October 27, 2015

Minor League Update

AFL Games of Monday, October 26th

by Wilson Karaman

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Hitter of the Day: A.J. Reed, 1B, Astros (AFL Glendale Desert Dogs): 3-5, 2 R, HR, 2 RBI, K

If you read any of my reports from the California League this year, you won’t be remotely surprised to see Reed in this space, and I’ll unabashedly admit that, yes, of course I’ve been waiting for an excuse to highlight him. His kind of playable power is a rare thing, like green stop signs or consensus on what constitutes a sandwich. Players with Reed’s, ahem, body type and defensive profile always have to work the hardest to prove their legitimacy as prospects, but if his work with that bat hasn’t done that over the last calendar year, there’s just no hope for us as Americans.

Pitcher of the Day: Adrian Houser, RHP, Brewers (AFL Surprise Saguaros): 3.2 IP, ER, 3 H, 3 BB, 5 K

Houser was a nice get for Milwaukee as part of their return package for Carlos Gomez and Mike Fiers. His deceptive fastball can work up to 95 with plane and strong boring action, and he pairs it with a potentially above-average deuce. He’s athletic on the mound with a repeatable delivery, and if he can develop his changeup into a useful pitch there’s solid four-starter upside here. Even if he can’t, his fastball-hook combination has the kind of utility to set a nice floor of inheriting runners out of a big-league bullpen for a long time.

Best of the Rest

Clint Frazier, OF, Indians (AFL Scottsdale Scorpions): 3-5, 3 R, 2 SB, 2 K

We highlighted Frazier in our league preview as exactly the type of player with all the raw talent who’d be more than capable of using a strong fall campaign to springboard into a breakout season in 2016. He’s now 14-for-his-first-33 with a couple of dingers and a couple of stolen bags, and better yet, reports from Arizona suggest the production is coming as a result of legitimate skill refinement. That should be enough to get Cleveland fans excited about his progress (to the extent Cleveland fans are in fact able to get excited about things, anyway).

Nick Travieso, RHP, Reds (AFL Peoria Javelinas): 4 IP, ER, 5 H, 3 K, HR

I touched on Travieso after his last start, and he continues to shine bright in the Arizona sun. The youth movement among Cincinnati’s pitching ranks was already exciting, and another step forward for Travieso at Double-A next year would add further and welcome depth to what has the potential to be a very solid rotation for the next half-dozen years.

Gary Sanchez, C, Yankees (AFL Surprise Saguaros): 2-5 R, HR, RBI, E

Another day, another dinger. Ho hum. Whatever Gary Sanchez is doing in the desert, young hitters, you try to do it too.

Sam Travis, 1B, Red Sox (AFL Scottsdale Scorpions): 3-4, 2 R, 2B, SF, 2 RBI

Travis faces the standard “tough profile” questions asked of all non-hulking-slugger first base prospects, but he did what he could to keep himself on the map this year by improving both his already-sound contact and walk rates to well above-average ranges after a mid-season promotion to Double-A. Travis’ hit tool will find few detractors, but a relatively linear swing plane limits his over-the-fence power at present despite the raw strength to hit balls a long way. He’s off to a decent enough start in the desert, though he remains notably stuck on zero homers.

Jacob Scavuzzo, OF, Dodgers (AFL Glendale Desert Dogs): 2-4, 2 R, HR, 2 RBI, K

Scavuzzo is now eight for his first 14 in Arizona, and yesterday’s dinger is a nice sign for a player with plus raw power but a long swing that has a tendency to run into pitchers who exploit it in games. I didn’t love the swing this summer, but he shows impressive raw tools with a body to bet on. He’ll be an interesting player to watch graduate into the upper minors next year, and if he keeps hitting like this in the desert, he’ll do it with a much brighter spotlight on him come spring time.

Chad Hinshaw, CF, Angels (AFL Mesa Solar Sox): 3-4, BB, R, HR, 3 RBI

Hinshaw is in the midst of a second consecutive excellent effort in the AFL, and his work at Double-A this year (.391 OBP, 27 stolen bases) was at least enough to keep the dream alive of an eventual career as a fourth outfielder.

Fight Another Day

Yoan Lopez, RHP, Diamondbacks (AFL Salt River Rafters): 3.2 IP, 5 R (3 ER), 7 H, BB, 3 K

Lopez’s fall has been appropriately lacking in rhyme or reason, and yesterday was his ugliest effort to date. One inning he’ll flash 97 mph heat with a plus slider, in the next he’ll sit down in the low-90s with inconsistent secondaries and command spotty enough to suggest a relief profile. The hope here was that he’d be able to find some consistency after a season sorely lacking it, but so far no bueno for the seven-figure Cuban.

Wilson Karaman is an author of Baseball Prospectus. Follow @vocaljavelins
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