2023 DSL/CPX Standouts and Targets Part 2

3 Part series identifying 33 Standouts from the DSL/CPX last year

Elias Medina (LAD):

On a per-plate appearance basis, Elias Medina was as productive as Robert Calaz last year.

They ran similar walk rates and K rates while both hitting 7 homers. Medina chipped in 16 steals over 176 plate appearances while Calaz only had 6. Both Medina and Calaz were nearly identical in Total Bases/Plate Appearance.

Now here is the caveat: This is just a data comparison and not based on live-looks or projectability. Calaz as mentioned in part 1, passes the eye test and his batted ball data is through the roof for a 17-year-old. So comparing purely via numbers isn’t going to get us anywhere, but it’s a good gauge to see how productive Elias Medina truly was last year.

Medina played mostly shortstop and third base in 2023 while chipping in a few games at second base. He figures to slot in as a shortstop or a second baseman as he’s listed at just 5’10 171. There’s projectability left on his frame to add a bit more thickness. The power and speed blend that he showed last year is why I felt the need to mention him. He’s worth monitoring for 2024 and that’s about it for now — much like a lot of the hitters who will be mentioned.

Yorfran Medina (LAD):

Another Medina and another Dodger to monitor. Yorfran is listed at 6’4 195 and I would say there’s projectability left, but he’s added some thickness and looks like he’s closer to about 235-240 already. And it’s the good kind of thickness. This profiles him purely at 1B or a DH spot which means his bat is going to have to play.

Medina is a DSL repeater — first getting a taste as a 17-year-old in 2022 which led to struggles at the plate and poor results. He posted a 69 wRC+ and had a walk rate of 7.2% with a K rate of 31.3%. But one year makes a big difference. In 2023, Medina increased his walk rate to 22.6% while lowering his K rate to 20.8% as he posted a 204 wRC+ — second to only Rayner Arias among players with at least 70 PA.

2023 only offered a 32-game sample for Yorfran and he hit 5 homers and 8 doubles. Somehow he only had 3 singles, but he still posted a .397 ISO. He’s more than a “monitor closely” guy at this point as you can even speculate and grab him in deep leagues that have 150-200+ prospects. He’s 4 inches taller than Abimelec Ortiz and probably weighs the same with more muscle and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him have a similar level of success as Little Papi did at Low-A. The Dodgers are truly loaded.

Eduardo Tait (PHI):

Eduardo Tait was 16 years old last year and put up a slash of .333/.400/.517 in 44 games. He posted a 140 wRC+ and hit 12 doubles, 3 triples, and 3 homers. Again, as a 16-year-old. There is enough reason to believe that he’s going to climb Philadelphia’s top prospect lists in the coming year.

There is still risk here as he’s listed at 6’0 175 and profiles as a Catcher with average to sub-par defensive instincts at this point. The listing might be a bit off as he looks to be bigger than it already, which is a common theme.

He hits the ball fairly hard for someone his age as there are reports of him having a 90th percentile EV of 92.9 mph, which would be better than most players in the DSL, let alone for his age level. Monitor him closely as his age-to-level production will be a point of intrigue as he may even debut stateside this season. If he does, the data that’ll come back from the FSL will have people scrambling and talking about Tait by mid-season.

Julio Zayas (NYM):

Zayas is another Catcher, this time in the New York Mets system, and he’s one of the more overlooked DSL players they currently have. We’ll go over the more heralded Mets DSL guys in later posts, but right now we’re sticking with Zayas.

Zayas is listed at 5’11 190 and played both Catcher and 3rd Base last year. This is a bat-first profile and he’s going to have to continue to hit for him to evolve and be seen as someone to monitor further.

He was 17 years old in 2023 as he faced DSL pitching. He slashed: .307/.368/.517 with 7 homers in 49 games. There isn’t much speed to his game and there isn’t much discipline as he’s going to swing and often makes effective contact out of the zone, limiting his strikeouts, as he had just a 12.9% K rate. The walk rates and K rates were actually similar to Yoeilin Cespedes’ while still managing to hit for average. That isn’t to say he has the same pedigree and projectability, but it’s worth mentioning that he’s a dark horse to monitor.

Yeremi Cabrera (TEX):

We already went over Braylin Morel in part 1 and Yeremi Cabrera is just another name in the Texas Rangers system worth monitoring. While Morel was signed for less than 100K, Cabrera was signed for an even more modest 10K and both are looking like steals given their production at the level.

There’s no risk on Cabrera on the Rangers’ side, but from a fantasy perspective, he’s merely a close monitor at this stage.

Cabrera is listed at 5’11 155 and I’ve already mentioned how skeptical I am of these listings as he’s probably already had an offseason to add some thickness to his initial frame. Despite that, Cabrera hit 7 homers and stole 9 bases in 46 games last year. He slashed: .329/.445/.559 and walked more than he struck out. All good signs. He played above-average defense in the outfield and looks to stick at a corner spot. I think Cabrera brings an interesting blend of power, speed, projectability, and age-to-level production to the table that can’t go overlooked.

Gabriel Terrero (NYY):

I want to call Terrero the overlooked Mogollon. We went over Javier Mogollon in Part 1 of this series and while Terrero’s hit tool might not be as good as Mogollon’s, it’s fairly good at this stage.

He debuted in the DSL in 2023 as a 17-year-old and slashed: .299/.407/.533 with 7 homers and 14 stolen bases in just 37 games. On a per-plate appearance basis, he was the 16th most impactful player in the DSL or CPX as he had .4506 Total Bases/Plate Appearance. The numbers jump out of the page — he posted a high OBP with over a 100-point differential from his average, slugged, and ran.

Terrero is listed at 5’6 169 and while the projectability might not be there, the results were. Maybe he’s a Mogollon in the making. He’s worth monitoring, but I wouldn’t go out and bet the farm on the kid.

Kevyn Castillo (LAA):

It’s unfortunate Castillo is in the Angels organization as that tends to give me an ulcer when it comes to projecting prospects. Castillo has a long runway ahead as he’ll still be 18 years old on opening day this year.

Listed at 5’10 170, there’s room to grow into more power. The speed is evident as he stole 23 bags in 55 games last year and while the power is still something that he needs to grow into, Castillo still hit 3 homers. He’ll likely debut stateside this year and a few things to monitor are whether he can maintain the same approach (more walks than strikeouts, and hitting for average). It may take some time, but he was one of the better performers in the DSL in 2023 so he’s worth the mention.

Welbyn Francisca (CLE):

An advanced switch hitter for his age, Francisca showed he was one of the better bats in the DSL last year. He’s patient and can wait for his pitch and is somewhat of an extra-base machine as he hit 7 doubles, 6 triples, and 3 homers in just 40 games. He had .4246 TB/PA so he was more than effective on a per-plate-appearance basis.

Francisca is one to watch and can be an easy climber by next year. There’s a great feel for his bat and his ability to hit and get on base as he slashed: .316/.419/.500.

He is a bit undersized and there’s going to be room to grow but it looks like his position is ultimately 2nd base, despite playing shortstop for the majority of 2023. The hit tool is unquestioned and we may see a Luis Lara-like ascension with more power.

Waner Luciano (HOU):

The batting average doesn’t jump out off the page when looking at Waner Luciano, but if you dig a little deeper his debut saw him start 0-for-17. If you remove his first 5 games from the Complex, Luciano slashed: .275/.366/.530 with 10 homers in 40 games.

Luciano is projectable at a listed 6’1 170 with a broad frame that looks like it can comfortably hold 190-200, while not limiting himself defensively and boosting his power potential.

He doesn’t hit the ball on the ground much and gets a ton of lift which resulted in the 10 homers and 8 doubles he hit last year in such a small sample. There are concerns over his pull-side tendency and his tendency to pop the ball up in the infield with too much frequency. These are just yellow flags as it’s still not uncommon for a player his age to have these problems and 2024 will be a season worth monitoring as he most likely starts at Low-A, facing more advanced pitching.

Roderick Arias (NYY):

I wrote about Arias in Projecting the Future Top 61 hitting prospects for 2025. Here’s what I wrote:

Arias is a prospect I expect to rank higher next year once he gets a taste of A and A+. Last year, at CPX he slashed: .267/.423/.505 as an 18-year-old. He walked nearly as much as he struck out. His BB rate was 20.8% and his K rate was 22.3% while posting a .238 ISO and a 143 wRC+ — all things I like to see.

In the 27-game sample, he showed off his power and speed combo — hitting 6 homers and stealing 17 bags.

The former top international signee from 2022 is someone who can not only be at the top of the shortstop prospect rankings next year but also at the top of the overall prospect rankings. I would be looking to deal for him where I can, as injuries cut his first two years short, and given a clean bill of health the toolsy Arias will have his perceived value rise exponentially.

Jeremy Rodriguez (NYM):

Rodriguez was the prize in the deal that sent Tommy slap-a-Joc Pham over to the Diamondbacks. The Mets made out like bandits in this deal by getting a potential 5-tool-player for a rental as their season wasn’t going anywhere. Rodriguez immediately becomes one of the more intriguing names in the lower levels of the system.

Defensively, he’s likely to stick at shortstop as he has smooth hands and good instincts. He has an above-average arm to make all the throws necessary at the position.

Offensively, he’s all projection at this point. Listed at 6’0 170, there’s solid room for growth into a mature, impactful bat. He’s quite adept at hitting both heaters and off-speed at this stage and has an advanced feel at the plate, as he walked more than he struck out last season.

He slashed: .293/.411/.467 with 10 doubles, 5 triples, and 3 homers to go with 19 stolen bases in his 51-game sample in the DSL. Did I mention he was 16 years old for the majority of the season last year? He enters 2024 as a 17-year-old with excellent projectability and age-to-level success already. It’ll be interesting to see how aggressive the Mets are with him to start and I’ll be paying attention because I think there’s a lot of potential helium with this kid as he has all the makings to be a heavy riser in the coming years, and as soon as this year.