July 1, 2015

What Scouts Are Saying

July 1, 2015

by Baseball Prospectus

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Many of our authors make a habit of speaking to scouts and other talent evaluators in order to bring you the best baseball information available. Not all of the tidbits gleaned from those conversations make it into our articles, but we don't want them to go to waste. Instead, we'll be collecting them in a regular feature called "What Scouts Are Saying," which will be open to participation from the entire BP staff.

Phillies Double-A OF Roman Quinn: “I never lost hope with him. He's a super athlete, sometimes it takes longer than others for them to click.”

Rays Short-Season OF Manuel Sanchez: “That guy is special. He's displayed some of the best power I have seen in the league [NYPL] so far. The raw strength is off the charts. I don't know if he ever makes enough contact for it to play, but he's a fun name to keep an eye on.”

Astros Low-A RHP Francis Martes: “I know Touki Toussaint gets all of the hype because of the draft slot and the trade, and I like Touki, but I’ll take Martes over him any day.”

Brewers Rookie League SS Gilbert Lara: “Lara is definitely going to be a shortstop. The actions, hands, arm, they all work at the position. It’ll depend on the development of the body, of course, as is the case with all 17-year-olds, but I think he’ll be able to sustain it.”

Pirates High-A C Jin-De Jhang: “When you look at him, it’s hard to believe that he’s a professional athlete of any kind, let alone a catcher. But he’s quite good, both at the plate and behind it. He moves well for his size and shows good footwork. I don’t know how he’s going to age—I can’t imagine it will be well—but for now he’s getting away with the body.”

Twins Double-A RHP Jose Berrios: “He’s ready for this promotion. I was worried about the size when I first saw him, but I’m over it. He’s proven me wrong. He throws a ton of strikes, maintains his velocity and misses bats with that change-up. At this point I don’t care how short he is.”

Yankees Double-A 3B Eric Jagielo: “This knee injury could be the end of him as a third baseman. He was already limited there, and if he has to go under the knife and loses any range, it’ll force the Yankees hand. He’s got the arm to stay there, but he’s not a guy who can afford to lose a step on defense.”