Baseball America Spring Training Prospect Report -- March 7, 2019

Wednesday's Stars

Tyler O'Neill, OF, Cardinals. O'Neill hit his fourth home run of the spring yesterday, putting him in a tie for second-most in baseball. He also doubled.

Richie Martin, SS, Orioles. At this point, it's hard to sketch out a scenario where Martin, the No. 1 pick in last December's Rule 5 draft, doesn't make the Orioles Opening Day roster. He's played steady defense at shortstop and he's hit better than anyone could expect. Martin went 2-for-3 with a triple yesterday and is hitting .474 (9-for-19). Very few Rule 5 picks are ever pencilled in as Opening Day starters, but Martin has a chance to do that--his main competition is Alcides Escobar.

Garrett Stubbs, C, Astros. Stubbs homered for the second time in two days yesterday.

Fernando Tatis Jr., SS, Padres. Tatis went 2-for-4 yesterday with his first spring triple. He also continues to make excellent defensive plays and is showing why he should be San Diego's shortstop in the not-too-distant future.

Hudson Potts, 2B, Padres. While Tatis' path to the majors is quite clear, Potts is the Padres prospect most affected by Manny Machado's signing. His path to third base is now fully blocked, so San Diego has him playing some second base as well this spring. Unfortunately for Potts, Luis Urias may lock that spot up as well. Potts went 0-for-3 yesterday and is now hitting .211 (4-for-19).

Touki Toussaint, RHP, Braves. Toussaint was much better yesterday than he was in last week's outing. This time the righthander didn't allow a hit in three scoreless innings. He struck out four. Last week's outing was bad enough that yesterday's scoreless three innings only cut Toussaint's ERA to 10.50.

Bryse Wilson, RHP, Braves. Wilson was also in control in a three-inning outing. He allowed one hit and no runs while striking out one.

Elvis Luciano, RHP, Blue Jays. Luciano was a longshot Rule 5 pick as a 19-year-old with no full-season experience. So far, his spring has been somewhat what could have been expected. He gave up four runs on two hits and two walks in just .2 innings yesterday, raising his ERA to 12.27. Luciano has allowed six hits in 3.2 innings. He has promise, but if the Blue Jays opt to keep him on the 25-man roster to try to retain him, it will be as a low-leverage stashed pitcher with an eye on 2021 and beyond.

David Paulino, RHP, Blue Jays. Paulino was once a top pitching prospect for the Astros, but that was before he faced a PED suspension followed by a shoulder injury. Now he's flying under the radar in Blue Jays camp (he was sent to Toronto in the Roberto Osuna trade). Yesterday Paulino struck out three of the four batters he faced. He now has struck out five in only two innings of spring work.

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