With the way four of our offensive prospects are doing, it got me thinking. Who is the best offensive prospect in the Dbacks' farm system? Is it Marc Krauss? Paul Goldschmidt? Brandon Allen? Or Matt Davidson? After the jump I'm going to look at how these four prospects are doing this season, then you can decide for yourself who's the Diamondbacks' top offensive prospect.
Going into today, left fielder Mark Krauss sports a BA/OBP/SLG of 332/392/551, with 21 doubles, 3 triples, and 14 home runs for Hi-A Visalia (California League). He has a 31:72 walk to strike out ratio. Krauss' 943 OPS ranks fourth in the California league. He's in the middle of 16 game hitting streak, and in the last 10 games he's batting 535/545/953 with 6 doubles and 4 HRs. Yeah, he's only drawn one walk in those 10 games, but that doesn't really matter when you've been hitting like Krauss. If he continues hitting like he has, he could finish the year in Mobile, and could be in the Majors some time next year, with no one really in his way in left field besides Gerardo Parra, Cole Gillespie, and Rusty Ryal. Not to mention there's no one in the minors ahead of him on the depth chart.
Third baseman Matt Davidson is probably the furthest from the majors of the four players in this discussion (Mid-A South Bend), but he is batting 288/371/486 with 23 doubles, a triple, and 10 hrs. He has a 28:75 walk to strike out ratio, that was brought down by a month where he only drew one walk. Davidson has arguably been the best player on a loaded South Bend roster.
Brandon Allen is the closest of the players in the discussion, and should be the starting first basemen for the Dbacks next season, or as soon as Adam LaRoche is traded. In addition to being the closest to the majors (AAA Reno), he also has the best strike out to walk ratio out at 42:49. Brandon Allen's season really only started in June, as he was suffering with a shoulder injury in April and May. He had an awesome June where he batted 329/487/659 with 6 doubles, 2 triples, and 6 home runs. In the last 10 games, he's batting 286/340/595 with 4 doubles and 3 homers. On the season he's batting 260/399/495 with 12 doubles, two triples, and 10 HRs.
Another first basemen, Paul Goldschmidt (Hi-A Visalia) has clearly the most power out of all the players in this group, but also has the most strikeouts. Goldschmidt is batting 298/351/582 with 24 doubles, a triple, and 22 homers, which is tied for the most in all of the minors, and his 932 OPS ranks sixth in the California league. His power is no mirage, as he hit 334/408/638 last season with 27 doubles, 3 triples, and 18 homers in 287 at bats. The one area of concern for Goldschmidt is his 28:94 walk to strike out ratio, which is worse than his 36:74 mark from last season. If Brandon Allen doesn't pan out, Goldschmidt is the next in line to get a stab at first base.
So who do you think is the best offensive prospect in the Dbacks Minors?
You can find more posts like this, as well as regular updates on the Diamondbacks farm system at my blog, Diamond(backs) in the Rough.