MLB Pipeline is continuing their release of Top 10 prospect per position, releasing their list of second basemen yesterday. Coming in at the #10 spot is Diamondbacks infielder Andy Young. Young was acquired along with Luke Weaver and Carson Kelly in the Paul Goldschmidt deal and had a solid year between AA Jackson and AAA Reno in 2019. The team rewarded him by placing him on the 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft and a legitimate shot to win a roster spot this upcoming Spring. With Ketel Marte slated to play 2020 in center field, that opens up an opportunity for a platoon or for Young to win the everyday role at the keystone.
Young is a bat-first player, his one carrying tool being above-average raw power. He combines that with a fly ball heavy approach that lends itself to solid power numbers across the board but also leads to a lot of whiffs at the plate. As a regular, his upside is .250-.260 with above average on base and slugging percentages than average. In addition to fly ball tendencies, Young has a thing for crowding the plate and taking HBPs to boost his on-base percentage. Young was hit by 31 pitches in the 2019 MiLB season, which should give Tim Locastro a run for his money down the road.
Defensively, Young is somewhat limited to either a full-time 2B job or playing all over the infield as an offensive-minded utility infielder. He has experience at 3B and SS in the minors and played all over the diamond last year although the majority of his starts are at 2B. Young could see a lot of run at the major league level with the Dbacks so long as Ketel Marte is playing center field and Jake Lamb is playing semi-regularly between both corner infield spots.