Looking at the AL East and the MLB.com Top 100 Prospects List
by Tamar Chalker
January 29, 2023
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One of my favorite aspects of the weeks heading into Spring Training isn’t just the promise of a new season, but taking a look at the top prospects around the league and what the new year may have in store for them. Will they end up fast-tracked to the Big Leagues? Traded midseason for a big name player needed to help a team contend? MLB.com's Top 100 Prospect list is out and the AL East representation is interesting.
The Yankees landed three players on the list, which is not spectacular, but also not the worst in the AL East. Of course, Anthony Volpe leads the way at #5 and is the top Shortstop prospect in the league. Barring anything disastrous, Volpe should be making an impact in the Bronx this season. Meanwhile, Jasson Dominguez ranks at 47th overall and Oswald Peraza finishes out the trio at 52. It isn’t out of the range of possibility that all three make it to the Bronx this season, even though Dominguez isn’t estimated to hit the Big Leagues until 2024.
The AL East team with the most representation on the list is the Orioles. They have eight players ranking in the Top 100, including 3B/SS Gunnar Henderson, who came in at #1. Pitcher Grayson Rodriguez gives Baltimore a second player in the top 10, coming in ninth. They both are expected to make an impact in Baltimore this year. Not expected to make much of a splash in 2022, the Orioles managed to surprise by having a winning season and only missing the wild card by three games. Could they finally become a contender again after languishing down at the bottom of the AL East for the last few years?
Both the Red Sox and Tampa Bay had four players on the list. Boston prospect Marcelo Mayer leads the way at ninth and sits right behind Volpe as the second best shortstop. He is slated to start the year at High-A, so he probably has a couple more years before he makes his debut. If the Red Sox are in really trying to rebuild - I’m not sure how much help they will be getting from their farm system. Tampa has RHP Taj Bradley ranked at the top of their prospect class at #20 and some younger infield prospects further down the list.
Finally, the Toronto Blue Jays almost missed out on the list completely. Their lone prospect to make the Top 100 is Ricky Tiedemann, a southpaw expected to start the year at Double-A. He is ranked 32nd. Toronto has a solid MLB roster right now and it is full of players who came through their farm system, so I am not surprised to see their presence a little lacking this year.
To me, the big news on the list is the number of Orioles players coming up - and many are going to be there this year. After a better season last year, it might be worth keeping a closer eye on the Orioles. Meanwhile, I think the Red Sox are going to be in for a potentially long rough patch. Of course, this could all get blown up with a few trades. What do you all think?
