Detroit Tigers Top 30 Prospects for 2023: 25-21

21. Abel Bastidas - INF/SHH

The Detroit Tigers shelled out a bit more money than they did to sign Sequera a few years after to go and get Abel Bastidas. The switch hitter was an international signee in 2021, with a $1.175 million signing bonus.

Bastidas has spent the last two seasons with the Tigers organization and is still just 19 years old and starting to find his footing in the minors. He's got an athletic 6-foot-2, 165-pound frame with room to keep filling out some and add in some strength.

He plays all three positions in the infield and hits from both sides. He spent 2021 in the Dominican Summer League, where things did not go great, but he showed growth in 2022 as part of the team's FCL squad. Bastidas slashed .260/.361/.409 with ten doubles, two triples, and three home runs with 26 RBI over 154 at-bats in 44 games.

He's got the makings of a shortstop or second baseman but still needs to take some leaps in development. Initially, there was some excitement about his emergence with the organization as a prospect, but it's been a slow start for him.

Bastidas projects as a future bench player as of now, but the initial intrigue had him slated to be a future big-league shortstop. He needs a big year in 2023 to get things back on track with his projection. Bastidas slots in as the 21st-ranked prospect in the Tigers' Top 30 list, according to the Motor City Bengals staff.