All of our organization Top 30 Prospects lists are complete ... whew. Now it's on to Spring Training reports and then the Draft. While we catch our breath for a moment, let's tackle your prospect questions:
With all the teams' farm systems now being presented to us, which farm systems have the most depth by position (C/1B/2B/3B/SS/OF/P)? -- @StevieDAles97
As always, a thought-provoking question from Stephen. Here are my best systems in terms of prospects at each position, with more emphasis on quality than sheer quantity on Top 30 lists. The Reds are going to have several options for the left side of their infield.
C -- Mets (Francisco Álvarez, Kevin Parada)
1B -- Athletics (Tyler Soderstrom, Jordan Diaz)
2B -- Pirates (Termarr Johnson, Nick Gonzales, Ji Hwan Bae)
3B -- Reds (Cam Collier, Spencer Steer, Christian Encarnacion-Strand, Sal Stewart)
SS -- Reds (Elly De La Cruz, Noelvi Marte, Edwin Arroyo, Matt McLain, Ricardo Cabrera, Victor Acosta, Leonardo Balcazar, Jose Torres)
OF -- Nationals (James Wood, Robert Hassell III, Elijah Green, Cristhian Vaquero, Jeremy De La Rosa, T.J. White, Daylen Lile, Roismar Quintana, Brenner Cox, Jared McKenzie)
LHP -- Giants (Kyle Harrison, Carson Whisenhunt, Reggie Crawford)
RHP -- Dodgers (Bobby Miller, Gavin Stone, Ryan Pepiot, Nick Nastrini, Nick Frasso, River Ryan, Emmet Sheehan, Landon Knack, Michael Grove)
Way-too-early redraft: Would Spencer Strider go 1-1 in the 2020 Draft? -- @sp526
Coming back from Tommy John surgery at Clemson, Strider got just 12 innings that spring to showcase himself before the pandemic ended the college season. He struck out 19 and pushed his fastball to 95 mph before the Braves took him in the fourth round of the 2020 Draft. Two years later, he surpassed Randy Johnson to become the fastest pitcher (130 innings) to reach 200 strikeouts in a season, and he may have the most unhittable heater in the big leagues.
The players taken at the top of the 2020 Draft haven't exactly covered themselves in glory, and only nine players selected that June have even reached the Majors at this point, so the class is still mostly unproven. The second-most successful big leaguer thus far has been Reid Detmers, whom the Angels drafted 10th overall.
Given the volatility of pitcher health, I'd take Cardinals outfield prospect Jordan Walker with the No. 1 overall choice in a 2020 redraft. Strider might be the second selection, which is pretty amazing considering his pedigree.
Better high school prospect: Max Clark or Corbin Carroll? -- @ballsandgutters
Carroll, who currently sits at No. 2 on our Top 100 Prospects list, ranked No. 15 on our 2019 Draft Top 100 before the D-backs picked the Seattle high school product with the 16th overall pick that June. The top high school prospect in the 2023 Draft, Clark is a Franklin (Ind.) Community HS outfielder who sits at No. 6 on our current Draft Top 100.
Carroll and Clark had extremely similar profiles at the same stage of their careers. They both could make a case for having the best hitting ability in their prep class and both were plus-plus runners who projected as plus center fielders. Clark has more power potential and a stronger arm, so he gets the nod as a better prospect than Carroll was coming out of high school.
Is Reggie Crawford more likely to be on the mound full-time or be a hitter? -- @Gh0sty32
Crawford had much more success as a hitter at Connecticut, where he led the Big East Conference with 13 homers in 2021 and totaled just eight innings on the mound in three years. He blew out his elbow in the fall of 2021, requiring Tommy John surgery, and broke into pro ball last year with 19 at-bats in Rookie ball while waiting to return to the mound.
But there's no question that Crawford -- San Francisco's No. 9 prospect -- is a pitcher. The Giants drafted him at No. 30 last July because he's a 6-foot-4, 235-pound left-hander with a 95-100 mph fastball with tremendous carry and a mid-80s slider with impressive depth. He struck out 30 of the 56 batters he faced in 2021 between Connecticut, Team USA and the Cape Cod League and was a potential No. 1 overall pick before he got hurt.
Crawford has at least plus raw power as a lefty-hitting first baseman and may get a few at-bats in 2023, but the primary focus will be getting him back to pitching. While needs to add an offspeed pitch, refine his command and build up his workload, he's a physical athlete with a huge ceiling.