Winter leagues roundup: Eloy continues to rake in DR
The Arizona Fall League tends to receive the bulk of MLBPipeline.com's offseason prospect coverage, though that's not to say there aren't notable performances from top prospects taking place elsewhere.
The Liga de Beisbol Profesional de la Republica Dominica (i.e., Dominican Winter League), which began in mid-October, is now in full swing and features four Top 100 prospects in Eloy Jimenez, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jorge Mateo, all of whom are continuing to impress after their eye-opening regular-season campaigns in the Minors.
• Offseason leagues stats
The Liga Mexicana del Pacifico and Liga Venezuela Beisbol Professional are also underway, while Liga de Beisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente (Puerto Rico Winter League) had its typical late-October start pushed back to January due to Hurricane Maria. Here's a look at the top prospects currently impressing in the offseason winter leagues.
Dominican Republic
• Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 3B, Blue Jays' No. 1 -- Guerrero, MLBPipeline.com's No. 3 overall prospect and the son of longtime Major Leaguer Vladimir Guerrero, is holding his own as an 18-year-old in the DWL, where he owns a .230/.296/.311 line through 21 games for Leones del Escogido. He's hit safely in six of his past 10 games, albeit with just one double and one RBI. Splitting the regular season between Class A Lansing and Class A Advanced Dunedin, Guerrero slashed an impressive .323/.425/.485 with 43 extra-base hits and more walks (76) than strikeouts (62) in 119 games.
• Eloy Jimenez, OF, White Sox No. 1 -- MLBPipeline.com's No. 4 prospect is tearing the cover off the ball this offseason while playing for Gigantes del Cibao, as he currently leads all DWL hitters in average (.369), slugging (.692), OPS (1.125), home runs (four) and RBIs (20). This, of course, comes after a regular-season campaign in which the 20-year-old slugger batted .312/.379/.568 with 19 home runs in 89 games across two levels and two organizations (Cubs, White Sox).
• Fernando Tatis Jr., SS, Padres' No. 4 -- Another son of a former big leaguer, Tatis, No. 51 on MLBPipeline.com's Top 100 list, has cooled a bit after getting off to a hot start for Estrellas Orientales, though he still owns a solid .246/.358/.386 line with five extra-base hits and more walks (nine) than strikeouts (eight) through 17 games. The 18-year-old shortstop was one of the top breakout prospects in the Minors this past season when he slashed .278/.379/.498 with 22 homers and 32 steals and finished the year in Double-A.
• Jorge Mateo, SS/2B, Athletics' No. 4 -- Mateo currently paces all DWL hitters with his 10 stolen bases in 22 games for Toros del Este. He's batting .225 with six extra-base hits and 21 strikeouts in those contests. Acquired from the Yankees in the deadline blockbuster for Sonny Gray, the No. 97 overall prospect batted .292/.333/.518 with 16 extra-base hits and 13 steals in 30 games for Double-A Midland following the trade.
• Socrates Brito, OF, D-backs' No. 10 -- A dislocated ring finger on Brito's left hand suffered during Spring Training delayed the start of the 25-year-old outfielder's campaign until mid-season. He performed well with Triple-A Reno after finally returning to the field, but a healthy A.J. Pollock and the acquisition of J.D. Martinez kept him from returning to the Major Leagues. Now making up for some of that lost time in the DWL, Brito has produced a .322/.385/.563 line over his first 22 games for Estrellas Orientales.
• Keury Mella, OF, Reds' No. 21 -- One of the few top prospects pitching in the Caribbean, Mella -- almost exclusively a starter in his Minor League career, making three relief appearances vs. 115 starts -- is working out of the bullpen for Toros Del Este, and he's been effective. The 24-year-old righty has allowed one earned run in 7 1/3 innings over five appearances in the Dominican. Dealt by the Giants to the Reds in July 2015, Mella made his big league debut last season with a pair of relief appearances.
Mexican Winter League
• Randy Arozarena, OF, Cardinals' No. 11 -- Signed by St. Louis for $1.25 million in July 2016, Arozarena reached Double-A in his first pro season in the U.S. while producing an overall line of .266/.346/.437 with 47 extra-base hits and 18 steals in 121 games spanning two levels. The 22-year-old outfielder's pure hitting ability has been on full display this offseason in the form of a .308/.347/.573 slash line in 27 games for Mayos de Navojoa. He's been especially hot of late, posting a .422 average (19-for-45) with four homers, eight doubles and 13 RBIs over his past 10 contests.
Venezuelan Winter League
• Chuck Taylor, OF, Mariners' No. 29 -- Plucked from the D-backs system by Seattle in the Minor League phase of last year's Rule 5 Draft, Taylor turned in his most complete season in 2017 by hitting .274/.369/.397 and setting career highs in nearly all counting offensive categories. Now building on that success in Venezuela, the 24-year-old Taylor owns a .316/.366/.439 line with 11 extra-base hits in 28 games for Cardenales de Lara.