Official MiLB/Prospects Thread

[Spanky99]

Apparently Sportsnet is airing the Vancouver Canadians game tomorrow.

 

Damn, wish it was today's game to see Kloffenstein pitch. He pitched okay, the 1BB 5 K's in 3 were sweet. Defense was shyte!

[Abomination]

Damn, wish it was today's game to see Kloffenstein pitch. He pitched okay, the 1BB 5 K's in 3 were sweet. Defense was shyte!

 

It looks like 10PM Sportsnet Pacific.

 

I think it'll be the first time I've seen a game there since I was a kid (although that was live).

[Spanky99]

It looks like 10PM Sportsnet Pacific.

 

I think it'll be the first time I've seen a game there since I was a kid (although that was live).

 

Might be blacked-out on the east coast...

[Abomination]

Might be blacked-out on the east coast...

 

I hope not. It doesn't say anything about one.

[Spanky99]

I hope not. It doesn't say anything about one.

 

I'm kidding, lol.

[BlueRocky]

The Vancouver Canadians (A-) is sporting an interesting opening day lineup. Will record tomorrow’s broadcast on SNP 7PM PST to get a first look at them.

 

Cameron Eden (6th round) batting leadoff was not a surprise, but playing 3B was interesting. He played a lot of SS and CF in college and showed both good speed and hitting ability. He’s probably my favorite draft pick on day 2 this year (R3-10), can steal bases and a good glove that can put bat on baseball.

 

Tanner Morris (5th round) showed a really good bat in college, played SS but he may end up 3B/OF. Terrific plate discipline with a bit of pop.

 

Trevor Schwecke (13th round) plays SS, was 2B today. Hit a ton of doubles in college. Doesn’t have a ton of HR power, interesting they put him 3rd in the order.

 

Will Robertson (4th round) is the big bat in the lineup with plus raw power. Had 15 dingers in college. Should be fine in RF. Might have the most upside offensively out of all our draft picks this year. Robertson can bring power from corner OF position similar to Conine last year.

 

McGregory Contreras and Dom Abbadessa both had a cup of coffee in full season Lansing, struggled a bit offensively and is now returning to Vancouver. Both very athletic outfielders and young developing bats, a bit raw offensively. Contreras put up 116 wRC+ in Vancouver last season, Abbadessa put up 110 wRC+, both should be moving back up to Lansing if they hit. Abbadessa has some good speed and a base-stealing threat (played mostly CF) and Contreras has some pop in his bat (played mostly LF).

 

Ronny Brito was acquired from the Russell Martin trade. Put up some decent numbers in the Dodgers rookie-ball team, need to tame his high strikeout numbers. Played 4 games in Dunedin this season and was okay in small sample, still K’s too much. Just turned 20.

 

Adam Kloffenstein needs no introduction.

Edited June 15, 2019 by BlueRocky

[Laika]

Interesting guy throwing for Vancouver in Luke Gillingham. Drafted out of Navy in 2016 (37th round), hasn't pitched since 2016 so I'm assuming he served. Had crazy good numbers his junior year of college. Crafty lefty type.

[Boxcar]

The Vancouver Canadians (A-) is sporting an interesting opening day lineup. Will record tomorrow’s broadcast on SNP 7PM PST to get a first look at them.

 

Cameron Eden (6th round) batting leadoff was not a surprise, but playing 3B was interesting. He played a lot of SS and CF in college and showed both good speed and hitting ability. He’s probably my favorite draft pick on day 2 this year (R3-10), can steal bases and a good glove that can put bat on baseball.

 

Tanner Morris (5th round) showed a really good bat in college, played SS but he may end up 3B/OF. Terrific plate discipline with a bit of pop.

 

Trevor Schwecke (13th round) plays SS, was 2B today. Hit a ton of doubles in college. Doesn’t have a ton of HR power, interesting they put him 3rd in the order.

 

Will Robertson (4th round) is the big bat in the lineup with plus raw power. Had 15 dingers in college. Should be fine in RF. Might have the most upside offensively out of all our draft picks this year. Robertson can bring power from corner OF position similar to Conine last year.

 

McGregory Contreras and Dom Abbadessa both had a cup of coffee in full season Lansing, struggled a bit offensively and is now returning to Vancouver. Both very athletic outfielders and young developing bats, a bit raw offensively. Contreras put up 116 wRC+ in Vancouver last season, Abbadessa put up 110 wRC+, both should be moving back up to Lansing if they hit. Abbadessa has some good speed and a base-stealing threat (played mostly CF) and Contreras has some pop in his bat (played mostly LF).

 

Ronny Brito was acquired from the Russell Martin trade. Put up some decent numbers in the Dodgers rookie-ball team, need to tame his high strikeout numbers. Played 4 games in Dunedin this season and was okay in small sample, still K’s too much. Just turned 20.

 

Adam Kloffenstein needs no introduction.

 

*Mc Gregory

[BlueRocky]

7th round pick 2B LJ Talley started in Lansing

[jmomcc]

Is this normal for a guy to mash in triple a and struggle in the majors to the degree Brito did? It’s kind of nuts. I’d expect someone to do well in triple a and then be below average in the bigs but this is crazy.

[Laika]

Is this normal for a guy to mash in triple a and struggle in the majors to the degree Brito did? It’s kind of nuts. I’d expect someone to do well in triple a and then be below average in the bigs but this is crazy.

 

it's not super rare. Mac Williamson is another current guy who really exemplifies it. Some skill sets just don't translate

[jmomcc]

it's not super rare. Mac Williamson is another current guy who really exemplifies it. Some skill sets just don't translate

 

With Brito, it’s complete lack of breaking ball recognition? It must be incredibly frustrating.

[BlueRocky]

A couple Blue Jay young arms came back from the IL started pitching again.

 

David Paulino hasn’t pitched since April 30, came back and had two appearances for the Bisons so far.

Following a performance on June 11 going 4.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, he pitched again today 5.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K and his first win this season in Buffalo.

Looking a little bit better than earlier this season, will continue to monitor if he stays in the rotation.

 

T.J. Zeuch also came back from his lat strain last Tuesday pitched 4.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K for Dunedin, should eventually make his way up to Buffalo.

 

Jon Harris came back last Sunday and got hammered in Dunedin pitching 2.2 IP, 9 H, 7 ER, 1 BB, 6 K,

but his second start on Friday in NH looked better 3.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K.

 

Julian Merryweather and Borucki are on track to return as well.

Edited June 17, 2019 by BlueRocky

[BlueRocky]

Some farm updates:

 

Yennsy Diaz has bounce back and forth between decent and spectacular. The spectacular ones are eye-popping.

Today he pitched 8.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K.

 

Prior he also had 3 outings where he pitched 7 innings:

 

June 5: 7.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 4 K

 

May 21: 7.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 8 K

 

May 14: 7.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 2 K

 

Still 22 years old, his current numbers in double-A:

66.2 IP, 3.92 ERA, 4.09 FIP, 4.20 xFIP, 1.20 WHIP, 7.29 K/9, 3.51 BB/9

 

 

 

 

Hector Perez has also looked better since May. In 8 starts he's pitched 44.2 innings, 3.22 ERA, 3.95 FIP, 1.37 WHIP, 38K/19BB, 7.66 K/9 and 3.83 BB/9

 

Forrest Wall's resurgence has continued, he's still batting .290/.381/.455, OPS .837. Also hit a leadoff homer yesterday. He's look pretty decent in CF, should be moved to triple-A soon.

 

One guy we signed last year from the international FA market has really stood out:

17-yr-old, 6-1 R/R, Catcher Javier D'Orazio signed from Venezuela, he's batting .382/.475/.471, OPS .946 in his first 10 games in the DSL. Signing bonus N/A.

 

Alejandro Kirk is still hitting and walking a bunch, 170 wRC+ and batting .268/.365/.507 in Dunedin. Still a solid 14.4% walk rate and good 13.4% K rate, but not hitting as much power in the FSL. ISO dropped from .221 -> .134 since Lansing.

 

Griffin Conine has cooled-off a little bit, just putting up a measly .369/.423/.785, OPS 1.207 in 17 games for Lansing.

 

Otto Lopez has been a bit under the radar, hitting .304/.365/.398, OPS .762 now in 46 games. Not hitting a lot of power but he's getting on base. Needs to improve defensively though, still making a lot of errors, but they were playing him exclusively at SS since Groshans is on the IL. Lopez went on a 6 game multi-hit streak and was pretty hot, but I think he's been on the IL since May 31.

 

Missed the annual StarWars night (boo!), they even used him as the poster boy, not sure how he's going to recover from that, career might not be salvageable after missing such an important day.

 

Gabriel Moreno is still batting .268/.365/.507, OPS .872 and 147 wRC+ in 23 games, just ended his 5 game hitless streak today. Pretty impressive what’s he’s done as a 19-yr-old catcher in first time full-season ball.

 

Maximo Castillo has also been very good in High-A, 63.2 IP, 2.83 ERA, 3.06 FIP, 3.57 xFIP, 1.10 WHIP, 47 K to 11 BB in 12 starts. Only 20 years old, 6-2 R/R.

 

Logan Warmoth got his first hit in double-A.

 

Bo Bichette is also back in action in Buffalo.

 

 

 

A couple of guys that made the minor league All-Star teams:

 

P Nick Allgeyer (Dunedin)

P Graham Spraker (Dunedin)

P Brad Wilson (Dunedin)

C Riley Adams (Dunedin) **Promoted to AA

3B Cullen Large (Dunedin) **IL

 

P Josh Winckowski (Lansing)

P Cobi Johnson (Lansing)

1B Jake Brodt (Lansing)

2B Nick Podkul (Lansing)

C Ryan Gold (Lansing)

 

Eastern League rosters not announced, game on July 10.

FSL game on June 15

MWL game on June 18

Edited June 17, 2019 by BlueRocky

[Laika]

With Brito, it’s complete lack of breaking ball recognition? It must be incredibly frustrating.

 

Well he also has not been that good in AAA, outside of 2018.

 

2016 - 100 wRC+

2017 - 100 wRC+

2018 - 140 wRC+

2019 - 110 wRC+

 

I would not expect an average-ish AAA hitter to be anything but a decidedly below average MLB hitter, so just layer some bad luck on top of that and there you go.

[jmomcc]

Well he also has not been that good in AAA, outside of 2018.

 

2016 - 100 wRC+

2017 - 100 wRC+

2018 - 140 wRC+

2019 - 110 wRC+

 

I would not expect an average-ish AAA hitter to be anything but a decidedly below average MLB hitter, so just layer some bad luck on top of that and there you go.

 

Ah, that makes more sense.

[Olerud363]

Well he also has not been that good in AAA, outside of 2018.

 

2016 - 100 wRC+

2017 - 100 wRC+

2018 - 140 wRC+

2019 - 110 wRC+

 

I would not expect an average-ish AAA hitter to be anything but a decidedly below average MLB hitter, so just layer some bad luck on top of that and there you go.

 

Yeah... I don't believe there is any magical "aaaa" players. Brito has a .338 career MILB on base percentage. If you translate that to MLB it's .310 or something. You give him 100 at bats and it could be anything. I remember Bill James simulated thousands of seasons and pointed out that even Wade Boggs could hit .250 in a season just by luck... and then a couple of years later he really did. So Brito can hit probably hit anywhere between .030 and .400 in 40 at bats. It would probably normalize to .240 or something if you gave him an infiinite number of chances.

 

Though Teoscar, or Alford, or Hansen, or MckKinney, or 20 other guys will be the one to be hot (for them) through 300 at bats and get the job as 3.5th outfielder and Brito will probably never get the chance to reach his replacement level potential.

[jmomcc]

Yeah... I don't believe there is any magical "aaaa" players. Brito has a .338 career MILB on base percentage. If you translate that to MLB it's .310 or something. You give him 100 at bats and it could be anything. I remember Bill James simulated thousands of seasons and pointed out that even Wade Boggs could hit .250 in a season just by luck... and then a couple of years later he really did. So Brito can hit probably hit anywhere between .030 and .400 in 40 at bats. It would probably normalize to .240 or something if you gave him an infiinite number of chances.

 

Though Teoscar, or Alford, or Hansen, or MckKinney, or 20 other guys will be the one to be hot (for them) through 300 at bats and get the job as 3.5th outfielder and Brito will probably never get the chance to reach his replacement level potential.

 

Is part of that rope got to do with the ‘obviousness’ of your weakness? Or basically how easy it is to dream on you?

 

With Brito, even with his speed, I imagine that watching him just not recognize breaking ball after breaking ball makes it easier to cut bait.

[Jimcanuck]

Kloff gets some love

 

https://fantasy.fangraphs.com/the-prospect-stock-watch-five-key-sleeper-prospects/

[Todd]

Any one know why Anthony Alford is on the inactive list? personnel or hurt

[Laika]

Any one know why Anthony Alford is on the inactive list? personnel or hurt

 

He read all of your posts and quit baseball

[z3r0s]

He read all of your posts and quit baseball

 

He's going to give Hockey a try. Third sports a charm right?

[Laika]

He's going to give Hockey a try. Third sports a charm right?

 

Who was the fairly recent baseball prospect who played junior hockey? I remember it was super random and might have been a black guy from California. Did I dream this?

[Spanky99]

Who was the fairly recent baseball prospect who played junior hockey? I remember it was super random and might have been a black guy from California. Did I dream this?

 

Nyjer Morgan.

[Captain Adama]

Nyjer Morgan.

 

Not quite, Morgan played hockey prior to playing baseball

[Ray]

For those of you who remember, in 2016 we ended up trading a pitching prospect named Guadalupe Chavez to the Astros for Scott Feldman. He was a 18 year old rookie league RHP. For whatever reason, he stopped pitching after the 2016 season but he returned last night and pitched 5 scoreless innings for the Astros A-ball affiliate.

[Ray]

Also, the Appy League gets going starting today.

 

Some names to watch: Lazaro Estrada, Jol Concepcion, Addison Barger, Miguel Hiraldo, Leonardo Jimenez

 

Of note, 2018 J2 signee Orelvis Martinez was not announced on the roster meaning he'll likely get the start in the GCL.

[Krylian]

Also, the Appy League gets going starting today.

 

Some names to watch: Lazaro Estrada, Jol Concepcion, Addison Barger, Miguel Hiraldo, Leonardo Jimenez

 

Of note, 2018 J2 signee Orelvis Martinez was not announced on the roster meaning he'll likely get the start in the GCL.

 

RHP Alejandro Melean too. A $775K bonus baby from 2017.

[Spanky99]

Not quite, Morgan played hockey prior to playing baseball

 

I don't know, man, he meets all the criteria Laika asked, born in California, played junior hockey, black and played MLB ball, was an obvious prospect.

[Krylian]

Season opener for Bluefield and they're getting no hit through 7.