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Double-A Prospects To Watch From The 2023 Draft

By Richard Haake
Matt Shaw Dynasty Baseball FYPD

In today’s game, a lot of the top prospects are currently in Double-A. As we have seen in recent years, MLB teams are not afraid to skip Triple-A and bring them straight to the Major Leagues. For prospects selected in the 2023 MLB draft to start the season in Double-A is a bode of confidence that they are close to getting the call. In this article, we will dive into some of the prospects to watch from the 2023 MLB Draft starting in Double-A.

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Prospects To Watch In Double-A

Kyle Teel, C BOS

How good is Kyle Teel? The answer based on his performance at the University of Virginia and eventually in the Red Sox organization is excellent. While at UVA Teel developed the bat and stood out as College Baseball’s best catching prospect. In his Junior year at UVA Teel slashed .407/.475/.655 with 13 home runs, 67 runs scored, 69 RBIs, and stole five bases over 65 games played. The pop times behind the plate are among the elite in the majors right now so it was understood Boston would move him quickly after selecting Teel 14th overall in the 2023 MLB draft.

Once in the Boston organization, Teel flew through three games of Complex ball before heading straight up to High-A Greenville. With the Drive Teel slashed .377/.485/.453 with 10 runs scored, nine RBIs, and stole a base in 14 games played. Teel showed excellent plate discipline as he walked and struck out 16.7% of his 66 plate appearances. The final stop for Teel was nine games in Double-A Portland where he continued to hit slashing .323/.462/.484 with one home run, 11 RBIs, and two stolen bases. In his 39 plate appearances, Teel walked 20.5% while the strikeout rate jumped to 28.2%. The key to moving up from here is if Teel cuts back the strikeouts in Double-A Portland and continues to get on base at a .400 plus clip. We could see Teel up with the Red Sox in mid-September, if not sooner.

Dylan Crews, OF WSH

Ranked as one of the top draft-eligible prospects out of LSU Dylan Crews was selected second overall in the 2023 MLB Draft. To this point most dynasty managers know about Dylan Crews and what he was able to do with a stacked LSU team en route to winning the College World Series. Once he was in the Nationals organization Crews was off to Low-A Fredericksburg after a game in the Complex League. With the Fred Nats, Crews slashed .355/.423/.645 with five home runs, 16 runs scored, 24 RBIs, and one stolen base. In his 71 plate appearances, Crews managed to walk 8.5% while striking out 26.8% of the time.

The Nationals by-passed pitching-friendly High-A Wilmington to send Crews to Double-A Harrisburg. With the Senators Crews slashed just .208/.318/.278 with seven runs scored, five RBIs, and three stolen bases in six attempts. Despite the low batting average Crews walked 9.5% while striking out 22.4% in his 85 plate appearances. The BABIP for Crews was low so we could see a big bounce back from him early on in the 2024 campaign. With the “new look” Nationals taking shape it won’t be long before Crews is patrolling the outfield in the nation’s capital.

Yohandy Morales, 3B WSH

If you are looking for the “underrated” prospect of the 2023 MLB Draft check out Yohandy Morales. While at the University of Miami, the 6’4” and 225-pound Morales played shortstop, third, and first base. In 174 career games with Hurricanes Morales slashed .343/.413/.635 with 49 home runs. It was his Junior season that put Morales on scout radars. In 61 games played Morales slashed .408/.475/.713 with 20 home runs, 58 runs scored, 70 RBIs, and seven stolen bases. Somehow Morales slipped into the second round where the Nationals selected him 40th overall. Projected to be a plus power hitter Morales quieted the concerns about his hit tool with his Junior season and later his professional debut in the Nationals system.

Morales played two games in the complex ball before heading up to Low-A Fredricksburg. In 18 games with the Fred Nats Morales slashed .390/.448/.571 with 18 runs scored, 17 RBIs, and stole a base. Across 87 plate appearances, Morales walked 9.2% while striking out just 20.7% of the time. This success prompted a promotion to High-A Wilmington and Morales didn’t slow down. In 18 games played Morales slashed .314/.400/.443 with 12 runs scored, and 14 RBIs with a 10% walk percentage and 20% strikeout rate in 80 plate appearances. Even in the short stint to finish the season in Double-A Harrisburg Morales slashed .286/.412.357 in four games played.

The assignment back to Harrisburg is to be expected but if Yohandy Morales can continue to hit don’t be surprised if the Nationals come calling. For dynasty managers, Morales has proven to be a solid hitter in college as well as his stint in the minor leagues last season. Despite not hitting a home run in his pro debut Morales still hit 20 extra-base hits of his 58 total hits. Long term there is still 25-30 home run pop in his bat with solid OBP. Great prospect to target early on in 2024.

Matt Shaw, 2B CHC

The Cubs are on the rise and It looks like they locked down an important piece to their long-term infield success. Matt Shaw was selected 13th overall in the 2023 MLB Draft out of the University of Maryland. Prior to his Junior season, Shaw played in the Cape Cod Baseball League where we got a taste of what was to come. In 36 games played Shaw slashed .360/.432/.574 with five home runs, 28 runs scored, 19 RBIs, and stole 21 bases in 24 attempts. The results of the CCBL put Matt Shaw in the spotlight heading into the 2023 season. In his final season with the Terps Shaw slashed .341/.445/.697 with 24 home runs, 80 runs scored, 69 RBIs, and stole 18 bases in 62 games played.

Once in the Cubs Organization, the upward trajectory began. After a short stint in Complex Ball Shaw bypassed Low-A and was sent to High-A South Bend. In 20 games played Shaw slashed .393/.427/.655 with four home runs, 18 RBIs, and stole seven bases in eight attempts. At the plate, Shaw limited the strikeouts to just 13.5% on par with what he did previously at Maryland. After the success at High-A Shaw was off to finish the season in Double-A Tennessee. While with the Smokies Shaw continued to hit. In 15 games played Shaw was slashing .292/.329/.523 with three home runs, nine RBIs, and stole six bases in seven attempts with just a 17.1% strikeout rate across 70 plate appearances.

This stint in Double-A should not be long for the Cubs or Shaw as it seems they want to get him to the major leagues as soon as possible. For dynasty managers, Shaw offers high average for category leagues as well as above-average pop and speed. The OBP will be predicated on the ability to get on base with hits as Shaw typically sits under a 5% walk percentage.

Brock Wilken, 3B MIL

One of the most feared power hitters in College baseball in 2023 was Brock Wilken with Wake Forest. In his final season with the Demon Deacons Wilken went on to slash .345/.506/.807 with 31 home runs, 90 runs scored, and drove in 82 RBIs in 66 games played. Wilken’s parting gift to Wake Forest was breaking Jamie D’Antona’s all-time home run record (58 HR) finishing with 71 in three years with the Decons. As a result, the Brewers selected Wilken 18th overall in the 2023 MLB Draft. It didn’t take long for Wilken to get acclimated to professional baseball as he ascended three levels before ultimately finishing the season in Double-A Biloxi.

In 47 combined games in the Brewers organization in 2023, Wilken slashed .285/.414/.473 with five home runs, 27 runs scored, 29 RBIs, and four stolen bases. Excluding the six games at Double-A Wilken had a 16.15% walk percentage and a 21.35% strikeout percentage in the Complex League and High-A combined. For dynasty managers Wilken is exciting, there is 30-plus home run power here, and with his time in College and time so far in the minor leagues above average bat-to-ball skills. Brock Wilken will start the season back at Double-A Biloxi but with a strong spring, a promotion to Triple-A or even the Majors Leagues is not out of the question for 2024.

Jacob Wilson, SS OAK

Oakland seems to be in a constant re-build and in this year’s MLB Draft decided to get an infielder to build off of. Jacob Wilson was selected sixth overall in the 2023 MLB Draft by the Athletics and was praised for the successful three seasons at Grand Canyon University. Wilson hit .360/.418/.554 with 22 home runs, 119 runs scored, 152 RBIs, and nine stolen bases lifetime at GCU. In his Junior season, the 21-year-old slashed .407/.458/.624 solidifying his contact-driven approach. Once he was in the Athletics organization Wilson was sent to the Complex League where he slashed .455/.500/.636 right five RBIs in three games played.

The next stop was up to High-A Lansing. While playing for the Lugnuts Wilson slashed .318/.378/.455 with one home run, 13 runs scored, eight RBIs, and four stolen bases in 23 games played. While in College Wilson was not known to draw walks due to his high hit rate but in High-A he faired well being patient at the plate. Across 99 plate appearances, Wilson had a 6.1% walk percentage paired with an excellent 10.1% strikeout rate. It comes as little surprise that the Athletics will push Wilson to Double-A Midland to start the season. If Wilson continues to hit for a high average we could see him push Triple-A Las Vegas or even make his debut this summer.

Andrew Pinckney, OF WSH

Drafted by the Nationals in the fourth round of the 2023 MLB Draft out of the University of Alabama Andrew Pinckney had an impressive professional debut. Standing 6’3” and 215 pounds Pinckney has the build of a power-hitting outfield bat but also has the speed to be a base-stealing threat. At Alabama, Pinckney turned heads with his stellar defense and cannon for an arm but he shined from the offensive side. In 64 games played Pinckney slashed .339/.442/.648 with 18 home runs, 55 runs scored, 58 RBIs, and stole eight bases in nine attempts.

Once in the Nationals organization Pinckney quickly ascended. In Low-A Fredricksburg Pinckney slashed .329/.402/.534 with three home runs, 21 runs scored, 15 RBIs, and six stolen bases in 17 games played. With the Fred Nats Pinckney walked 4.9% while striking out just 19.5% in 82 plate appearances. The next stop was High-A Wilmington where Pinckney slashed .324/.446/.412 with one home run, 13 runs scored and stole three bases in 18 games played. The walk rate jumped to 15.7% while the strikeout rate increased slightly to 21.7%. With this success, the Nationals promoted Pinckney to Double-A Harrisburg to finish the season.

The future outfield for the Nationals is starting to get really crowded so don’t be surprised if Pinckney could be a trade target this season. There is no doubt the talent is here for a prospect that has largely gone under the radar to this point. In dynasty leagues, I would buy into the talent and see where he will ultimately get his opportunity long term.

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