Welcome back to this annual series that first began in 2008. While taking a look back at the 2019 minor league season, it will also help you prepare for the 2020 fantasy season and beyond. Today, we kick off the 2019 series with the Arizona Diamondbacks, a club that is quietly building an impressive minor league system.
The Best Move of the Season:
The development of Geraldo Perdomo allowed the Diamondbacks to flip the more highly-rated shortstop (and overrated), Jazz Chisholm, to Miami for rookie hurler Zac Gallen — which was a steal of a move no matter how you look at it. Perdomo is a much more polished hitter overall despite his inexperience. The switch-hitter doesn’t have nearly the raw power that Chisholm does but he’s exceptionally athletic and pretty much guaranteed to stick at shortstop while providing a good average, gap pop, an excellent BB-K (with above-average on-base skills) and double-digit steals. Gallen has always been underrated on the mound and I’ve been driving the bandwagon for a few years now and even undersold him a bit early on.
The Org Depth:
The Diamondbacks have skillfully built up a glut of athletic outfielders with high ceilings.
Alek Thomas: Thomas is at the head of the pack and should open 2020 in High-A ball with an eye on reaching Double-A in the second half and impacting the Majors in 2021. He’s a strong hitter who could flirt with a .300 average in the Majors and overall strong on-base skills after taking 52 walks in 112 minor leagues in 2019. On the downside, he’s not currently much of a power threat and, despite good speed, he doesn’t run much. Still, a .290 average with 15 home runs and 15 steals as a big-league center-fielder is a solid player. And he’s just 19 so there could more to come. A strong 2020 could help him reach the Majors in 2021.
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