Choi was signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2018 for a $300,000 signing bonus as a 17-year old High School pitcher from Korea.[1] He made his professional debut in 2019 with in the Arizona League, where he was 5–1 with a 2.63 ERA in 14 games (11 starts). He struck out 71 in 65 innings.[2]
Choi missed the 2020 season as a result of the cancellation of the minor league season due to the COVID-19 pandemic and was assigned to the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes to start the 2021 season before being promoted to High-A Great Lakes Loons at mid-season.[3] Across the two levels, he was 8–6 with a 3.72 ERA in 24 games (11 starts) and struck out 106 batters in 106+1⁄3 innings while only walking 18.[2] The Dodgers recognized him by awarding him the organizations Branch Rickey Minor League Pitcher of the Year Award.[4] Choi only pitched in one game for Great Lakes in 2022 before being shut down with forearm inflammation.[5] He returned to Great Lakes in 2023, pitching in 16 games (13 starts) with a 4–5 record and 3.75 ERA.[2]
Choi began the 2024 season with the Double-A Tulsa Drillers before an early call-up to the Triple-A Oklahoma City Baseball Club.[6] He made 24 appearances (21) starts between the two teams, with a 5–11 record and 4.92 ERA.[2]
Cluff attended and played baseball for Brigham Young University, but he took time away from the sport on a two-year mission to Atlanta. After returning for his 2019 collegiate season, Cluff was drafted in the sixth round by the Nationals and turned pro.[8] Cluff made his professional debut with the Class-A Hagerstown Suns, hitting .229 with five home runs, five triples, and eight doubles over 62 games in 2019.[9]
Although the 2020 minor league season was canceled, Cluff was named to the Nationals' 60-man "player pool", working out with other top prospects and some major league players in Fredericksburg, Virginia. He was not called up to the major leagues during the 2020 season.[10]
The Nationals invited Cluff to participate again with major league players in 2021 spring training.[11] He was reassigned to the minors and began the season with the Class-AA Harrisburg Senators, two steps up from where he finished out the 2019 season.[12] Cluff participated in the Arizona Fall League and was named the league's Defensive Player of the Year for his work as the regular starting shortstop with the Surprise Saguaros.[13]
Cluff is noted as a nimble player with a quick left-handed swing and the arm and footwork to handle any infield spot defensively. As of the start of the 2021 season, he has spent the majority of his time as a professional as a shortstop.[11]
Armando Junior Cruz (born January 16, 2004) is a Dominican professional baseball shortstop in the Washington Nationals organization.
Born and raised in Santo Domingo, in the Dominican Repuyblic, Cruz emerged as a high-level baseball prospect by the time he was 14. He played in the 2018 14U Select Festival and a Perfect Game showcase the following year in Florida.[14]
Cruz was linked to the Washington Nationals as early as 2019, before he was eligible to sign with a Major League Baseball team.[15] The Nationals officially signed Cruz for a $3.9 million bonus on January 15, 2021, tying the franchise record for an international amateur free agent bonus (with Yasel Antuna),[16] one day before Cruz's 17th birthday.[17]
At the time Cruz turned pro, he was ranked as the fifth-best international amateur prospect by MLB Pipeline[18] and the second-best by Baseball America.[19] A contemporaneous Minor League Baseball news report described him as possibly the best defensive player available in the international signing period, as well as an above-average runner.[20]
De La Cruz was originally discovered by the scouting department of the Philadelphia Phillies in 2017 at the age of 17 playing for an amateur travel team in New York.[21] He would sign with the Phillies on August 23, 2017 for a bonus of $50,000 as an undrafted free agent before participating in the Florida Instructional League later in the year.[21]
De La Cruz made his professional debut in 2018 with the Rookie-levelGulf Coast League Phillies East of the Gulf Coast League. He finished the season with a .284 average and six home runs in 43 games. De La Cruz was promoted to the Lakewood BlueClaws of the Single–ASouth Atlantic League for the 2019 season.[22] He finished the season with a .220 average and seven home runs in 117 games.[22] De La Cruz did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the Minor League Baseball season because of the COVID-19 pandemic. De La Cruz shuttled between the FCL Phillies, Jersey Shore BlueClaws, and Clearwater Threshers, playing in 63 total games and hitting .181.[22] De La Cruz started the 2022 season at Jersey Shore. After slashing .266/.344/.463 over 64 games, he was promoted to the Reading Fightin Phils of the Double-AEastern League.[23] In 38 contests with Reading, De La Cruz hit .278 and finished the season with 17 home runs.[22] After the 2022 season, he played in the Arizona Fall League.[24] He was also named a MiLB.com Organization All-Star.[25] De La Cruz returned to Reading for the 2023 season, finishing with a .259 average and 24 home runs in 129 contests. He was also named an Eastern League Post-Season All-Star.[26] Following the season, De La Cruz played for the Gigantes del Cibao of the Dominican Winter League.[27] He would return to Reading for the start of the 2024 season. At the end of the 2024 Minor League season, De La Cruz became a free agent.[28]
On December 18, 2024, De La Cruz signed a minor league contract with the Washington Nationals.[29]
Jeremy José De La Rosa (born January 16, 2002) is a Dominican professional baseball outfielder in the Washington Nationals organization.
The Nationals signed De La Rosa as an international amateur free agent out of the Dominican Republic, where he trained at the Quality Baseball Academy, for a reported $300,000 bonus on July 2, 2018. After signing De La Rosa,[30] the Nationals sent him to their instructional league in West Palm Beach, Florida, that fall.[31]
De La Rosa ranked as the Nationals' twelfth-best prospect entering the 2019 season, according to MLB Pipeline.[32]Baseball America praised his "promising tools" and ability to make contact at the plate without swinging out of the strike zone.[31] Mark Scialabba, the Nationals' player development director, named De La Rosa as one of his breakout candidates in 2019.[33] De La Rosa did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[34]
In 2022, De La Rosa split the year between the Single–A Fredericksburg Nationals and High–A Wilmington Blue Rocks, playing in 101 total games and batting a cumulative .280/.358/.436 with 11 home runs, 67 RBI, and 39 stolen bases. On November 15, 2022, the Nationals added De La Rosa to their 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.[35]
De La Rosa was optioned to the Double-A Harrisburg Senators to begin the 2023 season.[36] However, he spent the year with High–A Wilmington, playing in 93 games and batting .240/.324/.361 with 7 home runs, 42 RBI, and 13 stolen bases. Following the season, De La Rosa was removed from the 40–man roster and sent outright to the Triple–A Rochester Red Wings.[37]
As a freshman at Florida in 2017, Dyson went 4–0 with a 3.23 ERA in 39 innings.[39] Dyson started Game 3 of the Gainesville Super Regional of the 2017 NCAA Division I baseball tournament against Wake Forest and struck out seven batters over five innings,[40] clinching a trip to the College World Series. He also started the clinching game of the CWS against LSU, which Florida eventually won.[41] That summer, he played in the Northwoods League where he posted a 1.59 ERA over 28+1⁄3 innings.[42] In 2018, as a sophomore, Dyson appeared in 14 games (11 starts) in which he pitched to a 5–3 record with a 4.47 ERA.[43] Following the season, he played for the Falmouth Commodores of the Cape Cod Baseball League, compiling a 2.37 ERA in 19 innings.[44] Prior to the 2019 season, Dyson was named to the Golden Spikes Award watch list[45] along with being named a Baseball America preseason All-American.[46] For the season, he appeared in 11 games (nine starts), pitching to a 3–2 record with a 4.95 ERA.[47]
Henry is from Florence, Alabama, and attended school at Louisiana State University. As a freshman, he was voted onto the 2019 NCAA Baton Rouge Regional All-Tournament team. He was also named one of the Southeastern Conference's Freshman of the Week on April 19, 2019.[59] As a sophomore, Henry was the Friday night starter for the LSU Tigers, prior to the cancellation of the 2020 baseball season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That June, Henry was drafted in the second round of the 2020 draft by the Nationals and chose to turn pro.[60][61]
Henry appeared in one game with the Nationals during 2021 spring training. He was assigned to the High-A Wilmington Blue Rocks, alongside other top prospects, to begin the season.[51] After missing time during the 2021 season with injuries, Henry was invited to participate in the Arizona Fall League alongside seven other Nationals prospects. Henry pitched as both a starter and a reliever for the Surprise Saguaros and was named to represent the Nationals in the Fall Stars Game, although he was unable to play.[62]
Henry made 9 starts in 2022, split between the Double-A Harrisburg Senators and Triple-A Rochester Red Wings. In 31.2 innings pitched, he logged a 1.71 ERA with 34 strikeouts. On August 28, 2022, he underwent season-ending surgery to address thoracic outlet syndrome.[63] The procedure involved removing his first rib and a neck muscle.[64]
A right-handed pitcher, Henry commands a fastball that touches 97 miles per hour (156 km/h) and has an above-average changeup.[67] As of December 2020, he was ranked as the Nationals' third-best prospect by MLB Pipeline.
Lara trained at Zulia Academy as an amateur,[68] overcoming knee problems as a youth and adding considerable velocity as he grew in strength.[69] By age 16, his fastball could run up to 96 miles per hour (154 km/h). MLB Pipeline considered him the sixteenth-best prospect in the 2019 international amateur free agent class and the best overall pitcher.[70] The Nationals signed Lara for a reported $1.25 million bonus on July 2, 2019.[69][71] He was the Nationals' top-ranked international signee for the period.[72]
Lara spent the 2024 campaign with Wilmington and the Double–A Harrisburg Senators, compiling an 11–11 record and 3.34 ERA with 132 strikeouts across 134+2⁄3 innings pitched over 25 starts. On November 19, 2024, the Nationals added Lara to their 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.[74]
Lara is right-handed and was described by MLB Pipeline at the time of his signing as a potential future frontline starter. Along with a two-seam fastball that sits in the mid-90s,[68] Lara throws a breaking ball and a changeup.[72][69]
Lile grew up in Louisville, Kentucky and attended Trinity High School. As a senior, he batted .550 with 18 home runs and 61 RBIs.[75] Lile had committed to play college baseball at Louisville.[76]
On March 2, 2024, during a spring training game against the Boston Red Sox, Lile was carted off of the field after flipping over the outfield wall while attempting to rob a home run.[81] He was later diagnosed with a lower–back contusion.[82]
A pure pitcher in high school and a reliever for the Louisiana State University Tigers in college, Peterson attracted some media attention when he batted for himself and drove in a pair of runs in an extra-innings win over South Carolina in the Southeastern Conference tournament in 2018. Peterson later told reporters that he had convinced LSU manager Paul Mainieri to let him swing away by telling him he hit "bombs" in high school, which was a lie—Peterson's high school coach at Lake Mary High School had never let him bat in a game, he confessed.[85]
In the 2019 Major League Baseball draft, the Washington Nationals used their seventh-round pick to select Peterson out of LSU.[85] Peterson opted to sign with the Nationals and was assigned to the Class-A Short Season Auburn Doubledays.[86] He appeared in nine games with Auburn in 2019, both in relief and as a starter, posting a 3.19 ERA.
Peterson missed the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic that canceled all minor league play. He pitched in the Nationals' instructional league in Florida after the season.[87] In 2021, Peterson was invited to major league spring training with the Nationals,[88] who chose to keep him with the major league team until nearly the end of spring camp. After being reassigned to the minors,[89] Peterson was placed on the High-A Wilmington Blue Rocks roster to begin the minor league season.[51] Peterson pitched for the Surprise Saguaros of the Arizona Fall League after the 2021 season, one of eight players representing the Nationals. He closed out the final game of the regular season for the Saguaros,[90] who went on to lose the championship game to the Mesa Solar Sox,[91] and was the sole National to appear in the Fall Stars Game.[92]
As of 2021, Peterson sports a fastball up to about 98 miles per hour (158 km/h) and a developing slider.[88]
Before the 2021 season, Powell ranked as the Nationals' 20th-best prospect, according to MLB Pipeline.[99] He was assigned to High-A Wilmington, along with several other top Nationals prospects, to begin the season that May.[51]
Powell employs a fastball and a slider as his main pitches. He uses a changeup and a curveball less frequently, relying on the slider as his primary "out pitch" while working up to 97 miles per hour (156 km/h) with his fastball.[100]
Stuart signed with the Mets and made his professional debut in 2022 with the Florida Complex League Mets and St. Lucie Mets, pitching 3+2⁄3 innings between the two teams. He opened the 2023 season with the Brooklyn Cyclones and was promoted to the Binghamton Rumble Ponies in mid-July.[117][118][119] Over 21 starts between the two teams, Stuart went 7-2 with a 2.20 ERA and 112 strikeouts over 110+2⁄3 innings.[120] He was assigned to Binghamton to open the 2024 season.[121] In 17 starts, Stuart compiled a 3.96 ERA with 90 strikeouts across 84 innings.
