2 The Bigs

By Sal Corso: Mar 4, 2024

Week 2 of spring training! Prospects are fighting to impress their coaches and (hopeful) future teammates. Let’s look at some prospects who stood out in the 2nd week of 2024 baseball (both good and bad):

Langford Gets Hot After Slow Start

• Wyatt Langford, Rangers: .353 3 HR 7 RBI (1.303 OPS)
  • Langford got off to a SLOW start, going 1-11 with 6 K’s. Since, he’s hit 3 homers and 2 days.
  • Wyatt is all but a sure thing to make the opening day roster. Him and Carter are some of the favorites to win AL ROY.

Wyatt Langford just homered AGAIN!

His second of the day and third since yesterday! pic.twitter.com/il2ZiIFs8F

— Michael Bier (@MichaelJBier) March 2, 2024

2022 1st-Round Picks Shine

• Zach Neto, Angels: .333 (4-12) 1 HR 4 RBI (1.166 OPS)
  • Neto was the 1st-2022 draft pick to make his major league debut. He showed spurts of his upside during those 84 games last year. Expect a nice jump in his development this year as he’s secured the SS position for the Angels.
• Chase DeLauter: Guardians (2TB Score: 80): .600 (3-5) 1 HR 3 RBI (2.067 OPS)
  • We’re all talking about the moonshot that Chase hit this week. If you haven’t seen it, take a look below.
  • Chase is one of those prospects gaining a ton of traction already this spring. Many are saying he can jump into the top-10 prospects by mid-year. We’ve been saying that for a bit longer.
• Termarr Johnson: Pirates .750 (6-8) 2 HR 4 RBI (2.403 OPS)
  • Scouts think his bat-to-ball skills need work. Termarr is here to prove them wrong. At only 19-years-old, we’ll see if he can carry this into a full minor-league season, to drop that K-rate to a new low under 20%.

Another Week, Another Hot Oriole

• Colton Cowser, Orioles (2TB Score: 74): .333 (3-9) 2 HR 4 RBI 1.455
  • I’m not too high on Cowser. Actually, let me rephrase that. I’m not too high on Cowser’s ceiling. A likely .265 20 HR ceiling, but a very similar floor. Colton is proving why he belongs in that Orioles lineup on opening day.

A Budding Star in Oakland Vegas?

• Zack Gelof, Athletics: .429 (6-14) 2 HR 4 RBI (1.500 OPS)
  • Gelof graduated from his “prospect” title, but it’s still very early for him. Plus, his first bowman is relatively new to the market (2023 Chrome).
  • With that, he’ll also secure the Athletics 2B position for the long-term (and by long-term I mean for however long before they trade him). Gelof has 25-25 upside, especially since he’ll hit in a prime spot in that A’s order all year.

Slow Starts in Milwaukee

• Jackson Chourio, Brewers (2TB Score: 88): .077 (1-13) 4 K
  • Our highest ranked prospect so far. There’s no worry for Chourio here, but he is competing for something. If he can impress this spring, he’ll make it hard for the Brewers to start him in AAA. If he bats like this, that’s likely where he’ll end up for the first few weeks. Don’t be surprised when he starts to get hot.
• Tyler Black, Brewers (2TB Score: 74): .273 (3-11) XBH 4 K
  • A very underrated prospect in my opinion (my All-Undervalued Team Starting 2B, actually). Black loves extra-base hits, just wait for them to find him this spring.