Carding Baseball America's MLB Prospects Hot Sheet (June 17)

Here's a look at the top five players on this week's Baseball America Top MLB Prospects Hot Sheet and their seasons so far. It's a little something to help those who might want to dabble with prospecting -- some basics on their baseball cards alongside a highlight line from those more scouting-minded. We may not do this every week, but we'll check in on BA's top crop from time to time for the remainder of the season.

1. Drew Waters, OF, Braves — Double-A Mississippi Braves
Baseball America’s highlight line: “It’s not like Waters wasn’t having an excellent season when June began. But his .416/.566/.828 June has unquestionably pushed him to the point where he is the most productive hitter in the Southern League. Waters now leads the league in nine major offensive categories including batting average (.338), slugging percentage (.535), OPS (.916), extra-base hits (36) and total bases (147). ... There are 35 Triple-A hitters slugging .550 or better. There are only three Double-A hitters slugging above .550."
CARDBOARD BASICS
Approximate card total (so far): 300
First Chrome auto: 2017 Bowman Draft
One auto to consider: 2016 Leaf Metal Perfect Game
Buzz’s card take: This isn't the first time you have seen him here and not much has changed for him on the cardboard front release-wise -- no new ink this year. As said last time, about a third of his autos can be found in the 2016 Leaf release, while his 2017 ink arrives in a number of prospect brands as a pro. He's a Top 100 prospect across the board but the Braves have plenty of talent on the roster -- so it's a good thing he's just 20.

Keep reading for the rest of the top five ...

2. Luis Gil, RHP, Yankees — Low-A Charleston RiverDogs
Baseball America’s highlight line: “The rotation in Charleston is packed with intriguing arms, including Alexander Vizcaino, Roansy Contreras, Harold Cortijo and Luis Medina. Depending on who you talk to, Gil might be the best of the bunch. He can sit in the mid- to upper-90s with his fastball and can get swings and misses on his changeup as well. His 81 strikeouts are second in the system, and he’s racked them up in just 59.2 innings."
CARDBOARD BASICS
Approximate card total (so far): 25
First Chrome auto: None yet
One auto to consider: 2018 Elite Extra Edition
Buzz’s card take: If you want baseball cards of this New York Yankees prospect, there's simply one place to look -- last year's Elite Extra Edition. He's got 15 autographed cards there and then the rest are unsigned. This 21-year-0ld is in his fourth season and in A-ball so that's not exactly promising and yet it is. His stats are interesting -- he has a 5-10 career record but a 2.43 ERA and 222 strikeouts in 170-plus innings. His ERA this season is just 1.81. 

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3. Ty France, Padres, — Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas
Baseball America’s highlight line: “In just 105 Triple-A at-bats, France has now hit 15 home runs to go with a .426 average. Since being demoted back to El Paso, France has been one of the best hitters in the minors. And in reality, it’s not really helping him get back to San Diego anytime soon. It’s hard to find a more blocked prospect than France. He plays first and third base in an organization that has Manny Machado and Eric Hosmer signed through 2028 and 2025, respectively."
CARDBOARD BASICS
Approximate card total (so far): Only MiLB team sets
First Chrome auto: Still to come
One auto to consider: Still to come
Buzz’s card take: No new cardboard developments for him since the last time he was seen here, either. He's been in the minors since 2015 after he was a 34th-round pick, but hasn't appeared on anything more than minor-league team sets despite hitting 22 homers with 96 RBI in 137 games between Double-A San Antonio and Triple A El Paso last season. 

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4. Bobby Bradley, 1B, Indians — Triple-A Columbus Clippers
Baseball America’s highlight line: “Bradley has maintained a pretty straightforward profile since his early days in the Indians' system. He brings gigantic raw power, but it comes at the expense of a strikeout rate that pushes into the red-flag territory, though he walks enough that he's not just a feast-or-famine hitter. Sometimes, the outcome is a 4-A player, but if Bradley can make adjustments to get a little better plate coverage, the power upside is there for a 40-homer masher."
CARDBOARD BASICS
Approximate card total (so far): 400
First Chrome auto: 2015 Bowman Chrome 
One auto to consider: 2013 Leaf Perfect Game
Buzz’s card take: He's got a good number of cards but less than a fourth of them are autographs so that helps some. In  603 MiLB games, he's hit .255 with 136 homers and 468 RBI. His power is interesting and he's on pace for a career year as his previous high was 29 in 2016. His next homer will equal his worst full-season total of his career.

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5. Aaron Ashby, LHP, Brewers — High-A Carolina Mudcats
Baseball America’s highlight line: “Ashby was bumped up to high Class A Carolina this week, a reward for an extremely effective first half in the Midwest League. He responded by striking out the first three batters he faced. Ashby only allowed four balls to leave the infield all day as he stayed two steps ahead of Winston-Salem’s hitters. ... There’s a reason Ashby is striking out 11.7 batters per nine innings this year, and there’s no reason to think he can’t keep it up."
CARDBOARD BASICS
Approximate card total (so far): Only MiLB team sets
First Chrome auto: Still to come
One auto to consider: Still to come
Buzz’s card take: This fourth-round pick last year has a 5-7 record with a 3.80 ERA and 154 strikeouts in 125-plus innings. His first in-pack prospect cardboard should get a little attention if he continues to build up numbers and he's already topped last season. There's not much else to say here on the cardboard front.

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