Prospect Stock Watch: Rosario, Newman, Wu

Today at the Prospect Stock Watch we check in on a pair of shortstops with wide-ranging potentials. With plenty of trade rumors swirling around the Tampa Bay Rays’ hurlers, we also take a look a potential (lesser known) replacement arm for the club — should they pull the trigger on a trade or two.

Amed Rosario | SS | Mets
ETA: mid-2017
Value: Rising

The Mets have graduated some impressive prospects in recent years and Rosario could challenge Michael Conforto for the best position player grad in quite some time. The young shortstop hasn’t been as widely heralded as some other New York players but he has a chance to be one of the best shortstops in the league. Just 20, he opened 2016 in high-A ball but has spent the past 20 games in double-A where he’s hitting .405 with a 1.036 OPS. He’ll likely never be a home run hitter but he has a chance to hit some balls in the gap while flashing a plus hit tool with a great idea of the strike zone (31-48 BB-K rate in 86 games). Toss in some stolen bases and solid defence and you have a potential stud at shortstop for the Mets, likely beginning in mid-to-late 2017.

Kevin Newman | SS | Pirates
ETA: mid-2017
Value: Steady

Selected 19th overall in the 2015 draft, Newman nonetheless lacks an impact tool — although he’ll likely hit for average at the big league level. He’s not a big stolen base guy — despite having solid speed — and he’ll never hit for power with his approach — and has just 22 extra base hits in 65 games this season. He’ll be a pest, though, if he gets a chance to play everyday and will likely fit well in the No. 2 hole in a lineup. He has a great eye at the plate and rarely strikes out — but he also doesn’t walk much (28-19 BB-K rate). Newman, 22, will definitely be a big leaguer and he’ll probably get a shot to play everyday for a few years, but my money is on him developing into more of a (very good) utility player for most of his career.

Chih-Wei Hu | RHP | Rays
ETA: 2017
Value: Rising

Trade (and rebuilding) rumors continue to swirl around the Rays. Those rumors have mostly centered on Tampa Bay’s pitching — not surprising given the lack of available arms — and this organization definitely has some upper-level depth to backfill any holes created by trades. Blake Snell, Brent Honeywell, and Taylor Guerrieri are all fairly well-known prospects but Hu continues to pitch in anonymity despite good numbers at double-A and solid stuff. The Taiwan native isn’t a fireballer but he throws in the low 90s and has the potential for four average or better offerings. He also has the potential to develop into an innings-eater for the Rays. If he can develop more bite on his breaking ball, Wu could go from a potential 4/5 arm to more of a mid-rotation guy. Keep an eye on him.