Baseball America posted their list of the top 20 prospects in the Appalachian League and Carlos Munoz was the only player from the Bristol Pirates to make the list. He was ranked 20th overall. It should be pointed out that Mitch Keller fell a couple innings short of qualifying for their list, so that explains why he couldn’t have been included.
Munoz had an amazing July, which led to him being named the Player of the Year for the Appalachian League. He has great plate patience and pitch recognition, which has led to him posting more walks than strikeouts each year of the last four years. He also showed more power than in the past, hitting 12 homers this year and then another in the NYPL playoffs. His 1.014 OPS was the best in the league.
His problem has always been conditioning, which BA overlooked when they praised his work ethic. Just like every season, Munoz got tired during the second half of this season and that likely won’t translate well to full-season ball. He batted .167 during his last 24 regular season games this year, some of that time spent with Morgantown. He was also 21 years old and a fifth year pro in rookie ball, so as a bat-only first baseman, he is going to have to prove he can hit at higher levels and get into better shape before he should be considered a legit prospect. He’s going to play winter ball this year in Mexico, so that should help him with his off-season training.
Our Bristol recap will be posted later today. Munoz will not be the top prospect.
