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Up two spots from our 2018 prospect rankings Ron Santo Jersey , Alcantara remains a possible future utility infielder." Tigers AnalysisDetroit Tigers Prospect NotebookDetroit Tigers Game ThreadsDetroit Tigers NewsDetroit Tigers PodcastsMLB prospects & minor leaguesDetroit Tigers Prospect NotebookScouting Reports2019 BYB Tigers Prospect #20: SS Sergio Alcantara remains the best infield defender in the systemNew,28commentsUp two spots from our 2018 prospect rankings, Alcantara remains a possible future utility infielder.ESTShareTweetShareShare2019 BYB Tigers Prospect #20: SS Sergio Alcantara remains the best infield defender in the systemButch Dill-USA TODAY SportsAre you a fan that loves a glove-first shortstop? If you are, you must have enjoyed the past several years, as defensive wizard Jose Iglesias anchored the Detroit Tigers’ infield with stellar plays, but also a couple of sub-100 wRC+ seasons. With his contract now expired, the Tigers have passed the torch to Jordy Mercer, who they inked to a one-year, $5.25 million deal on December 12. Mercer hasn’t posted a wRC+ over 100 since 2013.You might be wondering why I’m discussing major league players in an article about a prospect. No, I’m not here to make the stereotypical player comparison. I am here to imply that Mercer is a stopgap, a savvy veteran signed for one year to hold down the fort until the team has a young glove-first shortstop ready, so that Mercer may pass the torch onward.That man might be Sergio Alcantara.If you have followed our prospect coverage in the past, you may recall that we ranked Alcantara as our No. 22 prospect entering the 2018 season. Well, he has climbed to No. 20 in the rankings this year even as the system’s depth continues to improve. So, what has changed since we last heard from Alcantara?BackgroundAlcantara, who comes in at a small 5’9 and 168 pounds, was signed by the Arizona Diamondbacks on his 16th birthday out of the Dominican Republic in 2012. Nearly seven years later, Alcantara is entering his age-23 season. He has a lot of minor league of experience under his belt, and has been considered a legitimate prospect since 2016. Entering 2019 http://www.chicagocubsteamshop.com/authentic-david-ross-jersey , Alcantara has 540 plate appearances at Advanced-A ball and 493 plate appearances at Double-A under his belt.StrengthsYou’ve heard it before: Alcantara is a glove-first prospect. In 2018, FanGraphs scouted him as having an above-average glove that projects to turn into a well-above-average glove, and a top-tier arm right now. If all he had to do was field, Alcantara probably would have been in the major leagues as a teenager. Here is MLB Pipeline’s glowing report on Alcantara’s glove.Alcantara has another strength that isn’t his glove: his speed. Sure, he has not had much success wreaking havoc on the base paths in the minor leagues. While he did steal 15 bases in Advanced-A ball in 2017, he was caught stealing 13 times. He did not fare much better at Double-A Erie last season, swiping eight bags while getting caught five times. But MLB Pipeline graded him as having average (50) speed, something FanGraphs echoed in their own grades.One more tool to watch with Alcantara is his hit tool. While FanGraphs assigned his hit-tool a 35 grade last year, they gave it a future value of 55. That isn’t to say that Alcantara will become a future .300 hitter (his .272 mark at Double-A was his highest mark at A-ball or higher to date), but he does have the potential to develop into a decent slap hitter — especially as a switch-hitter.WeaknessesRemember when I mentioned Alcantara is 5’9 and weighs 168 pounds? There’s his biggest weakness. In 493 plate appearances with Double-A Erie in 2018, Alcantara hit just one home run. An even worse sign, Alcantara struck out a 19.1 percent rate this past season, his highest rate since 2015, when he posted a -12 wRC+ in 20 games in his first A-ball stint. So, Alcantara has had trouble with strikeouts and has just about zero power.As we mentioned in our 2018 report on Alcantara, 19 of 22 qualified shortstops hit 10 or more home runs in 2017. In 2018, 19 of 21 qualified shortstops hit double-digit home runs — and 15 of those shortstops hit 14 or more homers. It is becoming more and more difficult to produce meaningful value in the big leagues these days with zero power. Without a big step forward in this department, Alcantara’s ceiling still looks like it is as a late-inning replacement, defense-first bench infielder.Projected team: Triple-A Toledo Mud HensAlcantara has an entire season of Double-A experience under his belt. With top shortstop prospect Isaac Paredes reaching Double-A late last season Ryne Sandberg Jersey , Triple-A is the next logical stop for Alcantara. But does he belong there? We mentioned Alcantara’s uninspiring performance in the Dominican Winter League back in 2017 in our 2018 preview, batting .255/.358/.274 with just two extra-base hits in 126 plate appearances. He was even worse this time around this time around, hitting just .213/.298/.258. One thing is for certain; if Alcantara replicates that stat line going forward, his exceptional glove likely won’t be enough to keep him around in the majors. Dane Dunning’s at No. 109, Nick Madrigal comes in ~No. 112"I’ll save the full rundown of ESPN’s (listing of Chicago White Sox prospects for tomorrow, when Law releases his Top 50. But with two pieces in (both paywall Insider articles), it’s looking like we’ve finally found the handwringer among all the prospect listings: Keith Law [gasp]!(Apologies to katiesphil, who just published a humdinger of a review on a pretty darn good book, Law’s “Smart Baseball.” Tough timing.)It appears that Law has deigned to allow three White Sox — Eloy Jim茅nez, Michael Kopech, and Dylan Cease — in his Top 50. But Law is an iconoclast, so maybe a surprise four sneaks in ... or perhaps Cease still hasn’t done enough. We’ll see, tomorrow.For now, only Luis Robert has made the ESPN Top 100, at No. 54. That’s an eight-spot fall from 2018, when Law placed Robert No. 46. Highlights from the writeup include Law likening Robert to a young Jermaine Dye in batting practice. Law’s basement for Robert seems to be plus defense in center field, “mistake power” and a solid everyday player. Ceiling, Law touts Robert’s “star-level tools” that, with better health Billy Williams Jersey , could lead to more thanjust an average MLB player.One spot the White Sox are well represented on Law’s list is in the “others” category, i.e. guys who just fell short of the Top 100. The South Siders place two there, Dane Dunning at No. 109 and Nick Madrigal at (an unspecified but presumed) No. 112.Dunning “might have made” the Top 100 if not for his health (tough crowd, man), namely a “moderate elbow strain that has not required surgery yet” (damn, that’s cold). Law projects Dunning as a No. 3 presuming his breaking stuff matures, and, as the case with Robert, good health.Law dings Madrigal for a very limited upside, basing that significantly on his grade-35 power, which limits him to “average regular.” Law does offer routes to MLB stardom: .300-plus average with good gap power, and/or upping the ISO, and/or developing the defense to that of “Chase Utley.” Not to pick on Law at all, but there’s no mention of the wrist injury suffered last spring that likely sapped some of Madrigal’s power, or the fact that one of Madrigal’s most universal plaudits has been his defense. Madrigal was a No. 15 (!) Baseball Prospectus selection, and falls almost 100 places at ESPN; now those are a couple of dissenting opinions.