Below is an analysis of the prospects in the farm system of the Toronto Blue Jays. Scouting reports are compiled with information provided by industry sources as well as from our own (both Eric Longenhagen’s and Kiley McDaniel’s) observations. For more information on the 20-80 scouting scale by which all of our prospect content is governed you can click here. For further explanation of the merits and drawbacks of Future Value, read this.
All the numbered prospects here also appear on THE BOARD, a new feature at the site that offers sortable scouting information for every organization. Click here to visit THE BOARD.
Signed: July 2nd Period, 2015 from Dominican Republic
Age
18
Height
6’1
Weight
200
Bat/Throw
R/R
Tool Grades (Present/Future)
Hit
Raw Power
Game Power
Run
Fielding
Throw
40/65
65/70
40/70
40/30
40/50
60/60
Guerrero was identified as an elite talent years before the Jays signed him at age 16, exhibiting an advanced feel for hitting and raw power like his father. Unlike the elder Guerrero, Vlad Jr. has generally developed earlier — already looking too big for third base as a teenager and polishing his tools at a very young stage. Whether Vlad Jr. settles as a fringey third baseman or a first basemen/designated hitter is up for debate, but his easy plus hit and power tools (with ceiling for more) are not and will make his ascent to the big leagues a quick one.
Bichette was a well-known prospect in high school due to his bloodlines (father Dante and older brother Dante Jr., who was a first-round pick by the Yankees in 2011), his big tools (plus raw power), and his loud, max-effort swing. Many teams didn’t take him seriously as a top-two-round prospect, partly souring after his brother busted with a similar swing, but Bo has rare bat and body control along with good enough pitch selection to make his approach work, something his older brother did not.
Kiley McDaniel: Hello everyone, I’m in the South right now live from a Courtyard. I saw Ethan Hankins on Monday, Cole Wilcox and Chattanooga-Jacksonville last night. The plan is to see Kumar Rocker tonight, Anthony Seigler tomorrow, Casey Mize on Friday then head back to Florida for Wichita/UCF and Auburn/Florida.
I’ve been driving around Florida this spring, getting looks at a particularly loaded draft class. I also spent last week at the NHSI tournament run by USA baseball in Cary, NC. NHSI is always a solid event, with at least a half-dozen interesting draft prospects appearing over the four days, but this year featured the best crop in the history of the event. Of the 16 participating teams, almost every one had a potential top-five-round draftee to watch.
I already broke down the players I saw and buzz I heard after week one of the college season, and last Friday I reviewed the college players I saw last month. Now here’s all the notable prep players I saw last month, with video, notes on what I saw, and a preview of the area of the list they will rank when Eric and I release an updated draft list next week. Here are our preseason rankings.
Carter Stewart, RHP, Eau Gallie HS (FL), Mississippi State Commit
I wrote up Stewart and Denaburg’s first matchup in one of the pieces linked above, but they had another one a couple weeks later. The first matchup, which took place in front of a double-digit number of scouting directors, placed them both firmly in the middle of the first round, so it was unsurprising to find over 100 scouts and three general managers at this next game. Stewart opened it sitting 92-96 mph and was holding 92-94, hitting 95 mph in the fifth inning. His signature 80-83 mph curveball, with Seth Lugo-level spin rates, flashed the normal 65 or 70 on the 20-80 scale (go to 0:56 for the best one I got on video), and his changeup — which looks about average in warmups and may project above average with more use — wasn’t used in game. I counted 13 Ks for Stewart through 5.2 innings.
Tommy N.: Any thoughts on Lucchesi’s first few mlb starts?
12:08
Matt: Joey Lucchesi: Is he good? Think he can stick in a major league rotation?
12:09
Kiley McDaniel: Didn’t watch any of his MLB starts yet but saw him as an amateur and it’s basically the same: solid average stuff, above feel/command and tons of funk/deception. That normally plays up first time through the league them plays medium for a bit them plays down, but the down part sometimes takes a few years.
Kiley McDaniel: So he was something like 115-135 overall for us before the season started. So he’s something like a ready-made fourth starter, may be a little better than that for stretches, like right now.
It’s been a little while since I emptied my scouting notebook of the draft prospects I’ve scouted, so I’ve split it into college and high-school portions. Below are all of the notable college draft prospects I’ve scouted in the last month, with thoughts on what I saw from them and how the industry views them. First, I’ll break down the prospects projected for the top two rounds, with embedded video. For reference, here are Eric and my preseason draft rankings, which will be updated soon. Below the likely first- and second-rounders are potential third- through sixth-rounds picks. Below that group is a collection of possible first- and second-rounders for the 2019 and 2020 drafts, the most recent rankings for which are available here.
Bohm was seen by most scouts before the season as a first-rounder but also the second-best prospect on his own team behind Greyson Jenista (below). This spring, Bohm has clearly overtaken his teammate and had some scouts whispering that he did some things like Kris Bryant the night I saw him against ECU. To be clear, Bohm isn’t seen as that level of a prospect just yet, but he isn’t as far away as you may think. He has 70 raw power and, even at 6-foot-4, 205 pounds, does a great job at the plate keeping his hands tucked in and limiting his hand load to keep his stroke short. Even with with that, he still can do things like hit an opposite-field home run with a flick of the wrist, as you can see in the above video.
Kiley McDaniel: I’m here, ready to chat and the pupper is taking a nap behind me no one wake her up
12:04
MD: Does Miguel Andujar’s glove project to anywhere off the hot corner? How would his bat project for those positions?
12:05
Kiley McDaniel: He can basically play a competent version of any spot on the field, tools-wise, but he hasn’t played many others places. I’m sure he’ll be fine in a corner outfield but long-term he should play 3B.
12:05
josh: do you think kyle tucker is ready for the majors now? how should the astros shuffle their OF when he’s up?
12:06
Kiley McDaniel: I’d like to see a little more upper level reps but he’s closer than you think. Stealth ROY candidate, though he’ll need a spot to open up since there isn’t really one right now.
12:06
JJJones: What do you think about Jahmai Jones going back to second base? Does he have the skill set to handle it?
Below is an analysis of the prospects in the farm system of the New York Yankees. Scouting reports are compiled with information provided by industry sources as well as from our own (both Eric Longenhagen’s and Kiley McDaniel’s) observations. For more information on the 20-80 scouting scale by which all of our prospect content is governed you can click here. For further explanation of the merits and drawbacks of Future Value, read this.
Torres was seen as one of the top two players in his July 2nd class (along with fellow top-100 prospect, White Sox RF Eloy Jimenez), profiling as the prototypical Venezuelan shortstop, featuring advanced feel for all aspects but no flashy plus tool. He’s developed largely as expected, no small feat for a celebrated 15-year-old, with his physicality and game power the biggest change in the last few years. Some scouts have wondered if he fits better at second or third base long-term, but Torres’s bat will profile anywhere in the dirt, and he’s big-league ready once he’s fully recovered from last June’s Tommy John surgery.
Kiley McDaniel: As I mentioned in other places, have a flight today, so moved things up a bit in the day to accomodate
11:07
Tommy N.: Could Madrigal possibly move to the outfield in the future if he had to?
11:08
Kiley McDaniel: He could probably catch too, but I can’t imagine why he wouldn’t play 2B or SS.
11:08
Ronnie: Hi Kiley, what do you see Willie Calhoun’s hitting ceiling looking like? Is .300/.400/.500 too high for his ceiling?
11:09
Kiley McDaniel: Maybe not quite that much, but he’s one of the rare guys with a chance to do that. I would almost bet he does the .300 and .500 at least once in his career in the same year. .400 is much tougher for him with that bat control
11:09
Tigers Fan: If you are the GM of the Tigers, with the abundance of pitching prospects that they have up top, would you still take the BPA (like McClanahan or Mize) or go play the bonuses by drafting a hitter (Madrigal)?
Kiley McDaniel: Okay I’m here now, sorry for the delay!
12:21
Kiley McDaniel: Had an errand run too late then a dog demanding some cleanup
12:21
Rick C: I haven’t seen much progress from Folty over the last couple years. I suppose right now he could be seen as a #4/5 starter, but do you think it might be best at this point to move him to the bullpen?
12:22
Kiley McDaniel: That’s kinda the question with Folty. He’s either 8th/9th inning guy or 4th starter as currently constituted. If he can unlock everything, then it’s more of a 3rd starter, maybe a 2. Kinda depends on the patience of the team when/if you move him to the pen. Braves may have less patience as he gets more expensive and younger arms could pass him
Kiley McDaniel: Intriguing lottery ticket arm, chance to start, shows some above average pitches and feel. Could take off, could just be a guy that only shows glimpses. We’ll see!
