This article is part of our Farm Futures series.
Yophery Rodriguez and Alfredo Duno have been aggressively assigned to Single-A this season, but their peers from the 2023 international signing class began play in the Arizona and Florida complex leagues less than a week ago. There were also a handful of 2023 high school draftees who are being eased into things in rookie ball, while most of their peers began the year at Single-A. We also have the next wave of exciting teenage hitters from the Jan. 15, 2024 international signing class beginning their pro careers in the Dominican Summer League, with the exception of Leodalis De Vries, who was jumped all the way to Single-A to start his pro career.
I can't get in-person or video looks at what's happening on the backfields in the spring or in fall instructs, so I have to rely on the reporting from places like Baseball America and FanGraphs for information on these players beyond what they put up in official DSL games last season. While we know we're working with minimal accurate intel on these players, we also know that every summer, a dozen or more prospects shoot up rankings based on what they do in the ACL, FCL and DSL.
What I've tried to do here is give you my personal watch lists for each of these leagues, plus some rookie-level pitchers worth paying attention to. I've also noted the strengths and weaknesses for each of these players (+ is good, - is bad, blank is N/A or neutral).
Yophery Rodriguez and Alfredo Duno have been aggressively assigned to Single-A this season, but their peers from the 2023 international signing class began play in the Arizona and Florida complex leagues less than a week ago. There were also a handful of 2023 high school draftees who are being eased into things in rookie ball, while most of their peers began the year at Single-A. We also have the next wave of exciting teenage hitters from the Jan. 15, 2024 international signing class beginning their pro careers in the Dominican Summer League, with the exception of Leodalis De Vries, who was jumped all the way to Single-A to start his pro career.
I can't get in-person or video looks at what's happening on the backfields in the spring or in fall instructs, so I have to rely on the reporting from places like Baseball America and FanGraphs for information on these players beyond what they put up in official DSL games last season. While we know we're working with minimal accurate intel on these players, we also know that every summer, a dozen or more prospects shoot up rankings based on what they do in the ACL, FCL and DSL.
What I've tried to do here is give you my personal watch lists for each of these leagues, plus some rookie-level pitchers worth paying attention to. I've also noted the strengths and weaknesses for each of these players (+ is good, - is bad, blank is N/A or neutral). While we may have an OK idea of a player's tools and skill at this stage, the scouting reports on 17- and 18-year-old hitters can evolve rapidly and drastically, as every few weeks represents a large percentage of their pro samples.
Trying to jump on breakout rookie-level hitters is always a popular dynasty-league tactic this time of year, and my hope with this article is to provide you a sense of what each of these prospects brings to the table. There will be guys who break out and are not listed in this article, but that doesn't mean that they aren't legitimate prospects -- I wanted to narrow the focus here somewhat. Let me know whose rookie-league stat line is catching your eye in the comments, on Twitter or on Discord.
For those interested, I previewed the rookie leagues with Chris Welsh on last week's Prospect Podcast:
Arizona Complex League
Prospect | Team | Position | Performance | Age/Level | Pedigree | Hit | Power | Speed | Body | |
1 | Felnin Celesten | SEA | SS | N/A | ++ | ++ | ++ | ++ | ||
2 | Rayner Arias | SF | RF | ++ | ++ | ++ | ++ | + | ||
3 | Joendry Vargas | LAD | 3B/SS | ++ | ++ | ++ | + | + | ||
4 | Walker Martin | SF | 3B/SS | N/A | -- | ++ | + | + | + | |
5 | Eduardo Quintero | LAD | CF | ++ | + | ++ | + | ++ | ++ | |
6 | Robert Calaz | COL | RF/LF | ++ | ++ | ++ | + | |||
7 | Jose Pirela | CLE | CF/RF/LF | + | + | + | + | + | ++ | |
8 | Welbyn Francisca | CLE | 2B/SS | ++ | + | ++ | ++ | + | - | |
9 | Braylin Morel | TEX | RF | ++ | ++ | |||||
10 | Pedro Catuy | ARI | CF | + | + | ++ | ++ | |||
11 | Derniche Valdez | CHC | SS/2B/3B | - | ++ | - | + | + | ||
12 | Yeremi Cabrera | TEX | LF | ++ | - | -- | + | + | ||
13 | Adrian Gil | CHW | 1B/3B | ++ | -- | ++ | + | - | - | |
14 | Sammy Stafura | CIN | SS | -- | -- | ++ | - | + | + | + |
15 | Sheng-En Lin | CIN | SS/CF/RHP | - | + | + | - | + | ||
16 | Ramon Ramirez | KC | C | ++ | -- | + | + | - | ||
17 | Eric Bitonti | MIL | 3B/RF/1B | - | + | - | ++ | - | ||
18 | Luis Merejo | CLE | 1B/RF | ++ | ++ | + | + | + | - | |
19 | Yassel Soler | ARI | 3B/1B/2B | + | ++ | - | -- | |||
20 | George Wolkow | CHW | RF | + | - | ++ | - | -- | ||
21 | Angel Cepeda | CHC | 2B/3B | + | + | |||||
22 | Javier Mogollon | CHW | 2B | ++ | - | + | + | -- | ||
23 | Elias Medina | LAD | 3B/SS | + | ++ | + | ||||
24 | Gian Zapata | ARI | RF/CF | - | ++ | - | ++ | |||
25 | Abraham Nunez | CHW | LF/RF/CF | + | + | + | + | |||
26 | Derek Bernard | COL | LF | + | - | + | - | - | ||
27 | Arnaldo Lantigua | LAD | LF/RF/CF | + | + | |||||
28 | Filippo Di Turi | MIL | SS/2B | ++ | + | - | ||||
29 | Pedro Ibarguen | MIL | 2B/LF/3B | + | ++ | -- | ||||
30 | Dario Laverde | LAA | C | + | - | + | + | -- |
Rayner Arias (wrist) and Pedro Catuy (lower-body) are both sidelined to begin the ACL season. Felnin Celesten, Yeremi Cabrera, Braylin Morel, Sheng-En Lin, Sammy Stafura and Derniche Valdez are some of the most notable hitters off to good starts, but the samples are so small, the leaderboards can change very quickly. With someone like Alexander Albertus, who is repeating the ACL as a 19-year-old after dominating there last year while he awaits an assignment to Single-A, it's fairly irrelevant how he performs (as long as he performs well), since we already know he can handle this level. I'm really interested to see what's going on with Walker Martin. He's too old to have been legitimately assigned to the ACL, and he hasn't played in any games, so I'm hoping he's just banged up or something and they're waiting to send him to Single-A.
Florida Complex League
Prospect | Team | Position | Performance | Age/Level | Pedigree | Hit | Power | Speed | Body | |
1 | Jose Perdomo | ATL | SS | N/A | ++ | ++ | ++ | + | ||
2 | Yoeilin Cespedes | BOS | 2B/3B | ++ | ++ | ++ | ++ | - | - | |
3 | Brailer Guerrero | TB | RF/1B | ++ | ++ | + | ++ | - | -- | |
4 | Starlyn Caba | PHI | SS | + | ++ | ++ | - | ++ | - | |
5 | Enmanuel Bonilla | TOR | RF/LF | + | ++ | + | ++ | |||
6 | Jeremy Rodriguez | NYM | 2B/SS | + | ++ | ++ | ++ | + | + | |
7 | Brando Mayea | NYY | CF | ++ | ++ | ++ | + | |||
8 | Andres Valor | MIA | CF | + | + | + | ++ | ++ | ||
9 | Jose Monzon | TB | 2B/SS | + | + | ++ | ||||
10 | Luis Guanipa | ATL | CF | - | ++ | - | + | ++ | + | |
11 | Erick Lara | TB | 3B/SS | + | ++ | -- | + | + | + | |
12 | Branny De Oleo | NYM | 2B/SS | + | - | -- | ++ | + | ||
13 | Mario Baez | ATL | 2B/SS | + | ++ | ++ | - | ++ | - | |
14 | Franklin Arias | BOS | SS | + | + | ++ | - | + | ||
15 | Carson Rucker | DET | 3B/SS | -- | - | + | + | + | ||
16 | Estuar Suero | PIT | CF/RF | -- | + | -- | + | + | + | |
17 | Eduardo Tait | PHI | C | + | ++ | - | + | -- | ||
18 | Joshua Liranzo | BAL | 3B | ++ | + | |||||
19 | Anibal Salas | DET | RF/LF | + | + | + | - | |||
20 | Luis Almeyda | BAL | SS/2B/3B | - | + | ++ | - | + | ||
21 | Simon Juan | NYM | RF | -- | ++ | - | ++ | |||
22 | Fabian Lopez | MIA | SS | - | + | - | + | |||
23 | Yordany De Los Santos | PIT | 3B/SS | - | ++ | - | + | + | ||
24 | Angel Perez | PIT | 1B/C | ++ | + | + | - | |||
25 | Dameury Pena | MIN | 2B | + | -- | ++ | - | - | - | |
26 | Bryan Acuna | MIN | 3B/SS | - | + | + | ||||
27 | Enrique Jimenez | DET | C | ++ | + | |||||
28 | Sam Shaw | TOR | LF/2B | -- | ||||||
29 | A.J. Ewing | NYM | LF/2B/CF | -- |
Jose Perdomo (undisclosed) and Brando Mayea (undisclosed) are both sidelined to start the season, and with Perdomo on the 60-day injured list, it's possible that his injury is serious enough that he'll miss the entire complex-league season. Enmanuel Bonilla, Brailer Guerrero, Starlyn Caba, Jeremy Rodriguez and Jose Monzon are off to great starts, so that's where I'd look first if you want to speculate on one of these guys.
Dominican Summer League
Prospect | Team | Position | Age/Level | Pedigree | Hit | Power | Speed | Body | |
1 | Paulino Santana | TEX | CF/RF/LF | ++ | ++ | ++ | + | ++ | |
2 | Dawel Joseph | SEA | SS | + | ++ | + | + | + | ++ |
3 | Adolfo Sanchez | CIN | CF/RF | ++ | + | + | + | ++ | |
4 | Francisco Vilorio | NYY | RF/CF | ++ | ++ | + | |||
5 | Jorge Quintana | MIL | SS | ++ | + | + | ++ | ||
6 | Luis Cova | MIA | CF | ++ | + | + | ++ | ++ | |
7 | Dexters Peralta | NYY | SS | ++ | + | + | + | ++ | |
8 | Emil Morales | LAD | 3B/RF/LF | ++ | + | ++ | |||
9 | Fernando Cruz | CHC | SS | ++ | + | + | |||
10 | Yandel Ricardo | KC | SS/3B | ++ | + | + | + | ||
11 | Bralyn Brazoban | PIT | CF/RF | ++ | + | + | + | ||
12 | Yovanny Rodriguez | NYM | C | ++ | + | + | |||
13 | Adriel Radney | ARI | RF/CF | ++ | ++ | + | ++ | ||
14 | Victor Hurtado | WAS | RF/LF | + | ++ | ++ | |||
15 | Alfredo Benzan | ARI | SS/3B | + | + | + | + | ++ | |
16 | Elvin Garcia | BAL | SS | + | + | + | + | ++ | |
17 | Yairo Padilla | STL | SS | ++ | + | + | + | ++ | |
18 | Carlos Carrasquel | BOS | 3B | + | + | ++ | |||
19 | Edward Lantigua | NYM | CF/RF | + | + | + | + | ++ | |
20 | Naibel Mariano | CIN | 3B | ++ | ++ | ||||
21 | Angel Feliz | WAS | 3B | ++ | ++ | ||||
22 | Robert Arias | CLE | CF/LF | ++ | ++ | - | + | + | |
23 | Gabriel Rodriguez | CLE | SS | + | + | + | + | + | |
24 | Cristian Arguelles | COL | CF/LF | ++ | + | + | + | ||
25 | Daiber De Los Santos | MIN | SS/CF | ++ | - | + | ++ | ++ | |
26 | Leonardo Pineda | TB | LF/CF | ++ | + | + | |||
27 | Eduardo Beltre | MIN | CF/RF/LF | ++ | + | + | |||
28 | Richard Matic | NYY | 3B | ++ | + | + | + | ||
29 | Joswa Lugo | LAA | 3B/SS | ++ | ++ | ||||
30 | Jesus Pinto | DET | CF | + | + | + | |||
31 | Ashly Andujar | COL | SS | ++ | ++ | + | |||
32 | Emilio Sanchez | BAL | 2B/3B/SS | ++ | + | + | |||
33 | Jhonny Level | SF | SS | + | + | + | |||
34 | Belfi Rivera | ARI | CF | ++ | + | ||||
35 | Stiven Martinez | BAL | RF/1B | ++ | + | ++ | |||
36 | Jesus Made | MIL | 3B/SS | + | + | + | |||
37 | Jalvin Arias | PHI | RF/LF/CF | ++ | - | ++ | |||
38 | Anderson Navas | PHI | C | ++ | |||||
39 | Vladimir Asencio | BOS | CF/LF | + | ++ | - | - | ||
40 | Jhonayker Ugarte | KC | 3B/SS | ++ | + | + | |||
41 | Anderson Paula | HOU | RF/LF | + | ++ | ||||
42 | Luis Pena | MIL | SS/2B | + | ++ | ||||
43 | Andreimi Antunez | TB | SS | + | - | + | |||
44 | Edgar Montero | OAK | 3B/SS | ++ | + | ||||
45 | Jose Ramos | OAK | CF | ++ | + | + | |||
46 | Curley Martha | TEX | SS/2B/3B | + | + | ||||
47 | Pascual Archila | TOR | LF/CF | + | + | ||||
48 | Franklin Rojas | TOR | C | ++ | + | ||||
49 | Leandro Romero | SEA | SS | + | - | + | |||
50 | Eduardo Herrera | CHW | 3B/1B | ++ | - | ++ | -- | - | |
51 | Nestor Miranda | DET | 1B/3B | -- | ++ | - | ++ | -- | -- |
52 | Junior Arias | TOR | RF/LF | + | - | + | -- | ||
53 | Angel Guzman | TOR | SS/2B | + | + |
If you want to read up on these players, check out Ben Badler's work at BA. Covering DSL prospects before they play in official games is an impossible job, and Ben is the best in the business. Age appropriate for the DSL is 17 years old. If a player is older than 17 and making their pro debut in the DSL, there could be a good reason, like a visa issue, for them not being stateside, but it's a big red flag if an 18- or 19-year-old hitter is repeating the DSL. For pedigree, I'm basically judging based on signing bonus. Santana will likely head to the Arizona Complex League after a couple weeks in the DSL, and if any of these other guys get similar promotions midway through the DSL season, that's a big mark in their favor.
Pitchers Worth Tracking
ACL
Jeter Martinez - SEA
Cole Schoenwetter - CIN
Hyun-Seok Jang - LAD
Hiro Wyatt - KC
Jesus Tillero - LAD
FCL
Zander Mueth - PIT
Jose Urbina - TB
Paul Wilson - DET
Blake Dickerson - DET
Dylan Questad - MIN
Jerson Alejandro - NYY
David Matoma - PIT
Trevor Harrison - TB
DSL
Yander Maria - CHC
Orlando Suarez - CHW
Jose Paulino - MIA
Humberto Cruz - SD
Branneli Franco - STL
Rostering pitchers in rookie ball is not something I'd advise in most dynasty leagues, but these pitchers have enough upside to justify at least keeping tabs on how they're performing. The top pitchers in this group could quickly move to Single-A if they have early success in rookie ball.
I know Henry Lalane and Carlos Lagrange are listed as being on the Yankees' Florida Complex League roster, but they're both injured, and I assume Lalane, and probably Lagrange, would be sent to Single-A Tampa once they're healthy.