Welcome to this week’s Big Movers in the weekly update of the RotoProspects Top 500.
The No. 1 riser is Sebastian Walcott (above), a 17-year-old Arizona Complex League shortstop of the Rangers who is riding a 14-game hitting streak that has pushed his triple-slash to .388/.425/.791 with 6 homers and 6 steals in 16 ACL games. totals just keeps on rolling caught fire upon moving up to the Arizona Complex League. The 6-foot-4, 190-pound right-batting Dominican was the consensus No. 3 prospect in the 2023 international signing class and signed for $3.2 million. Walcott has been showing why scouts slapped a 60-grade on his hit tool while also demonstrating his plus power and speed. Walcott Arias catapulted up 31 spots to No. 19 as the hype will only grow when he soon gets a promotion to Low-A.
Next up is Hunter Barco, a 22-year-old Pirates right-handed pitcher who made his pro debut on a rehab assignment in the Florida Complex League with 4 strikeouts in 2 scoreless innings. The 44th overall selection in the 2022 draft out of Florida, the 6-foot-4, 210-pounder was on track to go in the top 5 picks before suffering a UCL tear in his left elbow that cut short his junior season and needed Tommy John surgery. Barco showed off his deadly fastball-slider combo and deceptive delivery in his debut, leading to a 117-spot leap to No. 338.
Gian Zapata, a 17-year-old Dominican Summer League outfielder of the Diamondbacks who had a 3-homer game on Saturday and is up to a .962 OPS with 9 dingers in 26 games, so he flies up 92 spots to No. 407.
Yu-Min Lin, a 20-year-old Double-A left-handed pitcher of the Diamondbacks who debuted for Amarillo with 8 strikeouts in 6 scoreless innings on Sunday after posting a 3.43 ERA in High-A, and he jumps up 90 spots to No. 156.
Ivan Melendez, a 23-year-old Double-A first baseman of the D’backs who hit 4 home runs in his first 3 games for Amarillo after putting up a .945 OPS with 18 homers in High-A, so he jumps up 81 spots to No. 184.
Ignacio Alvarez, a 20-year-old High-A shortstop of the Braves who is powering up in July with 4 homers and a .614 SLG to go with a season OBP of .408, leading to a 78-spot rise to No. 272.
Brainer Bonaci, a 20-year-old High-A second baseman/shortstop of the Red Sox who has an .849 OPS with 9 homers and 6 steals in 49 games for Greenville, so he skyrockets over 70 spots into the rankings at No. 431.
Caden Dana, a 19-year-old High-A right-handed pitcher of the Angels who has a 0.96 ERA with 25 Ks in 18.2 IP over his last 3 starts, so he shoots up 68 spots to No. 389.
Daylen Lile, a 20-year-old High-A outfielder of the Nationals who went 4-for-4 in his third game for Wilmington after posting an .891 OPS with 7 homers and 21 steals in High-A, so he vaults up 65 spots to No. 273.
Jeter Martinez, a 17-year-old Dominican Sumer League right-handed pitcher of the Mariners who tossed 6 innings of a combined no-hitter with 8 Ks on Thursday to lower his ERA to 1.08, leading to a 63-spot jump to No. 411.
The biggest faller of the week is Cole Wilcox, a 24-year-old Double-A right-handed pitcher of the Rays who was drubbed for 9 runs (7 ER) with 4 walks in 2 innings on Sunday to raise his ERA to 6.09, and he plummets 98 spots to No. 450.
The biggest riser inside the Top 100 other than Walcott is Roman Anthony, a 19-year-old High-A outfielder of the Red Sox who has a 1.254 OPS with 8 HR in 21 games for Greenville – he shoots up 29 spots to No. 26.
The biggest faller of the week inside the Top 100 is Andrew Painter, a 20-year-old Double-A right-handed pitcher of the Phillies who has been advised to undergo Tommy John surgery – he dropped 31 spots to No. 88.
Check back next week to see who the biggest movers are when our next update for the Top 500 Prospects comes out.