The Prospect Stock Watch: Devers, Whitley, Mahle

Today at the Prospect Stock Watch we take a look at a third baseman that could help Boston during their race for a playoff spot, an emerging pitching stud for the Astros and an underrated arm for the Reds.

Rafael Devers, 3B, Red Sox: The Boston Red Sox appear to be on a collision course with the 2017 playoffs but the team’s biggest gap is likely at third base — especially after Pablo Sandoval was recently cut (not to mention the ill-fated Travis Shaw trade). Devers, a 20-year-old prospect, could be the answer for the Sox. He’s advanced for his age and was recently promoted to triple-A from double-A where he was hitting .300 with a .944 OPS. He’s not easily overwhelmed and seems to handle pressure well; his triple-A debut saw him go 4-for-4 with a homer. He has 19 home runs on the season but makes a solid amount of contact with just 55 strikeouts in 78 games (17.2% K-rate). Devers has the raw power to be a 30-homer guy in his prime. He’ll have to keep an eye on his conditioning to remain at the hot corner but he has a strong arm and should stick at the position for a while. He could eventually challenge Mookie Betts for the most talented home-grown player on the Red Sox.

Forrest Whitley, RHP, Astros: The Astros have graduated a ton of high-ceiling talent to the majors in recent years but astute scouting continues to replenish the farm system. Case in point: Whitley was selected 17th overall in the 2016 amateur draft and has dominated two A-ball levels this season during his first taste of full-season ball. The 6-7 right-hander has a mid-90s heater, plus breaking ball and four-pitch repertoire… everything needed to be a top-of-the-rotation arm, if he stays healthy. Whitley, 19, has struck out 91 batters in 62 innings. His biggest need right now is consistency and improved control – after walking 21 batters in 46.1 innings at the low-A level before his promotion. Pitching is the biggest weakness that the big league Astros have but don’t expect Whitley to be a solution until 2019. When he arrives, though, he could sit atop the rotation with Dallas Keuchel and Lance McCullers Jr.

Tyler Mahle, RHP, Reds: Not all prospect gems are found in the first few rounds of the draft. Mahle was selected in the seventh round of the 2013 draft out of a California high school and has seen his prospect value increase with each season. Now 22, he dominated double-A in 2017 and recently earned a promotion to triple-A where he’s continued to succeed. Overall, he’s struck out 110 batters in 105.1 with just 24 free passes and 77 hits allowed. Mahle has decent stuff — he can hit 95 mph with his heater but mostly works in the low-90s. He keeps hitters off-balance with a four-pitch repertoire and could develop into an innings-eating, mid-rotation starter for the Reds. He doesn’t have the electric ceiling of a Luis Castillo or Hunter Greene but he could be a rotation stud nonetheless if he can confound big league hitters like he did minor league hitters.