We continue our position by position look at the Top 10 Prospects across the Roger Dorn Baseball League.
In the age of positional flexibility, true first base prospects have become more rare around baseball with half making this Top 10 Prospect List carrying another eligible spot on the diamond heading into the off-season. Despite the shortage of elite prospects playing the position, the RDBL has some elite upside talent that looks set to join Active Rosters in 2024 led by Triston Casas, Nolan Jones and Coby Mayo.
1. 1B Triston Casas, Maltese Falcons
Acquired: 2021 Reserve Draft, 1st Round | ETA: 2024
After getting off to a difficult start, Casas emerged as one of the most impactful hitters in baseball, especially in the second half. The 23-year-old first baseman batted .263 with 24 home runs, 65 RBI, an .856 OPS, 21 doubles and 70 walks, and in the second half he batted .317 with 15 home runs and a 1.034 OPS over his final 54 games. He’s everything the Falcons hoped he would be when they selected him in the 1st Round of the 2021 Reserve Draft and stands ready to step in as a three-year starter for GM Gary Falzon to start 2024.
2. 1B/OF Nolan Jones, Mission Viejo Maulers
Acquired: 2023 Trade with Burlingame Blue Ducks | ETA: 2024 (‘23 Playoff Activation)
Some eyebrows were raised when the Maulers acquired Nolan Jones and a 3rd Round Pick for prized catcher Daulton Varsho before the 2023 Draft. The move paid off handsomely as Jones was exceptional in 2023, posting an overall line of .297/.389/.542 with 46 extra base hits. Jones' performance pushed GM Chris Ferraro to activate him for the 2023 Playoffs where he went nuclear, posting the fourth most points in RDBL Playoff History. If he maintains production close to what he showed in 2023, this ranking will be far too low.
3. 1B/3B Coby Mayo, Maltese Falcons
Acquired: 2022 Reserve Draft, 9th Round | ETA: 2024
The Falcons look to be set in the infield with Triston Casas, Royce Lewis, Edouard Julien and Coby Mayo, all potentially ready for 2024 Activations. Primarily a third baseman, a logjam in Baltimore figures to push Mayo to first base where he has spent some time through the Minors. His carrying tool is his bat which will play at any position. The 21-year-old led the Orioles organization with 29 home runs with a .974 OPS between Double-A Bowie and Triple-A Norfolk, all while cutting his strikeout rate and increasing his walk rate. He's likely to start 2024 at Triple-A, but will be quickly knocking on the door of the big leagues.
4. 1B Kyle Manzardo, Burlingame Blue Ducks
Acquired: 2023 Reserve Draft, 1st Round | ETA: 2024
Manzardo's value was sky-high entering the 2023 Draft when the Ducks selected the smooth-hitting first baseman 11th overall in the Reserve Draft. After posting an OPS of 1.043 in 2022 across A+ and AA, Manzardo fell back to life with a .801 OPS at Triple-A while being dealt from the Rays to the Guardians. A hot Arizona Fall League has Manzardo's value back up with a 50/50 shot to earn the starting job in Cleveland for Opening Day.
5. 1B/P Jac Caglianone, Mission Viejo Maulers
Acquired: 2023 Reserve Draft, 3rd Round | ETA: 2026
A Golden Spikes award semifinalist after a sensational 2023 season, Caglianone is a tooled up lefthander and slugging first baseman who led the country with 33 home runs and also posted a 4.34 ERA as a weekend starter for the Gators. He has double-plus raw power and averaged 95 mph from the left side, though he needs to refine both his offensive approach and control on the mound. Caglianone is an aggressive hitter who expands the zone frequently, and he was exposed late in the season against a higher concentration of premium arms in the College World Series. He has upside as great as anyone in the 2024 Draft Class, though scouts will want to feel more confidence in his pure hitting chops.
6. C/1B Tyler Soderstrom, Alamo Short Stacks
Acquired: 2023 Trade from Mt. Diablo Devils | ETA: 2024
Playing all of 2023 at age 21, Soderstrom was rushed to the big leagues by the talent-starved Oakland Athletics where he took his lumps while showcasing the major power that has become his calling card. Originally a first round MLB Draft pick with a plus hit tool, Soderstrom has developed more into a low-average, high power bat that sees a big bump in value due to his playing time being split between catcher and first base. With the Stacks likely set at catcher for 2024, Soderstrom is likely to get one additional year of seasoning before a potential activation with much of his value tied up into his catcher eligibility.
7. 3B/1B Tommy White, Alamo Short Stacks
Acquired: 2023 Reserve Draft, 10th Round | ETA: 2026
After an historic freshman year at North Carolina State in which White hit .362 with 27 home runs, he opted to enter the transfer portal and would eventually end up at LSU. White did not miss a beat, again turning in a spectacular season. While some were projecting a dip in production against SEC pitching, White somehow improved upon his freshman year numbers and hit .374 with 24 doubles, 24 home runs, and a whopping 105 RBI. He is a physical player with electric hand speed, but what sets White apart is his bat-to-ball skills. He has an in-zone contact rate of 87%, including 92% against sliders, and he pulverizes the baseball to all fields. Although there are some questions where White might end up defensively, which pushed us to rank him as a first baseman, his bat alone warrants a top-10 selection in the 2024 MLB Draft.
8. 1B Matt Mervis, Spokane Fightin' Fish
Acquired: 2023 Reserve Draft, 2nd Round | ETA: 2024
Matt Mervis had a six-week long stint in the majors this year and it did not go well at the plate. In 90 at-bats, Mervis had a .167 batting average with 3 home runs and a .531 OPS. The 25-year-old is a plus defender at first base but needs refinement at the plate. When he was sent back down, Mervis worked on subtle swing adjustments that yielded good results in Triple-A. By the end of the season, Mervis had collected 22 home runs, 23 doubles, and an impressive .932 OPS for the Iowa Cubs. The Cubs off-season plans at first should give us an idea of their faith in Mervis as it remains to be seen whether these adjustments will transfer well to the big leagues.
9. 1B Nick Pratto, Cloverdale Clovers
Acquired: 2022 Reserve Draft, 4th Round | ETA: 2024
Things looked promising for Pratto in the first half as he hit six home runs and posted a .719 OPS in 257 plate appearances before the All-Star Break. After the break though, things have been absolutely brutal for Pratto at the plate, as he has only hit one home run and is posting a .494 OPS in 76 plate appearances. With Vinny Pasquantino expected back in Kansas City, it's unclear if Pratto will have a big league role entering 2024.
10. 1B Ivan Melendez, Las Vegas Aristocrats
Acquired: 2022 Reserve Draft, 13th Round | ETA: 2025
It it wasn't for one single yet massively important part of the profile, Ivan Melendez would be seen as one of the more impactful prospects in the Minors. With elite raw power, Melendez profiles as a potential middle of the order bat with the upside to approach 40 homers over a full season of plate appearances. However, that one issue is the major swing and miss element that Melendez can't seem to shake. While he hit 30 home runs in just 96 games this season, that came with a 34.3% strikeout rate and 18.5% swinging strike rate. Melendez also only walked 7.3% of the time overall and that dropped to 5.9% in Double-A. He's simply too aggressive and doesn't have the contact skills to back it up. If Melendez wants to flourish as a middle of the order thumper, he's going to need to make better swing decisions than he is currently.
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