October 14, 2016

Minor League Update

Games of October 13th

by Mauricio Rubio

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Hitter of the day

Jacob Nottingham, C, Milwaukee Brewers (Salt River Rafters) 2-4. He’s a big, strong kid, which cuts both ways when it comes to his profile. He has loads of raw strength and generates easy raw power in part because of his size. He has his issues behind the plate, however, as his large body creates problems when blocking the the ball and his limited athleticism pins his second position at first base. Ultimately, Nottingham’s power is the key to the entire profile. He shows a lot of promise with the stick, but he’ll have to rebound from a tough year in 2016.

Pitcher of the day

Stephen Gonsalves, LHP, Minnesota Twins (Surprise Saguaros) 3 IP, 3 H, 1 RA, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO. Gonsalves followed up a dominating 2015 with more of the same at the start of 2016, utilizing his change and command to shred lineups in High-A before hitting a speed bump in Double-A. Gonsalves walked 12.5 percent of batters faced in 74.1 innings at Chattanooga, but considering the profile I wouldn’t expect the trend to continue in 2017.

Best of the Rest

Ryan McMahon, 3B, Colorado Rockies (Salt River Rafters) 2-2, 2 BB. There’s plus raw power in here, but as his contact rates collapsed in 2016 so did his in-game power production.

Justin Williams, RF, Tampa Bay Rays (Peoria Javelinas) 2-3, 3B. Strong-looking frame, but he has a linear swing so his in-game power production has been limited.

Isan Diaz, SS, Milwaukee Brewers (Salt River Rafters) 1-5, 2 RS, 2B. Diaz has plus raw power and generates lofty flyballs with a leveraged swing paired with a solid approach. His defense isn’t suited for short; second baseman long term.

Niko Goodrum, 3B, Minnesota Twins (Caribes de Anzoategui) 2-3, 3B. Good athlete with a feel for stealing bases. There’s a fair amount of swing-and-miss in the profile and the power is light, so he’s looking like a utility player at the highest level.

Carlos Tocci, OF, Philadelphia Phillies (Tigres de Aragua) 2-4. Plus run, plus glove, adequate arm in center with feel for the barrel. His power hasn’t shown up, but he’s a young kid, is still growing, and it wouldn’t be surprising if he ended up with enough power to not have the bat knocked out of his hand.

Nick Gordon, SS, Minnesota Twins (Surprise Saguaros) 2-3, RS. Solid all-around player who can run a bit, shows feel for the barrel, and has a plus arm with good actions at short. High-floor guy.

Fight another day

Jeff Brigham, RHP, Miami Marlins (Mesa Solar Sox) 2.1 IP, 4 H, 4 RA, 3 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO. Brigham has bat-missing stuff with a fastball that hits 97 and an above-average slider, but his command can slip in and out, and it wasn’t there for him tonight.

Dawel Lugo, SS, Arizona Diamondbacks (Salt River Rafters) 0-4, SO. Lugo enjoyed a productive 2016 season across High-A and Double-A, making solid contact and flashing power in spite of a free-swinging approach at the plate.

Mauricio Rubio is an author of Baseball Prospectus. Follow @MRubio52
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