2 The Bigs

By Sal Corso: Jan 22, 2024

One of these middle-infielders just made the MLB Top-10 list for their respective position (second base). The other will, with 99.99 percent certainty, make the same list for shortstop once released. However, the latter is talked about a heck of a lot more. Why?

He was a top-20 international prospect turned seven figure signee at the age of 16.

The other, a 56^th overall, second round draft pick.

However, you won’t find those major differences in the statistics. Both jumped into pro-ball, and hit. Check out last years’ stats for yourself:

From first glance, Prospect 1 looks a bit more intriguing. He has a higher walk-rate and a better overall slash-line. And we’d expect that, given that Prospect 1 will find himself in the top-25 on nearly every prospect list out there. But Prospect 2 is intriguing as well. He has a lower K-rate, higher hard-hit rate (both slightly) and surprisingly enough, had been given a higher power-tool grade (50) from MLB.com than Prospect 1 (45).

Why I felt these prospects needed to be covered together is because neither swing-and-miss much. Both had top-25 lowest strikeout-rates across all minor leaguers and top-5 lowest across strikeout-rates across all High-A prospects (where both spent most of their time last year (rankings of players with 150+ plate appearances).

Prospect 1’s first Bowman autograph is going for plus-50 percent more than Prospect 2. So, while Prospect 1 looks more intriguing and is spoken about a bit more, don’t sleep on Prospect 2. One could even try and swoop in and grab a card at low-risk.

Who are they? Let’s start with the easy one.

Prospect 1: Adael Amador, Colorado Rockies

You may not have wanted to be a top-5 Rockies prospect in 2023. Last year, being at the top of that list was like a football player being on the cover of Madden in the early 2000’s. It must be a curse. Outfielder Zac Veen missed nearly the entire season after wrist surgery, and three of their top four pitching prospects all needed Tommy John surgery. Amador must not be very superstitious. Instead, he racked up over 300 plate appearances across three levels. He hit .289/.383/.496 and jumped into the top-25 of the MLB.com prospects list before the end of the season.

Amador is a switch-hitter, who in the early stages of his career, seems to be much more comfortable from the left-side of the plate. He saw .50-plus points across each slash-line statistic from the left-side compared to the right.

However, all he seems to do is hit. In his 18-year-old debut season in Rookie-ball, he slashed .299/.394/.334 across 164 at-bats. Since, he has yet to hit under .285 average and he’s maintained a sub-14 percent strikeout rate through his three-season career. Amador spent a short ten games up in Double-A after a late-season promotion. Look for him to get a majority of the 2024 season at that level, where he will most likely continue to impress. Future Francisco Lindor type? Let’s not jump the gun, but expect Amador to add significant muscle this winter in hopes he can work towards Lindor-type power.

Prospect 2: James Triantos, Chicago Cubs

My introduction did not do James’ justice. He may have been a second round draft pick in 2021, but he was snatched up right out of high school, and absolutely showed up that spring. That led to the Cubs paying him guaranteed money well over the second round slot value ($2.1 million). And he carried that hot bat throughout the entire season. He finished with a .327/.376/.594 slash-line in 100 at-bats in rookie-ball.

Let’s skip ahead to 2023. Triantos posted the season in the introduction above, which was very impressive for one of the younger every-day players in High-A. But he wasn’t done. He played in the Arizona Fall League. That’s where he really stamped his name on prospect watchlists. He finished second in the AFL in hits, slugging and OPS, which led to him winning the AFL Offensive Player of the Year.

Take those (low) power numbers with a grain of salt too. He missed time with a torn meniscus, which, anybody who has ever had a torn meniscus knows, you don’t just jump back to 100 percent when you are healed. Coming off of a hot fall, look for Triantos to do the same as Amador in 2024. First, build muscle and second, impress at the Double-A level.