Official MiLB/Prospects Thread

[Orgfiller]

He’s a year younger than league average in the FSL.

 

Yeah I know, I just mean from a prospecty perspective, if he's up in AA as a 22 year old that makes him a guy.

[43211234]

Really nice night for the farm. A couple of pitchers back from the dead and monster games for Bo and Conine.

[P2F]

Not to s*** all over the optimism here, but Bichette and Zeuch were playing in Dunedin. While the results were nice, a little context goes a long f***ing way.

[Bradybluejay]

Hagen Danner homered for the 5th time in the last six games. In May he hit .100 with a .244 OPS. So far in June hitting .379 .419 1.034 1.454. Small sample size, but maybe he has figured something out.

[P2F]

 

Not the full roster, obviously, but it's coming together. I'd expect to see Manoah there sooner than later. At the moment, Trevor Schwecke is the long 2019 pick named to the roster.

 

The first game is Friday and Kloff will take the mound.

[jmomcc]

 

Not the full roster, obviously, but it's coming together. I'd expect to see Manoah there sooner than later. At the moment, Trevor Schwecke is the long 2019 pick named to the roster.

 

The first game is Friday and Kloff will take the mound.

 

I thought they might shut Manoah down? He's pitched a lot this year.

 

I'm definitely going to try to catch a Kloff start.

[jmomcc]

Hagen Danner homered for the 5th time in the last six games. In May he hit .100 with a .244 OPS. So far in June hitting .379 .419 1.034 1.454. Small sample size, but maybe he has figured something out.

 

Every time I look at a box score, it's either an XBH or a strikeout with this dude. It's nuts.

[P2F]

I thought they might shut Manoah down? He's pitched a lot this year.

 

I'm definitely going to try to catch a Kloff start.

 

It's a possibility that they will, but I guess we'll see what happens with him. It could probably go either way at this point.

[Slade]

I can't see Mannoah pitching this year after a heavy college workload. I think he did an interview after signing saying the Jays were going to send down to Dunedin.

 

 

I also saw an Q&A with Keith Law who said he could be in AA right now if the Jays wanted to be aggressive.

[Slade]

[Laika]

I think I would have Manoah pitch this year in Dunedin. I don't see the obvious harm in a few more starts this year - they will expect him to carry an MLB starter's workload in ~2 years anyway. He's also from the f***ing Everglades, I think. Seems like he would be way too Advanced for Vancouver.

[Mikeleelop]

I thought they might shut Manoah down? He's pitched a lot this year.

 

I'm definitely going to try to catch a Kloff start.

 

i was thinking they'd give Parindho a look in Vancouver this year. So far just pitching in extended down in FLA

[KevinGregg]

I also saw an Q&A with Keith Law who said he could be in AA right now if the Jays wanted to be aggressive.

 

Who was the last college pitcher to start in AA? Even Casey Mize started in high A after one rookie league start, and he's the most advanced pitcher I've heard of in a while

[BlueRocky]

https://2080baseball.com/2019/06/backfields-notes-4/

Notes from extended spring training:

Adam Kloffenstein, RHP, Toronto Blue Jays (FV 50)

 

Ht/Wt: 6’5” / 243 lbs. B/T: R / R Age (as of April 1, 2019): 18y, 7m

Video

 

Kloffenstein signed for an above-slot $2.4 million bonus as the 88th overall pick in 2018 from the Texas prep ranks. He was very young for his class, still 17-years-old when he turned pro and still just 18 for most of his first full season. I got a look at the big righty during Extended Spring Training, and came away impressed with his mix of physicality, stuff, and pitching IQ.

 

Kloffenstein looks all of his 6-foot-5 and 243-pound listing. He’s an imposing figure on the mound with advanced durability for a pitcher this age, albeit in a frame that’s similarly more mature than most teenagers. He gets through a low maintenance semi-windup fairly easily, with moderate effort that projects to clean up a bit with more time at the professional level. The fastball touched 96 mph in my look, sitting at 92-to-93 mph with consistent angle and armside run. Kloffenstein showed a polished ability to mix grips on his heater, mixing four-seam and two-seam variants to stay off barrels. His main off-speed is a mid-80s slider that flashed hard gloveside action at best, showing the makings of a definite future big league pitch. It was enthusing to see a pitcher this age show feel over a true four-pitch mix, as Kloffenstein also wrinkled in a curveball (76-77 mph) and changeup (85-86 mph) that both showed glimpses of promising action. Just as impressive was his mound presence, pitching with a competitive fire even in a backfields intersquad game and drawing high praise from coaches for his on-field makeup.

 

The ninth overall prospect on our rundown of Toronto’s top prospects this off-season, we placed Kloffenstein fairly high in a deep system considering he has yet to develop much pro track record. The Blue Jays are understandably bringing him along slowly, and even if it takes another year or so, this is the type of arm that can really break out in full-season ball—especially if his velocity takes a jump forward. Kloffenstein has the makings of a solid big league starter with continued development of his changeup and off-speed execution.

 

Orelvis Martinez, SS/3B, Toronto Blue Jays (FV 50)

 

Ht/Wt: 6’1” / 188 lbs. B/T: R / R Age (as of April 1, 2019): 17y, 4m

Video

 

Martinez signed for the second-largest bonus of last year’s J2 period, agreeing to a $3.5 million bonus with Toronto. The 17-year-old infielder is already stateside for Extended Spring Training, potentially hinting the Blue Jays plan to send him straight to the GCL (or even higher) once short-season ball begins.

 

Martinez is a large, athletic 6-foot-1, looking trimmer through the middle than he did in some of his showcase videos as an amateur. He’s still fairly thick in the lower-half at an early age and runs closer to average, so it’s likely 3B is the long-term defensive home. Even so, Martinez’ loud offensive tools jump out and are doubly impressive considering his youth. He whistles the bat through the zone with impressive batspeed for a teenager, generating advanced power from explosive hip torque and core strength. The ball jumps off his bat with tall lines, and while I didn’t see him fully square one up in a short look, it’s easy to see power potential just in the strength of his contact. Like many young international hitters, he’s over-aggressive on spin and is still learning to cut down his swing length when behind in the count.

 

There’s a reason Martinez commanded the bonus he did, and it will be interesting to see how game ready his bat is as a 17-year-old this summer. The strength, batspeed, and power potential are rare for this age—especially considering Martinez is likely to stay above the lowest parts of the defensive spectrum. With the qualifier that it’s accompanied by extreme risk, we’re filing him aggressively in the FV 50 tier already despite his current lack of pro track record.

 

Eric Pardinho, RHP, Toronto Blue Jays (FV 45)

 

Ht/Wt: 5’10” / 155 lbs. B/T: R / R Age (as of April 1, 2019): 18y, 2m

Video

 

The Brazilian righty signed with Toronto for $1.4 million in 2017. Known for his extremely advanced polish and pitchability as an amateur, he performed as advertised in the Appy League last summer as a 17-year-old. Pardinho is polished enough to be in full-season ball right now, though elbow soreness this March caused him to start 2019 in Extended Spring Training. He showed the same stuff and ability to execute in my backfields look, though at a near-maxed 5-foot-10, it’s fair to wonder how much more upside is left for Pardinho to unlock.

 

Pitching from a deliberate semi-windup, he repeats his delivery very well and throws consistent strikes with a low-90s fastball. Pardinho gets late hop up in the zone on a four-seamer, able to run a sinking variant down and armside. His heater ranged from 89-to-93 mph, sitting around 91 mph. There’s plenty of time to develop command at his age, and Pardinho has the pitchability to do it; even so, he’s unlikely to over be particularly overpowering and will need to improve his ability to spot the fastball down in the zone. His best off-speed is a hard upper-70s curve, a sharp downer that induced numerous swinging strikes. A low-80s changeup showed consistent separation and armside fade, backed by a true slider at 80-to-82 mph he wrinkles for another look. Pardinho’s ability to sequence pitches and land his off-speed for strikes early in counts was impressive, keeping hitters on their toes and unable to lock in on fringy velocity.

 

Pardinho will be interesting to watch develop through the lower levels of the minors. He’s the type of pitching prospect that often breezes through A-Ball and reaches upper-level competition early, but starts to be challenged more once he’s no longer significantly more polished than the competition. The feel and control profile could be good enough to still make him a back-rotation starter even without overpowering stuff. In the event his small, developed frame is able to grow into more velocity, he could finish better than that.

 

Miguel Hiraldo, 3B, Toronto Blue Jays (FV 45)

 

Ht/Wt: 5’11” / 170 lbs. B/T: R / R Age (as of April 1, 2019): 18y, 6m

Video

 

Hiraldo was seen as one of the more pro-ready bats in the 2017 international class, and he lived up to that billing by slashing a combined .300/.362/.435 between the DSL and GCL as a 17-year-old last season. Signed to a $750K bonus, he turned 18 after the year and has begun 2019 in Extended Spring Training.

 

At 5-foot-11 and a listed 170 pounds, Hiraldo’s medium frame has some maturity to it with stocky muscle throughout. He still splits time between SS and 3B, and while he moves well for his size in the middle infield, a strong arm and thick lower-half likely wind up at the hot corner down the road. At the plate, Hiraldo’s raw offensive tools are evident: there’s explosive batspeed and hip torque through a strong cut, with power potential that jumps out immediately despite aggression and barrel control that are currently age-appropriately raw. Balls jump off his barrel when squared, and though Hiraldo overswings at times and comes out of his shoes on pitches he shouldn’t, it was enthusing to see him show occasional ability to shorten up and battle with two strikes. Stats from the complex level only mean so much, but Hiraldo’s track record of patience—walking nearly as much as he struck out last summer—also bodes well for the development of an offensive approach.

 

It would be easy to place him conservatively as a FV 40, as Hiraldo is a long ways from ready and isn’t likely to finish up the middle defensively. This type of batspeed and strength from a teenager is rare, though, and he’s advanced enough at the plate it wouldn’t be a shock to see Hiraldo put up numbers this summer in short-season ball. Though basically all players at this level are wildcard, lottery ticket types of prospects, he already places in the FV 45 tier because of high-ceiling offensive tools that give the upside of a bat-first regular.

 

Leonardo Jimenez, SS, Toronto Blue Jays (FV 45)

 

Ht/Wt: 5’11” / 160 lbs. B/T: R / R Age (as of April 1, 2019): 17y, 10m

Video #1 | Video #2

 

Signed from Panama, Jimenez put himself on the map with his performances on the international tournament circuit as an amateur. He inked an $825K bonus with Toronto in 2017. Known for his polish and well-rounded game, Jimenez made his pro debut last summer in the GCL and held his own as a 17-year-old. He turned 18 roughly a week before I saw him in May.

 

A lean, wiry 5-foot-11, Jimenez is athletic but still needs to get significantly stronger. How much mass he’s able to add will likely have bearing on his long-term offensive upside and overall value. He has natural rhythm at the plate and shows bat-to-ball ability, though there isn’t much behind his contact right now. Jimenez won’t ever be a huge power threat, but if he develops enough ability to hit for average and reach base, his glovework in the middle infield could make him a useful big leaguer. His best tools are on defense, with slick actions and good overall instincts. I didn’t see Jimenez challenged at SS or 2B in a short look, though it’s easy to envision this type of frame staying at a center-diamond position down the road.

 

In the best-case scenario, Jimenez develops enough at the plate to wind up a potential regular or solid role player. It’s a deep projection hit tool that requires some dreaming, though his youth (he would be young for the 2019 high school draft class), contact skills, and refined approach give reason to project aggressively. We’re aiming high by putting him among the FV 45 prospects in Extended Spring, noting that he’ll settle in as a FV 35+/40 type of glove-only bench type if there aren’t many offensive developments by the time he fully grows into his body.

[metafour]

i was thinking they'd give Parindho a look in Vancouver this year. So far just pitching in extended down in FLA

 

Pardinho would have been in Lansing but had an injury. That is why he is in extended.

[Slade]

I don't know the specifics of his workload in college but I think Griffin Canning had a huge workload when he got drafted and the Angels just shut him down completely. They're a bit different in terms of build and physique but Canning came back with a velocity up tick and looks like a monster right now.

 

So I wouldn't be upset if they just shut him down and let him work on his body. Build even more strength and work on change up grips.

 

College workload is pretty strenuous, 108IP probably going 120+ pitches each outing plus the Big 10 tournament.

 

I expect if he gets into pro games it will be 1-2IP.

 

I wouldn't expect any added strength to Mannoah, dudes completely filled out.

[Bobthe4th]

[43211234]

Carson Cistulli must be drooling over Joey Murray.

[P2F]

Jordan Romano has been called up.

 

*shits pants*

[Barkerfan23]

 

That tweet aged well eh?

[Spanky99]

Alford keeps swinging it... 2-4 with 2BB's, HR and SB.

[Todd]

Give it time. He will get hurt. but hopefully he gets 500 abs.STOCK has fallen real fall.

[Daniel Labude]

Alford keeps swinging it... 2-4 with 2BB's, HR and SB.

 

Love seeing this. Keep this going and we will see him later this month

[Todd]

I don't know about that. One some what good month is not good enough to be called up. Edited June 13, 2019 by Todd

[glory]

Teoscar Hernandez is the current CF. Alford coming up would actually be a welcomed sight even with his struggles this year.

[Krylian]

I don't know about that. One some what good month is good enough to be called up.

 

wut

[Krylian]

https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/midseason-player-of-the-year-for-all-30-organizations/

 

Midseason Player Of The Year For All 30 Organizations

 

 

Toronto: C Alejandro Kirk

Low Class A Lansing

The big-bodied Mexican catcher had no trouble adjusting to full-season competition, batting .323/.430/.503 with more walks than strikeouts.

 

 

...fatty getting love from BA.

[Spanky99]

Bichette goes Yard!

[Krylian]

Warmoth got promoted to AA. In the lineup tonight.

[Abomination]

Apparently Sportsnet is airing the Vancouver Canadians game tomorrow.