While most of the attention for the New York Yankees this offseason has been paid to fixing their major league team, there is a lot of talent bubbling in the minor leagues that fans should be excited about, too
Perhaps no prospect of theirs possesses the natural talent and ability of 19-year-old Roderick Arias, a shortstop who has not played full-season ball yet.
No matter, MLB Pipeline senior writer Jim Callis picked Arias as his prospect who would be 2024′s Jackson Chourio, the five-tool outfield Milwaukee Brewers prospect who rocketed up lists in 2023 and is now considered one of the best prospects in baseball. The 19-year-old signed an eight-year, $82 million contract in the offseason that could reach $140 million with options — before making his MLB debut.
He’s expected to be very good — and so is Arias, wrote Callis on Dec. 26:
“He was one of the top international prospects on Jesse Sanchez’s 2022 list. He signed for $4 million. He’s had some minor injuries his first couple years, so he hasn’t played a full season in Rookie ball. But he’s as tooled up as we thought he was going to be. He’s got a chance to hit for power, hit for average, solid-to-plus runner, cannon arm, can stay at shortstop. He was very good in the Florida Complex League. He hit [.267], six homers in 27 games before he had an injury that won’t affect him long-term. I think he’s going to be really, really good. He had a broken thumb last year. … He won’t turn 20 until, pretty much, the season is done.”
Don’t believe the hype? Baseball America has already released its top-10 organizational prospects, and it slotted Arias at No. 5, saying that his path “could lead him to a starring role in New York.”
In his 27 games (130 plate appearances) of 2023, Arias sported a .928 OPS and a wRC+ of 143, while walking 20.8% of the time compared to a 22.3% strikeout rate. He also hit a home run off of Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Alek Manoah, who was trying to regain…
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