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 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: 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: 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. 

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: Sometimes Baseball America is right

I was looking through the Baseball America 2003 Prospects book and found Miguel Cabrera's scouting report. Its amazing to see him tapped as a star at this young age. 

Prospects Plus: Red Sox Wendell Riijo

Name: Wendell Rijo
Organization: Red Sox
Team: Greenville Drive
Position: 2B
Organizational Rank:18th best prospect according to Baseball America
Stats vs. Lakewood Blueclaws: 1-2 with a homerun and two walks

Positives: In his first at bat Friday night, Rijo fell behind 0-2 and then was able to turn on a fastball from Yacksel Rios and hit it over the left field fence. Hits from a wide-open stance, with his hands high, before taking big step to close to even in his stride. Quick hands, solid batspeed.

Negatives:  Is prone to lazy mechanics and will tend to field balls off to the side that he has time to field in front. 

Prospect Plus: Red Sox's Trey Ball

Name: Trey Ball
Organization: Red Sox
Team: Greenville Curve
Position: Left handed starting pitcher
Organizational rank: 10th ranked prospect in Red Sox system.
Friday night's stats vs Lakewood: 6 innings, 6 hits, 4 runs, 2 earned, 5 walks, 5 strikeouts




Positives: Projectable left-hander with great athleticism. Thin frame with lots of room to fill out. Efficient, low-effort delivery. Repeats delivery well for his age. Not a lot of miles on his arm. Fastball sits around 90-93 mph and tops out around 95 mph.When thing I noticed when I was watching him Friday night was that he looks the part, has the body of the starting pitcher. 

Negative: So raw. Coming from Indiana, he did not faced the toughest competition when he was in high school. When a couple of infielders made errors, Ball didn't seem to deal with it well, the mistakes seem to bother him. 

Prospect Plus: Met's Gavin Cecchini

Name: Gavin Cecchini
Organization: New York Mets
Team: Savannah Sand Gnats
Position: Shortstop
Stats Friday against the BlueClaws: 0-5 with two strikeouts

Positives: The younger brother to Boston's Garin, shortstop Gavin Cecchini is a contact hitter with solid tools. Cecchini will make contact. Will make the solid play, never will be a superstar.

Negative: One thing that will make it hard for Mets fans to get excite for is that they passed on Cards stud pitcher Michael Wacha to take Cecchini. I know that its only one game but Cecchini looked terrible and didn't show me anything that warrants him being a top 10 prospect in the Mets organization.

Prospects Plus: Met's Dominic Smith

Name: Dominic Smith
Organization: New York Mets
Team: Savannah Sand Gnats
Position: First Base
Stats Friday against the BlueClaws: 2-4 with a double and a run scored

Positives: Smith, the fourth ranked player in the Mets system,  relies on a smooth left-handed swing that is expected to generate power potential down the line as he continues to grow and mature. Smith also has a good eye at the plate.  He is considered an excellent fielder at the position, and has a plus arm to go with it. Smith, a first rounder in 2013, showed a nice piece of hitting when he took a pitch the other way for a double on Friday night.

Negatives: His biggest problem is a propensity to step towards the pitch and hit the ball way out in front.Another issue is he just needs a little more refinement in his approach. Some scouts complain that Smith can get overeager, swinging at breaking balls out of the zone that smart hitters learn to ignore.

Prospects Plus: Pirates Dilson Herrera

Name: Dilson Herrera 
Position: Shortstop/second baseman
Team: West Virginia Power
Prospect Status: 20th ranked player in the Pittsburgh Pirates system 
Friday vs. Atlanta Braves: 3 for 4, with a double and a run scored. 

Positive: Most of Herrera value will come with the bat, which has been the story so far. He hits to all fields, and while he wasn’t projected as a guy who could hit for power, his bat speed has produced some impressive power so far in his young career.  According to Baseball America, Herrera has plus speed which makes a base stealing threat. 

During the game on Friday night, Herrera showed some good bat speed pulling the ball to left field on his first two at bats. I think that he is underrated by many scouting reports that I have seen. He could be a solid middle infielder for the next decade if he continues to develop. I've seen him twice this year and each time he has been one of the more impressive members of the prospect loaded Power. 

Negatives: Doesn't have a classic arm, which may force him to move to full to second base full time. He made a couple of really good defensive play but also showed some inconsistency.

Prospects Plus: Phillies Ethan Martin

Name: Ethan Martin 
Position: Pitcher
Team: Philadelphia Phillies
Prospect Status: 6th ranked prospect in the Phillies system
Friday vs. Atlanta Braves: 4 1/2 innings, 8 hits allowed, 6 runs allowed, 3 walks, and 6 strikeouts

Positives:  During the first inning, Martin topped out with his fastball at 97 mph, while showing some toughness. His best showing came in the fourth inning when he got out of a bases loaded one out jam without giving up a run. Martin features three pitches, which all appear to be major league quality. Martin is the key to the trade that sent Shave Victorino to the Dodger last summer. Martin has struggled with control in his time in the minors and that is the main struggle for him. Martin’s stuff remains good with his fastball sitting 92-95 and he can touch 98 when needed. In 2010 Martin scrapped his curveball for a slider that sits in the mid-80s and sits average right now but shows at least plus potential down the road. His change up is slightly below average but has flashed average. Martin is extremely athletic and has been very durable despite his control problems. For Martin his potential will hinge on his command and control. 

I personal liked what I saw from him on Friday night and so did the Philly fans, when being taken out of the game, the crowd gave him a very nice round of applause. 

Weakness: His control is the biggest thing that is going to hold him back. 

Prospects Plus: Larry Greene

NAME: Larry Greene Jr.
POSITION: Outfielder
TEAM: Lakewood BlueClaws
PROSPECT STATUS: 11th ranked prospect in the Phillies system by Baseball America.
FRIDAY VS. GREENVILLE: 0-4 two strikeouts.

POSITIVES: Greene is a huge man and is incredibly athletic for his size. Right now Greene still has the speed and arm to be a good left fielder. Greene has huge raw power but he has yet to show it in games, but he has shown a better ability to hit for average than previously shown, according to Phuture Phillies. He could be a All Star with great power but is limited with his glove. Could be the perfect DH in AL. The Phillies have likened him to former prospect Jonathan Singleton with less hit tool but more power and defensive ability, according to Phuture Phillies.


NEGATIVES:Unlike a lot of high school leagues in Georgia, the one that produced  Greene is considered to be a weak one and that is holding back his development. The four times that I've seen him since the start of the season, he seems to be over matched at every turn. This is not a short term type of prospect, this is a long term guy that could take four to five years to get to the big leagues. Some scouts think that it could take until 2017 or later for Greene to put on a big league uniform.

Prospects Plus: Carlos Tocci

NAME: Carlos Tocci
POSITION: Outfielder
TEAM: Lakewood BlueClaws
PROSPECT STATUS: Tenth ranked prospect in Phillies organization.
FRIDAY VS. GREENVILLE: 1 for 4 with a run scored.

POSITIVES:  I've waited for a couple of months before I decided to run the rule over Tocci. I've watched him a bunch of times and have come away impressed each time. Tocci should be either finishing up his junior or senior year of high school right now.  He has more advanced baseball instincts than any high school player in the 2013 draft.  He may not be as physically mature as his counterparts, but he is still younger than most draftees, and with a year of full season ball. Tocci is a plus plus runner, it allows him to cover large amounts of ground in CF. Last year, Tocci signed one of the largest deals the Phillies have ever given to an international player, a reported $750,000. Scouts have projected Tocci as a five-tool player with a real emphasis on his speed. His upside is there and it shows, every time I've seen him he has improved.

NEGATIVES: At times Tocci seems to be a little over matched at the plate, that could be a product of his youth and lack of strength. One of the biggest concerns that I have is does Tocci confidence struggle if he struggles at the plate.

Prospects Plus: Lewis Brinson

NAME: Lewis Brinson
POSITION: Outfielder
TEAM: Hickory Crawdads
PROSPECT STATUS: 12th ranked prospect in Rangers system.
FRIDAY VS. LAKEWOOD: 0-3

POSITIVES: The Rangers picked Brinson in the first round of 2012 MLB Draft and talked him out of a scholarship to the University of Florida by giving him a $1.625 million bonus. A scouting report from ESPN.com Keith Law on the improvements that Brinson made during the Arizona Fall League: "I was blown away by the changes Lewis Brinson made to his swing over the summer, setting up his hands a little lower and further back while shortening his stride, significantly improving his bat speed through the zone without any loss of power." These comments show that Brinson is able to make changes to make himself a better player." 

Brinson is a long, lean player with excellent range and a strong arm in the outfield. At this point, defense is undoubtedly his strength, and he could reasonably project to play all three outfield positions at an above-average level down the road. Offensively, Brinson has solid power that could develop into a plus tool as he gets stronger. During the game on Friday night, he made an outstanding diving catch showing his ability to cover large amounts of ground. He also showed off a good arm on a couple of throws.

NEGATIVES: The big question is and always has been his ability to make consistent contact. Improving his contact rates and strike zone judgment are going to be the keys to getting him to the major leagues. On Friday he strike out a couple of times and showed why he is still considered a long term prospect. There’s no doubt that Brinson’s a boom-or-bust prospect. He’s got an ultra-high ceiling, but there’s also a very real possibility that he fizzles in double-A if he can’t corral his strikeouts.