April 14, 2016
Who to Watch
Southern League
by Mark Anderson
With action underway (if not postponed) throughout the minor leagues, we bring you guide to the players you should be watching throughout the minor league seasons. Throughout the week the Prospect Team will bring you a league or three per day, with every team covered, and every Top 10 prospect noted. We'll also provide reports on guys who couldn't crack the Top 10s, but are well worth your time anyway. Other pieces in this series:
The Midwest League
The South Atlantic League
The California League
The Florida State League
The Carolina League
The Eastern League
The Texas League
Biloxi Shuckers – Milwaukee Brewers
#2 OF Brett Phillips
#15 OF Tyrone Taylor
Keep an eye on:
LHP Josh Hader
It’s easy to say Hader is going to end up in the bullpen because of his delivery and command, but Double-A experience in 2016 has a potential to make or break his future role. With an electric fastball that sits in the low-90s and can reach much higher, Hader looks the part of a late-inning reliever, but then he goes and backs it up with two quality secondary pitches. This is a big season for Hader and the Brewers as they try to figure out his future role.
RHP Adrian Houser
Another potential power reliever that came over in the same trade that brought Hader (and Brett Phillips) to Milwaukee, Houser attacks hitters with a 92-94 mph fastball that reaches 96-97 at times, and an above-average curveball that can miss bats. Control has always held back Houser’s development, and barring an unexpected step forward in Double-A this season, he should start heading toward the bullpen as the Brewers eye his big league arrival.
C Jacob Nottingham
An off-season acquisition from the Oakland A’s, Nottingham is an intriguing prospect coming off a big 2015 season that included a .316 batting average, 17 home runs, and 33 doubles in 119 games across two levels. Nottingham has plenty to prove in 2016, including whether or not he can stick behind the plate, along with validating that his 2015 offensive breakout can be sustained against more advanced arms.
Birmingham Barons – Chicago White Sox
#2 RHP Carson Fulmer
#5 3B Trey Michalczewski
#6 LHP Jordan Guerrero
#7 2B Jake Peter
#8 RHP Tyler Danish
#9 OF Adam Engel
Keep an eye on:
OF Courtney Hawkins
There are more jokes and cracks centered around Hawkins than many players in minor league baseball, one in particular instigated right here inside the virtual walls of BP, but those jokes can get in the way of what is still a player worth out attention. Hawkins has warts in his game; warts that could easily prevent him from becoming a viable big-league player, but he also does things—namely drive the ball out of the park—that force you to continue to take notice and watch his slow development. There were big strides in Hawkins’ game during his second season in High-A, and it’s not crazy to think there will be strides made during his repeat tour of the Southern League this summer.
RHP Michael Ynoa
I wouldn’t blame you for feeling like Ynoa has been bouncing around the prospect scene forever, and after a 2010 debut that was cut short because of arm injuries, he finally got the call to the big leagues just this week; albeit for only 24 hours before he was sent back down. Ynoa can still bring it out of the bullpen and he showed impressive progress with his strike throwing in 2015. A continuation of that trend and his presence on the 40-man roster could make his tenure in the Southern League short lived.
Chattanooga Lookouts – Minnesota Twins
#9 RHP Nick Burdi
Keep an eye on:
RHP Jake Reed
Reed flies under the radar because there has been little in his performance to suggest he is worth attention. The scouting story reads completely different from his statistical track record, as a guy with a mid-90s heater that has exceptional life and the potential to dominate hitters. Reed must throw strikes, and in a perfect world he would develop the ability to locate his fastball at least some of the time, and if he begins to find that ability this season, he could help the Twins’ bullpen before the end of the year.
Jackson Generals – Seattle Mariners
#2 RHP Edwin Diaz
#4 1B D.J. Peterson
#5 LHP Ryan Yarbrough
#9 OF Tyler O’Neill
Keep an eye on:
LHP Danny Hultzen
It’s hard to get excited about Hultzen at this point, having watched him battle injury after injury, even starting this season on the disabled list. The reason to keep an eye on him this season—assuming he actually toes the rubber—centers more on whether or not any hint of his previous ability still remains. If Hultzen gets on the mound and flashes some decent stuff, there’s still a glimmer of hope for a big-league contributor in some fashion. If the stuff is gone in any return to the mound, it will be time to let Hultzen drift away, just as he likely already has for many of you.
Jacksonville Suns – Miami Marlins
#3 LHP Jarlin Garcia
#7 OF Austin Dean
#10 SS Joshua Riddle
Keep an eye on:
2B Avery Romero
Romero’s 2015 season was extremely disappointing, particularly since it came on the heels of a robust .320/.367/.423 line as a 21-year-old at two A-ball levels in 2014. The jump to Double-A is going to be a considerable challenge for Romero, but his natural offensive skills are still present in flashes and there’s a chance the increased level of competition brings out the best in him, allowing him to get back on track with his big league dreams.
Mississippi Braves – Atlanta Braves
#2 LHP Sean Newcomb
#3 SS Ozhaino Albies
#10 RHP Lucas Sims
Keep an eye on:
RHP Mauricio Cabrera
Yes, I’m a sucker for velocity, and I’m okay living my life with that stigma. Cabrera has been an intriguing player since he was a teenager, and that was only augmented when he started pumping triple-digit heat after a shift to the bullpen last season. There’s plenty of development remaining as Cabrera gains consistency with his slider and figures out how to throw strikes, but the potential for a high-leverage reliever with high-octane stuff is tantalizing.
SS Johan Camargo
Reports on Camargo from last season consistently peg him as a utility player that handles the middle of the diamond well and works quality at-bats with high contact rates. That may not sound terribly sexy, but players capable of handling middle-infield positions defensively while hitting for average and running a bit off the bench can be valuable commodities.
Mobile Baybears – Arizona Diamondbacks
#4 RHP Yoan Lopez
#8 2B Jamie Westbrook
#10 LHP Anthony Banda
Keep an eye on:
OF Gabriel Guerrero
It would be unfair to suggest that Guerrero’s bloodlines are the only reason he is revered as a prospect, but that could be the case if he doesn’t bounce back in 2016. Still the proud owner of a bat with plus raw power and a double-plus arm in the outfield, some of Guerrero’s tools are quite real. Unfortunately, he swings at everything within a country mile of the plate, leading to an exorbitant amount of swing-and-miss and weak contact; largely negating any value his positive tools provide.
Montgomery Biscuits – Tampa Bay Rays
#2 SS Willy Adames
#4 RHP Taylor Guerrieri
#8 C Justin O’Connor
#10 RHP Jacob Faria
Keep an eye on:
OF Jake Bauers
Part of the trade that shipped Wil Myers to San Diego, Bauers has some big-league potential, though his profile is a challenging one to project in a considerable role. Bauers’ greatest asset is his ability to put together good at-bats and hit for a solid average. His bat-to-ball ability comes up a bit empty as Bauers fails to drive the ball consistently, leaving his first base and/or corner outfield profile as an uninspiring long-term vision. If Bauers can somehow discover the ability to drive the ball to the gaps, or even more importantly, over the fence, his prospect stock could jump before the season is over.
Pensacola Blue Wahoos – Cincinnati Reds
#4 RHP Amir Garrett
#8 RHP Nick Travieso
Keep an eye on:
OF Phil Ervin
Ervin excited industry evaluators and fans alike coming out of college and he’s come up considerably short of expectations to this point in his career. An excellent athlete with the potential to drive the ball to all fields and make an impact with his speed, Ervin can still excite in brief looks. Another try at figuring out Double-A pitching could result in a resurgence of Ervin’s prospect stock, or it could signal the beginning of the end for a player once thought to have a big future in Cincinnati.
3B Eric Jagielo
Coming over from the Yankees, Jagielo needs a healthy season to establish himself in the Reds farm system and to give him a chance at a future in Cincinnati. If things break right, Jagielo could be a .250 hitter with some on-base ability and 20 home runs per year from either corner infield position. On the other hand, Jagielo’s long swing and injury history could stunt his development and leave him as more of an organizational player or bench bat. Health and a subsequent full season in Double-A could be very telling as it relates to Jagielo’s future with the Reds.
Tennessee Smokies – Chicago Cubs
#4 OF Billy McKinney
Keep an eye on:
3B Jeimer Candelario
Still just 22-years old, Candelario has taken a while to consistently put his skills on display during game action, but the 2015 season represented a bit of a breakout for the third baseman. With an improving approach, raw power in his bat, and a chance to stick at the hot corner, the patience required for Candelario to get to this point could pay off with a solid everyday player. Candelario lacks the cachet of the players Cubs fans have become accustomed to seeing flow through the system, but that doesn’t mean he’s not intriguing in his own right.
RHP Jen-Ho Tseng
Another Cubs prospect that lacks the flash of some of his counterparts, Tseng can still excite observers with a broad arsenal and impressive command potential. The stuff doesn’t generate the swings and misses necessary to project Tseng to the upper end of a big league rotation, but he could still settle in as a quality back-end starter if he can demonstrate an ability to handle the necessary workload. Tseng’s Double-A debut represents an opportunity to log 25 starts and get closer to averaging six innings per start against stiffer competition.
Mark Anderson is an author of Baseball Prospectus.
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