The results from “Best” polls are in. Over the next several days, I’ll post the readers’ selections in groups. Today, I’ve got the infielders.
First Base – The Phuture Phillies’ selection for best first baseman is Austin Listi. Darick Hall finished second and Joey Meneses finished third.
The 24-year old Listi feasted on FSL pitching (.344/.453/.560/1.013) for half a season, winning a promotion to Double-A Reading on June 18th. He posted respectable slash against superior Eastern League pitching .281/.372/.447/.819 with 9 HRs at each level. The versatile Listi saw time at three positions other than first base – left field, right field, and 3 games at third base. Listi was selected by the Phillies as the recipient of the 2018 Paul Owens Award as the best minor league position player in the organization.
Second Base – Your selection for best second baseman is Daniel Brito. Malquin Canelo was a distant second and Brayan Gonzalez was third.
The 20-year old Brito started the season in Lakewood and was promoted to Clearwater at the beginning of August. The second baseman posted nearly identical slashes across both levels – Lakewood (92 G, 368 PA): .252/.309/.340/.649; Clearwater: (27 G, 100 PA): .252/.300/.348/.648. His .988 fielding percentage was the best of the three players who manned second base more than 20 games in 2018 and the highest among all mionor league second baseman. Brito was recognized for his defensive prowess when he was the recipient of the 2018 Rawlings Gold Glove Award.
Shortstop – Luis Garcia was the choice for best shortstop. Arquimedes Gamboa edged J.P. Crawford for second place.
The then 17-year old Garcia made his stateside debut in the Gulf Coast League. He posted a .369 average, scored 33 runs, and drove in 32 runs in 43 games. His 15 walks gave him a .433 OBP, his 11 doubles boosted his SLG to .488, and he had a .921 OPS. He struck out just 21 times in 187 plate appearances (11.2%). The slick fielding shortstop committed 11 errors (.969).
Third Base – 2018 first round pick, Alec Bohm was your pick for best third baseman. A couple of Jakes, Sheiner and Holmes, finished second and third.
Bohm, the 2018 third overall pick, suffered a knee injury when he was struck by a pitched ball and saw limited action this season. He posted a disappointing .252/.335/.324/.659 slash.
Results
| First Base | ||
| Austin Listi (REA, CLW) | 125 | 32.81% |
| Darick Hall (REA, CLW) | 98 | 25.72% |
| Joey Meneses (LHV) | 55 | 14.44% |
| Jake Scheiner (LAK) | 32 | 8.40% |
| Zach Green (LHV, REA) | 21 | 5.51% |
| Luke Williams (CLW) | 9 | 2.36% |
| Kyle Martin (REA, CLW) | 8 | 2.10% |
| Quincy Nieporte (CLW, LAK) | 7 | 1.84% |
| Madison Stokes (LAK, WPT, GCE, GCW) | 7 | 1.84% |
| Rixon Taylor-Wingrove (GCW) | 6 | 1.57% |
| Stoney O’Brien (WPT, GCW) | 5 | 1.31% |
| Matt Kroon (WPT) | 3 | 0.79% |
| Matt McBride (LHV) | 2 | 0.52% |
| Edwin Rodriguez (LAK, WPT) | 2 | 0.52% |
| Gregori Rivero (LAK) | 1 | 0.26% |
| Second Base | ||
| Daniel Brito (CLR, LAK) | 111 | 31.90% |
| Malquin Canelo (REA) | 46 | 13.22% |
| Brayan Gonzalez (WPT) | 33 | 9.48% |
| Dalton Guthrie (LAK, GCW), | 27 | 7.76% |
| Jesmuel Valentin (LHV) | 23 | 6.61% |
| Nicolas Torres (GCE) | 23 | 6.61% |
| Jose Gomez (CLR) | 15 | 4.31% |
| Drew Stankiewicz (REA) | 12 | 3.45% |
| Seth Lancaster (WPT) | 12 | 3.45% |
| Jose Antequera (CLR, LAK) | 9 | 2.59% |
| Brian Mims (CLR) | 8 | 2.30% |
| Emmanuel Marrero (REA) | 6 | 1.72% |
| Raul Rivas (CLR) | 6 | 1.72% |
| Dean Anna (LHV) | 4 | 1.15% |
| Trevor Plouffe (LHV) | 4 | 1.15% |
| Jesus Azuaje (WPT, GCE) | 3 | 0.86% |
| Heiker Meneses (LHV, REA) | 2 | 0.57% |
| Edgar Made (GCE) | 2 | 0.57% |
| Christian Velerio (GCW) | 2 | 0.57% |
| Shortstop | ||
| Luis Garcia (GCW) | 111 | 30.58% |
| Arquimedes Gamboa (CLR) | 64 | 17.63% |
| J.P. Crawford (LHV, CLR, GCE) | 60 | 16.53% |
| Nick Maton (LAK) | 47 | 12.95% |
| Malquin Canelo (REA) | 29 | 7.99% |
| Logan Simmons (GCE) | 14 | 3.86% |
| Jonathan Guzman (WPT) | 13 | 3.58% |
| Jose Gomez (CLR) | 7 | 1.93% |
| Dalton Guthrie (LAK) | 6 | 1.65% |
| Danny Espinosa (LHV) | 3 | 0.83% |
| Heiker Meneses (LHV, REA) | 3 | 0.83% |
| Seth Lancaster (WPT) | 3 | 0.83% |
| Dean Anna (LHV) | 1 | 0.28% |
| Ryan Goins (LHV) | 1 | 0.28% |
| Jose Mercado (GCE) | 1 | 0.28% |
| Third Base | ||
| Alec Bohm (WPT, GCE, GCW) | 130 | 32.66% |
| Jake Scheiner (LAK) | 69 | 17.34% |
| Jake Holmes (WPT, GCE) | 45 | 11.31% |
| Mitch Walding (LHV) | 38 | 9.55% |
| Zach Green (LHV, REA) | 34 | 8.54% |
| Luke Williams (CLR) | 28 | 7.04% |
| Damek Tomscha (LHV, REA) | 22 | 5.53% |
| D.J. Stewart (GCW) | 10 | 2.51% |
| Luke Miller (GCE, GCW) | 4 | 1.01% |
| Jose Gomez (CLR) | 3 | 0.75% |
| Jesus Henriquez (WPT) | 3 | 0.75% |
| Seth Lancaster (WPT) | 3 | 0.75% |
| Jesus Azuaje (GCW) | 3 | 0.75% |
| Raul Rivas (CLR) | 2 | 0.50% |
| Jose Antequera (LAK) | 2 | 0.50% |
| Dalton Guthrie (LAK) | 2 | 0.50% |
Phuture Phillies 
Gamboa as #2 is a surprise, should be of concern: non-hustle, attitude batting and non-chalant parochial to game. Been an observer for 4 years and remember him getting chewed out at spring training for such. Forget his Prospect status should we reward this kind of behavior
Harvey….he may have a lot of passion going for him as a 21-year old.
When he was signed in July 2014 for $900K, expectations were high on him since he was a top 20 prospect by MLB.com at number 15.
Arquimedes Gamboa…Rank: 15….Ht: 5’11”, Wt: 158.. Grades: Hit: 55 Power: 40| Run: 65 Arm: 55 Field: 60……….”Standing 5-foot-11 and weighing 158 pounds, Gamboa is an athletic shortstop with a solid skill set and an above-average run tool. He’s a switch-hitter without much power, and there is a belief that he is a better hitter from the right side of the plate. That said, Gamboa has made improvements from the left side and has made a name for himself as a contact hitter. On defense, Gamboa has quick feet and good balance, and he is versatile enough to play multiple positions in the infield, but there is a belief he will stay at shortstop until he is forced to move elsewhere. Scouts have praised his bat control, but he is not known as a dynamic offensive player.”
But the majority of that class of top 20 international players have not produced as expected…so there may be some frustration on his part for not producing like he thinks he should, and he is lashing out in his way.
Your description of Gamboa is exactly how I would describe #3. That is more of a concern for me.
Not much love for Crawford.