Eric A Longenhagen: Good morning from dangerously hot Tempe, where I am coffee’ing at the kitchen island getting ready to work on Red Sox and Twins lists while prepping for the Combine.
12:07
Eric A Longenhagen: FOr those who missed it, please go read the Rangers list:
Ken: Has Jack Perkins’ performance so far in Vegas moved the needle for you at all in terms of how you view his ability to remain a starting pitcher?
12:11
Eric A Longenhagen: Yes. Ran into him last week as I was working on Mariners and he carved. Physicality looks like he’ll be able to handle it even if he isn’t the most efficient strike thrower. Let’s keep in mind, though, that he’s looked like this (sitting 95-96 t98, plus slider, strikes) for like five weeks, six weeks? It’s not as strong a look as if he’d been doing it since April.
Below is an analysis of the prospects in the farm system of the Seattle Mariners. Scouting reports were compiled with information provided by industry sources as well as my own observations. This is the fifth year we’re delineating between two anticipated relief roles, the abbreviations for which you’ll see in the “position” column below: MIRP for multi-inning relief pitchers, and SIRP for single-inning relief pitchers. The ETAs listed generally correspond to the year a player has to be added to the 40-man roster to avoid being made eligible for the Rule 5 draft. Manual adjustments are made where they seem appropriate, but we use that as a rule of thumb.
A quick overview of what FV (Future Value) means can be found here. A much deeper overview can be found here.
All of the ranked prospects below also appear on The Board, a resource the site offers featuring sortable scouting information for every organization. It has more details (and updated TrackMan data from various sources) than this article and integrates every team’s list so readers can compare prospects across farm systems. It can be found here. Read the rest of this entry »
Eric A Longenhagen: Howdy from Tempe, where it seems like it’s time to pay the price for living here yet again. First day of the Combine is currently forecast for 115 degrees. I might be brief today to go finish up the Rangers list. Padres list went up this week, go check that out.
12:02
Matt: Any ETAs for the 2025 draft BOARD update and mock draft(s)?
12:02
Eric A Longenhagen: Post Combine most likely
12:02
Takao: This is more a “organizational question” than a prospect question, but Baseball America has ranked the Reds minor league hitting development the worst in baseball 3 of the past 4 years (with a bottom 5 showing in year 4). In your opinion, does that ranking accurately reflect the overall system outside of the obvious names (Collier, Stewart, etc.)? Worth noting, Reds fan here and I’d tend to agree that our hitting dev has been atrocious since roughly 2021.
12:05
Eric A Longenhagen: I think they’ve accidentally ended up with a lot of chase-prone hitters, or hitters with a consistently exploitable weakness that would make it hard for them to have sustained success. Lots of guys with “inside out” styles of contact there, too. Would I say their hitting dev is bad though? I think that’s as much of a black box as anything in dev, tough to say from the outside.
12:05
Nervous Flyball Pitcher: I’ve seen reporting that FCL Orioles’ Joshua Liranzo’s max EV is up to 106.8 mph, but I don’t really have context for that. Is that number good/average/bad for an 18-year-old? Do you know if he has good EV90 or contact data so far?
Ethan Salas Photo Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images
Below is an analysis of the prospects in the farm system of the San Diego Padres. Scouting reports were compiled with information provided by industry sources as well as my own observations. This is the fifth year we’re delineating between two anticipated relief roles, the abbreviations for which you’ll see in the “position” column below: MIRP for multi-inning relief pitchers, and SIRP for single-inning relief pitchers. The ETAs listed generally correspond to the year a player has to be added to the 40-man roster to avoid being made eligible for the Rule 5 draft. Manual adjustments are made where they seem appropriate, but we use that as a rule of thumb.
A quick overview of what FV (Future Value) means can be found here. A much deeper overview can be found here.
All of the ranked prospects below also appear on The Board, a resource the site offers featuring sortable scouting information for every organization. It has more details (and updated TrackMan data from various sources) than this article and integrates every team’s list so readers can compare prospects across farm systems. It can be found here. Read the rest of this entry »
Eric A Longenhagen: Good noon from the Cardinals backfields in Florida. I’m getting started a few minutes early so I can focus on the game a little sooner, as we’re about to get underway. Plus, there are already a ton of questions in the queue.
11:58
Eric A Longenhagen: I’m hotspotting, so apologies if things are spotty, internet-wise.
11:58
Eric A Longenhagen: In any case, thans for being here.
11:59
Guest: Any advice on how to get into/improve scouting abilities? Any resources that have been imperative in your learning?
11:59
Eric A Longenhagen: I would read Jason Parks’ chapters in the second edition of Extra Innings, I would read Dollar Sign on the Muscle, Future Value, and go see bad baseball at your local colleges.
12:00
Dallas: What’s the balance between actual production vs. K rates? I look at guys like Esmerlyn Valdez and Konnor Griffin, each have performed admirably this season and have up arrows, however both of their K rates are relatively high. Is the production legit or is the K rates red flags for long term success?
Travis Bazzana Photo by: Phil Masturzo/USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Below is an analysis of the prospects in the farm system of the Cleveland Guardians. Scouting reports were compiled with information provided by industry sources as well as my own observations. This is the fifth year we’re delineating between two anticipated relief roles, the abbreviations for which you’ll see in the “position” column below: MIRP for multi-inning relief pitchers, and SIRP for single-inning relief pitchers. The ETAs listed generally correspond to the year a player has to be added to the 40-man roster to avoid being made eligible for the Rule 5 draft. Manual adjustments are made where they seem appropriate, but we use that as a rule of thumb.
A quick overview of what FV (Future Value) means can be found here. A much deeper overview can be found here.
All of the ranked prospects below also appear on The Board, a resource the site offers featuring sortable scouting information for every organization. It has more details (and updated TrackMan data from various sources) than this article and integrates every team’s list so readers can compare prospects across farm systems. It can be found here. Read the rest of this entry »
Eric A Longenhagen: Howdy, everyone. Hope you’ve all had a pleasant week. I’m enjoying the last little bit of mild weather here in Tempe and looking forward to conference tournament play.
12:04
Eric A Longenhagen: Brewers list went up yesterday:
Eric A Longenhagen: I’ll probably keep things tight to an hour today. I’m flying to Florida next Friday and I’m going to chat earlier in the day, so be on the lookout for that next week.
12:06
Eric A Longenhagen: Okay, let’s address your many queries.
12:06
Rockies Optimist: Adael Amador looks not great, but maybe its the Rockies stink? Also, Jared Thomas/Kyle Karros legit? Karros seems more floor and Thomas more ceiling.
Eric A Longenhagen: Good morning, everyone. I got my courvoisier right here, what seems to be your query?
12:02
Guest: The Aces scratching Lawlar right before first pitch and then not giving a reason after the game is nasty work.
12:03
Eric A Longenhagen: I didn’t see that, that’s fun. He’s hit a ball harder already this year than he did in each of the last two seasons, there’s a real chance he’s taken a leap.
12:03
Jeb: When does Bubba Chandler come up? Not sure there is much more for him to prove in AAA at this point. Probably not Skenes level good, but level below good?
12:04
Eric A Longenhagen: If I had to bet, I’d say he comes up late enough to retain rookie eligibility next season.
12:05
bk: If Nimmala can sustain this level of K rate, how much does that improve his prospect stock?
Frank Bowen IV/The Enquirer/USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Below is an analysis of the prospects in the farm system of the Cincinnati Reds. Scouting reports were compiled with information provided by industry sources as well as my own observations. This is the fifth year we’re delineating between two anticipated relief roles, the abbreviations for which you’ll see in the “position” column below: MIRP for multi-inning relief pitchers, and SIRP for single-inning relief pitchers. The ETAs listed generally correspond to the year a player has to be added to the 40-man roster to avoid being made eligible for the Rule 5 draft. Manual adjustments are made where they seem appropriate, but we use that as a rule of thumb.
A quick overview of what FV (Future Value) means can be found here. A much deeper overview can be found here.
All of the ranked prospects below also appear on The Board, a resource the site offers featuring sortable scouting information for every organization. It has more details (and updated TrackMan data from various sources) than this article and integrates every team’s list so readers can compare prospects across farm systems. It can be found here. Read the rest of this entry »
It’s not often that I take a pause from the prospect lists to write about individual call-ups, but we have three big league debuts on the docket for today, and I wanted to update readers on those pitchers, as well one other prospect-related bycatch that’s come up during the course of me working on the Reds, Guardians, and Brewers org lists.
First, let’s talk about the starting pitchers making their big league debuts today: Chase Petty of the Reds, AJ Blubaugh of the Astros, and Noah Cameron of the Royals. All of them have updated player profiles over on The Board.
Chase Petty, RHP, Cincinnati Reds (50 FV)
Petty, who touched 102 in high school, came to the Reds from Minnesota during the spring of 2022 in a trade for Sonny Gray. After missing time with an elbow issue in 2023, he had a healthy and complete 2024 season in which he worked 137 innings spent mostly at Double-A Chattanooga, many more frames than he had thrown in any year prior. Proving he could sustain big stuff across that load of innings was instrumental to his inclusion among the 2025 Top 100 Prospects. His fastball was still sitting 94-97 mph after Petty had been promoted to Louisville at the very end of last season, and he has carried that into 2025. As of his call-up, he has 27 strikeouts, nine walks, and a 1.30 WHIP in 23 innings (five starts). Read the rest of this entry »