November 16, 2016

Minor League Update

Games of November 15th

by Mauricio Rubio

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Hitter of the day

Ryan McMahon, 1B/3B, Colorado Rockies (Salt River Rafters) 2-4, 2B, HR. The athletic McMahon shows easy raw power via a smooth, athletic swing from the left side. He had a down year in Double-A New Brittain in 2016 but even so he projects to provide production with the bat at the major-league level.

Pitcher of the day

Tanner Scott, LHP, Baltimore Orioles (Peoria Javelinas) 3 IP, 1 H, 0 RA, 0 BB, 5 SO. Scott posted abysmal walk rates in 2016, walking 27 batters in 64.1 innings across High-A and Double-A. The profile here was risky to begin with considering he has a reliever profile and the command was always tenuous at best. Scott is not a finished product by any means and there’s still the chance he can harness his command and earn a high-leverage role at the major league level. His slider is average and flashes plus which, when paired with a fastball that touches 100, forms a formidable arsenal.

Best of the Rest

Stephen Gonsalves, RHP, Minnesota Twins (Surprise Saguaros) 3 IP, 3 H, 1 RA, 0 BB, 6 SO. There’s the bat-missing, command-heavy Stephen Gonsalves I’ve grown to love.

Yu-Cheng Chang, SS, Cleveland Indians (Mesa Solar Sox) 2-5. Chang’s strikeouts have jumped in the small, AFL-sized sample. His production has gone up with it, however. He has some power and solid contact skills. It’s not much but he can be a useable MLB player.

Bradley Zimmer, OF, Cleveland Indians (Mesa Solar Sox) 2-4, HR, BB, SO. Zimmer has shown a pattern of struggling, adjusting, and then succeeding at every level he's visited on his way up the ladder. In 2016 it was his turn to struggle at Triple-A after producing well in Double-A. Zimmer’s contact rates are a concern moving forward.

David Fletcher, SS, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (Scottsdale Scorpions) 2-5. Fletcher has his limitations as a player. He can hit a bit, the power is light and while he can fake it at short extended time there would further expose his limitations. If he maxes out Fletcher can carve out a utility role.

David Paulino, RHP, Houston Astros (Glendale Desert Dogs) 1 IP, 0’s all around. Paulino pitched across four levels in 2016, making stops at Rookie, Double-A, Triple-A and the Major League level in the process. He pitches tall and generates a ton of plane with his fastball which works in the low-to-mid-90s.

Fight another day

Drew Jackson, SS, Seattle Mariners (Peoria Javelinas) 0-4, 3 SO. Tough year overall for Jackson, definitely a candidate for Fight Another Year. There’s still talent here so don’t give up on him yet.

Danny Hayes, 1B, Chicago White Sox (Glendale Desert Dogs) 0-3, 2 SO. He’s not a prospect but I put him here to illustrate how much I dislike slow-twitch. Hayes has produced good walk numbers in his major league career but he doesn’t have the quickness to hit for average and his power production will be mitigated by his contact rates. That all goes back to his lack of quick twitch actions in the batter’s box, while running and in the field.

Ian Happ, 2B/OF, Chicago Cubs (Mesa Solar Sox) 0-4, 1 BB, 2 SO. Happ is pretty divisive. I’m not a fan of the profile myself, I see an average skill set with zone awareness and no real defensive home.

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