March 19, 2014

Notes from the Field

Backfield Scouting Notes, 3/19

by Jason Parks and Mark Anderson

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(3/17) LHP Ricardo Sanchez (Angels)
Short but strong build; noticeably athletic on the mound; arm speed is very good; it can look very smooth and easy; from ¾ slot, can create some angle by staying over the ball and working down; delivery features a high/tucked leg; wasn’t loud on the frontside; has good balance and explosion to the plate; it's compact and efficient, but had a tendency to finish across his body; fastball was 89-92; popped a few 93s and 94s on the gun; some cutting action because of the cross-fire; struggled with command in his inning of work; inning was banged before three outs were achieved; hit a batter and had multiple walks; showed a slow, loopy curve in the low 70s; can spin the ball and achieve some two-plane shape, but the pitch wasn’t effective; was slow to the plate with runners on (1.5); struggled to stay in his delivery and establish mechanical rhythm. Outing wasn’t sharp but I love the arm and I’m glad we [Baseball Prospectus] ranked him in the Angels' top 10 despite no professional record. We should have ranked him higher. Will pitch the entire season as a 17-year-old; athletic lefty with stuff and swagger; lacks size but body could be strong and hold stuff. Mid-rotation type if everything clicks; extreme risk but I was impressed despite the results. –Jason Parks

(3/18) RHP Christian Binford (Royals)
Very tall; frame to hold more weight; looked a little awkward (athletically speaking); wasn’t fluid or easy in his release; from ¾ slot, delivery is herky jerky; arm heavy without a lengthy stride or leg generated push; stays tall with a late head jerk in his follow-through; falls off to 1B; release point was inconsistent; fastball was mostly 88-89; touched 91; pitch showed some natural cutting action; struggled to command the pitch; when he worked down, size allowed for steep plane; sweepy slider in the upper 70s; lacked sharp break but did start in the zone before falling out against righties; was 1.25 to the plate with runners on; worked behind in the limited two-inning look; command was below average; velocity was below average; breaking ball was below average. Despite the struggles, I like the possibilities. Excellent size and a good-looking arm; you can see more velocity; you can see a better breaking ball; has some pitchability and fielded his position well. Bad look but a projectable arm; possibly a no. 4 type at the end of the developmental day. Looking forward to watching him this season in Wilmington. –Jason Parks

(3/18) 1B Samir Duenez (Royals)
Body isn’t great; thicker lower half; bigger in the seat; played 1B; corner outfield spot could be an option if body doesn’t escape him; wasn’t a clogger; showed athleticism despite a more physically mature body than most 17-year-olds; swing is legit; loads hands at the letters; stays in a good hitting position through trigger; nice path into the zone; fast hands/hips; very legit bat speed; popped a triple to the gap and a bomb to the pull side; aggressive and looks to take the ball out of the yard; lost his way when he the approach was too power driven; I was sold on the hands and the raw pop; not an ideal prospect because of the body/defensive limitations; but the swing is something to pay attention to going forward; could develop the type of offensive profile to find value despite defensive role. –Jason Parks

(3/14) Zach Eflin (Padres)
Eflin stands out the second he steps on the field, owning a long, lean frame. He has surprising control over his length and the control/command profile is better than you might think of a player with his build and necessary growth; flashing the potential for at least average command. He pitches from a fairly typical 3/4 arm slot and glides down the mound with little evidence of significant drive toward the plate. He generates easy velocity, sitting in the 90-92 mph range over three innings and touching 94 mph when he elevated a few times. The breaking ball was short and lacked consistent bite, but the changeup has plus potential down the line. Eflin has room for physical maturation and could see a velocity bump into the 94-95 range consistently once the strength arrives and he learns to use that strength during his delivery. There's still work to be done here, but in a three-inning stint it was easy to see Eflin with a mid-rotation future. –Mark Anderson

Jason Parks is an author of Baseball Prospectus. Follow @ProfessorParks
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Mark Anderson is an author of Baseball Prospectus. Follow @ProspectMark
Click here to see Mark's other articles. You can contact Mark by clicking here