10 Players To Watch In The 2024 Arizona Complex League
Image credit: Ramon Ramirez (Tracy Proffitt/Four Seam Images)
Change is coming to the complex leagues. Instead of their traditional summertime start dates, both the Arizona and Florida Complex Leagues begin their seasons on May 4. The final regular-season game for both circuits is July 25, just days before MLB’s trading deadline.
The reasons behind the move up were enumerated by JJ Cooper in February. Traditionally, these leagues are where the current year’s draftees get their feet wet, but that is unlikely to be the case in 2024 unless a player signs exceptionally quickly after the draft ends on July 16.
Instead, the leagues will be filled with players from last year’s draft who didn’t make a full-season club and international players who spent their first pro season in the Dominican Summer League.
FCL Names To Know
Here are 10 players we expect to make noise in the Florida Complex League in 2024.
Here are 10 players to watch in the Arizona Complex League.
Ramon Ramirez, C, Royals
Ramirez was flagged by scouts as the most talented player on Kansas City’s DSL team. He finished the year with a 1.055 OPS and eight home runs before being brought stateside for instructional league. The 18-year-old blends hittability and power into what could become the foundation for a fearsome offensive player. He has a strong throwing arm, too, but has lots of development remaining on defense.
Javier Mogollon, 2B, White Sox
Mogollon was signed for a small bonus on Jan. 15, 2023 and stuck out as the best player on Chicago’s DSL club. He’s a smaller player but he packs a big punch into a strong, twitchy frame. In the DSL, he showed an ability to make his best contact in the air to his pull side, which should go a long way toward amplifying his above-average raw power. He’s a solid defender who can handle shortstop in a pinch but is best suited for second base. Mogollon is a plus runner as well.
Welbyn Francisca, SS, Guardians
Francisca, who was one of several intriguing players on Cleveland’s DSL team, centers his game on contact, defense and speed. While no single tool grades as plus, he gets above-average grades for his hittability, glovework and baserunning. He also earns high marks for his personality. Francisca opened his DSL campaign with a five-hit game, then repeated the feat six weeks later. He has a chance to stick at shortstop but also could slide over to second base as he matures.
Luichi Casilla, LHP, Rockies
Scouts were buzzing this offseason about a host of interesting arms on the DSL Rockies’ club. Casilla might have the highest ceiling of the group. He’s a loose-armed lefthander who can bring mid-90s fastballs and nasty two-plane sliders with a developmental changeup. He’s very raw and has a long way to go, but the end result could be well worth the wait.
Jesus Tillero, RHP, Dodgers
The Dodgers had the best clubs in the DSL last year, so it should come as no surprise that they will field an outstanding ACL club. Still just 17 years old, Tillero got on the bump at minor league spring training and was interesting. He mixed a four-seamer, cutter, slurve and changeup into a repertoire that helped him allow just 19 hits in 30.2 innings while striking out 34 and walking just six. He’s not the most physical pitcher in the world, but he has a chance to fit into a big league rotation someday.
Rayner Arias, OF, Giants
If he hadn’t gotten hurt, Arias might be a little more hyped already. As it stands, he was the best player on San Francisco’s DSL club and is likely to be the best player on its ACL club as well. The 18-year-old has a chance to be a true five-tool player and does not have a tool on his card that projects to be lower than a 50 on the 20-80 scouting scale. He has potentially plus power and a good chance to stick in center field as well.
Felnin Celesten, SS, Mariners
Unlike everybody else on this list, Celesten does not have any DSL experience. That wasn’t the plan, but he missed all season with an injury and instead will make his official pro debut once the ACL season begins. If he returns fully formed, he has a chance to earn plus grades for speed, power and arm as well as 50 or 55 grades for his hittability and defense. The desert could provide a chance for Celesten to re-introduce himself in a big way.
Braylin Morel, OF, Rangers
Morel was the biggest name in Texas’ 2023 international class and performed well in the DSL, where he led the league with 32 extra-base hits, which was the most in the league since 2019. His tools aren’t quite as loud as his numbers, but he has a chance to have plus power, which will serve him well if he eventually has to move to right field.
Eduardo Quintero, OF, Dodgers
Quintero was the hitting star of Los Angeles’ DSL group, which he led with an outstanding 1.055 OPS, five home runs and 22 stolen bases. He’s a plus runner with budding power, oodles of athleticism and a very high ceiling, especially if he sticks in center field as he matures. With a strong turn in the ACL, he has a chance to move quickly through the system’s ranks.
Jeter Martinez, RHP, Mariners
Though his minor league spring training was only so-so, Martinez is still one to watch given his youth, outstanding debut and Seattle’s recent track record of spinning starters into gold. Martinez has a five-pitch mix that includes four- and two-seam fastballs, a pair of breaking balls and a changeup he sells well. There are questions about his athleticism and remaining projection, but he’s got plenty of time to provide answers as he matriculates through the minor leagues.
