You may have heard that Major League Baseball's trade deadline passed on Tuesday night. (If not, you can use our handy trade tracker to catch up on all of the moves from the past several weeks.) As such, this edition of Prospect Watch is, predictably, all about ranking and analyzing the five best youngsters who were included in deals.
Keep in mind that these exercises are always more of an art than a science and that there were more than five worthwhile prospects traded at the deadline. Now, onward.
There's a lot to like about Marte's game. He's a left-side infielder with well-above-average raw power who walks and who has kept his strikeout rate in check despite playing against competition that is several years older than him. The one big unknown facing Marte is his defensive position. He's been awfully error-prone at short over the last two seasons, and he might have to slide to third. That won't be much of a negative if he hits the way he's capable of hitting.
Hassell, the eighth pick in the 2020 draft, has already achieved success in High-A by hitting .299/.379/.467 with 10 home runs in 75 games. Scouts have raved about his hit tool and his approach dating back to his prep days; alas, they've also questioned when (and how much) he'll tap into his raw pop, and if he'll stick in center. Those concerns remain in place, but now it's up to the Nationals to help him find a good resolution.
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3. Edwin Arroyo, SS, Reds (Luis Castillo)
Arroyo had his share of fans coming into the 2021 draft thanks to a combination of his extreme youth and his defensive ability at shortstop. It didn't hurt that he showed enough positive traits at the plate for scouts to envision him ascending beyond utility player status. Still, Arroyo showed more offensive competency than his most ardent boosters could have expected by hitting .316/.385/.514 in 87 games in the Cal League, where his average opponent was, oh, more than three years his senior. Arroyo is a couple of seasons away from being big-league relevant, but he's one to keep in mind.
4. James Wood, OF, Nationals (Juan Soto)
Wood, the other outfielder in the Soto trade, has the kind of raw power you'd expect from someone listed at 6-foot-7. He moves better than the Richie Sexsons of the world, however, and the Padres had primarily played him in center field. The main concern about Wood's game as an amateur was that he would strike out too often to maximize his pop. It's an encouraging sign, then, that he's been able to keep his seasonal strikeout rate under 20 percent. Wood could develop into a middle-of-the-order hitter if that trend holds as he moves up the ladder.
If the Angels were determined to take an offramp on Marsh, a former top prospect who has struggled to make consistent contact in the majors, they could've done worse than netting O'Hoppe in return. He's spent the season in Double-A, hitting .275/.392/.496 with 15 home runs in 75 games. O'Hoppe is a well-rounded backstop, a field-general type who could provide average or better offensive production. He seems ready for Triple-A, and he should be able to make his big-league debut in 2023.
