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Hitter of the Day:

Magneuris Sierra, OF, St. Louis Cardinals (High-A, Palm Beach): 4-5, 2 R, 2B, 2 3B, 2 RBI
A toolsy outfielder, Sierra checks a lot of boxes, including plus speed, a plus arm, and the potential to be a plus defender in the OF. While he might not provide a lot of power, or walks, he has consistently made hard, loud contact wherever he has played. He is still 21 and could add some weight to his frame, but Sierra has leadoff hitter type potential.

Pitcher of the Day:

Josh Staumont, RHP, Kansas City Royals (Triple-A, Omaha): 6 2/3 IP, 4 H, R, ER, 3 BB, 12 K
Being the owner of an 80 fastball and a plus curveball, it shouldn’t surprise you when I tell you that Staumont strikes out a lot of guys. But unfortunately his control is quite poor, which is also why he led all of the minor leagues in walks last season. The problem hasn’t really improved, as he can get out of sync in his somewhat high effort delivery. IF…IF he can start, he is a monster, but he still has monster value as a reliever, albeit not as much.

Other Notable Performances:

Walker Buehler, RHP, Los Angeles Dodgers (High-A, Rancho Cucamonga): 3 2/3, 3 H, R, ER, 2 BB, 8 K
A first-rounder in 2015, Buehler missed all of the 2016 season with Tommy John surgery after pitching through an elbow injury at Vanderbilt his junior season. When he returned, he started to throw in the mid-to-upper-90s during his starts. He pairs this velo with an assortment of average to above-average secondaries.

Chance Adams, RHP, New York Yankees (Double-A, Trenton): 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 5 K
I saw Adams last season, I believe I underrated his potential. The stuff as a starter still looks really good, the changeup has improved, he is durable, and he is getting a lot of groundballs.

Taylor Hearn, LHP, Pittsburgh Pirates (High-A, Bradenton): 6 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 8 K
I was in attendance at this game with Josh Turner, and I will have a full report soon. But here is a preview, 70 Fastball, 50 Slider, 40 control.

Thomas Pannone, LHP, Cleveland Indians (High-A, Lynchburg): 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 8 K
Another scoreless outing for Pannone gives him 27 2/3 scoreless innings to start his season. While the fastball velocity is just average, he can spot it to all quadrants of the zone and mix in an effective curveball when necessary.

Trey Ball, LHP, Boston Red Sox (Double-A, Portland): 6 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K
Jeffrey Paternostro and declared, in his words, “Ladies and gentleman, Trey Ball is a guy again”. We will also have a full report on him soon. But to spare a glimpse, 60 Fastball with plus sink, slider flashed plus and sat average.

Joey Lucchesi, LHP, San Diego Padres (High-A, Lake Elsinore): 7 IP, 3 H, ER, BB, 9 K
A funky lefty, Lucchesi has a very unorthodox delivery, but has a lot of velocity and controls it well enough to stay around the strike zone.

Tyler Alexander, LHP, Detroit Tigers (Double-A, Erie): 7 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
I opined last year that Alexander had a “fairly low-risk profile and could reach his back-end rotation ceiling sooner rather than later.” While he has struggled to miss bats thus far in Double-A, he still has that same ceiling.

Kevin Padlo, 3B, Tampa Bay Rays (High-A, Port Charlotte) 2-5, 2 R, 2 HR, 5 RBI, K
Acquired from the Rockies for Jake McGee, Padlo profiles well at third given his plus arm and the necessary range and hands. While he has struggled to make contact in his career, he has plus raw power that has been translating more and more to games.

Travis Demeritte, 2B, Atlanta Braves (Double-A, Mississippi): 4-8, 2 R, 2B, 2 RBI, 2K
Acquired from the Rangers for Lucas Harrell and Dario Alvarez, Demeritte, when healthy, has shown plus power, a plus arm, and fielding skills to stick at second. But he has also struck out a lot which leaves questions about how his hit tool plays out.

Jose Azocar, OF, Detroit Tigers (High-A, Lakeland): 3-4, R, 3B, 3 RBI
One of the breakout prospects for the Tigers last season, Azocar shows off five tools, with the best of them being his plus speed and defensive skills in CF. While the power might play below average, his ability to make consistent contact could lead to an everyday future.

Brian Anderson, 3B, Miami Marlins (Double-A, Jacksonville): 3-5, 3 R, 2B, HR, 3 RBI
While vanilla, Anderson has the tools and skills to be an everyday regular at third. In my initial report I suggested that he might have to improve his versatility as I was not sure if he could stick at third. But he has made strides there and projects to be a future average defender at the hot corner.

Cole Tucker, SS, Pittsburgh Pirates (High-A, Bradenton): 2-3, 2 R, RBI, 2 BB, K, 4 SB
Tucker, a plus runner, was able to take advantage of the slow pop times (2.06-2.10) of St. Lucie Mets backstop Dan Rizzie in this outing.

Fight Another Day:

Dinelson Lamet, RHP, San Diego Padres (Triple-A, El Paso): 5 IP, 6 H, 6 ER, 5 BB, 4 K
Lamet offers a plus fastball/slider combination that has been deadly to right handed hitters, but his below average changeup and overall lack of strike-throwing ability could lead to a bullpen future.

Tyler O’Neill, OF, Seattle Mariners (Triple-A, Tacoma): 0-3, 3 K
Baseball is going to baseball you, eh?

Thank you for reading

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teaaker
5/02
Isan Diaz: 2-5 1 HR and 1 K (4HR and 3SB on the season)
SansRig
5/02
Roniel Raudes: 5.2 IP, 8 H, 7 SO, 0 BB, 2 ER
AJ Puckett: 6 IP, 6 H, 6 SO, 4 BB, 1 ER
Cody Ponce: 5.1 9 H, 4 SO, 2 BB, 2 HR, 5 ER
Touki Toussaint: 4.1, 7 H, 6 SO, 1 BB, 6 ER
Justin Dunn: 5.1 IP, 5 H, 6 SO, 4 BB, 1 ER
TJ Zeuch: 5.1 IP, 7 H, 6 SO, 0 BB, 2 ER
AJ Puk: 3 IP, 3 H, 2 SO, 2 BB, 3 ER – Last two appearances have come out of the bullpen and have not been good
Albert Abreu: 3 IP, 6 H, 2 SO, 2 BB, 4 ER
Seranthony Dominguez: 6 IP, 6 H, 6 SO, 2 BB, 2 ER
Richard Pena: 6.2 IP, 5 H, 9 So, 0 BB, 2 HR, 2 ER
Dereck Rodriguez: 7 IP, 5 H, 6 SO, 1 BB, 1 ER (Son of Ivan Rodriguez)

Taylor Gushue: 2-4, 2 HR
Forrest Wall: 2-4, 1 HR
Sergio Alcantara: 2-4, 1 HR
Jeff Hendrix: 3-4, 1 HR, 1 BB
Brendon Sanger: 3-4, 1 HR
Max Murphy: 3-4, 1 3B, 1 2B
Daniel Lockhart: 3-4, 1 HR (Son of Keith Lockhart)
BobcatBaseball
5/02
Thanks again, quick note on A.J. Puk. He isn't pitching as a reliever, Oakland has tandem starters through their minor league system.
slonny22
5/02
Is this similar to the Piggybacking done in Houston's system?
Muboshgu
5/02
The Yankees are also doing some tandem starting because they have more SP prospects than rotation spots
SansRig
5/02
Thanks for commenting on that. I assumed it was something along those lines. I remember seeing McCullers and Velasquez struggle with this approach at times when they were doing this a few years ago. Then again, they were also pitching In Lancaster when I was really following it.

I like the idea of getting a sense of how these players adjust when they are asked to do this, but I can see how it would present some challenges for them. That’s what I was alluding to, I guess.
jfranco77
5/02
Is Bueller going to have these low pitch limits all year? I know he's just coming back and clearly throws hard enough to break something. Just wondering if there's a plan to loosen up the reins a bit later in the season.
BuckarooBanzai
5/02
Buehler, White, and Alvarez are all on roughly 60-pitch limits early on at Rancho. I'd imagine they'll loosen the reigns a *bit*, particularly with Alvarez, but it's unlikely that we see huge innings tallies out of any of those guys this year, especially Buehler. They're going to be very careful building him back up.
jsdspud
5/02
Do you think Hearn will ever develop any type of control? It seems like that is the only tool that is lacking.
chapmantime
5/02
He's still rounding into form as a starter. He's extremely athletic, so 50 command seems possible. That FB is ungodly. That thing just jumps at the end, and from a fairly easy arm action. Love that PIT sees the starter potential..