Winter league prospect roundup

November 26th, 2019

As free agency begins to pick up and a lot of the talk is geared toward 2020, there are still several prospects finishing up their 2019 seasons.

Several winter leagues are in full swing with plenty of prospects from team Top 30 lists taking part. A lot of the prospects are playing in the Dominican League, but there are also a few in Mexico, Puerto Rico and Venezuela.

Here's a look at how some of baseball’s top prospects have fared internationally:

Daz Cameron, OF (Puerto Rico), Tigers No. 8: Cameron struggled offensively in the regular season, batting .214/.330/.377 through 120 games with Triple-A Toledo. However, he appears to have rediscovered his stroke in Puerto Rico, where he ranks seventh in the league in batting. The eight-game sample size is obviously small, but it’s still a good sign that Cameron is hitting .286 with 16 total bases. The speedy outfielder has also swiped a pair of bags and has drawn four walks, compared to seven strikeouts.

Lewin Diaz, 1B (Dominican Republic), Marlins No. 12: Diaz, whom the Marlins acquired from the Twins in late July, is putting together a solid campaign for Estrellas de Oriente. Diaz, who turned 23 last week, is sixth in the league with three homers and batting .276/.331/.422 through 29 games. The first baseman has also been productive with runners on base and is third in the league with 20 RBIs.

Robel Garcia, 3B/2B (Dominican Republic), Cubs No. 26: Garcia, whom the Cubs signed last October after he’d spent the previous three season playing in Italy, has impressed in the Dominican. The 26-year-old made his Major League debut this season and homered five times in 33 games. That came after he hit a career-high 27 homers in 98 Minor League games. That power has carried over to the Dominican, where Garcia is tied for second with four homers through 33 games. The infielder is also batting .245 and has struck out 29 times in 110 at-bats, an issue that has plagued him throughout his career.

Jorge Mateo, SS/2B (Dominican Republic), Athletics No. 4: After a breakout 2019 campaign (.289/.330/.504 through 119 games) with Triple-A Las Vegas, Mateo has struggled to hit in the Dominican and is batting .198 through 26 games. However, when he has managed to get on base, the infielder has shown off his 80-grade speed and is a perfect 6-for-6 in stolen base attempts, which is tied for the fourth most in the league.

Isaac Paredes, INF (Mexico), Tigers No. 5: Paredes hasn’t played in enough games to rank on the league leaderboards, but he’s been very productive for Yaquis de Obregon. The 20-year-old hit .282 over 127 games with Double-A Erie during the regular season and is hitting .316 through 20 games of winter ball. Paredes has also shown a strong ability to put the ball in play and good pitch recognition at he’s walked more (7) times than he’s struck out (6) through 79 at-bats.

Jose Siri, OF (Dominican Republic), Reds No. 15: The scouting report on Siri states that he “has well above-average power, but he still lacks in pitch selection” and the early returns from winter ball certain confirm that assessment. Siri, who has struck out 20 times in 73 at-bats, is batting .192, but is also tied for second in the league with four homers through 18 games.

Edmundo Sosa, INF (Dominican Republic), Cardinals No. 14: Sosa hit .291/.335/.466 over 118 games with Triple-A Memphis and has continued to rake for Aguilas. The infielder is hitting .325/.370/.452 through 30 games and has homered three times (tied for sixth in the league) and also ranks third with 57 total bases.

Justin Williams, OF (Mexico), Cardinals No. 15: Williams missed time with a couple of injuries this season and only played in 53 games. However, he’s making up for lost time with Aguilas de Mexicali and so far the results are encouraging. The 24-year-old has played in 24 games and is betting .284 with eight extra-base hits. Williams has homered twice and also flashed some speed with a trio of stolen bases.