Baseball America – July 02, 2019

22 JULY 2019 • BASEBALLAMERICA.COM

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DYLAN CARLSON

OF, CARDINALS

RANK: 49. PRESEASON: NR.

In his first two pro seasons,

Carlson showed an impressive

maturity that allowed him to

survive despite being one of

the youngest players in his

league each year.

Now, he’s no longer just

surviving. He’s thriving.

Carlson, 20, has experi-

enced a breakout this season

at Double-A Springfield.

Through 64 games, Carlson

had hit .287/.371/.516 with 10

home runs and ranked in the

top 10 in the Texas League

in myriad categories. All that

has come while being the

fourth-youngest player in the

TL on Opening Day.

“He’s really good. Really,

really good,” one veteran pro

scout said. “He’s their best guy

for me in the entire system.

Tools, production—they’re all

there.”

Carlson, the son of a dec-

orated high school coach,

has long earned praise for

his advanced approach at

the plate, and now he has

the strength to punish the

ball when he gets a pitch to

hit. Evaluators still think he

still has room to put on more

strength, giving him plus

power potential—if not more.

Combined with the fact

he’s a switch-hitter capable

of playing all three outfield

spots, Carlson is beginning to

profile as one of the game’s

top prospects.

—Kyle Glaser

STOCK IS

HEADED:

UP

JUSTUS SHEFFIELD

LHP, MARINERS

RANK: 80. PRESEASON: 27.

The Mariners acquired

Sheffield as the top prospect

from the Yankees in the deal

that sent James Paxton to

New York last winter.

So far, Sheffield’s introduc-

tion to the Mariners’ system

has been rough.

The 23-year-old lefthander

went 2-6, 6.87 in his first

13 appearances (12 starts)

with Triple-A Tacoma before

being demoted to Double-A.

Most concerning was his 41

walks and 48 strikeouts in 55

innings. He also walked four

batters in two innings in his

first outing with Seattle.

Sheffield boasts a mid-90s

fastball and promising slider

from the left side, but his

high-effort delivery has long

made evaluators skeptical he

would throw enough strikes

to be a major league starter.

His showing so far this

season hasn’t done much to

change that assessment.

“He doesn’t do it easy,” one

longtime scout said. “The

biggest thing is: Can he get

himself under control in his

delivery? I think he’s probably

on course to be a reliever. He

never really developed the

finesse needed to be a true

starter. His scatter is pretty

large even in short stints.”

Sheffield has shown better

and has time to recover, but

the believers that he can

remain a starter are dwindling.

—Kyle Glaser

STOCK WATCH

STOCK IS

HEADED:

DOWN

STOCK WATCH

JARRED KELENIC

OF, MARINERS

RANK: 23. PRESEASON: 68.

Kelenic was the key to the

December blockbuster in

which the Mariners traded

Edwin Diaz and Robinson

Cano to the Mets. So far,

Kelenic is looking like a major

coup for Seattle.

Drafted sixth overall by the

Mets in 2018, Kelenic tore up

the South Atlantic League this

season and quickly adapted

to high Class A Modesto as

one of the California League’s

youngest players. Through 57

games he hit .316/.398/.595

with 13 home runs and 10

stolen bases.

Armed with a sense of con-

fidence that backs up a pro-

digious skill set, Kelenic has

moved up the prospect ranks

as quickly as any player in the

minors. His ability to hit for a

high average with plus power

has come as advertised.

“I know our guys firmly

thought that he was probably

the best player in the draft,”

Mariners farm director Andy

McKay said. “Just the conver-

sation about the skill level of

this kid, who was not going

to get to us where we were

in the first round. He put on

quite a show in his workout at

Safeco. It was kind of in pass-

ing, because it didn’t appear

that it would be realistic that

he’d still be on the board

when we picked.”

The Mariners believe

Kelenic was worth the wait.

—Josh Norris

STOCK WATCH

STOCK IS

HEADED:

UP

LUIS ROBERT

OF, WHITE SOX

RANK: 14. PRESEASON: 76.

The White Sox paid a $26

million signing bonus and

nearly the same amount in

international bonus pool

overage tax to sign Robert out

of Cuba in 2017, but his 2018

campaign didn’t inspire much

confidence among scouts.

A thumb injury limited

Robert’s time on the field, and

when he did play, he wasn’t

effective, though he showed

glimpses of his potential in

the Arizona Fall League.

This year, the 21-year-old

Robert has rebounded in a

big way, showing the dynamic

athleticism that drew the

White Sox to him with high-

end production.

Robert turned in one of

the best first halves by a

hitting prospect, spend-

ing most of his time at

Double-A Birmingham. He hit

.353/.403/.630 with 12 home

runs and 18 stolen bases

through 60 games.

Robert has excellent bat

speed and raw power that

earns 60 to 70 grades on the

20-80 scale.

Robert is a fastball crush-

er. He has an aggressive

approach and can get tripped

up at times by spin, but he

has kept his strikeouts under

control this year. His 2018

campaign looks more like

a hiccup now, with Robert

showing a tantalizing pow-

er-speed threat in center field.

—Ben Badler

STOCK WATCH

STOCK IS

HEADED:

UP

TONY FARLOW; TOM PRIDDY; STEPHEN SMITH; JASON IVESTER; MIKE JANES; MIKE JANES; ALL VIA FOUR SEAM IMAGES. TIM WARNER/GETTY IMAGES; MIKE JANES/FOUR SEAM IMAGES