2019 Minor Leagues/Prospect Discussion Thread

dagger · Post #5041 » by **dagger** » Wed Jun 12, 2019 4:00 pm

Dunedin has locked up a half season title, and we'll soon see who joins that team from Lansing, and who moves up to New Hampshire. Logan Warmoth may have made himself promotable, which is a nice recovery of some potential trade value.

dagger · Post #5042 » by **dagger** » Wed Jun 12, 2019 4:55 pm

Bo Bichette is back with Buffalo as of today, and the countdown clock is back on for promotion. I expect him to be next up to the Jays.

vaff87 · Post #5043 » by **vaff87** » Wed Jun 12, 2019 8:21 pm

Anthony Alford is starting to do better. OPS over .900 and strike out rate under 20% over his last 16 games.

polo007 · Post #5044 » by **polo007** » Thu Jun 13, 2019 3:39 am

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dagger · Post #5045 » by **dagger** » Fri Jun 14, 2019 1:53 pm

Vancouver gets underway tonight with Adam Kloffenstein starting for YAN

Trilogy · Post #5046 » by **Trilogy** » Mon Jun 17, 2019 1:36 pm

Did Alford get hurt again? He's missed the last 3 games. Would be brutal with him playing so well of late.

dagger · Post #5047 » by **dagger** » Tue Jun 18, 2019 1:39 pm

Trilogy wrote:Did Alford get hurt again? He's missed the last 3 games. Would be brutal with him playing so well of late.

Don't know, but he's not on the injured list, so if he's hurt it's probably minor.

dagger · Post #5048 » by **dagger** » Tue Jun 18, 2019 1:41 pm

David Phelps was (predictably) happy to be pitching in the majors again last night but when asked about what's good at the Dunedin training centre, he positively gushed about Julian Merryweather, whom he labelled a possible "top-of-the-rotation" pitcher. So let's keep an eye on Merryweather, whose arrival in Toronto will likely be after the all-star game, late July or early August.

There are a few interesting tidbits in this story about various pitchers - including a reason for why Patrick Murphy has struggled of late.

https://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/mlb/blue-jays-woes-may-lead-post-tommy-john-reunion-phelps-merryweather/

Jacob Waguespack (shoulder) threw two innings for triple-A on rehab Sunday but needs more time. Sean Reid-Foley, who had been pitching better after a poor start, has regressed again. Ryan Borucki (elbow) has just started throwing live batting practice. Clay Buchholz (lat) is still in a strengthening program. Double-A prospect Patrick Murphy’s rapid progress was paused after a foot touch in his delivery was deemed illegal and he’s working to adjust it now.

Even Rule 5 pick Elvis Luciano, whom the Blue Jays hoped might be built up into a start or two later in the season, is off the table after being transferred to the 60-day injured list with a mild strain of his ulnar collateral ligament (as an aside, he’s at 77 days of active service, so the Blue Jays need only for him to get 13 more days on the roster before year’s end to reach the 90 required to secure his rights).

Closer Ken Giles threw a bullpen Monday and is expected to be activated later this week (the first day he’s eligible is Wednesday), but that won’t help the rotation.

So if you’re part of the torch-and-pitchfork set demanding Jackson’s immediate launching into the sun, understand that the alternatives aren’t any more appealing.

All of which makes the spike in Merryweather’s velocity and his triple-digit touch so intriguing, even if GM Ross Atkins cautions that “we want to see a larger sample size before we start talking about what that means.”

phillipmike · Post #5049 » by **phillipmike** » Wed Jun 19, 2019 4:58 pm

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/what-we-can-learn-about-cavan-biggio-so-far/

Biggio might only have 77 trips to the plate, but that can’t stop us from drawing some early conclusions. There is already one thing we can say for certain: Biggio has an incredible eye, and if history tells us anything, he may be able to parlay that skill into becoming a successful big league hitter.

polo007 · Post #5050 » by **polo007** » Thu Jun 20, 2019 9:05 pm

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Post #5051 » by **Schad** » Sat Jun 22, 2019 4:16 am

Have to say, Alford is looking somewhat like an actual prospect again. While his K rate remains a potentially fatal flaw, it's merely scary in May/June rather than an utter disqualifier as it was in April, and he's taking walks again.

The road back to being valuable is still a long one, and it has to come together pretty quickly: he's in his final option year. But he'll probably get a shot to stick at some point this season for that reason, because 2019 is make-or-break.

vaff87 · Post #5052 » by **vaff87** » Sat Jun 22, 2019 5:09 am

The biggest disappointment this year has to be Kevin Smith. What a disastrous season that guy is having.

Post #5053 » by **Schad** » Sat Jun 22, 2019 5:45 am

Think BA and some others got a bit over their skis on Smith. He was a real prospect, but moving him into the top 100 was maybe a bit much; the power was real, but the K rate skyrocketed in Dunedin, and shortstop or no that was a big red flag. AA is the level where a great many contact-adverse players get found out, and he impacted that wall in a big way.

He isn't totally shot, but he'll have next season to demonstrate that he can actually hit upper minors pitching, and if not then he'll become something of a non-prospect.

dagger · Post #5054 » by **dagger** » Sun Jun 23, 2019 1:59 pm

TJ Zeuch made his first AAA start, and threw 5.2 IP of two-hit shutout ball with 4K and 1BB.

Josh Winckowski was promoted to Dunedin, and had an excellent debut: 5 IP, 0R, 2H, 1BB, 4K

Nate Pearson was a last minute scratch on Friday, and has been put on the IL
https://www.milb.com/milb/news/toronto-blue-jays-nate-pearson-lands-on-double-a-injured-list/c-308372024

vaff87 · Post #5055 » by **vaff87** » Sun Jun 23, 2019 8:53 pm

What do you guys think of Gabriel Moreno? Wander Franco is the best prospect in baseball, and Moreno is less than a year older than him, a catcher, and putting up similar numbers in the same league. Obviously I’m not saying he’s the best prospect in baseball, just that he’s been pretty impressive.

Post #5056 » by **Schad** » Sun Jun 23, 2019 10:03 pm

Will need a larger sample, but his numbers are incredibly impressive to date. The low K rate in particular bodes well as he climbs the ladder, and he's apparently a line-drive hitting machine; that could turn into greater pop as he fills out/eventually encounters the juiced AAA/MLB balls. Guessing he'll be on the edge of our top 10 when the midseason re-ranks occur.

One unique element from some video I saw of him from extended spring training: he was changing his stance (spread out, dropping the leg kick) and choking up for the final pitch, presumably with two strikes. No one does that anymore!

Post #5057 » by **Schad** » Sun Jun 23, 2019 10:05 pm

Also, Conine has walked in five straight games and six of seven. That's good, because improving his K:BB is going to be essential, as he could get exposed at higher levels. Otto Lopez is also sneakily having a solid season.

polo007 · Post #5058 » by **polo007** » Mon Jun 24, 2019 2:57 am

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Post #5059 » by **Schad** » Tue Jun 25, 2019 12:53 am

Orelvis Martinez made his stateside debut today, 2 for 4 with a SB. Kinda got overshadowed by Tigers 2019 1st rounder Riley Greene, who was 4 for 5 with 2 HRs and double in opposition.

Merryweather also made his first rehab start: 2 IP, 4 hits, 2 ER, 3:0 K:BB.

wamco · Post #5060 » by **wamco** » Tue Jun 25, 2019 7:24 pm

[quote="Schad"]Will need a larger sample, but his numbers are incredibly impressive to date. The low K rate in particular bodes well as he climbs the ladder, and he's apparently a line-drive hitting machine; that could turn into greater pop as he fills out/eventually encounters the juiced AAA/MLB balls. Guessing he'll be on the edge of our top 10 when the midseason re-ranks occur.

- what’s your top 11 right now?