Elly De La Cruz

There are better prospects than De La Cruz, but there might not be a more visually captivating prospect. He looks and moves differently than 99.9% of baseball players. It's as if 6-foot Ronald Acuna and 6-foot-8 Oneil Cruz met in the middle at 6-foot-5. De La Cruz can hit 500-foot homers and post 70-grade run times. He is dripping with athleticism and in no danger of adding too much weight in the coming years to compromise his speed and actions. So why isn't he the No. 1 prospect? Scouts are still torn on the hit tool. He logged a 30.8 K% and 7.8 BB% as a 20-year-old (age appropriate) at High-A and Double-A. The switch-hitting shortstop really struggles with pitch recognition, and if a pitcher doesn't throw him a fastball, the pitcher will probably win the at-bat. Even so, De La Cruz is turning 21 in January, so he could spend the entire 2023 season in the upper levels of the minors and still be on track. If he doesn't improve against offspeed pitches, De La Cruz could be a low-AVG, low-OBP power/speed threat, and the sky is the limit if he is able to make the necessary improvements at the dish.

De La Cruz is the "it" prospect of the offseason. He is in that alluring stage of his development where the upside and the risk are obvious to all observers. The 6-foot-2 switch-hitting shortstop hit .296/.336/.539 with eight home runs and 10 steals in 61 games as a 19-year-old in the Florida Complex League and at Low-A. He had a 30.2 K% and a 5.3 BB%, which would be a concerning set of plate skills for any prospect at any level. However, evaluators who saw him in person rave about his physical tools (70-grade raw power, 70-grade speed) and the hard-hit and batted-ball data has left remote analysts similarly excited. How he is valued in dynasty leagues comes down to risk tolerance. He might have a wider range of outcomes this season than any other hitting prospect in the game.