A tradition like no other

The Baseball America Prospect book has arrived and that means that baseball season will soon be here.

Prospects Plus: The Top 10

The Minor League Baseball season is almost over. It's been a fun year for us at OTWT. We went to a bunch of Lakewood Blueclaws game as well as a Trenton Thunder. Here is a break down of the 10 best players I've seen this summer.

1. Nick Williams, OF, Reading:  A key piece of the Hammels deal..He looks the part of the an offensive force. Saw him two years ago in the South Atlantic League and he looks like a different player now and I mean that in a good way. I'm a huge Nick Williams fan boy. 
2. JP Crawford, SS Reading: I've seen a bunch of him the last couple of years and he looks the next Phillies SS for the next decade. 
3. Josh Morgan, SS, Hickory: The Texas Rangers prospect looks the part. 
4. Cole Tucker,  SS, West Virginia: I really think him and Morgan where the best Single A players I saw all year. 
5. Spencer Adams, P, Kannapolis: Sat between 92-94 with his fastball. Bad electric stuff when I saw him. 
6. Carlos Tocci, OF, Lakewood: Tocci didn't spend much time in Lakewood this season but  he showed that his bat is starting to develop.
7. Jake Thompson, P, Reading: Good fastball. Good Change up. Could develop into a good 3rd starter. 
8.  Jairo Beras, OF, Hickory: He looks the part of an outfielder. 
9. Cord Sandberg, OF, Lakewood: The former Mississippi State football recruit looks like a player for the future. 
10. Tyler Wade, SS, Trenton: Athletic defender.

Prospects Plus: It's been a long summer

The minor league season is winding down and it's been a blast. I have the rosters and the scouting reports to show it. Sometime during the next week, I'm going to post my 10 best prospect's I've seen this season. So stay tuned.

Prospects Plus: Reading's Jake Thompson

Name: Jake Thompson
Team: Reading Fightins
Organization: Phillies
Position: SP
Organizational Rank: Third ranked prospect in the Phillies system by MLB.com
Saturday vs. Trenton Thunder: 6 innings,  2 earned  runs, 2 hits, 5 walks, 5 Ks.

Positives: Showed some good stuff during this 89 pitch performance Saturday night. Thompson topped out at 93 and  showed a good slider. He seemed to hold base runners well. Thompson has a classic starter's build that should give him durability and allows him to pitch on a tough downhill plane.

Negatives: Walking five batters in six innings is not what people want to see in prospect who was a key part of the Cole Hammels deal. His machanics looked to be all over the place. He is pitcher that I would not rush to the big leagues. Thompson should start the season in AAA next season.    

Prospects Plus: Reading's Nick Williams

Name: Nick Williams
Team: Reading Fightins
Organization: Phillies
Position: CF
Organizational Rank: Fifth ranked prospect in the Phillies system by  MLB.com
Saturday vs. Trenton Thunder: 2 for 4 with 2 RBI and stolen base

POSITIVES: This was my second time seeing Williams. I saw him two years ago vs. Lakewood when he was with the Rangers organization. When I saw on Saturday night, he looked more like a baseball player then an athlete playing baseball. Really did a nice job in center field. Williams was a key player in the Cole Hammels trade.

NEGATIVES: There has been some talk in the local media that Williams might get a September call up,  which is something that I don't understand. He still needs time to develop, I would be be against him playing winter ball to improve his skills.

Prospects Plus: Cole Tucker

Name: Cole Tucker

Position: Shortstop 

Team: West Virginia Power

Organization: Pittsburgh Pirates

Organizational Rank: eighth ranked prospect in the Pirates system, according to Baseball America 

Last Friday vs the Blueclaws: 2 for 4 with a double. 

Positives: Tucker looks the part of a middle infielder. He showed many of the skills that made him a first rounder back in 2014. He has great baseball IQ, including saving a run by gunning a guy at home. Sure he is going to take time but it may be worth it in the end. He looked like the best player on the field on Friday night. 

Negatives: Tucker is never going to be a big time offensive player. His baseball IQ is going to play at any position if he has to be moved off shortstop. 

Prospects Plus: Josh Morgan

Name: Josh Morgan

Position: SS

Team: Hickory Crawdads

Organization: Texas Rangers

Ranking: 10th overall prospect in Rangers organization, according to Baseball America

Friday vs Lakewood Blueclaws: 2 for 5 with 3 RBI

Positives: Of all of the players that I saw on the field last night, Morgan, a former third round draft pick, was by far the most impressive. He looked really good at the plate and looked solid in the field. In the bottom of the seventh, Morgan made a really good back handed stop to prevent a run. Morgan's upside is as a high-OBP SS or 2B who doesn't steal a lot of bases or hit for much power, but who is solid defensively while getting on base at a solid clip.

Negatives: Morgan is going to have to continue to hit as he moves up the ladder, particularly when he gets to higher levels where pitchers can throw strikes more consistently, and will be more likely to challenge him due to his lack of power.  Morgan will have success if he can maintain his good approach at the plate while making solid contact enough to keep pitchers from overpowering him.

Prospect Plus: Best Class Ever

In honor of this years rookie class Baseball America posted this epic photo on their Instagram. The four hotshots all on their cover. 

Prospects Plus: UCSB Dillion Tate

Name: Dillon Tate

Position: pitcher

Team: UCSB

Ranking: Fifth overall prospect in the 2015 MLB Draft Class

Friday vs San Diego State: 8 innings, 6 hits, 4 runs, 4 earned runs, and 11 strikeouts. 

Positives: He has really good stuff. The late action on his slider was amazing. He settled down after struggling in the first inning.  Noting Tate's projectable frame and easy arm action when he was working in the upper 80s as a high school senior in 2012, scouts figured he could make a big velocity jump after moving on to UC Santa Barbara. He pitched just three innings as a freshman before taking that huge step forward in 2014, putting him in position to become the first Gaucho ever drafted in the top two rounds. His stock took another leap in 2015 as Santa Barbara's ace, becoming one of the best college arms in the Draft class.

Negatives: Looked rattled during the first inning, had a wild pitch. If I was a MLB executive his delivery would really worry me. He has a reliever delivery for me. 

Prospects Plus: North Carolina's J.B. Bukauskas

 
Name: J.B. Bukauskas

Team: North Carolina 

Position: Pitcher

Rank:  #2 ranked college player for the 2017 draft

Friday vs Clemson: 5 + innings, 5 hits, 2 earned runs, no walks,  7 strikeouts.

Positives: During the 2014 MLB Draft, Bukauskas was one of my favorite players. He had a live arm and was going to be a top round draft pick. But instead of heading to the draft out of high school, JB told teams not to draft him so he could head to North Carolina. During the game on Friday afternoon, Bukauskas showed a great fastball as well as a wipe out change up. During the game he topped out at 95 mph, his change, which showed great movement was around 84 mph. Looked extremely polished for a young college pitcher. 

Negative: He's got a reliever's delivery with a lot of effort and inconsistent command; small frame inhibits ability to drive with the leg, putting more stress on the arm, and lack of finish could cause problems in the future. Big effort in the delivery will always limit the command upside, but there are flashes that he can at least be average placing the ball where he needs to against advanced hitters.

Prospects Plus: Cord Sandberg

NAME: Cord Sandberg 

TEAM: Blueclaws 

POSITION: Outfield

PROSPECT RANKING: 21st ranked player in the Phillies system, according to Baseball America. 

FRIDAY VS. AUGUSTA: 1-5 with an RBI and run scored. 

POSITIVES: the former Mississippi State QB commit is a plus athlete. Right now is best tool is his speed. He has a body that could put on more muscle as he gets older. When developed he could be a 20-25 HR type of player. 

NEGATIVES: Still incredibly raw. Right now he is a athlete playing baseball, not a baseball player. During the game against Augusta he looked bad a couple of change ups. With any two sports star it's going to take time for them to develop just ask the Royals when it comes to Bubba Starling. 

Prospects Plus: Carlos Tocci

Two weeks ago, I went and saw the Lakewood Blueclaws twice in a matter of five days and one thing stood out to me: OF Carlos Tocci looks like a totally different player.

For the last couple of years, Tocci has been the youngest player in the South Atlantic League but this years it looks like it's all paying off. Through nine games, Tocci was heading .361 while slugging .565. 

While it's never good for a prospect to repeat a level, it might have been needed for Tocci. When Tocci got to Lakewoof late three seasons ago he looked like a kid. This year he looks like more put together. With Tocci you have to remember that he is still only 20 years old. Despite being sent back to Lakewood this year, talent evaluators still hold Tocci in high regard and that will continue as he continues to develop. 

Prospect Plus: White Sox's Spencer Adams

Name: Spencer Adams

Team: Kannapolis Intimidators 

Organization: White Sox

Position: Pitcher 

Organizational Rank: third ranked prospect in White Sox organization by Baseball America. 

Friday vs. Blueclaws: 4 innings, 7 hits, 1 ER, 2 ks. 

Positives: Adams is a real battler and that shower on Friday night. On a couple of different opportunities the Blueclaws put runners on and Adams found a way to get out of it. The lanky right handed has an easy motion and touches 92 mph. Adams slider is one of the best in the system.  I really liked what I saw when he was out there. 

Negative: like most athletes playing baseball it will take Adams time to be ready for the show. He is considered a high risk/high reward type of prospect by Baseball America.

Prospects Plus: Crabbing for Prospects

A new season of Lakewood Blueclaws baseball is now here and again the family and I have a ticket package. Last night, we took in the Claws exhibition game vs. Brookdale Community College. While the game was a blow out, it did make me think of a couple of prospects that I want to keep my eye on this year.

• Cord Sandberg: the former Mississippi State QB commit is one of the more interesting players on the blueclaws. During the exhibition game he showed a sweet left handed swing with doubles powered. 
• Rhys Hoskins: the power hitting first basemen is not listed in Baseball America top 30 Phillies prospects. During the game Hoskins hit a monster home run. 
• Deivi Grullon: the 13th ranked player in the Phillies system. Grullon hit a huge home run during the game. Baseball America considers him a high risk/high reward. 
• Carlos Tocci: Tocci is back in Lakewood for a third straight year. This could be the biggest season of his career. Tocci needs a strong season or his career might be in jeopardy. 

Prospects Plus: Hagen Danner

Name: Hagen  Danner
Team: Huntington Beach HS (California)
Position: Pitcher
Organization Rank: One of the top prospects for the 2017 Draft (UCLA commit)
Thursday vs. Puyallup (Wash.) High School at NHSI: 13 strikeouts, 3 hits  in complete game shutout.

Positives: touched 90/91 with his fastball during his outing but can be has high as 93/94. For only being a sophomore he looked incredibly polished. Danner is no stranger to pitching in big games. Danner played and won the Little League World Series. Hagen's curveball is presently a soft hammer with projection, breaking late vertically at 79-80 mph with shape and depth. Danner even showed some feel throwing a pair of 81-82 mph changeups. His curveball was dominant as he locked up hitter after hitter. If his arm hold up he is going to be a top five pick. Looked the part of an ace despite being so young. 

Negatives: Like any players this young, you worry about his delivery and his arm holding up. 

Baseball season is coming

Went to the mailbox this afternoon and found this. It's always a highlight of year.

Prospect Plus: Summer's Best

It's been a busy summer for Only Time Will Tell. Baseball games in three different states, two trips and ton of golf. But over the summer, I've been able to see some of the best prospects in baseball in the South Atlantic League and the Florida State League.

Here are the list of the top prospects I've seen during my travels this summer:

1. Dominic Smith, 1B, Savannah (SAL): The former Mets first round pick looks the part of major league power hitter despite just being a year out of high school. Smith is still a couple of years away but could be the power bat the Mets have been waiting for. 
2. Adam Brett Walker, OF, Fort Myers (FSL): While there is the concern of a college player still playing in the Florida State League, Walker has both the power and the speed that scouts crave. When we say him he had an inside the park home run. A week or so earlier he won the home run derby at the All Star game. 
3. JP Crawford, SS, Lakewood (SAL): The former first round pick of the Phillies really grew during his second year in pro ball. Last year he looked over matched, but now he seems like he has a solid bat to go along with his plus glove.

Prospects Plus: Marlins Austin Dean

Name: Austin Dean 
Organization: Marlins 
Team: Greensboro Grasshoppers 
Position:  Outfield  
Organizational Rank: 14th ranked prospect in the Marlins system, according to Baseball America. 
Stats vs. Lakewood Blueclaws: 0-4 Friday night. 


Positive:  He is a good hitter with very good power potential. Dean has one of the quickest bats in the Marlins organization. Dean has good bat control and is more of a line drive hitter than a home run hitter at this point, but could develop into a 15-20 home run guy, according to Baseball America. 

Negative: Has a below average arm and he is not the fast person in the world. 

Prospects Plus: Marlins Avery Romero

Name: Avery Romero 
Organization: Marlins
Team: Greensboro Grasshoppers
Position:  second base
Organizational Rank: 9th ranked prospect in the Marlins system, according to Baseball America.
Stats vs. Lakewood Blueclaws: 3-4 with two double Friday night. 

Positives: He's almost as valuable a prospect as a second or third baseman, because his bat is the real appeal here.  He has good bat speed which should give him above average power down the road.  

Negatives: Romero doesn't have a true position. Scouts don’t believe that Romero has the athleticism and quickness needed to play shortstop in the pros. Scouts do believe he has adequate talent to handle the hot corner or play second, as well as provide enough offense to play either position.

Prospect Plus: Orioles Chance Sisco

Name: Chance Sisco 
Organization: Orioles 
Team: Delmarva Shorebirds
Position: Catcher
Organizational Rank: 10th ranked prospect in the Orioles system, according to Baseball America.
Stats vs. Lakewood Blueclaws: 1-5 with a double during a double header on Friday night. 

Positives:  Sisco has a good arm and soft hands, as should be expected, and his body does indeed look more like a catcher than infielder. At the plate, he should be able to bring his solid contact skills and quick bat to bear in the minors, while power may take a few years to really show up. Smooth lefthanded swing, according to Baseball America. He has bat speed with the ability to make solid contact and while you have to dream, there is future above-average power in the bat. 

Negative: Still learning how to catch, only started catching two years ago. He, like most catching prospect, will be a long term prospect.