The Prospect Stock Watch: Burrows, Chavis, Tatis Jr.

Today’s Prospect Stock Watch takes a look a future No. 2 or 3 starter for the Tigers, another impressive young third base prospect for the Red Sox and an 18-year-old prospect with 21 homers and 28 steals for the Padres.

Beau Burrows, RHP, Tigers: Wait, what? The Tigers have some prospects in their minor league system? Some real prospects? Yessiree, Detroit is back on the prospecting map. The club is starting to collect some arms with high-ceiling potential, including Matt Manning, Kyle Funkhouser, Alex Faedo and Burrows. Of the four pitchers, Burrows is the closest to impacting the big league team. Just 20 years old, he’s already at the double-A level after beginning the season in high-A ball where he produced a 1.23 ERA and 62 strikeouts in 58.2 innings. Things have been a little bumpier in double-A (4.38 ERA) but he’s still missing a lot of bats with 64 whiffs in 61.2 innings. He has a chance to reach the majors with four average or better offerings and his fastball works in the 91-95 mph range. His above-average control (38 walks in 120.1 combined innings) and improved command helps his stuff play up. Look for Burrows to reach the majors by mid-2018.

Michael Chavis, 3B, Red Sox: The Red Sox debuted their third baseman of the future, Rafael Dever, to the Boston masses in late July but the organization already has another waiting in the wings. Chavis, two years older than Devers, was a first round pick of the club in 2014 and has split the 2017 season between high-A and double-A. His power has developed nicely and he’s currently sitting on 29 homers through 105 combined games. Chavis is hitting .301 but his lack of defined plate discipline (32-92 BB-K rate) will see that average take a dip at the big league level. Defensively, he has a chance to develop into an average fielding third baseman with a very strong arm but he likely won’t unseat Devers. If he stays in Boston, Chavis will have to look at a possible position sharing role at third base, first base and designated hitter. An outfield corner could be an option for an organization that doesn’t have Andrew Benintendi/Jackie Bradley Jr./Mookie Betts already established in The Show. Look for Chavis to challenge for a big league role at some point in 2018.

Fernando Tatis Jr., SS, Padres: A lot has been made (and justifiably so) about the Blue Jays’ 18-year-old phenom Vladimir Guerrero Jr. but another second-generation teenager is also looking like a future star. Tatis isn’t as pure a hitter as Guerrero but he has a more well-rounded skill-set and amazing in-game power with 21 homers in 111 low-A game. Tatis shows signs of being a smart hitter (including 67 walks) and could hit for both average and power. He’s already a 20-20 threat with 28 steals (albeit in 43 attempts). Defensively, he has a strong arm and good range so he should stick at shortstop for the foreseeable future. Tatis was actually signed by the White Sox but traded to the Padres (for James Shields) at age 17 before ever playing an official game for them. Imagine how much better Chicago’s system would be if they had begun their rebuilding one year sooner! Look for Tatis’ development to pick up the pace in 2018 when he could reach double-A. He could be in the majors at the age of 20 and has the potential to be a middle-of-the-order star.