Brendan Gawlowski: Allllright, a prospect chat. After a long trip, maybe I should ask the questions and you all can tell me happened these last few weeks.
2:01
Brendan Gawlowski: Kidding. I dutifully prepared by watching Jonah Tong exhaust his rookie eligibility, thank God, last night.
2:01
rainingmozzarella: Hi Brendan! How was your time off?
2:02
Brendan Gawlowski: I missed baseball but Italy was amazing, thank you.
2:02
WonderWall: Hi Brendan, hope you had a great trip! I was wondering what resources you used when you were learning Italian?
2:02
Brendan Gawlowski: Started with Duo but things only really took off when I found some friends on Tandem and started talking with them regularly. Supplement with podcasts, books/newspapers, and some tv.
Late last week, I arrive at Peoria, on the opposite corner of the Phoenix Metro, where Padres first-round pick Coleman Borthwick is making his uniformed debut against the Rangers. I’ve settled on “uniformed debut” rather than “pro debut” for these kinds of box score-free backfield outings that precede the player’s first real game at an affiliate. The second I walk across the threshold between the parking lot and the field, I spot Ramón Laureano playing catch with a softball, and then with a regular baseball. He looks incredibly strong, like he’s taken outstanding care of himself as he rehabs from a labrum tear. I’m one of the first interested parties here, with former big leaguer Ernie Young among the scouts who have beaten me to the field. Several Padres players and personnel make their way behind home plate, including Lucas Giolito, whose upper arm/tricep hair rivals that of your author’s. Read the rest of this entry »
Eric A Longenhagen: Good morning, chat. Happy September Stretch Run to you all.
12:18
Brendan Smith: Will you be at the first weekend of the AZ Fall League? Any tips for a first-time attendee?
12:21
Eric A Longenhagen: Yep, I’ll be here all season save for maybe one weekend where I slip out of town for football. My first tips for newbs is to check the schedule to make sure you’re not accidentally coming here when the group is playing down in Tucson, or when there are off days to avoid counter-programming the world series. Look at the schedule and see when the games take place consecutively so you can double and triple up.
12:22
Eric A Longenhagen: My second piece of advice is to avoid Glendale during the day if it’s still pretty hot outside. The way that ballpark is oriented leaves you without shade.
12:23
scottsjunk1981: Have you seen anything unexpected in Jackson Kent’s first few starts?
12:24
Eric A Longenhagen: Just that the strikes have been *this* bad. Changeup is missing bats at a plus clip. Think he’s still in that no. 4/5 SP area long term.
Ben Jacobs is emerging as a prospect to watch in the Detroit Tigers system. A third-round pick last year out of Arizona State University, the 22-year-old southpaw is currently on a five-game run at High-A West Michigan in which he has fanned 33 batters while allowing just 10 hits and two runs across 26 frames. Moreover, he has gone 15 scoreless over his last three starts.
His overall numbers are solid. On the season, the erstwhile Sun Devil has logged a 34.4% strikeout rate, a 3.50 ERA, and a 3.80 FIP over 87 1/3 innings, all but 16 2/3 of them with his current club. Jacobs made his professional debut with Low-A Lakeland in April, but earned a promotion by the end of the month.
He entered the year with a relatively low profile. When our 2026 Tigers Top Prospects list came out in late February, Jacobs ranked just 24th with a 40 FV. Fast forward six months and it’s hello helium. Recently asked for a scouting update, Eric Longenhagen called the Huntington Beach native an “arrow up guy,” adding that he now merits a 40+ FV.
On Thursday, I woke up to a text warning me that first pitch of the Diamondbacks-Giants Bridge League game had moved up to 10 AM local time – presumably due to the heat, our morning low on Thursday was 95 degrees and cranked up to 113 – and that a rehabbing Ketel Marte was in the lineup. The change in schedule meant I could spend an hour watching Ketel and Co., then slip over to the Rockies’ side of the Salt River Fields Complex to catch a second game. Rehabbers typically hit every inning, so I hoped to squeeze in three Marte at-bats before changing locations. Read the rest of this entry »
Eric A Longenhagen: Good morning, readers. Thanks for coming to another chat. Let’s get right to it.
12:02
veest: How is Dylan Jordan looking these days? I know there was some velo improvement, but is anything else moving forward?
12:04
Eric A Longenhagen: Struggled with walks for the better part of the last two months. 93-96 t97 with extreme uphill angle because of his delivery, slider 80-84 generating elite miss. Still a good pitching prospect even though he’s struggled with strikes, could end up having multiple plus-plus pitches.
12:05
Anthony Hoehner: Okay, I can’t ignore it anymore. Is Ryan Cesarini an actual prospect?
12:07
Eric A Longenhagen: Yep, platoon OF prospect. Great pull-side, high-ball hitter, especially against righties. 50 hit, 55 power against righties, more like 35 hit, 45 power against lefties. Swings over the top of lots of soft stuff down and away from him. How much that gets exposed by big leaguers will dictate whether or not he sticks. He should get an opportunity at some point in his mid-20s, doesn’t have to go on Cleveland’s 40-man until after 2027 season so look out for him in ’28
Bryan Balzer is arguably the most intriguing prospect in the San Diego Padres system. Currently ranked eighth with a 40 FV, the 21-year-old right-hander had virtually no pitching experience when he entered pro ball in 2023. Moreover, he blew out his elbow and had Tommy John surgery following his lone turn on the mound. That was at Joso Gakuin High School, roughly an hour northeast of Tokyo.
His current season has been somewhat of a mixed bag. Between Low-A Lake Elsinore (60 1/3 innings) and High-A Fort Wayne (32), he has a record of 6-2 to go with a 4.58 ERA, a 5.17 FIP, and a 23.4% strikeout rate. But while at times he’s been all too hittable, he has also shown flashes of high-ceiling potential. When I saw him toe the rubber for Fort Wayne in mid-July, Balzer fanned eight batters — including Tigers top prospect Bryce Rainer with two out and the bases juiced — while holding West Michigan to one run over five frames. A day prior, I asked him about his decision to sign with the Padres rather than joining another MLB organization or staying home to pitch in NPB.
“My goal was to be a professional baseball player; I didn’t care if was Japan or America,” replied the Yokosuka native. “But I grew up watching Yu Darvish and wanted to be on his team.”
Balzer, who was mostly raised in Nippon but spent a few years stateside while in grade school, went on to say that his decision was also influenced by his Tommy John surgery; the Padres expressed less concerned than other MLB teams about his having gone under the knife. As for the NPB teams he might have landed with — this via the league’s draft process — the Hanshin Tigers were the first to have a scout approach him after his lone pitching appearance. In terms of overall interest, he recalls the Tokyo Yomiuri Giants having been “the main ones.” Read the rest of this entry »
Eric A Longenhagen: Hello internet friends, it’s that time again.
12:08
rossredcay: Ethan Petry struggled pretty bad to start at AA after getting promoted, but seems to be picking it up lately (HR in 4 straight games, 5 in last 8). Does he have a shot to hit enough to be an everyday guy? Or have the cracks showing in the hit tool at AA made that less likely?
12:10
Eric A Longenhagen: He’s the sort who could have window where he’s an everyday guy, think Luke Voit.
12:10
Eric A Longenhagen: Where he’s technically an everyday guy but he’s a 40
12:12
Turks Teeth: Jake Munroe looks awfully solid for an under the radar 4th rounder. Thoughts on his projection?
12:13
Eric A Longenhagen: It’s above average contact but not the kind power you’d expect from a guy slugging .500
Eric A Longenhagen: Good morning from Tempe, where the monsoon was in full effect this week. Happy to be home after a long, productive Area Codes. Thanks for stopping by, let’s hit your questions…
12:17
rux12321: Any thoughts/insights on recent draftees Cole Prosek and Connor Comeau?
12:19
Eric A Longenhagen: I was in Surprise yesterday. Prosek had a big day on the Royals’ side of the Complex. Homered and doubled, big move forward, nice to see him squaring pro pitching out the gate. I was on the Rangers side until they were done (only seven innings yesterday) and Comeau played well at shortstop, took good at-bats. Didn’t sizzle anything but looked good, much more projectable than Prosek. Seong-Jun Kim pitched, 93-94, four pitches, strikes.
mistersparkle: Do you see Ethan Salas being promoted to the majors by the end of this season? If so, are the Padres rushing him or does he seem big-league-ready?
12:20
Eric A Longenhagen: I think so long as Campy is hitting like this that Fermin/Campy is the duo they’ll go to the mattresses with.
Welcome to the second installment of “Wait, What?!,” a series in which I dive deep on some of the prospects whose performance has most surprised me this season.
He had me at “Italian.”
At the outset of the pandemic, my wife encouraged me to join along as she learned Italian. After months of resistance, I finally caved. The first word I learned was ragazzo, which means “boy.” The plural form (ragazzi) came not long after, at which point I was able to translate the name of the pizza joint I’d often stumbled into at 3 AM back in college. All of 90 seconds into studying, I was hooked. I quickly exhausted a couple of online courses and soon, in a sort of modern day, language-themed pen pal arrangement, I connected with a few Italians online, which improved my language skills dramatically. This will be my last article here before I take a two week trip to Italy to see those friends. As far as I know, I don’t have a hint of Italian heritage, but that hasn’t prevented me from becoming a proud Italophile.
So, when an Angels source sidled up next to me on the backfields a few months ago and started talking excitedly about a Milanese lefty they’d signed out of indy ball, I stopped paying attention before he got to the part about the upper-90s fastball and wipeout slider. Read the rest of this entry »
