Two Top 100 Prospects Highlight 2019 South Atlantic League All-Star Rosters

Image credit: Ronny Mauricio (Photo by Tom Priddy/Four Seam Images)

An Orioles fireballer and a Mets wunderkind are just two of the high-upside prospects who will be on display on June 18, when the South Atlantic League holds its all-star game in Charleston, W.V.

The Northern Division roster’s clear star is Orioles righthander Grayson Rodriguez, who has allowed just 24 hits in his 43 innings. His 1.47 ERA would be among the circuit’s best if he qualified for the title. His rate of 12.77 strikeouts per nine innings places him third in the league, and he’s dominated the competition with one of the best fastballs around. The pitch touches the mid-90s and has helped him accumulate a 15 percent swinging-strike rate.

Rodriguez will be backed up on the Northern staff by a trio of his teammates, including righthander Ofelky Peralta and lefthanders Zach Matson and Drew Rom. That group has struck out 159 in 114.1 innings to front a Delmarva team that leads the league with 587 strikeouts.

The Greensboro Grasshoppers are sending a quartet of position players (in addition to pitchers Brad Case and Alex Manasa) that includes slugging infielders Rodolfo Castro and Mason Martin. Martin, in particular, has crushed the SAL with a barrage of power that allowed him to homer in five straight games early in the season, electrify a home crowd last month with walk-off three-run home runs in both ends of a doubleheader and pace with league with 16 homers.

The Southern Division is headlined by Mets phenom Ronny Mauricio, who isn’t putting up gaudy numbers but entered the season as the league’s second-youngest player. The 18-year-old Mauricio isn’t hitting for much power but has produced a .280/.324/.353 line through 51 games. He ranks No. 81 on the most recent iteration of the Top 100 and has some of the highest upside in the Mets’ system.

Mauricio will be joined on the Southern infield by Red Sox prospect Triston Casas, a 2018 first-round choice whose strong start has put him on the cusp of the Top 100. His .492 slugging percentage is ninth in the league, and he’s shown well in his first extended taste of pro ball after an injury last summer limited his debut season to just four at-bats in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League.

The Southern pitching staff features several high-octane arms who could easily put up zeroes for an extended stretch. That group includes Royals prospects Jonathan Bowlan, Jon Heasley and Austin Cox, who have combined to whiff 171 hitters in 160.2 innings. Cox, who paced the NCAA in strikeouts in 2018, entered the year as the No. 16 prospect in Kansas City’s system. 

That group will be joined by two Charleston arms who have dominated the competition as part of a very talented RiverDogs rotation. Luis Gil, who came over from the Twins in the deal that sent Jake Cave to Minnesota, has shown a fastball some evaluators have ranked as an 80 on the 20-to-80 scouting scale, and teammate Alexander Vizcaino has used a vastly improved changeup to produce 17.7 percent swinging-strike rate and whiff 62 in 50 innings. 

NORTHERN ROSTER

Name	Position	Team	MLB Org
PITCHERS
Grayson Rodriguez	RHP	Delmarva	Orioles
Dayeison Arias	RHP	West Virginia	Mariners
Brad Case	RHP	Greensboro	Pirates
Clay Chandler	RHP	West Virginia	Mariners
Johan Dominguez	RHP	Kannapolis	White Sox
Kyle Glogoski	RHP	Lakewood	Phillies
Alex Manasa	RHP	Greensboro	Pirates
Zach Matson	LHP	Delmarva	Orioles
Bryan Pall	RHP	West Virginia	Mariners
Ofelky Peralta	RHP	Delmarva	Orioles
Drew Rom	LHP	Delmarva	Orioles
CATCHERS
Jake Anchia	C	West Virginia	Mariners
Daniel Fajardo	C	Delmarva	Orioles
Grant Koch	C	Greensboro	Pirates
INFIELDERS
Mason Martin	1B	Greensboro	Pirates
Rodolfo Castro	2B	Greensboro	Pirates
Jonathan Ornelas	3B	Hickory	Rangers
Adam Hall	SS	Delmarva	Orioles
Curtis Terry	INF	Hickory	Rangers
Gilbert Lara	INF	Hagerstown	Nationals
OUTFIELDERS
Jacob Rhinesmith	RF	Hagerstown	Nationals
Lolo Sanchez	CF	Greensboro	Pirates
Ian Dawkins	LF	Kannapolis	White Sox
Pedro Gonzalez	OF	Hickory	Rangers
Doran Turchin	OF	Delmarva	Orioles
DESIGNATED HITTER
Seamus Curran	OF	Delmarva	Orioles

 

SOUTHERN ROSTER

Name	Position	Team	MLB Org
PITCHERS
Luis Gil	RHP	Charleston	Yankees
Jake Bird	RHP	Asheville	Rockies
Jonathan Bowlan	RHP	Lexington	Royals
Seth Corry	RHP	Augusta	Giants
Austin Cox	LHP	Lexington	Royals
Jon Heasley	RHP	Lexington	Royals
Alexander Martinez	RHP	Asheville	Rockies
Jose Montilla	RHP	Rome	Braves
Jesus Tona	RHP	Augusta	Giants
Alexander Vizcaino	RHP	Charleston	Yankees
Thad Ward	RHP	Greenville	Red Sox
CATCHERS
Logan Brown	C	Rome	Braves
Willie MacIver	C	Asheville	Rockies
Josh Breaux	C	Charleston	Yankees
INFIELDERS
Devlin Granberg	1B	Greenville	Red Sox
Greg Cullen	2B	Rome	Braves
Triston Casas	3B	Greenville	Red Sox
Terrin Vavra	SS	Asheville	Rockies
Mickey Gasper	INF	Charleston	Yankees
Ronny Mauricio	INF	Columbia	Mets
OUTFIELDERS
Trey Harris	RF	Rome	Braves
Michael Gigliotti	CF	Lexington	Royals
Canaan Smith	LF	Charleston	Yankees
Ismael Monguia	OF	Augusta	Giants
Josh Stowers	OF	Charleston	Yankees
DESIGNATED HITTER
Chase Vallot	DH	Lexington	Royals