[CaliforniaChief]

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho

Yes, what's lost a little bit in the excitement about the development of Ventura, Manaea, Zimmer and Almonte is that the hitting prospects are not nearly as exciting.

I love RA Mondesi, but he's more of a contributing offensive player than a lineup-carrier. .280/15/30 SB from a SS is a tanatalizing line and within his reach, but that's more of a good No. 2 hitter or lower-order hitter than a middle of the lineup star.

Dozier is a nice prospect at 3B but is probably more of a nice contributor than huge impact guy, too (Kyle Seager is a good comparison/target, I think).

Bonifacio is Billy Butler lite, but able to play RF.

Beyond those three, you're having to hope a lot. If Starling can figure out the hit tool enough to be a .260 major league player, he's a useful offensive player. Especially if he continues to post an OBP 75-90 points higher than his average (That upside would make him basically Nick Swisher if Swisher was a Gold Glove-level CF).

Elier Hernandez and Alexis Rivera and Cheslor Cuthbert are all younger, high-priced LA signings, but none has EXPLODED onto the scene yet. Also hear good things about Samir Duenez. But like I said, there's a lot of hope involved with those guys.

All the more reason to push for Hosmer/Moustakas extensions, IMO.