Sunday News and Notes

Young Bucks

Going from full season A to advanced A seems to be a particularly difficult adjustment for non-college hitters. Mature college hitters like Kyle Isbel, Jarren Duran and Steven Kwan are more used to a higher level of competition, so the adjustment is much smaller. 

Pitchers don't seem to struggle nearly as much when getting promoted.  Hans Crouse or Greyson Rodriguez may not dominate in advanced A like they are in Sally League but there stuff is so good that, I think they would be fine if they were in the Carolina League. On the other hand,without getting hitting reps in full season ball, top prospects like Tyler Freeman and Triston Casas would be lost in the Carolina League.

There are six highly regarded non-college position prospects making their High A debut in the Carolina League in 2019 that I will be focusing on in coming weeks.  All are now 20 years old. Several of these prospects are highly rated due to their defense and overall athleticism.  All except Miguel Amaya had some swing and miss issues in full season A in 2018. 

Players	Position	Organization	DOB	K%	BB%	OPS
Bubba Thompson	CF	Rangers	6/9/1998	28.70%	6.30%	0.790
Tristen Lutz	RF	Brewers	8/22/1998	27.60%	9.10%	0.742
Nick Pratto	1B	Royals	10/6/1998	27.90%	8.40%	0.786
MJ Melendez	C	Royals	11/29/1998	30.30%	9.10%	0.814
Miguel Amaya	C	Cubs	3/9/1999	19%	10.40%	0.752
Seuly Matias	RF	Royals	9/4/1998	34.80%	6.40%	0.853

It has been a difficult first ten days in the Carolina League for these six young bucks. Bubba Thompson was the one player whose assignment to the Carolina League was in question.  There will be better days ahead for these six.

Players	Team	Highest Pre-Season Ranking	K%	BB%	OPS
Bubba Thompson	Down East	48 by Baseball Prospectus	29.70%	8.10%	0.366
Tristen Lutz	Carolina	159 by Imaginary Brick Wall	29.40%	8.80%	0.367
Nick Pratto	Wilmington	67 by Rotowire	35.10%	10.80%	0.399
MJ Melendez	Wilmington	67 by Baseball Prospectus	52%	12%	0.513
Miguel Amaya	Myrtle Beach	73 by Fangraphs	27.80%	11.10%	0.693
Seuly Matias	Wilmington	52 by Baseball Prospectus	40.60%	6.30%	0.517

 

Pitches Per Out

Pitches per out is a crude measurement for how efficient a pitcher is.  I think it is useful in measuring how advanced a pitcher is at this level and will be tracking it every week. These are the pitches per out for a select group of Carolina League pitchers who have made at least two starts.

Pitcher	Team	Pitches Per Out
Tyler Philips	Down East	3.61
Jean Carlos Mejia	Lynchburg	4.27
Daniel Tillo	Wilmington	4.49
Juan Hillman	Lynchburg	4.67
Eli Morgan	Lynchburg	4.73
Bryan Mata	Salem	4.79
Kyle Kubat	Winston Salem	4.82
Jackson Tetreault	Potomac	4.97
Nelson Hernandez	Carolina	5.41
Brady Singer	Wilmington	5.52
Francis Bowden	Carolina	5.74
Reid Anderson	Down East	5.89
Paul Richan	Myrtle Beach	6.04
Jackson Kowar	Wilmington	6.11
Peter Solomon	Fayetteville	6.13
Kutter Crawford	Salem	6.67
DL Hall	Frederick	6.95
Daniel Lynch	Wilmington	7.84

Tyler Phillips

Phillips is one of the most underrated prospects in baseball.  Baseball America named Phillips the pitcher with the best control in minors.  Phillips walked 16 in 133 innings in 2018 and has yet to walk a batter in 2019.  

Phillips was not an early draft pick (16th round) nor did he get off to a quick start career.  However, he made big strides last year and is still only 21.  Phillips has excellent size with good extension and throws downhill.  He is not a flame thrower, but not a soft tosser either.  Phillips has an effective curveball and changeup. 

Tyler Phillips

  

Feel Good Stories

• Former first round pick, Cody Sedlock looked like a different pitcher on Monday. Sedlock says he is healthy for the first time in a couple years.
• Salem shortstop, Ryan Fitzgerald was undrafted when he graduated from Creighton in 2016.  He was playing independent ball when the Red Sox signed him last year.  Through 10 games, Fitzgerald is hitting .429/.436/1.122. 

Michael Baumann

Michael Baumann is another Frederick Keys pitcher who looked like a different guy when he made his 2019 debut.  Baumann had some success in 2018 at Delmarva but struggled when promoted to Frederick.  He was far too hittable  (59 strikeouts in 92 innings). 

However on Wednesday he threw 5 dominant innings striking out 10 with no walks only allowing on hit.  Baumann may be benefiting from the organizational changes under Michael Elias.

   

Too Advanced for the Carolina League?

I did not include Eli Morgan or Anderson Tejeda in the team previews because the assumption was they would begin the year in AA. Both have been playing like they belong at a higher level. 

Luis Robert

Robert has gotten off to a fantastic start for Winston Salem.  The only concern is that he has not walked since his first at bat of the season.

Mudcats Rotation

The Carolina Mudcats pitching staff has been a pleasant surprise.  They are primarily made up of late round college arms including two from the Ivy League.  Noah Zavolas is the best bet to emerge as a legitimate prospect.  

Player	DOB	Acquired
Nelson Hernandez	3/13/1997	2013 international signing
Noah Zavolas	5/11/1996	2018 18 round draft pick (Harvard)by Seattle part of Domingo Santana trade
Dylan File	6/4/1996	21st round of 2017 draft (Dixie St))
Bowden Francis	4/22/1996	7th round of 2017 draft (Chipola JC)
Matt Smith	8/27/1993	34th round of 2016 draft (Georgetown)
Christian Taugner	5/14/1995	37th round of 2017 draft (Brown)
Cody Beckman	11/1/1994	30th round of 2017 draft
Matt Hardy	7/15/1995	undrafted free agent signed in 2017
Michael Petersen	5/16/1994	17th round of 2015 draft (Riverside City College)
J.T. Hintzen	6/1/1996	10th round of 2018 draft (Florida Southern)
Rodrigo Benoit	2/23/1994	2013 international signing
Christian Meister	10/29/1993	29th round in 2015 draft by Cleveland
Chris Dula	8/6/1992	25th round in 2013 draft by Texas