The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

KRISTIAN Robinson and Jazz Chisholm were again featured on Major League Baseball Pipeline’s Top 100 prospect list.

MLB Pipeline released its list for the upcoming 2021 season and the Bahamas is one of just four countries to have multiple prospects featured.

Robinson, the 20-year-old Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder, was listed at No. 55 while Jazz Chisholm, the Miami Marlins 23-year-old infielder, was listed at No.72 overall.

Robinson was added to Arizona’s 60-man player pool toward the end of last season and the club assigned him to its alternative training site at Salt River Fields in Scottsdale, Arizona.

“Robinson garnered midseason All-Star honours in the Class A Short Season Northwest League in 2019 to earn a full-season promotion up to Class A Kane County, where he was more than three years younger than the Midwest League’s average player.

“And while travel restrictions caused by the coronavirus pandemic did delay Robinson’s arrival at the alternate training site in 2020, he quickly got up to speed and then gained some much-needed reps during Arizona’s fall instructional programme,” his prospect analysis said. “With Robinson’s special combination of size and athleticism, it should come as no surprise that the young outfielder also possesses multiple impact tools.

“None is louder than the massive right-handed raw power that could one day make Robinson one of the sport’s premier sluggers. He gets to it often, generating effortless pull-side power as well as opposite-field pop that was much improved in 2020 after Robinson improved his diet and added nearly 25 pounds of muscle.”

Robinson, listed No. 1 in the organisation, is a part of the reason the Diamondbacks farm system is on the rise.

“The fact that the D-backs’ four Top-100 prospects this year are all homegrown players reflects the organisation’s ongoing effort to stockpile quality talent via the Draft and international market, and there are several more beyond that group with Top 100 potential. Some of those players could start to reach the Majors in 2021, with even more expected to arrive the following year,” according to MLB Pipeline.

The United States (77), Dominican Republic (13), and Venezuela (4), were the only other counties with multiple prospects to make the list.

Cuba, Colombia, Puerto Rico and Canada each had one prospect listed.

Chisholm was one of several Marlins prospects to receive the Major League call-up in the 2020 season.

“The Marlins are tied for third with five Top 100 Prospects, another indication that their system is on the upswing. [Sixto] Sanchez and Chisholm played in the postseason for Miami in October, Bleday and Cabrera could help upgrade the big league club in 2021 and so could Meyer, the No. 3 overall pick in last year’s Draft,” MLB Pipeline said.

Chisholm was also ranked No.10 among shortstop prospects.

“Chisholm generates more power than the typical shortstop because his left-handed stroke features explosive bat speed and natural loft. Yet rather than letting his home runs come naturally, he utilises an aggressive, pull-happy approach that advanced pitchers have been able to exploit rather easily.

“His career-best 11 percent walk rate in 2019 offered some hope that he can develop some plate discipline, and he did a better job of using the entire field in his first brief exposure to the Majors,” his prospect analysis said.

“An efficient base-stealer with solid speed, Chisholm is a potential 20-20 player if he can polish his offensive game. His actions, range, hands and arm are all solid or better at shortstop, and he looked smooth at second base with the Marlins despite having just one inning of Minor League experience at the position. While he still has a long way to go to reach his lofty ceiling, his tools and start of his pro career are similar to Javier Báez’s.”