Ranking the Prospects Traded During the 2022 Deadline

August 5, 2022

Ranked and briefly analyzed below are the prospects who have been traded during the loosely defined “deadline season,” which for simplicity’s sake I consider all of July. Most of the deals these prospects were a part of have been analyzed at length on this site. An index of those pieces can be found here, or by clicking the hyperlink in the “Trade” column below, which will take you to the relevant article. I’ve moved all of the 35+ FV and above players listed here to their new orgs over on The Board, so you can click through to see where they rank among their new teammates and read their full scouting reports. Our Farm Rankings, which update live, also reflect these changes, so you can see where teams’ systems stack up following the draft and the deadline compared to prior to the draft and relevant 2022 prospect graduations.

I’ve included the compensatory draft pick the Cubs will receive after they extend Willson Contreras a qualifying offer and he signs elsewhere, as they will essentially be trading him for that pick if he signs with another team this offseason, which I think is the most likely outcome. Now, on to the rankings.

2022 Trade Deadline Prospects

FV	Rank	Name	Position	Age	Team	From	Trade
60	1	Noelvi Marte	SS	20.8	CIN	SEA	L. Castillo
Power-hitting shortstop prospect with 30 HR potential. How frame/throwing develop could dictate move to 3B.
60	2	C.J. Abrams	2B	21.8	WSN	SDP	J. Soto
Leadoff prototype w/long-term power projection. Are poor swing decisions chronic or caused by rushed dev?
50	3	Ken Waldichuk	SP	24.6	OAK	NYY	F. Montas
Big league-ready mid-rotation starter with three swing-and-miss offerings.
50	4	Robert Hassell III	RF	21.0	WSN	SDP	J. Soto
High-probability, well-rounded everyday outfield prospect. A star if he stays in center, I think right is more likely.
50	5	Logan O’Hoppe	C	22.5	LAA	PHI	B. Marsh
Well-rounded everyday catching prospect who is a year or two away. A complete player with average tools.
50	6	Luis Medina	MIRP	23.3	OAK	NYY	F. Montas
Upper-90s heat and plus-flashing secondaries. Oakland rebuild gives him more time to develop as a starter.
50	7	James Wood	CF	19.9	WSN	SDP	J. Soto
Leviathan CF w/rare power/speed combo. Huge range of defensive outcomes, raw pop > game pop for now.
45	8	Spencer Steer	2B	24.7	CIN	MIN	T. Mahle
Shift-aided infielder with contact/power blend. Near-ready, integral role-playing bat.
45	9	Jordan Groshans	3B	22.7	MIA	TOR	Bass/Pop
Contact-oriented third baseman and moonlight shortstop. Power weirdly regressed as a pro, has been hurt a lot.
45	10	Clayton Beeter	SIRP	23.8	NYY	LAD	J. Gallo
Relief-only prospect who is still starting. Mid-90s velo, big riding life, plus breaking balls.
40+	11	Edwin Arroyo	SS	18.9	CIN	SEA	L. Castillo
Switch-hitting middle infielder with playable power. Everyday shot, three-ish years away.
40+	12	Hayden Wesneski	SP	24.7	CHC	NYY	S. Effross
Slider-heavy slinger with plus command (esp. of slider), contender’s no. 4/5 starter type.
40+	13	Jarlin Susana	SP	18.4	WSN	SDP	J. Soto
Gigantic 18-year-old up to 102 mph with a plus slider. Young, hard-throwing, but big-bodied demo is scary.
40+	14	T.J. Sikkema	SP	24.0	KCR	NYY	A. Benintendi
Looks great coming off lost 2021 (shoulder), low-90s, plus slider, plus command.
40+	15	Jayden Murray	SP	25.3	HOU	TBR	Mancini/Siri 3-Team
Sits 93-94 mph with big two-seam action, commands plus slider. Another no. 4/5 type, 2023 debut.
40+	16	Nick Frasso	SP	23.8	LAD	TOR	M. White
Whooping crane frame at 6-foot-8, 93-98 mph coming off TJ, above-average slider.
40+	17	Antoine Kelly	SIRP	22.7	TEX	MIL	M. Bush
Low-slot, late-inning mid-90s relief prospect with plus slider potential.
40+	18	Drew Waters	CF	23.6	KCR	ATL	Comp Pick
Frustrating toolshed with poor plate discipline. Realistic role is dangerous fourth/fifth outfielder.
40+	19	Colin Holderman	SIRP	26.8	PIT	NYM	D. Vogelbach
Power sinker/slider reliever. Third bullpen banana on a competitive team.
40+	20	Jay Groome	SP	23.9	SDP	BOS	E. Hosmer
Famous since his junior year of high school, Groome is now a four-pitch backend starter type.
40+	21	Seth Johnson	SP	23.9	BAL	TBR	Mancini/Siri 3-Team
Tommy John timing nukes Johnson’s top 100 status since he’ll miss 2023. Power fastball/breaking ball prospect.
40	22	Victor Acosta	SS	18.1	CIN	SDP	B. Drury
Twitchy MIF w/everyday ceiling who swung underneath lots of fastballs in AZ. Despite hit tool risk, utility floor.
40	23	JP Sears	SP	26.5	OAK	NYY	F. Montas
Big league-ready backend starter with plus fastball command.
40	24	Robert Gasser	SP	23.2	MIL	SDP	J. Hader
Quick-moving kitchen sink starter with low arm slot. Plus on-mound athlete, big command ceiling.
40	25	Cade Povich	SP	22.3	BAL	MIN	J. Lopez
Backend starter look already (low-90s, four pitches, slider is best) with frame/athleticism to project more stuff.
40	26	Steve Hajjar	SP	22.0	CIN	MIN	T. Mahle
Backend starter look already (low-90s, sneaky fastball) with frame and athleticism for more. Barely 22.
40	27	Andrew Hoffmann	SP	22.5	KCR	ATL	Comp Pick
Workhorse starter type with big slider, burgeoning velocity after nomadic amateur career.
40	28	Tristan Peters	RF	22.4	SFG	MIL	T. Rosenthal
Hitterish corner outfielder with sublime bat control, generic other tools.
40	29	Jadiel Sanchez	RF	21.2	LAA	PHI	N. Syndergaard
Well-built corner outfield prospect with over-aggressive approach.
40	30	Ford Proctor	C	25.7	SFG	TBR	J. Walker
Converted catcher who still plays 2B/SS/3B, K% has exploded in the upper levels.
40	31	Compensatory Pick	~75	2023	CHC	MLB	W. Contreras
The Cubs aren’t a revenue sharing recipient, so this comp pick would come between rounds 2 & 3, which is typically 40 FV prospect territory, maybe 40+ if the draft is deep. Window dressing like extra pool space flexibility in next year’s draft, and the time it takes for the Cubs to actually add a prospect to their system by taking this approach with Contreras, might also factor into how you value this pick’s value.
40	32	Levi Stoudt	MIRP	24.7	CIN	SEA	L. Castillo
Plus command and fastball utility give him SP shot, changeup regression with new delivery pushes him to ‘pen.
40	33	Ben Brown	SIRP	22.9	CHC	PHI	D. Robertson
Mid-90s heater with plus, mid-80s breaking ball. Fastball plays down. Has missed reps, more might be coming.
40	34	Esteury Ruiz	CF	23.5	MIL	SDP	J. Hader
Speed and CF ability give Ruiz fifth OF floor; if approach improvement is real (I’m skeptical), he’ll be better.
40	35	Beck Way	SP	23.0	KCR	NYY	A. Benintendi
Big velo, body projection, slider potential. Long arm action creates relief risk.
40	36	Enmanuel Valdez	2B	23.6	BOS	HOU	C. Vázquez
Stocky upper-level hitter with 50/50 hit/power combo and no clear position. Think lefty-hitting Mike Brosseau.
40	37	Christian Encarnacion-Strand	3B	22.7	CIN	MIN	T. Mahle
Power-hitting 3B/1B with high-risk plate discipline.
40	38	Thomas Szapucki	MIRP	26.1	SFG	NYM	D. Ruf
Lower slot lefty with fine three-pitch mix. On the starter/multi-inning relief pitcher line.
40	39	Max Castillo	SP	23.2	KCR	TOR	W. Merrifield
Sink/tail fifth starter with above-average slider/changeup command.
40	40	Nick Zwack	SP	24.0	SFG	NYM	D. Ruf
East/west sinker/slider guy (the slider is plus) who has had a little velo bump (92-93 mph) in pro ball.
40	41	Chayce McDermott	SP	23.9	BAL	HOU	Mancini/Siri 3-Team
Has four pitches and sits 94 mph with two quality breakers; there’s command-driven relief risk.
40	42	Samad Taylor	2B	24.1	KCR	TOR	W. Merrifield
Speedy 2B/LF with enough pop to play part-time, Kelby Tomlinson/Eric Young Jr. type of role.
40	43	Corey Rosier	CF	22.9	BOS	SDP	E. Hosmer
Speedy small-college outfielder. Traded twice already (from SEA to SDP for Adam Frazier). Late bloomer traits.
40	44	Mickey Moniak	CF	24.2	LAA	PHI	N. Syndergaard
Former no. 1 overall pick who now looks like a fifth outfielder.
40	45	Tucker Davidson	MIRP	26.4	LAA	ATL	R. Iglesias
Has had Triple-A success as a starter but hasn’t broken thru in a big league rotation, 92-94 mph with plus slider.
40	46	Malcom Nunez	DH	21.4	PIT	STL	Quintana/Stratton
Potent hit/power combination with DH-only look on defense. Role-playing thumper in the 1 WAR range.
40	47	Christian Fernandez	SP	23.0	OAK	TBR	C. Bethancourt
Low-90s velo and a four-pitch mix, he’s a backend starter type.
35+	48	Alex De Jesus	3B	20.4	TOR	LAD	M. White
Physical power-over-hit third baseman, strikeout-driven bust risk but easily has 25-plus HR raw power.
35+	49	Wilyer Abreu	LF	23.1	BOS	HOU	C. Vázquez
Would be role-playing outfield lock if he improves in center. Sweet lefty swing, playable power, ball/strike recog.
35+	50	Yennier Cano	SIRP	28.4	BAL	MIN	J. Lopez
Three-pitch, middle-inning bully with well below-average control. Hard slider and changeup.
35+	51	Andrew Moore	SIRP	23.0	CIN	SEA	L. Castillo
Junior college righty who is blossoming in pro ball. Mid-90s, huge breaking ball, 30 command.
35+	52	Max Ferguson	2B	22.9	BOS	SDP	E. Hosmer
Plus-running 2B/CF with passive approach at the plate. Needs to add strength.
35+	53	Hector Rodriguez	2B	18.4	CIN	NYM	Naquin/Diehl
Twitchy 2B/LF with precocious bat control, limited power ceiling.
35+	54	Christian Cerda	C	19.6	ARI	TBR	D. Peralta
Bat-first catching prospect with notable size and power for his age.
35	55	Cal Stevenson	CF	25.9	OAK	TBR	C. Bethancourt
Likely to get 2023 shot in Oakland. Small-framed outfielder with plus speed and plate discipline.
35	56	Cooper Bowman	2B	22.5	OAK	NYY	F. Montas
Has changed swing in pro ball, results have been mixed. Occasionally puts a charge into one, 2B-only type for me.
35	57	Sawyer Gipson-Long	SP	24.6	DET	MIN	M. Fulmer
Valuable buffer against injury, SP 6-to-8 type in a contending org. Uphill low-90s heater, slider command.
35	58	Carson Seymour	SP	23.6	SFG	NYM	D. Ruf
Sits 92-95 mph, fastball plays down a little bit, deep repertoire; he’s a college arm dominating A-ball.
35	59	Juan Nunez	RHP	21.7	BAL	MIN	J. Lopez
Has low-90s velo, plus-plus spin rates, riding life shape.
35	60	Michael Stryffeler	SIRP	26.2	SFG	SEA	Casali/Boyd
Mid-90s fastball, plus slider, fringe control, up/down RP with chance to grab full-time spot with better control.
35	61	German Tapia	RF	18.9	LAD	TBR	G. Cleavinger
Two-year DSL outfielder, swing improved in second year, projectable frame.
35	62	Andy Thomas	C	24.1	SFG	SEA	Casali/Boyd
Workmanlike third catcher on your 40-man, probably a couple of years away despite his age.
35	63	CJ Alexander	3B	26.0	KCR	ATL	Comp Pick
3B/1B with plus arm, plus raw power, and a hole in the swing at the letters.
35	64	Trey Harris	LF	26.6	WSN	ATL	E. Adrianza
Righty-hitting corner outfielder who was a 40 FV until performance dipped post-2020.
35	65	Juan Rojas	LHP	18.5	BAL	MIN	J. Lopez
Well-built lefty with a beautiful arm stroke, fastball sits upper-80s with vertical shape.
35	66	Ian Hamilton	SIRP	27.1	CLE	MIN	S. León
Mid-90s up/down reliever with low-spin slider.
35	67	Chandler Champlain	SP	23.0	KCR	NYY	A. Benintendi
Big righty with mid-90s sinker, two average breaking balls.
35	68	Carlos Guarate	SP	21.3	OAK	STL	A. Allen
Pitchability righty with below-average stuff.
35	69	Kris Anglin	SP	21.0	DET	ATL	R. Grossman
Lefty with riding fastball, inconsistent early in 2022, better after demotion.
35	70	Saul Gonzalez	SP	22.6	CHC	NYM	M. Givens
Giant 6-foot-7 righty with 45-grade downhill sinker/slider combination.
35	71	Jose Acuna	SP	19.8	CIN	NYM	Naquin/Diehl
Advanced 19-year-old righty with depth starter look.
35	72	Moises Brito	SP	20.1	LAD	TOR	M. White
Projectable 6-foot-5, sitting 86 mph, clean overhand delivery, curveball has shape but not power.
35	73	Jonatan Bernal	SP	20.1	KCR	TOR	F. Griffin
Sinker in the 89-90 mph area, slider has big break but is slow, averaging 76 mph.

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Eric Longenhagen is from Catasauqua, PA and currently lives in Tempe, AZ. He spent four years working for the Phillies Triple-A affiliate, two with Baseball Info Solutions and two contributing to prospect coverage at ESPN.com. Previous work can also be found at Sports On Earth, CrashburnAlley and Prospect Insider.

45 Comments

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diamonddores

4 years ago

awesome content. Groome really has been on the radar for a while at this point

liamhiggins

3 years ago

Reply to diamonddores

Yeah as a Sox fan not mad they traded him. He’s been considered a prospect for so long now

scottsjunk1981Member since 2021

4 years ago

Josh Bell erasure

nomarwomacks

4 years ago

Lol, according to this, the Brewers gave up a better prospect to get Matt Bush than they got for Josh Hader.

I know it’s mostly because fangraphs is down on Ruiz, but still…WTF?

CC AFCMember since 2016

4 years ago

Reply to nomarwomacks

Hey man, ya gotta give up something serious to get the number 1 draft pick

Last edited 4 years ago by CC AFC

68FCMember since 2020

4 years ago

Reply to nomarwomacks

They did get Rogers for Hader, the prospects were to offset the difference in value between the two. It would be a better comparison if they had traded away like Trevor Gott in the Bush deal.

sadtromboneMember since 2020

4 years ago

Reply to nomarwomacks

Kelly is a bit of a project but so is Ruiz. And it’s probably not a good sign when Ruiz is at AAA and he’s at that stage.

IMO Kelly himself has some Josh Hader-ish qualities. I doubt he’s a starter but I think he’s going to hose people in the 9th inning (if he stays healthy which is always an issue with pitching!).

theflusher

4 years ago

Esteury Ruiz has to have biggest fanclub in history for a 40 FV prospect. Amazing

Ivan_GrushenkoMember since 2016

4 years ago

Reply to theflusher

He’s got a fun game to watch. I’d root for him more than Dan Vogelbach or somebody like that.

sandwiches4everMember since 2019

3 years ago

Reply to Ivan_Grushenko

Disagree. Even as a Yankee fan, I will root for Vogelbach until he hangs ’em up. Round is a shape!

DaronMember since 2017

4 years ago

I’ve only recently become acquainted with Esteury Ruiz’s game can someone explain more about the approach issues Eric is referencing? He’s above the 80th percentile in several of his Triple-A stats I would normally look to for red flags including 0.88 BB/K (95th percentile), 17.0 K% (81st percentile at Triple-A), 15.0 BB% (92nd percentile), 29.5 LD% (97th percentile). His infield fly ball rate is incredibly high and his ISO is a little below league average, are those some of the primary concerns? Is there something in the scouting looks that the stats aren’t capturing?

James

4 years ago

Reply to Daron

From Longenhagen’s chat, “There’s enough slider chase and letter high fastball swing and miss happening that I still think the hit tool is going to be below average. Most all of his home runs have come on sliders that didn’t quite finish”.

Additionally, his barrel and EV numbers are borderline atrocious while his frame doesn’t inspire much hope that he’ll grow into any more sort of power.

CC AFCMember since 2016

4 years ago

Reply to Daron

Right but if you look at pre-2022, he did not have good K-BB percentages, especially for someone without monster power. I think the question is whether 2022 is a real, sustainable change or not.

sadtromboneMember since 2020

4 years ago

Reply to Daron

He’s a chaos muppet. Super fast, so he feasts on balls in play and is a terror on the basepaths. Doesn’t really know what he’s doing defensively in the outfield. Chases too many pitches. Looks small, no real power projection. It’s promising that he can punish mistakes but it he’s mostly feasting on less effective defense in the minors and running up high BABIPs. There’s a lot more variance here than you would expect from a guy who seems to have solved AAA and gotten some big league time. Sometimes guys like this can translate their game to the majors, and sometimes they can’t.

sadtromboneMember since 2020

4 years ago

Reply to sadtrombone

Put another way, just because his floor is Willy Taveras and his ceiling is a 3+ win CF does not mean they’re equally likely. His median looks a whole lot more like Willy Taveras than it does like Coco Crisp, Michael Bourn, Dexter Fowler, etc.

Ivan_GrushenkoMember since 2016

4 years ago

Reply to sadtrombone

His game reminds me of Willie McGee. That seems like the ceiling. He’d have to get a bunch of bunt and IF hits, and triples and SB. He might do better on an artificial turf home park. If he’s a 2 WAR player, he’d be a fun one to watch.

Jeff in JerseyMember since 2020

4 years ago

Thanks for this, though it makes me very sad that the Mets gave up five prospects on this list for positions you could have filled with better planning–arguably, Givens = Holderman, and Vogelbach/Ruf types are available for low-cost contracts in the offseason.

Understandable to try Dom Smith and JD Davis one more time, and with the contract, they needed to run Cano out there for a little while. Still, these guys remain in a good-but-thin system if there’s a little what-if thinking.

Ivan_GrushenkoMember since 2016

4 years ago

Reply to Jeff in Jersey

Yes the mistake was to try Smith and Davis one more time. Hopefully it was because they believed in them, and not just because they were already around.

WARonEverything

4 years ago

So the Cubs get about the same level of players for their RP as they will for Contreras? Ooof. I think they need to re-sign him to make this look anything but horrible.

Ivan_GrushenkoMember since 2016

4 years ago

Reply to WARonEverything

or QO

CHRISTOPHER MARTINEZMember since 2020

4 years ago

Happy to see someone is more bullish on the Montas trade than Law was – his write-up was GRIM.

Ivan_GrushenkoMember since 2016

4 years ago

Reply to CHRISTOPHER MARTINEZ

Waldichuk is polarizing. I’m not seeing how Medina is both a reliever and a 50. He’d have to be Aroldis Chapman or Josh Hader to justify that, and those seem like 90%+ outcomes.

sadtromboneMember since 2020

3 years ago

Reply to Ivan_Grushenko

Eric seems to think there is still a small chance he’s a 5 and dive starter but that seems awfully unlikely at this point. Maybe he can throw strikes in a single inning but a lot of this type of reliever pitches the 5th inning instead of the 9th.

Exile in St. LouisMember since 2024

4 years ago

Just curious how E Valdez (#36) wasn’t even listed among Astro prospects written up on July 8th, and now a 40FV is given to him.

4 years ago

Where does the Braves comp pick received for waters rank?

B_Agate

4 years ago

Reply to DH

JR Ritchie is a 45, not counting pool implications.

4 years ago

Reply to B_Agate

Thanks!

mercyMember since 2017

4 years ago

The Yankees traded away a lot of Major-league ready pitching for a team in need of Major-league ready pitching. Such is the fate for a team that is always in contention.

Dooduh

4 years ago

How do the Yankees get insiders to write up their prospects like this?

-4

tipaion

4 years ago

Reply to Dooduh

This is such a weird concept because you’d think the secret Yankee-controlled media would want to downplay the quality of the prospects they just traded, not the other way around.

Luy

3 years ago

Reply to tipaion

I don’t buy the “conspiracy” either… but surely you can see the utility in convincing people that your farm has very good prospects – even if you just gave some of them away.

Dooduh

3 years ago

Reply to Luy

Come on. Beck Way is a 20 something prospect and A+ pop up arm who’s only been in the system since last season and suddenly he’s headlining the Benintendi deal.

Montas gets dealt for Waldichuk plus 3 throw ins.. Medina projects as a RPer with control issues.. Sears is 26 and Bowman is not a prospect.

Last yr it was Deivi Garcia who was this great pitching prospect.

The Yankees do a great job at building up their mid round college arms.. and they promote them aggressively.

I think the Mets gave up more in the Ruf deal (not boasting about the overpay) than the Yankees did to get Montas.

-1

sadtromboneMember since 2020

3 years ago

Reply to Dooduh

Waldichuk is probably more valuable than the entire return for Ruf.

Garcia was a pretty good prospect a couple of years ago, but I think you would have a very hard time finding people who still liked him going into this year.

sandwiches4everMember since 2019

3 years ago

Reply to Dooduh

Biased Yankee fan opinions:

The A’s clearly value trading for high-floor (ish), near-term (AA or higher) prospects in volume when selling their pieces — “bites at the apple” and all that. They grabbed two high probability mid-to-back end starters (with Waldichuk possibly flashing more). Sears’ age is sort of irrelevant — they should be able to extract max value out of him in his controllable years.

Medina is obviously the high variability flier, but even a moderate-to-better relief arm is pretty valuable — see recent deadlines for examples. I think the Yanks may have sold high on him when he’s having a solid season, and, well, that’s kind of the nature of the beast.

Bowman was also there.

As far as Garcia goes — pitchers melt down sometimes (which is why you buy in bulk). He’s always been a high variability prospect (if nothing else due to his size). The question is can he regain some semblance of his previous self and be an effective pitcher in some role.

Dooduh

3 years ago

Reply to sandwiches4ever

I have a better question… where is the A’s farm system now after all the trades they’ve made (Olson, Chapman, Bassitt, Manaea, Montas)…?? They should have top 5 system now after all those deals.

sadtromboneMember since 2020

4 years ago

This is great.

I get why Eric is more conservative on Wood and Arroyo than others since the bulk of their career has been at A-ball but I am bullish on both. Arroyo has a really great swing and the makings of strong infield defense, and an elite athlete to boot (switch thrower!). The big concerns with Wood are swing and miss and getting so big he has to move to first base but both of those things look far less likely. I’d expect their arrows to be up in a year.

florida ron

4 years ago

Another plus point of getting a comp pick for Willson Contreras is it softens the loss of a second round pick if they sign someone like DeGrom Boegarts or Swanson in free agency.

Ronson

4 years ago

Reply to florida ron

Absolutely. Hoyer will go after a SS (with Hoerner moving back to 2nd). And a frontline starter. IMO.

JayTeamMember since 2019

3 years ago

From the Jarlin Susana write-up “ but big-bodied demo is scary” . What does this mean?

travolta19Member since 2024

3 years ago

Reply to JayTeam

It means that the history of this body type has a higher failure rate. “Demo” here is referring to demographics.

JayTeamMember since 2019

3 years ago

Reply to travolta19

thanks

sandwiches4everMember since 2019

3 years ago

Reply to JayTeam

Unfortunately for me, I keep getting “O Susanna” stuck in my head when reading about him.

smmaertens

3 years ago

Comparing the hauls Montas and Castillo got compared to Mahle makes me happy the Twins went after him over the other 2.

kevo8Member since 2020

3 years ago

Not that it means anything, but if a team had a farm system made up entirely of players traded this deadline, it would rank 3rd in Fangraphs’ farm system rankings with a total value of $328M (slotting just behind the O’s and the Guardians).

reallyseamusMember since 2021

3 years ago

I feel like if Jay Groome’s name was John Smith, he would be much, much lower on this list. The stuff hasn’t come back since he had TJ surgery, with even the curve being pretty ordinary at this point. Per SoxProspects.com, he’s sitting 88-92 and he has below-average command. At almost 24, what really makes him better than somebody like Carlos Guarate at this point? I wish him the best, but I think he was just a fig leaf for San Diego’s salary dump to clear space on Boston’s 40-man.