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Eric Longenhagen Prospects Chat: 9/12

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September 12, 2017
12:02
Eric A Longenhagen: Howdy, all. Let’s get right to it…
12:02
GPT: Hey, you saw a bunch of AZL Giants baseball last week, thoughts on Seth Corry and Diego Rincones, and anybody else who might make the next Giants prospect list?
12:05
Eric A Longenhagen: Corry is a bit of a project. Body, velocity and breaking ball all look the part but he has 30 command right now. Rincones has some feel to hit but the tools are middling, he lacks physical projection. He needs to hit a lot to profile, though I did speak with someone who thinks he will. Izzy Munguia is a fun little sparkplug who I’ve liked in CF and I think he has above avg bat speed. Jake Gonzalez and Heliot Ramos are obvious ones and I’ve written about Camilo Dovall.
12:05
Chris: Do you think Glasnow will be different this go around?
12:06
Eric A Longenhagen: He’s objectively different but I don’t know if he’ll be much more effective. I hope so, though I’ve always been skeptical about the strikes ever coming. I guess we’ll see. He’s 24 now, I think?
12:06
Bork: Any September call ups really standing out to you so far?

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Eric Longenhagen Prospects Chat: We Live Inside a Dream

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September 5, 2017
12:03
Eric A Longenhagen: Good morning, everyone. I had two ESPN Insider pieces go up yesterday and today, so head over there if you’re interested in checking those out. Let’s chat…
12:03
Tommy N.: Has your outlook on Joey Lucchesi improved this year? What do you think he can be?
12:04
Eric A Longenhagen: Yes, he went from being an honorable mention on the Padres list to a high-probability 40 for me, a likely backend starter.
12:04
Gary: How do you project someone like Joey Wentz? Looks like a great season on paper, but reportedly not with great velocity. With a guy who has shown better velo in HS, what are the chances it takes a jump?
12:06
Eric A Longenhagen: Most guys never throw harder than they do in high school. You’re pitching more and toeing the rubber with less rest than you were in high school. Wentz wasn’t all that projectable, physically, in high school and velo peaks and valleys. I think he’ll be fine because the curveball and changeup will both be very good, but I wouldn’t expect him to have an elite fastball or anything like that.
12:06
Jonathon: Is there a good way to reach out to companies you want to work for as a junior in college?

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Scouting the Tigers’ Return for Justin Verlander

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September 1, 2017

Detroit acquired a trio of prospects from Houston last night in exchange for Justin Verlander. Two of those prospects appeared on our updated Astros top-10 list and will likely occupy a similar place in Detroit’s improving system. Before we examine the state of the Tigers’ minor-league talent, however, let’s talk about the three young men who were just traded for one of this century’s best right-handed pitchers.

The centerpiece of this package is 19-year-old Venezuelan righty Franklin Perez. Perez began the year with three dominant starts in High-A before he was shelved for a month with knee soreness. His results have been mixed but generally positive since his late-May return. Despite a few hiccups, Perez was promoted to Double-A in July and has struggled with strike-throwing at times while missing fewer bats than he did in A-ball. But ultimately, we’re talking about a 19-year-old who, despite initially training in Venezuela as a third baseman, has already pitched his way to Double-A and who, when healthy and rested, shows an ability to locate and sequence four quality big-league offerings.

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Arizona Fall League Roster Highlights

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August 29, 2017

The Arizona Fall League just announced its rosters for the 2017 season. These are subject to change for any number of reasons, and a combination of promotions, injuries, and trades will likely impact who arrives and who doesn’t between now and October 10th, when the Fall League’s seven-week season gets underway.

For the uninitiated, the Arizona Fall League is a developmental league featuring six teams, each of which are assigned players from five parent MLB clubs. This league has been a fleeting but well-lit stage for many of MLB’s top talents, including Mike Trout, Bryce Harper, Gerrit Cole and dozens others. The league is heavily scouted and players sent here often debut in the majors the following season. With that as introduction, below are my thoughts on the prominent/interesting prospects headed to the desert in October.

Glendale Desert Dogs
(CLE, CHW, LAD, PHI, PIT)

Glendale’s pitching staff has a few notable names, led by Pirates RHP Mitch Keller, who’ll pick up the summer innings he dropped in June due to a back strain. Keller has one of the best fastball/curveball combinations in the minors, but the changeup might be his developmental focus here in Arizona. Also on Glendale’s staff is hard-throwing Pirates LHP Taylor Hearn who came to Pittsburgh from Washington as part of last year’s package for Mark Melancon. He hasn’t thrown since July 13th, when he struck out a career-high 10 hitters in 4.2 innings for High-A Bradenton. He was put on the disabled list with an oblique strain two days later. Hearn has had several injuries throughout his career. He suffered from a strained UCL in high school and had a screw put in his elbow as a college freshman after suffering two humeral fractures. When healthy, Hearn sits 94-97 and throws a hard slider. Phillies lefty Elniery Garcia, whose velocity spiked into the mid-90s late last year and who was (coincidentally!?!) busted for Boldenone in April, missed 80 games this year. His fastball has been in the 89-93 range lately.

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Eric Longenhagen Prospects Chat: Fall League Roster Release

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August 29, 2017
3:00
Eric A Longenhagen: Hi everyone, Fall League roster reaction piece has been filed and hopefully I’ll have a link for you during this chat. Let’s get into it…
3:02
Tommy N.: What do you think of Enyel De Los Santos? He seems to get lost in the Padres’ stacked pitching group.
3:02
Eric A Longenhagen: I like him, well-rounded stuff and strike-throwing ability. #4/5 type of starter. Wrote him up here: http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/instagraphs/daily-prospect-notes-725/
3:02
JT: What’s your take on Buxton’s recent surge?
3:02
Eric A Longenhagen: Told you so?
3:03
Eric A Longenhagen: I hope this surge is a sign of things to come for him, and that people will look to this as an example of why patience with prospects is important

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Eric Longenhagen Prospects Chat 8/22

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August 22, 2017
12:31
Eric A Longenhagen: Hi, everyone. I sending something to Cistulli and will begin momentarily….
12:34
Eric A Longenhagen: Okay, apologies.
12:34
Eric A Longenhagen: Let’s begin.
12:34
Mike: SSS, but seems like Aramis Ademan is holding his own in A ball. Thoughts on him?
12:35
Eric A Longenhagen: I really like him. Good frame, athleticism, smooth defensive actions at short. Has doubles power right now but might grow into a bit more. That might mean he moves off of short and over to second but I still think there’s a potential everyday player there even if that’s the case.
12:35
Kevbot034: Walker Buehler, Fernando Romero, Jack Flaherty and Brent Honeywell…who do you think we see this September? And any have a shot at starting next year in the rotation?

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Summer Top-100 Prospects

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August 17, 2017
Updated Top-10 Prospect Lists

Below is an updated summer top-100 prospect list. Above are links to the top-10 lists for teams in each of the six divisions. Those include notes on why some of these prospects have moved up or down on their respective org list. For detailed scouting information on individual players, check out the player’s profile page, which may include tool grades and/or links to Daily Prospect Notes posts in which they’ve appeared this season. For detailed info on players drafted or signed this year, check out our sortable boards. The preseason top-100 list is available here.

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Updated Top-10 Prospect Lists: NL West

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August 16, 2017
Updated Top-10 Prospect Lists

Below are the updated summer top-10 prospect lists for the orgs in the National League West. I have notes beneath the top 10s explaining why some of these prospects have moved up or down. For detailed scouting information on individual players, check out the player’s profile page which may include tool grades and/or links to Daily Prospect Notes posts in which they’ve appeared this season. For detailed info on players drafted or signed this year, check out our sortable boards.

Arizona Diamondbacks (Preseason List)

1. Anthony Banda, LHP
2. Jazz Chisholm, SS
3. Jon Duplantier, RHP
4. Pavin Smith, 1B
5. Marcus Wilson, OF
6. Taylor Clarke, RHP
7. Socrates Brito, OF
8. Domingo Leyba. INF
9. Kristian Robinson, OF
10. Drew Ellis, 1B/3B

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Updated Top-10 Prospect Lists: AL West

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August 16, 2017
Updated Top-10 Prospect Lists

Below are the updated summer top-10 prospect lists for the orgs in the American League West. I have notes beneath the top 10s explaining why some of these prospects have moved up or down. For detailed scouting information on individual players, check out the player’s profile page which may include tool grades and/or links to Daily Prospect Notes posts in which they’ve appeared this season. For detailed info on players drafted or signed this year, check out our sortable boards.

Houston Astros (Preseason List)

1. Kyle Tucker, OF
2. Forrest Whitley, RHP
3. Franklin Perez, RHP
4. Yordan Alvarez, 1B
5. Derek Fisher, OF
6. J.B. Bukauskas, RHP
7. Gilberto Celestino
8. Daz Cameron
9. Cionel Perez, LHP
10. Colin Moran, 3B

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Updated Top-10 Prospects Lists: NL Central

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August 15, 2017
Updated Top-10 Prospect Lists

Below are the updated summer top-10 prospect lists for the orgs in the National League Central. I have notes beneath the top 10s explaining why some of these prospects have moved up or down. For detailed scouting information on individual players, check out the player’s profile page which may include tool grades and/or links to Daily Prospect Notes posts in which they’ve appeared this season. For detailed info on players drafted or signed this year, check out our sortable boards.

Chicago Cubs (Preseason List)

1. Adbert Alzolay, RHP
2. Victor Caratini, C/1B
3. Oscar de la Cruz, RHP
4. Jose Albertos, RHP
5. Thomas Hatch, RHP
6. Aramis Ademan, SS
7. Alex Lange, RHP
8. Brendon Little, LHP
9. Mark Zagunis, 3B
10. D.J. Wilson, CF

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