2 The Bigs

By Sal Corso: February 6th, 2026:

Player development is not linear in any sport, especially baseball. The competition is drastically more challenging across the several minor league levels of ball. That’s all before you even see the major league level. On top of that, baseball is the most inconsistent sport. Take it from one of the most successful players in the history:

When you look at 18-22 year old prospects that are still not only developing, but also growing into their bodies, you have to remember all of that. So, I’m going to give you 5 prospects who had down years in 2025, that I believe will validate the point above and get back on track. These talented prospects are poised to show you that player development truly goes through ups and downs.

1. Welbyn Francisca, SS (CLE)

Like many, I loved Welbyn going into last season. Here’s what I had to say in my “2025 Top International Prospects List”:

In 291 AB, Francisca had an 82% contact rate, which was highest on this list. He added a slash of .326/.411. He was also consistent across DSL and A Ball in the last two years (140 wRC+). The power concerns are fair, but that can be developed more easily than any contact concerns. His hard-hit rate is low, and he hits A LOT of ground balls (55% last year). Getting lift and power on his swing will be a big focus in 2025. But I love the “he doesn’t have a loud tool” scouting. I’ll take a kid who can do it all and develop over the ones that have a big power tool and can’t put the rest together.

In 2025, he didn’t put it together and every high-level metric was pretty much down year-over-year. However, he upped his contact rate +5pp (percentage points) and swung and missed less (-2pp). The average dropped almost a hundred points, mostly on balls in play. He won’t even be 20 until the summer, and he’s already got 1.5 years of A-ball under his belt. He’s short, so the power upside is limited, but go check his social media, which is mostly videos of him heavy lifting. The Guardians development team likely has some muscle growth goals for him going into the new season. If he can get that hard-hit rate up even 5pp to 20%, he’ll see a significant jump across his entire slash line.

2. Jaison Chourio, OF (CLE)

“Sal, two Guardians in a row?” Yep. I always like to say, teams that scout and develop well, will continue to scout and develop well. The Guardians are one of those teams. Jaison Chourio was my big bet from last winter, and I lost. In 2024 he had a .316 BABIP, .414 OBP and a 1.3 BB-K ratio. He didn’t hit the ball in the air much, but he did hit it frequently (81% contact rate).

In 2025, he dealt with an injury that kept him out half the season, and even before that he wasn’t the same hitter. What didn’t change, however, was the ability to get on base. Even with a .235 average and increased K-rate, he still held an impressive .380 OBP. He does not swing and miss, at all. If anything, he needs to swing more, and work on getting some loft on his swing. He’ll be turning 21 this summer and now fully healthy. I’m betting on not only a return to form, but the power surge that I wanted to see last year.

3. Thayron Liranzo, C/1B (DET)

The hardest jump in the minor leagues is from A-levels to Double-A. Thayron felt that. Here’s his A+ –> AA splits year over year:

2024 (A+): .244/.378/.408 24% K 18% BB 71% contact

2025 (AA): .206/.308/.351 32% K 12% BB 66% contact

Yet his HR/FB and line drive rates stayed the same, he became less pull heavy and had a 32% hard-hit rate, which was top 20 across all minor league baseball. He’s got to figure it out on the defensive side and make some adjustments to cut down on misses at the plate. I’m banking on that happening, given that he’s in another organization that does very well developing hitters.

4. Xavier Isaac, 1B (TAM)

I had Isaac in my Top Bowman Value Buys write-up a few weeks ago:

I’ve been a fan of Isaac for some time now. And I’ve been hard on him for the past 6 months. However, that was before he came out with what he went through during the season, which was a very critical injury and time away from the game. Xavier had brain surgery this year to deal with some internal issues he was having that included eyesight problems. He posted a month or so ago stating that he is fully healthy and back. First off, what a tremendous recovery and wishing him nothing but future success. Second, this kid may have the best raw power in the entire minors, and if he can put the bat to the ball more often this upcoming season, he could jump right back into top 50 discussions.

He strikes out a ton, even in years’ past. His profile generally isn’t my cup of tea. But he has shown stints in lower levels where he kept the K-rate around 20% and the OBP upwards of .400+. Not to mention, a slugging percentage in the mid-.500s. IF, and it’s a big if, the contact shoots up now that Xavier is fully healthy and seeing right, that raw power can be unleashed to new heights. And do I need to mention the organization that is working with him?

5. Yoeilin Cespedes, 2B (BOS)

Yoeilin is a perfect example of why you can’t jump on early DSL (Dominican Summer League) success. Many of the big international signings will show incredible potential, and then fall flat when they face stateside pitching (A-ball and higher levels). But Cespedes’ A-level slash line drop doesn’t look as bad when you dig into it. As a 19-year-old, he had an 80% contact rate and a 23% hard-hit rate. And, he got better as the year progressed. Granted, he still hit for a .732 OPS in August, but that was up +100p from June and +200p from July. He had 11 XBH, 11 RBI and 5 SB in 25 games that month. He’ll spend most of his 20 year old season in A/A+ and I think we’ll him continue to acclimate well.