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Pitching Prospect of the Day: Henry Owens, LHP, Red Sox (High-A Salem): 5.0 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 8 K; long levers; fastball sits 92-94 with good life; struggled to command his 73-75 mph curveball, which flashed solid-average; good arm speed on a 77-79 mph with changeup that has excellent life and easy plus potential. Owens is still developing, but he caught my eye, and I really like his future; 26.0 IP, 15 H, 6 ER, 8 BB, 30 K in five starts.

Position Prospect of the Day: Christian Walker, 1B, Orioles (Low-A Delmarva): 3-3, 2B, HR, RBI; I will be seeing the former CWS star this week; potential plus hit tool; will need to provide enough power to profile at first base; .360/.440/.512 with 3 HR in 86 at-bats at Low-A.

Other notable prospect performances from April 29:

“The Good”

  • Raul Alcantara, RHP, Athletics (Low-A Beloit): 6.1 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 8 K; plus fastball; potential solid-average slider; average changeup; improving command; 28.1 IP, 31 H, 10 ER, 4 BB, 17 K in five starts thus far.
  • Stetson Allie, 1B, Pirates (Low-A West Virginia): 2-5, 2 HR, 2 R, 5 RBI, 3 K; plus-plus raw power; swing has a lot of length, which leads to a lot of swing and miss; will have to prove himself at higher levels before he will appear on prospect lists; 32-for-92 with 6 HR and 30 strikeouts thus far in Low-A.
  • Jose Berrios, RHP, Twins (Low-A Cedar Rapids): 6.2 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 8 K; fastball works 92-94 and will touch even higher; curveball has plus potential and is a hard-breaker with depth; changeup has plus potential, but still needs to be developed.
  • Yeiper Castillo, RHP, Cubs (High-A Daytona): 4.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 8 K; low 90s fastball; working to command more effectively; changeup with solid-average potential; inconsistent curveball; repeating High-A at 24; 14.0 IP, 11 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 18 K in six appearances.
  • Tyler Glasnow, RHP, Pirates (Low-A West Virginia): 5.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 K; can really spin the curveball, which has plus potential; fastball works 90-94 with good downhill plane; still developing his changeup; deceptive delivery; will need to show he can repeat his mechanics; 20.0 IP, 10 H, 4 ER, 13 BB, 23 K in five starts.
  • Kyle Hendricks, RHP, Cubs (Double-A Tennessee): 6.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 8 K; command pitcher; three-pitch mix (fastball/curveball/changeup); will have to be on his game at all times; 26.0 IP, 22 H, 9 ER, 8 BB, 23 K in five starts.
  • Jeff McVaney, OF, Tigers (High-A Lakeland): 3-5, 2B, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI; average bat speed; plus raw power; tough positional profile means he will have to prove himself at every level.
  • Carlos Martinez, RHP, Cardinals (Double-A Springfield): 5.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K; Respectfully referred to as “Little Pedro” tonight by a scout; fastball works 95-plus and can touch 99 when he needs to, with good life to boot; curveball has plus potential; changeup could be plus plus; small frame; some believe he may be a frontline closer rather than a second or third starter.
  • Francellis Montas, RHP, Red Sox (Low-A Greenville): 5.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 9 K; plus-plus fastball velocity; slider has solid-average potential; changeup still a work in progress; 21.0 IP, 23 H, 14 ER, 6 BB, 27 K in five starts.
  • Tom Murphy, C, Rockies (Low-A Asheville): 2-3, 3B, HR, 2 R, RBI, K; plus power potential; solid-average hit tool potential; defense is still a work in progress; .408/.500/.588 with 6 HR in 49 at-bats this season.
  • Jurickson Profar, SS, Rangers (Triple-A Round Rock): 2-4, 2 2B, 3 R, RBI, 2 BB; best all-around prospect in baseball; biding his time in Triple-A; five-tool potential shortstop.
  • Neftali Soto, 3B, Reds (Triple-A Louisville): 4-4, 2B, HR, 2 RBI; solid-average power; fringe-average hit tool; below-average runner; fringy defender at third; big-league-reserve ceiling; .313/.353/.484 in 64 Triple-A at-bats.
  • Bubba Starling, CF, Royals (Low-A Lexington): 2-4, HR, R, 2 RBI, K; plus raw power; plus-plus defensive profile; plus-plus runner; swing can get long; ultimate future depends on maturation of hit tool.
  • Drew Steckenrider, RHP, Marlins (Low-A Greensboro): 5.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 8 K; dominating low minors with a monster fastball; secondary offerings are still a work in progress.

“The Bad”

  • Austin Brice, RHP, Marlins (Low-A Greensboro): 3.0 IP, 10 H, 7 ER, 3 BB, 3 K; the struggle in Low-A continues for Brice; 20.2 IP, 21 H, 15 ER, 18 BB, 21 K in 5 starts.
  • Trevor May, RHP, Twins (Double-A New Britian): 4.0 IP, 9 H, 8 ER, 3 BB, 1 K; May, acquired as main prospect in Ben Revere trade, usually has swing-and-miss stuff, but was knocked around last night.
  • Tyler Skaggs, LHP, Diamondbacks (Triple-A Reno): 4.0 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 4 K; Skaggs is about ready to be done with the PCL.

“The Is This Serious”

  • Courtney Hawkins, OF, White Sox (High-A Winston Salem): 1-4, HR, R, RBI, K; in 72 at-bats, Hawkins has 12 hits, seven homers, and 44 strikeouts.
  • Yasiel Puig, OF, Dodgers (Double-A Chattanooga): 2-6, HR, R, 2 RBI, 2 K; well, in case anyone missed it, Puig showed off his newest tool—94 in a 50

Thank you for reading

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delatopia
4/30
I'd peg that as 60-grade speeding from Puig -- is that about right?
buddons42
4/30
I'd guess somewhere in that drive his speeding tool flashed elite, just didn't get a gun on him at that time.
mort10
4/30
I think the 60 grade is good for this. I've seen reports of many athletes taking it to a higher level.
TheArtfulDodger
4/30
Drake Britton for one. That was plus-plus velo, but very little control
BruceSchwindt
4/30
May should be listed with Twins not Phillies (as your comment makes clear)
bornyank1
4/30
Fixed.
Nater1177
4/30
I'm starting to wonder what Sean Coyle has done to someone here. Home Runs in 4 of 5 games, slugging .780 on the season and the only reference to him in the last two weeks is as an aside when his younger brother made the write up.
crile2
4/30
Clearly the love for diminutive 2B left with Kevin Goldstein.
mort10
4/30
Think bigger picture than the MLU for Sean Coyle. I don't know if you have the Twitter Machine, but I am sitting on Salem for the next three days. I spoke very highly of him. Do not worry something is in the works.
delatopia
4/30
These are the most tiresome complaints in the world. "Keith Law hates the Cardinals!" "Kevin Goldstein is biased!" "Zach Mortimer doesn't like Sean Coyle for some nebulous reason!" It's so trite and mundane and boring. It is the equivalent of the postgame whipped cream pie, which the instigator loves and anyone with any sense of decorum (or humor, or just plain sense) rolls his eyes at.
mort10
4/30
Did I just get somewhat compared to Keith Law and Kevin Goldstein Wow.. going to take a bit to process this.

bheikoop
4/30
What do we take from Hawkins' strikeouts?

Is it a problem, or simply a case of a guy being in a level too high for his development?
mort10
4/30
Both; pulling off everything; pitch recognition not where it needs to be; would be better served at a lower level.
acmcdowell
4/30
Minor typo - "curceball" in the Henry Owens write up. What is Owens' ceiling? I've read disparate reports on whether he is succeeding via great stuff or a polished approach (despite the walks).