Which top prospects are still in camp

Felix Bautista, RHP (No. 30) — The 26-year-old Bautista is one of baseball’s oldest prospects. But he climbed three levels in 2021, throws 100 mph, and the O’s need back-end arms with Wells converting back into a starter. Bautista has only helped his case this spring, striking out seven across four outings.

Injured
Adley Rutschman, C (No. 1) —
Whether Rutschman could crack the roster was supposed to be the story of Orioles camp this spring. But a triceps injury limited the 2019 top overall pick early in camp, and although he’s resumed light baseball activities, Rutschman won’t be ready for either Triple-A Opening Day or Major League Opening Day.

Steven Kwan, OF (No. 15) — Steven Kwan turned his red-hot spring into a trip to Cleveland for Opening Day. He hit .429/.467/.500 with seven runs scored and three RBIs over 14 games. Last season, the 24-year-old posted a combined .328/.407/.527 slash line, 12 home runs, four triples, 65 runs and 44 RBIs in 77 games over the top two Minors levels.

Sent down: George Valera, OF (No. 1), Gabriel Arias, INF (No. 3), Brayan Rochhio, INF (No. 4), Tyler Freeman, INF (No. 5), Nolan Jones, 3B/OF (No. 6), Logan Allen, LHP (No. 8), Jose Tena, INF (No. 9), Bryan Lavastida, C (No. 12), Jhonkensy Noel, 3B/1B (No. 13), Bo Naylor, C (No. 16), Cody Morris, RHP (No. 17), Richie Palacios, 2B/OF (No. 18), Tobias Myers, RHP (No. 22), Nick Mikolajchak, RHP (No. 29)

Contenders
Jhoan Duran, RHP (No. 6)
— Including Ryan, the Twins could have three of their top four pitching prospects with them on Opening Day. Whether that happens depends on the brewing bullpen competing involving Duran, a hard-throwing righty who was limited by elbow issues last season. He’s unscored upon across six innings of one-hit ball this spring.

Sent down: Royce Lewis, SS (No. 1), Austin Martin, OF/SS (No. 2), Jordan Balazovic, RHP (No. 5), Spencer Steer, 2B/3B (No. 11), Ronny Henriquez, RHP (No. 14), Aaron Sabato, 1B (No. 16), Cole Sands, RHP (No. 17), Drew Strotman, RHP (No. 19), Blayne Enlow, RHP (No. 20), Chris Vallimont, RHP (No. 22), Jovani Moran, LHP (No. 24), Jermaine Palacios, SS (No. 30)

Sent down: Jose Rodriguez, SS (No. 3), Yoelqui Céspedes, OF (No. 4), Romy Gonzalez, SS/2B (No. 8), Jimmy Lambert, RHP (No. 16), Jason Bilous, RHP (No. 17), Jonathan Stiever, RHP (No. 18), Anderson Severino, LHP (No. 20), Caleb Freeman, RHP (No. 21), Bennet Sousa, LHP (No. 25), Emilio Vargas, RHP (No. 27), Kade McClure, RHP (No. 28)

Jose Siri, OF (No. 14) — Siri is on track to make the Opening Day roster and figures to split time in center field with Chas McCormick while Jake Meyers recovers from offseason shoulder surgery that will keep him out until at least May. The 26-year-old impressed in his debut season last year, batting .304 with four home runs and three steals in 21 games and contributing to Houston’s postseason run.

Sent down: Korey Lee, C (No. 2), Hunter Brown, RHP (No. 3), Pedro Leon, SS/OF (No. 4), Forrest Whitley, RHP (No. 5), Peter Solomon, RHP (No. 7), Shawn Dubin, RHP (No. 8), Joe Perez, 3B/1B (No. 9), Jonathan Bermudez, LHP (No. 19), Tyler Ivey, RHP (No. 20), Alex McKenna, OF (No. 22), Grae Kessinger, INF (No. 24), Corey Julks, OF (No. 28)

A’s (Top 30 Prospects)
Locks
Daulton Jefferies, RHP (No. 13)
— Jefferies is in line for a rotation spot after the A’s traded Chris Bassitt and lost James Kaprielian to shoulder woes. According to A’s beat writer Martin Gallegos, Jefferies will likely slot in as the club’s fourth starter to open the year.

Contenders
Cristian Pache, OF (No. 4)
— With Ramon Laureano serving a PED suspension for the first 27 games of the 2022 regular season, Pache is aiming for an Opening Day outfield spot. The 23-year-old struggled with the bat and injuries in 2021, but his excellent defense could earn him the starting job in center field over Skye Bolt.

Kevin Smith, SS/3B (No. 16) — After a breakout offensive season at Triple-A Buffalo where he hit 21 home runs and 18 stolen bases, Smith landed in Oakland as part of the return package in the Matt Chapman trade. He profiles best at third, but could provide some versatility by filling in at shortstop and second as well.

Long shots
Wyatt Mills, RHP (No. 27) —
The 27-year-old Mills was ineffective in his time with the Mariners last season, allowing 14 earned runs and 19 hits in 12 2/3 innings, in addition to allowing three runs on five hits in four innings this spring. He’ll likely start the season in Triple-A to hone his stuff and polish up for the big leagues.

Long shots
Spencer Strider, RHP (No. 2) —
That Strider rose from Single-A all the way to the big leagues in 2021 was evidence of the 23-year-old’s sky-high ceiling. The Braves might be comfortable putting him on the active roster for a couple of weeks, but Strider likely needs more time in the Minors to properly develop.

Sent down: Jordan Walker, 3B (No. 1), Nolan Gorman, 2B/3B (No. 2), Matthew Liberatore, LHP (No. 3), Juan Yepez, 1B/3B/OF (No. 6), Zack Thompson, LHP (No. 9), Alec Burleson, OF (No. 10), Brendan Donovan, INF/OF (No. 12), Angel Rondón, RHP (No. 14), Luken Baker, 1B (No. 17), Connor Thomas (No. 20), Delvin Pérez, SS (No. 25), Freddy Pacheco, RHP (No. 29), Jake Walsh (No. 30)

Sent down: Nick Gonzales, 2B (No. 1), Henry Davis, C (No. 2), Oneil Cruz, SS (No. 3), Quinn Priester, RHP (No. 4), Liover Peguero, SS (No. 6), Endy Rodriguez, C/OF (No. 7), Matt Fraizer, OF (No. 10), Michael Burrows, RHP (No. 11), Travis Swaggerty, OF (No. 13), Carmen Mlodzinski, RHP (No. 14), Ji-hwan Bae, 2B/OF (No. 17), Kyle Nicolas, RHP (No. 19), Jared Triolo, 3B (No. 20), Tahnaj Thomas, OF (No. 22), Canaan Smith-Njigba, OF (No. 23), Mason Martin, 1B (No. 24), Tucupita Marcano, INF (No. 25), Rodolfo Castro, INF (No. 27), Cal Mitchell, OF (No. 28), Jack Suwinski, OF (No. 30)

Reiver Sanmartin, RHP (NR) — Sanmartin benefited greatly from the injury issues in the rotation and was named the probable starter for the Reds’ second regular season game. Two impressive late-season starts with the Reds and a strong spring gave him a strong opportunity to open the season in The Show.

D-backs (Top 30 Prospects)
Locks
Jake McCarthy, OF (No. 26) —
McCarthy’s ability to play at any spot in the outfield as well as his plus speed puts him on the fringe of being a lock to break camp with Arizona. The 24-year-old appeared in 24 games last year with the D-backs after a solid Minor League campaign which has continued into Cactus League action where he’s batted .333 with a .945 OPS.

Contenders
Geraldo Perdomo, SS (No. 8) —
Perdomo has enjoyed a strong spring and with the added benefit of having been a Major Leaguer last year, albeit briefly, he has a chance to be a backup to starting shortstop Nick Ahmed. The more likely scenario, however, is opening the year with Triple-A Reno.

Seth Beer, 1B (No. 12) — Beer’s strong spring coupled with his not having much, if anything, left to prove in Triple-A puts him in a good spot to be on the D-backs’ Opening Day roster. With the designated hitter now a part of National League play, Beer’s chances of starting the season in the Majors is strong.

MacKenzie Gore, LHP (No. 4) — Gore has been impressive this spring. Despite allowing six runs, he has struck out 16 and allowed three walks in 12 innings. With a rotation all but full and just a handful of Triple-A starts under his belt — including a rough go of it in 2021 — Gore will have to bide his time for a bit longer.

Steven Wilson, RHP (No. 21) — Wilson has been nearly perfect this spring, yielding two hits and two walks in six scoreless innings. He’s also been one of San Diego’s most reliable Minor League bullpen arms in 2019 and 2021. At 27, his big league debut will surely occur this season … but cracking the Padres’ relief corp out of Spring Training is a tall ask.

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