San Diego Padres: Luis Urias, 2B
Urias made his MLB-debut in late August but was unable to finish the season after injuring his hamstring 53 plate appearances into his career. It seems clear at this point that Urias will start at 2nd base for the entirety of 2019. Chances are, he ends the season playing with San Diego’s other top prospect, Fernando Tatis Jr., but he might not play the entire season. The 21-year old plays a big role in the Padres plan to compete for championships in the future.
MLB.com ranked Urias as the 23rd best prospect in baseball. Prospects Live had him 21st, and ESPN’s Keith Law had him 56th. Not only is Urias MLB-ready at a young age, but he really does have the ceiling of an All-Star. MLB.com gave Urias a 70 grade hit tool, one of the best around the minor leagues. He has always been able to hit line drives to all fields, and in his 2 seasons in AAA, Urias was able to walk over 12% of the time. His on-base ability should help him hit near the top of any future lineup, even if his power isn’t much of a strength (although it has notably improved recently, maybe there is a chance that it translates). On the defensive side of things, Urias has the range, hands, and arm strength needed to play any infield position if he is asked to. For 2019 however, it seems that Urias will stay at 2nd base, where he profiles as an above-average defender.
Urias suffered from some bad luck with balls in play in his 12-game MLB stint, overall his wOBA was .111 lower in the MLB than AAA that year. Currently, Steamer projections has Urias projected to have a 91 wRC+, but they don’t expect much from his power compared to some other people. While Steamer doesn’t expect Urias to hit double-digit home runs, his power breakout in AAA in 2018 was fueled by more than just luck. For the first time in his career, Urias hit less than 50% ground balls and also began to pull more fly balls. Although he still likely won’t be a power hitter, it’s enough to suggest that he can be more of an all-around impact. Considering that, along with his plus plate discipline and defense, Urias should be good enough to catch the eye of baseball fans this next season.
San Francisco Giants: Tyler Beede, SP
For a team without much of a hope to compete and several open roster spots up for grabs, you would expect the Giants to have quite a few rookies make an impact. Conversely, San Francisco doesn’t have much in terms of top prospects ready to play a full season in the Majors. Beede is not currently projected to get much playing time himself, but with an older starting rotation, there is a chance that Beede’s situation changes throughout the season.
The right-hander came into 2018 with a full season of AAA under his belt and 4 good pitches. While it was expected he would take a role in San Francisco last season, instead he disappointed in his first 2 starts in the MLB in April, was demoted to AAA, and eventually switched to the bullpen for half the minor league season. In his short time as a reliever, Beede struggled even more, allowing 7.5 earned runs per 9 innings, although he did strike out nearly a quarter of all batters, so it was not all bad news. There’s a reason Giants fans may be quick to call the 26-year-old a bust.
If Beede is able to bounce back from a tough season, however, his plus changeup and low-to-mid 90s fastball give him some potential. He will need to do a better job of commanding his pitches if he wants to make a positive impact on the Giants season. The hope is that Beede can control his walks and continue to carry the 11.5% SwSt% that he had in a 2 game MLB stint out of the starting rotation.
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