Prospectus Feature: AF... (10/10)
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October 11, 2016 Prospectus FeatureAFL Preview: Surprise Saguaros
Surprise Saguaros- Red Sox, Royals, Twins, Pirates, Rangers
The Guys You Know
Yoan Moncada, 2B/3B, Boston Red Sox - (#2 on Midseason Top 50) - Eyewitness Report
The Guys You Don’t
Tanner Anderson, RHP, Pittsburgh Pirates- A Harvard graduate, Anderson has certainly exceeded expectations as a 20th rounder. His low to mid-90s FB needs help as his secondary offerings aren’t up to his degree. —SG
Trey Ball, LHP, Boston Red Sox - You might actually know Trey Ball as 2013’s seventh-overall pick, but he’s yet to make it out of A-ball amid diminishing stuff and uneven performance. Recent speculation has focused on whether the former two-way player may be due to try his hand off the mound. —JS
Evan Beal, RHP, Kansas City Royals - The former Gamecock primarily sits 90-93 with an inconsistent slurve that has a habit of backing up on him. While he throws enough strikes, his arsenal suggests more of a future up-and-down bullpen role. —SG
Jalen Beeks, LHP, Boston Red Sox - Beeks is a small, polished college lefty who threw well A-ball before running into some trouble against more advanced hitters at Double-A this season. He is left-handed, so...well, there’s always a chance. — JS
Jamie Callahan, RHP, Boston Red Sox- A former second rounder, Callahan has struggled thus far in his minor league career. But since a move to the bullpen, he has steadily improved. His heater now sits in the mid-90s and his short slider has been effective so far. While his control has a ways to go, he is still 22 and the book isn’t closed on him quite yet. —SG
John Curtiss, RHP, Minnesota Twins - Once a heralded prospect drafted by the Rockies out of high school, Curtiss chose a scholarship to Texas instead and saw his stock fall during his collegiate career. He missed 2013 recovering from Tommy John surgery, and sat out most of 2015 after suffering a concussion. He’s a bullpen arm now, with a fastball that sits 93-95 and a potential fringe-average 83-86 slider. —SG
Montana DuRapau, RHP, Pittsburgh Pirates- I think our comment in the BP annual says it best, “We'd never finish the book if we included every short right-handed reliever in A-ball with a low-90s fastball and an impressive strikeout-to-walk ratio. That's why we only make exceptions in special cases, like when the reliever is named Montana DuRapau.” —SG
John Fasola, RHP, Texas Rangers - Fasola acquitted himself well across three levels in 2016, culminating with solid performance in high-leverage innings at Triple-A to close out the year. He works with a low-to-mid 90’s fastball and backs it up with a solid-if-inconsistent breaking ball. —KM
Joe Filomeno, LHP, Texas Rangers - Filomeno is a burly lefty with an inconsistent velocity range who vacillates frequently between difficult-to-hit and dinger machine, which gives him something in common with the vast majority of Double-A relievers out there. —KM
Reed Garrett, RHP, Texas Rangers - After a disappointing 2016 spent mostly with the Frisco Roughriders, Garrett will be looking to close the year strong. A standard righty, Garrett works in the low 90’s with an average fastball, and has added an upper-80’s cutter to mix it up. He’ll change speeds with a breaking ball and decent changeup as well. —KM
Mason Melotakis, LHP, Minnesota Twins- After missing all of 2015 with Tommy John surgery, Mason looks to regain lost time and show that his low to mid-90s heater and curveball combination can work at the highest level. —SG
Randy Rosario, LHP, Minnesota Twins - Rosario has spent all year in a starting role, but it is more than likely he ends up in the bullpen, where his 92-94 fastball could play up and his spotty command wouldn’t be as limiting an issue. —SG
Eric Stout, LHP, Kansas City Royals - Stout is a tall southpaw who sits 91-94, and while he can show four pitches the slider is the only secondary that really stands out. Combined with a tough angle, he offers some projection as a situational bullpen piece. —SG
Ryan O’Hearn, 1B/OF, Kansas City Royals - O’Hearn is a big, physical kid with plus raw power. He’s an aggressive swinger, to where it is unclear how much of the power will ultimately play. It’s a tough profile, as he doesn’t project well in the outfield on account of below-average throw and run tools, and the bat probably isn’t enough for everyday action at first. —SG
Corey Toups, 2B, Kansas City Royals - Toups makes solid contact at the plate, but with poor footwork and reactions on the dirt he’ll struggle to carve out a utility profile, though he may see some time in the majors as an up-and-down player. —SG
Scott Heineman, OF, Texas Rangers - A physical, high-intensity player, Heineman boasts an interesting power-and-speed combination. He has a lengthy medical file and an approach that can drift into over-aggressiveness, but there’s the rumblings of an extra-outfielder skill set here. —WK
Danny Mars, OF, Boston Red Sox
The Guys You Will
Michael Kopech, RHP, Boston Red Sox - If you believe some minor-league gun readings and the Red Sox, Kopech is the hardest-throwing righty in baseball—even harder than Noah Syndergaard or Ray Black. Whether or not that can hold up under a full season of starting is not yet clear, because Kopech missed time in 2015 for a drug suspension and then missed most of this season with a broken hand sustained in a fight with a teammate. Pitching prospects this interesting usually don’t land in the AFL, but Kopech’s here to make up for those lost innings. There isn’t much else to go with the fastball yet, but if you can touch the mid-100s (yes, you read that right) like Kopech reportedly can, does there need to be? —JS
Isiah Kiner-Falefa, C, Texas Rangers - A recent convert to the tools of ignorance, Kiner-Falefa spent 2016 jumping between the infield and behind the dish, while looking solid in both places. A high-energy, decent bat player, he tired towards the end of the year, but encouragingly, is getting more time behind the plate in Arizona. For someone who learned the catching arts so recently, Kiner-Falefa projects as at least an average glove, though, as with any young catcher, the question will still be whether or not he can hold up over an entire season. At the very least, he’s turned into a fascinating utility case. —KM
Nick Gordon, SS, Minnesota Twins - Since being taken in the 1st round in 2014, Gordon has moved at a steady pace through the system, showing off the tools that had him so highly rated to begin with. He still has the plus arm, plus run, and the solid smooth defensive skills to stay up the middle. The power might not play as much as it had hoped to early on given his overall approach and lack of loft, but he still profiles as an above-average hitter with his above-average bat speed, quick hands, and bat-to-barrell ability. —SG
Andy Ibanez, INF, Texas Rangers - A seven-figure Cuban signing, Ibanez is a short, strong infielder with some pop and elements of a solid hit tool. He showed some ability to drive the ball in his first season, and projects to a high-floor utility future with the potential for more if his adjustment process continues. —JS
Josh Staumont, RHP, Kansas City Royals - Armed with one of the best fastballs in the minors, Staumont carved up hitter across Single- and Double-A alike to the tune of a near-30 percent strikeout rate and just seven-and-a-half hits per nine. Unfortunately his bugaboo control led to fairly extreme walk issues that pushed his DRA numbers into below-average range. It’s a big-league arm, but one one more likely to come out of a bullpen unless the command and control improve significantly. —WK
Jose Trevino, C, Texas Rangers - I gushed at some length recently about Trevino’s season and future prospects, and he very well may have earned my vote for Cal League MVP had I one to cast. A heady, intense field captain, Trevino’s defensive chops and arm can both play as above-average assets. And when paired with a nice-enough offensive tool box, the package adds up to a quality backstop prospect who can catch in the big leagues for a long time. —WK
Mauricio Dubon, SS, Boston Red Sox - Dubon has played a lot of the past two seasons as Yoan Moncada’s double-play partner, but don’t sleep on him as a prospect in his own right. He’s a fine if not particularly flashy defender at short, and he’s hit at every level. He even showed some surprising pop after his midseason promotion to Double-A. This is a tough system for this kind of good, but nothing outstanding middle infield profile—the Red Sox have already moved more interesting middle infield prospects like Moncada and Mookie Betts to other positions in deference to Xander Bogaerts and Dustin Pedroia. But Dubon could pop up as someone’s starting shortstop fairly soon. —JS
Steve Givarz is an author of Baseball Prospectus. Follow @SteveGivarz
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what about Stephen Gonsalves? Would seem to be a "higher" profile addition from the Twins.