LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – JULY 16: Elly De La Cruz #18 of the National League looks on during the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game against the American League at Dodger Stadium on July 16, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
MLB.com released their Top 10 MLB prospects, and there seem to be a few names missing from the list.
Francisco Alvarez, the top-ranked catching prospect in the game, was ranked as the No. 1 overall prospect, according to MLB Pipeline. That seems fair. Alvarez plays a premium position, and he’s having a terrific 2022 campaign. Mets fans may be lucky enough to see Alvarez make his major league debut as soon as next season.
But after Alvarez, the argument could be made that several of the top prospects are out of order. Gabriel Moreno, another talented backstop, is Toronto’s top prospect but posted an OPS of just .768 at Triple-A before being called up to the big leagues.
Miami Marlins pitching prospect Eury Perez has an electric fastball and a plus-changeup, but you wouldn’t know it based on this year’s stat line. The right-hander has a lot of strikeouts, but a 4.19 ERA as well. So which MLB prospects, who should’ve been ranked in the Top 10, were left out?
Elly De La Cruz should be ranked among the Top 10 MLB prospects.
Let’s start with the Cincinnati Reds five-tool prospect Elly De La Cruz. One could make the argument that De La Cruz is not only a Top 10 prospect, but the 20-year-old could be the best young prospect in the game today.
De La Cruz is ranked 15th, but at both High-A and Double-A, the shortstop has crushed a combined 26 home runs and stolen 36 bases while posting a .976 OPS. De La Cruz should easily be ranked among the Top 10 MLB prospects and should be ahead of every other shortstop prospect in the minor leagues. This includes Gunnar Henderson, Anthony Volpe, and Marcelo Mayer.