Welcome to this week’s Big Movers in the weekly update of the RotoProspects Top 500.
The No. 1 riser is Yunior Severino (pictured above), a 23-year-old Triple-A third baseman of the Twins who just keeps pounding home runs – his 5 dingers in September have the switch-hitter up to 34 on the season. The 6-foot-1, 190-pounder has 10 homers in 29 games for St. Paul after smashing 24 taters in 84 games in Double-A. The Dominican slugger has a combined triple-slash of .277/.354/.556 between Double- and Triple-A, but strikeouts are a big problem. Severino has a career strikeout rate of 28.5% in the minors, including 31.2% in Double-A and 34.4% in Triple-A this season. Severino has played mostly third base in his career, but his likely destination is first base, where he has drawn 12 starts at in Triple-A. With 60-grade raw power that he’s now fully tapping into in games, Severino blasts up our rankings 122 spots to No. 293.
Next up is Thayron Liranzo, a 20-year-old Low-A catcher of the Dodgers who has picked up steam with a 1.032 OPS in the second half to finish the regular season with a .272/.400/.562 triple-slash and 24 homers. The 6-foot-3, 220-pound switch-hitter showed promise in the Arizona Complex League last year with 8 homers in 41 games, but he’s big a revelation this season in the California League. Liranzo has a good deal of swing and miss with a 26.6% strikeout rate, but he has a patient approach with a 16.7% walk rate that bodes well for his hit tool. The Dominican slugger has a chance to become a hit-first catcher if he can stick behind the plate, but he’s already getting time at first base in case he has to move there. Liranzo skyrocketed up 79 spots to No. 186.
Estevan Florial, a 25-year-old Yankees outfielder who is getting a shot to start in center field for New York after posting a .945 OPS with 28 homers and 25 steals in Triple-A before Jasson Dominguez got hurt, leading to a 77-spot jump to No. 357.
Will Dion, a 23-year-old Double-A left-handed pitcher of the Guardians who was has a 1.41 ERA over his last 7 starts and a combined 2.52 ERA between Akron and High-A Lake County, so he shoots up 71 spots to No. 400.
Eddys Leonard, a 22-year-old Triple-A shortstop of the Tigers who has shoved since coming over from the Dodgers for cash on Aug. 1 – putting up a .311/.399/.557 triple-slash with 7 homers in 33 games for Toledo, and he jumps up 70 spots to No. 397.
Wilfred Veras, a 20-year-old Double-A outfielder of the White Sox who has turned it up since earning a promotion to Birmingham in early-August to the tune of a .317/.356/.532 triple-slash with 5 homers and 6 steals in 35 games, so he shoots up 69 spots to No. 333.
Drew Romo, a 22-year-old Double-A catcher of the Rockies who had his second 3-homer outburst in 6 weeks on Sept. 7 to help get his OPS up to .754 with 13 dingers on the season, so he jumps up 53 spots to No. 350.
Adam Macko, a 22-year-old High-A left-handed pitcher of the Blue Jays who has allowed just a combined 4 hits and 1 earned run over his last 20 innings over 4 starts, so he vaults up at least 52 spots back into the rankings at No. 449.
Bubba Chandler, a 21-year-old Double-A right-handed pitcher of the Pirates who dazzled in his Altoona debut last Friday with 8 Ks and no walks in 5 1-hit innings before being moved to the development list to finish the season after 111 innings, leading to a 50-spot jump to No. 107.
Raylin Heredia, a 19-year-old Low-A outfielder of the Phillies who has caught fire in September with a 1.088 OPS for Clearwater after posting a .947 OPS in the Florida Complex League, and he shoots up at least 47 spots to debut in the rankings at No. 454.
The biggest faller of the week is Willy Vasquez, a 22-year-old High-A infielder of the Rays who is batting .187 over his last 41 games and seen his OPS drop from .778 to .703, and he plummets 56 spots to No. 437.
The biggest risers inside the Top 100 are Samuel Basallo, a 19-year-old Double-A catcher of the Orioles who is 4-for-8 in his first 2 games for Bowie after putting up a 1.131 OPS in High-A to jump 24 spots to No. 25, and Colt Emerson, an 18-year-old Low-A shortstop of the Mariners who has an .880 OPS in Low-A after going 22nd overall in the MLB draft in July to vault up 18 spots to No. 83.
The biggest faller of the week inside the Top 100 is Michael Busch, a 25-year-old Triple-A second baseman of the Dodgers who has a paltry .539 OPS in 27 games over 3 stints for Los Angeles – he drops 8 spots to No. 84.
Check back next week to see who the biggest movers are when our next update for the Top 500 Prospects comes out.