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October 10, 2016

Prospectus Feature

AFL Preview: Scottsdale Scorpions

by Jarrett Seidler, Wilson Karaman and Steve Givarz

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Scottsdale Scorpions- Angels, Mets, Yankees, Phillies, Giants

 

The Guys You Know

 

Gleyber Torres, SS, New York Yankees - (#34 on Midseason Top 50)

 

Greg Bird, 1B, New York Yankees - (Injury Rehab)

 

The Guys You Don’t

 

Victor Alcantara, RHP, Los Angeles Angels - His fastball sits 94-97, his hard slider has plus potential, his changeup flashes average, but he lacks enough command of his arsenal to suggest more than a frustrating bullpen arm who looks fantastic one day, and infuriating the next. -SG

 

J.P. Feyereisen, RHP, New York Yankees - One of the many flamethrowing late-inning reliever types who dot the Yankee farm landscape, Feyereisen is most notable for his cool name and being in the Andrew Miller trade. - JS

 

Adam Hofacket, RHP, Los Angeles Angels - Hofacket’s trademark control abandoned him a bit after a mid-season promotion to High-A, where he got knocked around pretty good. At his best he’ll touch mid-90’s and flash some utility with both a slider and changeup behind it. - WK

 

Brody Koerner, RHP, New York Yankees - Koerner heads to the desert looking to regain lost time after missing most of the year with an injury. - SG

 

Brandon Leibrandt, LHP, Philadelphia Phillies - After missing most of the season recovering from shoulder surgery, Leibrandt will look to make up some reps in Arizona. His fastball scraped 92 before the injury, and he has typically gotten by with craftiness more than stuff. - SG

 

Grayson Long, RHP, Los Angeles Angels - A third-rounder out of Texas A&M in 2015, Long has a solid-average three-pitch arsenal that his free-and-easy delivery suggests he should be able to control enough to remain on track for a back-rotation projection. - WK

 

Tyler Mizenko, RHP, San Francisco Giants

 

Marcos Molina, RHP, New York Mets - Molina will make his 2016 debut in the AFL after Tommy John surgery; once the next great hope of Mets fans, he’s now pitching for a 40-man roster spot. - JS

 

Miguel Nunez, RHP, Philadelphia Phillies

 

Corey Oswalt, RHP, New York Mets - After losing most of the season to a shoulder injury, the big right-hander will look to get back on track in the desert. When healthy he tops out at 93, and both his slider and change project to average down the road. - SG

 

Eduardo Paredes, RHP, Los Angeles Angels - A three-pitch reliever, Paredes competes with a fastball that flashes plus. His slider and changeup are currently below-average, but he shows some feel for both, and the overall arsenal projects to average in the future. - SG

 

Tyler Rogers, RHP, San Francisco Giants

 

David Roseboom, LHP, New York Mets

 

Jeff Singer, LHP Philadelphia Phillies - Signed as an undrafted free agent in 2015, Singer didn’t debut until this season. He’s a muscular pitcher who can run it up to 95, but his slider isn’t a swing-and-miss pitch, and he projects more as org depth than prospect. - SG

 

Corey Taylor, RHP New York Mets - Taylor is a large righty has a plus fastball and a potentially above-average slider. He could be an interesting seventh-inning reliever at peak value. - SG

 

Aramis Garcia, C, San Francisco Giants - The former second-rounder missed two months with a facial fracture, and will look to get back on track. He’s a defense-over-bat catcher who was never able to get the latter going again this summer after returning from the disabled list. - WK

 

Eliezer Zambrano, C San Francisco Giants - Hey, someone older than Tim Tebow is in the AFL! Zambrano is what you call an organizational soldier, having logged seasons in affiliated ball without ever cracking the 200 at-bat threshold in any of them. - SG

 

David Fletcher, MI, Los Angeles Angels - Fletcher will always get knocked down because of his size, but he is a steady defender up the middle and has enough hitting ability to suggest a utility role down the road. - SG

 

Ryder Jones, 3B, San Francisco Giants - Jones is a former second-rounder with pop and a decent arm at third base, but a questionable hit tool and below-average on-base profile limit the ceiling. - WK

 

Matt Oberste, INF, New York Mets - A large first baseman by trade, Oberste spent much of 2016 designated hitting, while occasionally tussling with third base.  He’s a hitter’s hitter, but this profile really needs power to evolve into more than a minor-league journeyman. - JS

 

Mitch Walding, 3B, Philadelphia Phillies - Walding looks the part, with above-average raw and a plus arm. But he lacks the glove to stay at third, and the bat doesn’t profile particularly well elsewhere. - SG

 

Aaron Brown, OF, Philadelphia Phillies - A former third-round pick from Pepperdine, Brown still possesses some raw tools that will make you take notice, but hitting has eluded him in pro ball. - JS

 

Hunter Cole, RF, San Francisco Giants - After Swiss Army knifing his way through college and his early-pro career Cole settled in as a regular right-fielder at Double-A this year. There’s just enough athleticism and across-the-board skill to leave the door open for a big-league bench role. - WK

 

Miguel Hermosillo, OF, Los Angeles Angels - A top-shelf athlete, Hermosillo is still baseball-raw. A slow-burn type, he showed quality bat-to-ball and a reasonably advanced approach across two levels. - WK

 

Champ Stuart, OF New York Mets - The 80-grade speedster from the Bahamas was passed over for a September pinch-running role in the majors, instead honing his all-around game in the WBC qualifiers. - JS

 

The Guys You Will

 

Scott Kingery, 2B, Philadelphia Phillies - A solid keystoner out of Arizona, Kingery is an advanced hitter who makes solid contact and gets by defensively. He is of the polished variety moreso than the projectable kind, which gives him a higher-floor profile. He struggled in his initial trial at Double-A, but still projects to have value as a hit-first player. - SG

 

Dillon Tate, RHP, New York Yankees - It’s not often you see a fourth overall pick moved a year after the draft as a change of scenery guy, but that’s how far Dillon Tate’s stock fell in the first half of 2016. He spent most of the year getting blasted as a starter in Low-A - a level at which his pedigree suggests he should have excelled - with flagging velocity and inconsistent breaking stuff. Texas dealt him to the Yankees in the Carlos Beltran trade, and his new organization promptly moved him to the bullpen. Alas, reports did improve in August. Given Tate’s background as a high-leverage reliever in college, the bullpen was always seen as a strong possibility, even if his struggles in the role were not. - JS

 

Gavin Cecchini, MI, New York Mets - Cecchini has now hit at both levels of the high minors, but his shortstop defense still isn’t major-league quality. The Mets don’t yet trust him at second—they had ample opportunity to play him in September and he never made an appearance there—and one would suspect that’s the primary reason he’s headed to the AFL. With a good showing, he could be in the mix for a big-league job next spring. - JS

 

Tyler Wade, OF, New York Yankees - Yep, you read that right: Tyler Wade, outfielder. The Yankees have sent Wade, a fine infield prospect coming off a successful high-minors debut, to the Fall League to learn the outfield. You might think of this as something of a poor man’s Trea Turner-type conversion, as Wade projects to be a hit-and-speed middle infielder whose arm may be just a tad light for the left side of the dirt. Between Torres, Jorge Mateo, and established major-leaguers Didi Gregorius and Starlin Castro, the organization is awash in talent above him on the depth chart, so the additional versatility will be key for Wade’s hopes of ascending to the majors. - JS

 

Victor Arano, RHP, Philadelphia Phillies - Acquired from the Dodgers in 2014 for Roberto Hernandez, Arano looked like a steal after ranking 10th on our 2014 Dodgers list with a “high mid-rotation projection”. Fast forward to the present, and after an ineffective year in the rotation, Arano is now a bullpen arm in training. With a plus 93-96 fastball and potential average 78-82 curveball, Arano thrived in the role, making quick work of the opposition this year. - SG

 

Rodolfo Martinez, RHP San Francisco Giants - Rodolfo was the only Cal League arm I saw hit triple digits this year. It’s a pitch that can grow into a true 80-grade offerings on account of multiple movement trajectories and just enough command projection. If a slider that flashed average can get there on the regular, he’ll profile comfortably as a late-innings arm. - WK

 

Miguel Andujar, 3B, New York Yankees -  Andujar is pure, undistilled excitement on a baseball field—for better and worse. Raw power! Raw arm strength! Great bat speed!! A willingness to swing at almost anything! An inconsistent glove! There’s some ability to hit that gives hope he might just figure it all out, and that hope is the reason he’s a guy you will probably come to know instead of just another exciting minor-league dude. - JS

 

Tomas Nido, C, New York Mets - After tearing up the FSL this past season, Nido heads to Arizona to potentially sell himself as the next “Mets catcher of the future” Thomas Desmidt saw him as an everyday regular behind the plate, with a potentially above-average hit tool, plus raw, a plus arm, and above-average receiving skills. There is a strong chance Nido gets added to the 40-man this off-season to protect him from the Rule V draft. - SG

 

Taylor Ward, C, Los Angeles Angels - Widely considered an overdraft when the Angels popped him 26th overall in 2015, Ward briefly allayed concerns with a strong offensive performance after signing. Despite some mild encouragement in my initial look, he bat was exposed a bit at High-A this year. The defensive profile behind the plate is good-not-great, and while a solid regular projection isn’t off the table, he’ll seek to use the AFL to convince scouts he’s not more likely to end up in a backup role. - WK

 

Tim Tebow, OF, New York Mets - Well, they’re actually sending him somewhere he might see real pitching, so good for the Mets. Reports from instructs were actually okay? I got nothing on his baseball ability, but one way or another you’re probably going to hear a lot more about it than most of the players in Arizona. - JS

Jarrett Seidler is an author of Baseball Prospectus. 
Click here to see Jarrett's other articles. You can contact Jarrett by clicking here
Wilson Karaman is an author of Baseball Prospectus. 
Click here to see Wilson's other articles. You can contact Wilson by clicking here
Steve Givarz is an author of Baseball Prospectus. 
Click here to see Steve's other articles. You can contact Steve by clicking here

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