Paul Sewald to Arizona. He’s been as steady as ever with his new team. The infielder was 1-for-2 with a double on Tuesday, bringing his spring ledger to 11-for-35 with a pair of doubles and five stolen bases. He’ll have a shot to make his big league debut in 2024.
Yiddi Cappe, 2B, Marlins: Fresh off an eye-opening day in the Marlins’ Spring Breakout game, Yiddi Cappe continued to show off with another stellar game. Once again facing the Cardinals, Cappe added a double—off of big league reliever Andrew Kittredge—to his Grapefruit League ledger. Cappe, who collected two hits in the Spring Breakout action, pulled a 93 mph sinker from Kittredge into the left field corner. The 21-year-old is 3-for-7 with two doubles for the spring.
Colton Cowser & Connor Norby, Orioles: The Orioles spent Tuesday putting on a bit of a launch party in Dunedin during a battle of the birds. Jackson Holliday made his mark by going deep for the first time this spring, and two more of his colleagues—Connor Norby and Colton Cowser—got in on the fun as well. Norby’s blast was his first of the spring and came against Chris Bassitt. Cowser’s homer represented a continuation of a strong spring that had included four previous longballs. He touched up reliever Brandon Eisert for a bomb that left the bat at better than 110 mph.
Brayden Taylor, 3B/SS, Rays: Last summer, the Rays chose TCU infielder Brayden Taylor with their first-round selection on the strength of a polished offensive skill set. He’s spent most of his time in minor league camp, but on Tuesday made the most of his cameo in the Grapefruit League. In just his second at-bat of the spring, Taylor got his first hit when he reached Boston reliever Josh Winckowski for a single to left field. Taylor currently ranks as Tampa Bay’s No. 6 prospect.
Jackson Holliday, 2B, Orioles: As spring training winds to a close, Jackson Holliday, the game’s No. 1 overall prospect, continues to make his case for a spot on Baltimore’s Opening Day roster. The latest argument came on Tuesday, when he blasted his first spring home run. The longball came off of a curveball from big league veteran Chad Green and left the bat at nearly 97 mph. He’d singled earlier in the game against another seasoned big leaguer, Chris Bassitt. The hit came courtesy of Holliday’s hustle. After banging a grounder too short, he scampered to first and just beat the throw from Bo Bichette.
Helium pick of the day
Want to get ahead? Each day we’ll surface one underrated prospect from recent Baseball America coverage who could be on the rise.
Get To Know These 10 Signature Sliders
Edgar Portes, RHP, Orioles: Signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2019, Portes reached High-A in 2023 after an extended stay in Low-A Aberdeen for most of 2022 and 2023. While his production isn’t exactly noteworthy, he did begin to tack on more innings as the season pressed on. He mixes a hoppy low-90s fastball with a low-80s slider and a changeup. The low-80s slider is his primary pitch and his deadliest weapon. It sits 80-83 mph with ride and sweep generating whiffs on 50% of swings while generating chases and whiffs in-zone. At 20 years old, there’s plenty of runway for Portes due to his signature slider. Portes is one of 10 prospects with nasty sliders we highlighted yesterday. Baseball America subscribers can see the rest below.
In case you missed it…
Twins top prospect Walker Jenkins dropped by to chat during Spring Breakout.