Three weeks into the minor league season I shared some upper-level prospects finding success at new levels in A Monster Ma(r)sh. We knew some would fade, some would ascend, but they were all scary monsters; either striking fear in opponents or our dynasty speculations. I also postulated 2021 may be a season dynasty owners were well served to speculate on prospects in an aggressive manner. Twins infield prospect Jose Miranda, included in that piece, has become the scariest risen monster of the bunch. He’s been scary good, and scary to evaluate as a dynasty owner.

After losing the 2020 minor league season, whether wisely or not, I expected someone to come out of the proverbial nowhere emerging as a top prospect in the game. My basic logic was there hasn’t been a two-year span a prospect didn’t go from “off the map” year one, to elite prospect year three. There was no minor league baseball for us to see last year, but there were young baseball players getting better at baseball. And for an owner like myself, whose strategy relies on finding cheap-to-free prospects who return value, suspecting the dynasty world more sluggish than I to buy in on players with less name recognition, I’ve been hunting said Big Foot since May 4th.

Is this Big Foot real? Is Miranda it? Is wondering out loud if he is the best hitting prospect in baseball ok? How many hitting prospects would I rather roster than him right now? Would I rather have a share of him or a lower-level teenager/20-year-old like Jordan Walker who is sparking superstar dreams in dynasty owners’ heads, particularly my Prospect 1 friends?

I’ve been following Miranda all season, like all the players I’ve written about, checking the box scores, tuning in here and there, pulling up archives when motivated, and he’s constantly drawn me in. But it felt like time to plant a flag, decide just how many chips I’m putting down, and put my defense together for whatever answer I end up with, as dynasty owners afraid to stray from the comfort of their preferred rank lists will certainly give me those sideways looks. So I spent my week off from writing watching all of Miranda’s 336 plate appearances of 2021 (minus one that was not archived) and a few from 2019 before deciding.

Here is my list of notes as I watched, including who he faced, some game situations, etc. for your supplementation as we go if curiosity gets you. We obviously won’t get into every at-bat, but here are the cliff notes:

PA #1: Miranda comes back from 0-2 to draw a walk against Domingo Robles. This isn’t an isolated incident as Miranda displays a great sense of the strike zone throughout the season, playing a role in a lot of battles back from down early in the count. Matter of fact, it’s better than a lot of his umpires. If robots were in play, you could cut his 11.5 double-A K% to 5% or less, as the umpiring was egregiously bad in these regards, and his 15.9 triple-A K% a smidge or two, for whatever that’s worth. Most impressive to me, he stays stubborn with his zone. He doesn’t let the umpires mislead him, and keeps a strike a strike, a ball a ball, pretty much day in day out. PA #1 is a fitting start as Miranda’s strike zone and requisite pitch recognition was downright off the charts in double-A and pretty dang good in triple-A.

PA #6 (HR #1): He goes with this first-pitch fastball and exudes some opposite field power I’m not sure many people knew was there.

 

 (Two-run HR vs Andre Pallante 5/5)

 

Miranda wasn’t a nothing prospect, lauded for an advanced hit tool. The former second-round pick fell out of prospect list favor after a few seasons of failing to do a lot of damage. Here is a look from the last game he played in 2019 (he was three for five), the lone double-A appearance for Pensacola, last day of the regular season:

 

(Double vs Shane McClanahan 9/2/19)

 

Not a dissimilarly placed first-pitch fastball than Robles’ above, but with a different swing put on it. Currently listed at 6’2″ 210 pounds, 21-year-old Miranda didn’t lack the tree trunk and derriere DNA, but as you’ll see as we go, 22/23-year-old Miranda’s gotten more fit, stronger in the upper half, and technically improved to use it. He was listed at 6’2″ 180 pounds in 2019. I’m no pre-2021 Miranda expert, but I know conditioning was a question by some at one point, and the man seems to have put the work in over the COVID layover.

PA #15 (HR #2): Another first-pitch fastball with a runner on first. He’s now two for three putting first-pitch fastballs into play, two home runs. You’ll see this is very much a Miranda thing.

 

(vs Kyle Leahy 5/7)

 

PA #18 (HR #3): Make that three for five with three home runs on first-pitch fastballs put into play:

 

(vs Patrick Dayton 5/7)

 

The Cardinals give him, maybe, one more first-pitch fastball in the last two games of the series trying heavy doses of breaking balls, and he goes four for ten over the last two games, 10 for 27 in the series. You see attempts to go with pitches the other way, but the only non-pulled hit other than HR#1 is a great at-bat PA#17 when he battles back from 0-2, spitting on some good breaking balls and sending a fastball up the middle on a 2-2 count.

PA #34: Bottom of the ninth, down a run with two outs, he gets down 1-2 after missing his fastball to hit and does a great job hanging tough, adjusting mid-pitch and keeping the game alive:

 

(vs Junior Garcia 5/11)

 

Obviously game situation played a big role, but above is one of the very few times you see Miranda get off-balanced, needing to adjust mid-pitch, over the course of his entire double-A stint.

PA #38: On a tough night for runs, Miranda doesn’t try and do too much with a first-pitch breaking ball, getting just enough of it, and some help from an uncharacteristically bad throw from Dominic Fletcher for a walk-off sac fly winner:

 

(vs Luis Castillo 5/12)

 

PA #39: One of only two games Miranda didn’t start all season, he came in as a pinch hitter, bottom of the eighth of a tied game, bases loaded, and drew a walk, giving him two big RBIs on no hits in 24 hours. Pull-happy-murder-ballers don’t tend to do such things. Miranda doesn’t walk much, 7.8 double-A and 9.6 triple-A BB%, but it isn’t entirely fair to say he won’t take them. Some of those poorly called third-pitch strikeouts came on 3-2 pitches. Miranda is an aggressive hitter, and when he isn’t trying to do too much with an at-bat or pitch, he’s right to be.

PA #48 (HR #4): After taking a breaking ball to go 0-1, he sends this fastball 102 mph for two runs:

 

(vs Tommy Henry 5/16)

 

PA #50: Down a run in the bottom of the eighth with a runner on second, he gets a first-pitch fastball exuding some mature hitting, recognizing the situation, not trying to do too much, and kind of inside-outs it for the game-tieing RBI. The base-running might have been bad, but it might have been smart too, inducing the cutoff/protecting the run. Hard to tell:

 

(vs Mack Lemieux 5/16)

 

Only two weeks into the season and we see Miranda come up big a lot already. He ends the Amarillo series going 7 for 18, with five of those hits going up the middle or opposite field. He went two for five on first-pitch fastballs put into play with a couple of the outs being very well struck. Breaking balls continued to come in bunches, some good ones too, hardly ever fooling him or getting him off balance. He did more damage with breaking balls than he did the first week. He looked more comfortable going with pitches opposite-field. Luis Frias might have been his first test of big velocity with life and he wasn’t overmatched. The pitch recognition and selection look off the charts at this point, and he isn’t missing mistakes. Your hard-pressed to find a bad at-bat at this point. These angles are tough, the broadcasts don’t share velocity, and I’m not slowing down to look closely at every grip, but I’m not getting a good sense of him against changeups yet. Humberto Mejia got a giant swing and miss on a first-pitch changeup. At this level, you probably get one and a half good pitches to hit an at-bat and he isn’t missing his chances often.

PA #51: A good result going with a pitch the other way:

 

(vs Michael Grove 5/18)

 

PA #57 (HR #5): Not the greatest example of hitting, with a rare caught-in-between, but maybe the most impressive display of strength to date wall-scraping a high and outside breaking ball in a heavy rain:

 

(vs John Rooney 5/19)

 

PA #70: I have binge-watched hitters like this roughly a dozen times, and one thing has always been true; I fall more in love with the positives and find warts larger than I thought. It’s just how it goes, but at this point, I’m struggling to find the doubt. You can count on one hand the number of good fastballs to hit he hasn’t and pitches badly chased. Pitches over the middle of the plate are constantly being hit hard. Of course you start wondering about the level of pitching he’s facing, but you’ve seen plenty of good pitches against him; a good pitch is a good pitch regardless of level and the name of the game is doing damage on mistakes, which he’s doing at a very high rate. The opposite-field stuff could of course improve, but this a guy very in control up there. Futures Game participant Andre Jackson pitches Miranda backward here and does something I maybe hadn’t witnessed yet; gets a hittable fastball by him for a swinging strike three. Miranda looks, uncharacteristically, a little try-too-hard:

 

 (vs Andre Jackson 5/22)

 

Miranda starts to come back down to earth a smidge. He ended up just 4 for 22 in this Tulsa series, with two up-the-middle or opposite field hits, but still posted a .357 OBP. He was technically one for four on first-pitch fastballs put into play, but, in my opinion, should have been awarded a hit PA #71 when he sent a lightning bolt to third base and it was ruled an error. The Tulsa pitchers try and bust Miranda high and inside with fastballs more often, but the plan was foiled by some lack of command, resulting in three HBP. I want to see more pitchers try this against him, as well as lefties continuing to back-foot-breaking ball him.

 

PA #103 (HR #6): Perhaps spoiled by the performance to date, and as crazy as a 7 for 18 (four up-the-middle or opposite-field hits) series being a downturn sounds, Miranda looks less impressive his second Springfield series. He chases more breaking balls, goes o for 2 on first-pitch fastballs put into play, missing several good ones to hit and good pitches to hit in general. There is some over-swinging, maybe some over-striding and getting off-balance going on. There’s a little talking to himself in frustration showing up. He also came up empty in a few big spots, showing mortality, but he comes up huge here, down two, the bottom of the ninth a night after coming up short late:

 

(vs Edgar Escobar 5/29)

 

This big home run seems to get him re-focused and he looks more controlled moving forward. (Chicken or the egg.)

PA #128 (HR #7): Another clutch moment, in extras, sends a walk-off home run to the roof of the outbuilding in left field on a hanging 1-0 breaking ball:

 

 (vs Reid Morgan 6.4)

 

Not destroying first-pitch fastballs like he had been, going one for two, with the hit being lucky and missing several more, he’s not as locked in as had been the first two weeks but being that hot isn’t sustainable for humans. Despite some results not coming, he didn’t exude the chase and out-of-control he flashed the previous series. Ending up 8 for 26 with five hits up-the-middle or opposite-field. He had a few lucky hits, but to this point in the season, the well-struck balls not landing for hits outnumber the lucky ones.

PA #141: A nice job of battling some good stuff, especially after missing his hit to pitch. This at-bat looks more like the triple-A at-bats to come later:

 

(vs Andre Jackson 6/9)

 

PA #142: Jackson gets Miranda to chase two breaking balls to go 0-2, makes a mistake 1-2 and Miranda laces a single up the middle.

PA #149: Results aren’t coming this series. Take away the two hits against Jackson and he’s 0 for 9, but is looking fine, just not squaring up the ball well enough. Late in the game with a big lead, try-too-hard shows up:

 

(vs Aaron Ochsenbein 6/10)

 

PA #150: A tied game in the top of the tenth, runner on second, then third, the worst chase of his double-A season:

 

(vs Guillermo Zuniga 6/10)

 

Wichita manager Ramon Borrego brilliantly gives Miranda a day off, Ryan Pepiot starts the day after, Miranda goes 0 for 4 but looks back to himself at the plate and the following day gets right quick and has a great day at the plate:

PA #155 (HR #8): Leads off the game destroying a 2-0 cookie:

 

(vs Gerardo Carillo 6/13)

 

PA #156: Just misses taking an 0-0 fastball out to centerfield; fly out.

PA #157: He fouls off a 2-0 breaking ball in the zone, but it’a a very controlled effort ending in a nice patient walk.

PA #158: He gets to 3-0, takes a pitch and then laces a 3-1 fastball to right field for a single.

PA #159: He just misses a massive home run down the left-field line. On a 1-2 count, he bounces out to first base, but we didn’t get to see what the pitch was.

PA #160: Some good two-strike hitting:

 

(vs Aaron Ochsenbein 6/13)

 

He ends the day 2 for 4 with a walk and a couple of singles, far from a gaudy line (but it was close). This may have been his most impressive day. His ability to get right after a day off impressed the heck out of me. He ends the series 5 for 22 with four of his hits opposite-field. It isn’t his stat line series, but it’s his in between-the-ears series of the double-A stint. (He was 0-2 on first-pitch fastballs put into play, with one of them a just missed home run PA #156.)

PA #161 (HR #9): Leads off the series crushing a good 1-1 fastball to hit.

 

(vs Domingo Robles 6/15)

 

Post PA #170: A look at his athleticism and some heady baserunning:

 

(Two SBs 6/16)

 

I don’t foresee stolen bases being his thing but he does have four on six attempts, having a good sense of when to try, and a little more fleet of foot than meets the eye.

PA #187 (HR #10): After a warning track fly-out first at-bat:

 

(vs Domingo Robles 6/20)

 

PA #188 (HR #11): Poor Robles. He actually was pitching quite well, with these the only runs allowed at this point, but Miranda more than owns him on the season; 6 for 12, 3 HR, BB with two warning track fly outs.

 

(vs Domingo Robles 6/20)

 

The third series against Springfield, after a rougher second series, Miranda ends up 11 for 27. There seemed a concerted effort to go up the middle and six of his hits went there or opposite field. He was 1 for 2 with an RBI single on first-pitch fastballs put into play.

PA #190 (HR #12): Leading off the series, he takes something low out of the park. There are a lot of looks like below from this ballpark, so there are more mysteries this week:

 

(vs Jared Koening 6/22)

 

PAs #201-205: Miranda has a 5 for 6 day with four pull singles and an opposite-field double.

PA #214: Not a great at-bat and I wondered if the following was lack of hustle/pouting or an injury. He didn’t miss any time.

 

(vs Montana DuRapau 6/27)

 

PA #217 (HR #13): Hard to see what this was, other than some opposite field muscle:

 

(vs Jared Koening 6/27)

 

PA #218: During a 3-3 tie coming up in the top half of the last inning, bases loaded, he rips the game-winning RBI (up the middle single). The broadcast doesn’t give us a good look at what was going on here.

Miranda finishes the series 12 for 27, pulling more balls than usual, but still getting five hits up the middle or opposite field. He was 1 for 4 on first pitches put into play but given the broadcast, couldn’t decipher exactly what he got to hit.

Double-A test is over, ending his season line at .345/.408/.588 with 13 HR, 38 RBI in 46 games and one pinch-hit appearance. Miranda hit leadoff for Wichita his last 36 games, and lead off a lot of middle innings, making the RBI total even more impressive.

 

Happy 23rd Birthday!!!! (And Promotion)

 

PA #219 (HR #14): It didn’t take long for Miranda to make his mark in St. Paul, homering on a 2-2 down-and-in fastball to lead off his first triple-A at-bat and first appearance as a 23-year-old:

 

(vs Jakob Junis 6/29)

 

PA #220: Chopper to shortstop on a first-pitch breaking ball for an infield single.

PA #221 (HR #15): Birthday grand slam! Changeup?

 

(vs Jakob Junis 6/29)

 

PA #222 (HR #16): Adjusts to a good 0-1 breaking ball and sends the day at the plate into minor league folklore:

 

(vs Grant Gavin 6/29)

 

PA #223: He isn’t done, adding his fifth candle on top the birthday cake, taking a fastball the other way for a double:

 

(vs Jace Vines 6/29)

 

PA #224: Miranda grounds into a double play on a first-pitch the broadcast didn’t catch, but he’s proved his point going 5 for 6, 3 HR, 2B, 6 RBI. I guess when you have a debut this insane, despite what the superstitious folks say, you ditch the number (15) for one devilishly better suited for monsters (66). I don’t know the story, but Miranda was only #15 for his debut and has worn #66 since.  I like it.

There’s some interesting debate regarding Miranda’s defense, with some claiming he is bad. I didn’t watch a lot of him in the field during this dive but catching some stuff was inevitable. I got this web gem the day after his birthday game:

 

(Robbing Erick Mejia of a hit 6/30)

 

Miranda has played all four infield spots this season. If a long MLB career transpires, first base feels like the final destination, but he’s got the hands and arm to play anywhere in the dirt. On a couple of occasions (I failed to mark) during my dive, discussion in the broadcast booth, including some personnel people with the Twins, focused on Miranda finding the range to play a major league second base. Second base may be the organization’s ideal entrance for him into the lineup, or easiest, at least the near future. Third base suits him best and is where he plays most, but of course, Josh Donaldson is there. I did catch a few throwing errors. Here is one while trying to turn a double play at second:

 

(throwing error 7/18)

 

He’s committed five errors at third base, two at second, and one at first base. In the plays I’ve seen hopping around his season, I wouldn’t call him a bad defender, but I’m not calling him a gold glover either. At the end of the day, his bat is the attraction for the big club. There’s some sneaky athleticism to Miranda casual observers may not appreciate. Interestingly, he hasn’t been playing a ton of second base in St. Paul, but it would probably benefit him to put the work in there this offseason.

PA #231: Pitching gets a little tougher up here. Chases a fastball up:

 

(vs Marcelo Martinez 7/1)

 

PA #232: Little better breaking ball than Domingo Robles‘:

 

(vs Marcelo Martinez 7/1)

 

PA #235: I believe Lynch started him off with three straight changeups here, eventually getting him looking at fastball middle in, which is far from a typical Miranda strikeout:

 

(vs Daniel Lynch 7/2)

 

PA #236: Lynch tries another first-pitch changeup the second at bat, and Miranda has no problem with it, lacing an RBI double:

 

(vs Daniel Lynch 7/2)

 

PA #237: Unlike the other day, when Miranda couldn’t get anything going against Martinez, he keeps his aggressiveness, with two good final at-bats against Lynch; above and an RBI sac fly on a first-pitch fastball:

 

(vs Daniel Lynch 7/2)

 

PA #242: During his double-A stint, we don’t get a good sense of Miranda’s mid-pitch adjustment skills because he frankly doesn’t need to do it often. We get more instances of off-balanced swings in triple-A. Whether it’s a pitch recognition adjustment, more in between the ears “guessing” or both (probably so), he exudes some nice ability here:

 

(vs Jay Newberry 7/3)

 

PA #245 and #246: The first meetings between Miranda and #33 Larry Bird, I mean, Eddie Butler, get a little intense. Butler pops him up the first at-bat after a long battle and then Miranda scorches a 0-1 fastball, but right at the shortstop.

PA #247: Bottom of the eighth, two outs, down two runs, runners on the corners, and later third and second after a steal, Butler makes Miranda look silly on a high and inside 3-2 breaking ball.

 

(vs Eddie Butler 7/4)

 

After the monstrous opener, the rest of the series is filled with some growing pains. More chasing, less balance, and I think some guessing, but he still ends the series 10 for 26, with four hits going up the middle or opposite field. I believe he went 0 for 3 on first-pitch fastballs put into play, but not all the looks were there for us. He did have the nice RBI double on a first-pitch changeup against Lynch above.

PA #258: The week in Des Moines was odd with cheap hits and scorchers not falling. I liked how the Cubs pitched him, challenging with a lot of up and in fastballs, something I imagine will get tested plenty at the next level. Miranda, despite not hitting a home run in a series for the first time, did well staying patient, drawing five walks in the series and not letting the try-to-hard get him. Here was my favorite at-bat of the series:

 

(vs Joe Biagini 7/8)

 

Finishing 5 for 21, but he had an RBI double ruled an error, which has been my least favorite scoring decision of this baseball season. Three of the hits went up the middle or opposite field and he was 1 for 2 on first-pitch fastballs put into play. This was Miranda’s only series in which he did not homer, but I felt his approach was pretty on and he looked more controlled.

 

PA #277 (HR #17): First-pitch breaking ball eeks out of the park:

 

(vs Brad Peacock 7/13)

 

PA #279: After trying to pull a pitch he may have been better served going with, good two-strike hitting, inside-outing an RBI double to right field:

 

(vs Robert Broom 7/13)

 

PA #283 (HR #18): Keon Broxton’s preceding home run hoopla deprives us a look at this one:

 

(vs Jordan Stephens 7/14)

 

PA #287: This is one of my favorite at-bats of his season. He was aggressive first pitch, perhaps in his head a fastball was coming before the pitch was thrown, but ultimately, this version of Miranda; seeing it well, staying within himself, looking to do damage in the right spot with the right pitch, and taking what’s given with two strikes makes me feel good about his future. It set a tone for a string of six mature at-bats he stayed within himself and went 4 for 6 looking very in control of the at-bats.

 

(vs Matt Koch 7/15)

 

PA #302: There really wasn’t an at-bat the whole week I didn’t like…until the very last one. Leading off the bottom of the 9th of a tied game, he failed to square up a few good pitches to hit, looking like he wanted to end it a little too much. He ended up striking out swinging 3-2 at a high and inside fastball that would have been ball four.

He ends his third week of triple-A ball 10 for 26 with six of his hits going up the middle or opposite field. There seemed to be an effort to get deeper into counts. I don’t believe there was a first-pitch put into play.

 

PA #307: Miranda adds to his collection of huge late-game RBIs:

 

(vs Grant Gavin 7/20)

 

PA #311 (HR #19): Pssst…Kalish…first-pitch fastballs are a bad idea and you got away with one…don’t go back to that well. Add some more big late-game RBIs to the tally.

 

(vs Jake Kalish 7/21)

 

PA #313, #314 (HR #20), #315: Miranda vs Butler part II. The cinematography is lacking this go around, but Miranda pops up something 1-0 the first at-bat and is visibly upset he missed it. Next at-bat, this 464-foot ridiculousness occurs (110 EV):

 

(vs Eddie Butler 7/22)

 

Third round we get a press box view and Butler gets him off-balanced just enough Miranda only sends one out to the left-field warning track.

PA #319: Even though results didn’t come, I liked how Miranda handled the long battle and Kowar’s changeup 3-2:

 

(vs Jackson Kowar 7/23)

 

PA #328 (HR #21):  Doing more damage on mistakes via Kalish again:

 

(vs Jake Kalish 7/24)

 

Miranda finishes last week’s series 8 for 28 with four hits up the middle or opposite way. He was 0 for 3 first-pitch fastballs in play but made some very hard contact on them.

Last night: vs Indianapolis, 3 for 5, a double and two singles….I can’t get the archive to load, so it’s a lie I’ve watched all his plate appearances.

I wanted to get into his splits some, but there’s conflicting data out there and I didn’t tally things up. I know 10 of his 21 home runs are against lefties and he probably has a very high average against them. But he has a high average against righties too. End of the day, given his skill set, there’s nothing screaming at me he’ll be a hitter to worry about splits.

 

Takeaway

 

Miranda is not a flukey four-category prospect. The pitch-recognition stuff, even with a little adjustment period post-promotion, he seems to be tackling, is really impressive. His feel for the strike zone, even more so. Some of his takes are so close, but the consistency in which he gets them right is really kind of bonkers. The tree trunk strength and flashes of calm powerful swings…the bountiful hard contact and teases it could get even better are super exciting. And this is far from a sophomoric approach, hitting to all fields, with power. There are stretches of impeccable control at the plate and in the swing, not sacrificing slugging while doing so. There is hitter meets slugger upside here; high average with big counting stats. Not to mention the dude factor during big moments.

Yet, there is still plenty to prove. We’ll see how close he can get to looking like his double-A self while in triple-A. 2021 triple-A pitching may not be your big brother’s version, with more major league caliber arms needed at the big level, there could be fewer preparatory at-bats for young hitters these days. The typical mental challenges all hitters deal with, especially ones coming into newfound power, are here too, and his ability to pull out of times he’s trying too hard…how consistent will that be? Do the too big of swings and overstriding at times concern me? For sure. Is there reason to be concerned about the high and inside fastball or is that simply good pitches at good times? I’m not enough of a swing technician to know if there is anything to be worried about, perhaps one of you knows more? There is room to be a better breaking ball hitter. (I felt more comfortable with his ability to pick up changeups as his season progressed.) And of course, the giant challenge of breaking into the big league lineup, where paychecks, whether we like to admit it or not, play a big role in opportunity.

But the trump card for me…the thing he’s maybe been most consistent with and leaves room for dreaming of more, is his ability to wait and do damage on mistakes, which is the name of the game. We can only assess talent, which tons of players have, and after that, it’s the will to be great, put the work in, intangibles, and that thing between our ears. Miranda’s got some burn in him. You can see it when he talks to himself at the plate, which I dig.

 

The Dang Flag Planting and Brass Tax

 

As much as I prefer to simply try and share what I see and stay away from rank stuff, let’s have a little fun.

Is wondering out loud if Jose Miranda is the best hitting prospect in baseball ok? Of course it is, but I don’t think he is.

Would I rather have a share of him over Jordan Walker? I would take the risk of missing out on super-elite fantasy upside, which is very rare for a four-category player to achieve anyways, and hop into the Miranda time machine. If Walker got to where Miranda is right now, we’d feel pretty good about that, so why not speed up the process? Is it close for me? Heck yes. Would I advise it? Probably not. Would I do it on one of my teams? For sure.

Over Adley Rutschman, Spencer Torkelson, Marco Luciano, Bobby Witt Jr., Jasson Dominguez? No way, I’m not that crazy.

Over Justin Foscue, Pedro Leon, Triston Casas, Hedbert Perez, Josh Jung, Jordan Groshans, Nick Gonzales, Josh Lowe, Heliot Ramos, Nick Pratto, Michael Busch, Hunter Bishop? Yep. Am I nervous about saying so with a few of these guys? Yep, but only a few.

Over Jhonkensy Noel, Orelvis Martinez, Gabriel Moreno? Without a doubt

Over Riley Greene? No, but I would admire anyone with the intestinal fortitude to do so, and I’m fond of Greene.

Over Tyler Soderstrom, Zac Veen, Robert Hassell, Fransisco Alvarez? Come on. How people compare these kinds of things is beyond my brain, but I’ll say a few of them. Next question.

Could Jose Miranda article come back to haunt me after he completely duds out? Easiest question of the quiz…of course. But so could any similar article on pretty much any player above. At the very least, I can say I studied for the test.

Photo by Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire | Feature Graphic Designed by James Peterson (Follow @jhp_design714 on Instagram & Twitter)