Minor League Barometer: Risers & Fallers

In order to cover more prospects every week, the Minor League Barometer will continue with some one-liners (or two-to-three-liners) before diving into deeper prospect evaluations and analysis.

• Frank Mozzicato struggled with wildness in his first taste of minor league ball last season, but has been better at Low-A to begin 2023 and his strikeout stuff remains impressive having fanned 34 batters over 19 innings. And opposing batters have only hit .125 against the 19-year-old southpaw.
• Ben Brown is a 6-6 hurler who came over from the Phillies in the David Robertson deal last season and has posted a minuscule 0.45 ERA and a 30:6 K:BB through 20 frames at Double-A.
• Speaking of the Phillies, Andrew Painter is currently on the 60-Day Injured List with an elbow ailment, but has been progressing and has an outside shot to reach the big leagues before the end of this year.
• On the downside, Cleveland's Daniel Espino - who had become one of the top arms in all of - was also already on the 60-Day IL, but was recently shut down due to a setback. He only started four games in 2022, and it remains to be seen if he can even return to live action this season.

UPGRADE

Jonatan Clase, OF, SEA – Do not let Clase's size fool you as the 20-year-old centerfielder is a strong, imposing figure at just 5'9" and 150 pounds.  He's tearing the cover off of the ball to begin the season at High-A slashing .337/.455/.723 with seven home runs and 17 RBI across 20 games.  And after swiping 55 bags in 107 appearances at Low-A last season, Clase has already notched 16.  He's a switch-hitter with emerging power and could rocket up the prospect rankings as long as he stays healthy.

Cody Bradford, P, TEX – Bradford was drafted in 2019 out of Baylor, but didn't debut in the Rangers organization until 2021 due to thoracic outlet surgery. The crafty lefty gets dinged for his age (25) along with his lack of fastball velocity, but the pitch plays up due to his ability to locate and the contrast to his above-average change-up. Bradford's third pitch, now a cutter, remains a work in progress and will likely be the deciding factor as to where he ultimately winds up. He's found little resistance at Triple-A thus far as he's posted a 0.64 ERA and 25:8 K:BB over 28.1 innings. With Jacob deGrom out again and the rest of the Triple-A starting rotation struggling, Bradford could make his big-league debut soon enough.

Patrick Monteverde, P, MIA – Another older hurler, Monteverde will turn 26 in September but was only drafted in 2021 out of Texas Tech as a graduate transfer. The southpaw boasts excellent control while also keeping his strikeout rate up despite promotions. Monteverde is off to a hot start this year with a 0.35 ERA and 38:4 K:BB through four starts while batters have hit .118 against. He lists a similar profile to Bradford and the results speak for themselves despite his age and lack of a dominant fastball.

Cayden Wallace, 3B, KC – A second-round selection in 2022, Wallace has looked anything but overmatched since entering the minors. Already at High-A, he's hitting .306/.414/.542 with three homers, 21 RBI and four steals in 20 contests. Wallace is expected to become a classic power bat at the hot corner for KC, but he's also shown a better than expected hit tool during his brief professional career. Add in some patience at the dish and the Arkansas product has already seen an uptick in his stock since being drafted.

CHECK STATUS

Mark Vientos, 1B/3B, NYM – Vientos is raking at Triple-A slashing .367/.449/.733 with eight home runs and 23 RBI across 25 appearances. The problem for him is that Brett Baty beat him to the bigs, the Mets have Pete Alonso at first base, and a glut of options at the DH - including fan favorite Daniel Vogelbach. In other words, Vientos will likely need an injury or trade to receive consistent MLB at-bats in 2023. As a result, it appears he'll simply bide his time in the minors until an opportunity presents itself.

Tyler Black, 3B, MIL – Black's best tool since entering the minors in 2021 has been his plate discipline. He notched more walks (45) than strikeouts (44) in 64 games last season, and is off to a similar start at Double-A. What isn't similar about Black's current campaign is that both his power and speed numbers have already been significantly better than a year ago.  After battling through injury in 2022, he's already managed as many homers (four) as he did all of last season. He's already recorded 10 steals after 13 from all of last year. Black still needs to prove he can hit for average, and a continued boost in power would be nice, but his polished grasp of the strike zone will always provide value.

Chase Meidroth, SS, BOS – Selected in the fourth round of the 2022 Draft, Meidroth's calling card is his ability to make consistent contact. Despite the small sample size, he's gone above .300 at every stop so far during his extremely brief professional career and is currently .321 across 15 games at High-A. Meidroth's plate discipline has also proven excellent with a staggering 20 walks, en route to a .521 OBP. He's also provided a homer and three steals. Meidroth may not ultimately provide much power or speed, but he could quickly advance through the system due to his advanced approach in the batter's box.

Joey Loperfido, 2B, HOU – It would be difficult to have a better start to the season than Loperfido, who was quickly promoted to Double-A after only eight games, and has been even better in eight outings at the new level going 14-for-32 (.438) with four home runs, 14 RBI and three steals.  A seventh-round pick in 2021, Loperfido isn't afraid to take a walk and has continually worked on his left-handed swing to make better contact and drive the ball with power. Jose Altuve won't be around forever and Loperfido still needs to consistently produce to become the Astros' second baseman of the future, but his start to this season has been superb.

DOWNGRADE

Wilmer Flores, P, DET – After showing glimpses of brilliance in 2021, Flores had a full-on breakout 2022 campaign by posting a 2.79 ERA - mostly at Double-A - along with a 130:23 K:BB over 103.1 innings. He was considered one of the top prospects for the Tigers heading into this season, buy has struggled with an 8.27 ERA. While Flores has registered 16 strikeouts, he's also uncharacteristically walked eight batters over the five starts. He's also been way too hittable as oppositing batters have gone .317 against. The worst part is that Flores returned to Double-A to start the year where he dominated in 83.2 innings just a season ago. He still has time to right the ship, but this is clearly not the start the organization envisioned.

Addison Barger, 2B/3B, TOR – It's been a long road for Barger, who finally appears to be on the cusp of reaching the bigs. Taken way back in 2018, his true breakout season came last season when he slashed .308/.378/.555 across three levels and clubbed 26 homers to go with 91 runs over 124 contests. Power continues to be Barger's best asset, though he's struggled so far hitting just .237/.333/.329 with only one home run while also striking out 27 times. Despite the impressive 2022, it remains to be seen if he'll be able to hit for average in the Majors. Barger's future position in the field also remains in flux. His upside remains plentiful, but this final hurdle could prove challenging.