Spring Tilt - AL Edition - Hitters
We’ll go over 12 notable hitting prospects and their Spring Training performances from the AL. But first, let’s go over when all the levels start and end this season.
There’s less than a week left before the regular season truly starts (Seoul Series, aside). The AAA season begins March 29th, a day after the MLB season gets going. The AAA season will end on September 22nd. That’s nearly a full six months of AAA ball on the docket for 2024, which should be exciting.
Low-A, High-A, and AA will all begin their seasons on Friday, April 5th. So we’ll have a full week of Major League Baseball before the real prospecting fun at the lower levels and AA can begin. Low-A and High-A will end their regular seasons on September 8th, while AA will finish its regular season on September 15th.
The CPX leagues will begin on May 4th this year and will end on July 25th. It’s been moved up a month from previous years. The DSL should start around the same time as it did in 2023 which was the first week of June.
I know everyone is getting antsy to have real baseball back so I’ll write a few more posts before the Regular Season starts which go over both the AL (Batters/Pitchers) and the NL (Batters/Pitchers) with notable performances from ST and expectations for the season. The real fun will begin once the season starts, so buckle up.
AL notable performances during Spring Training:
Hitters:
Chase DeLauter (CLE):
DeLauter had a breakout Spring and reminded everyone why he was a potential top 5 pick in the 2022 draft. He was taken with the 16th pick instead and is looking like highway robbery at this point for the Cleveland Guardians.
DeLauter led all of baseball with a 318 wRC+ during the spring (minimum 20 PA). He walked more than he struck out and slashed: .520/.600/.1.040 with 4 homers. The level of competition is obviously something to consider during the Spring. According to baseball-reference, DeLauter had an opponent’s quality score of 7.7. 7 being AA and 8 being AAA — and he’ll begin the season in AA. It won’t be a long stay as I can see him being up sometime by May or June if he keeps up this level of hitting. Funky swing aside, the kid can hit and he’s effective. He’s a top 10-15 hitting prospect in fantasy, easily.
Spencer Jones (NYY):
I admittedly ranked Spencer Jones too low in the preseason and after the Spring he’s had, he’s an easy candidate to be bumped up not just a few spots but a few tiers from where I had him. He hardly whiffed this spring which was a major concern of mine going in. Do you hear that? That’s the sound of loud contact — and he had plenty of that this spring.
He posted a 242 wRC+ and walked more than he struck out. And he only struck out at a 12.5% clip. Really encouraging signs because we all know he’s a potential unicorn with a power and speed blend that only a few have in the game. The upside is enormous. He even opened up the Spring Breakout game with a bomb off the bat at 106.5 mph. What we’re witnessing is the blossoming of a potential top-10 prospect in all of baseball. I can admit when I’m wrong and I think I was wrong on this one. Let’s see how this plays out during a larger sample in the minors —but he looked mighty good out there this Spring and all indications have his stock pointing way up.
Angel Martínez (CLE):