Daily Prospect Notes: 5/10/21

These are notes on prospects from lead prospect analyst Eric Longenhagen. Read previous installments here.

Corbin Carroll, CF, Arizona Diamondbacks
Level & Affiliate: Hi-A Hillsboro   Age: 20   Org Rank: 1 (20 overall)   FV: 60
Line: 3-for-5, HR, 3B, BB, 2 SB

Notes
I’m going to bet Carroll goes to the Futures Game and ends up promoted to Double-A shortly after the showcase. He’s shown no signs of slowing down after looking like the best player in all of Arizona during 2020 instructs. This is the kind of player who’s going to out-produce his raw power in games because the quality of his contact is just so good. His homer yesterday (which tied the game in the ninth) was hit to the opposite field. It wasn’t like a lot of oppo bombs that rely on brute strength (think of Giancarlo Stanton’s right-center homers) or just happen to suit the swing path of someone with big power (Ryan Howard). Instead, Carroll just dove to try to cover the outer third of the plate and poked the barrel there, and he hit the bottom of the ball with the sweet spot of the bat.

Kaden Polcovich, 2B/CF, Seattle Mariners
Level & Affiliate: Hi-A Everett  Age: 22   Org Rank: tbd   FV: 40
Line: 3-for-4, HR, 2B, BB, SB

Notes
Polcovich is listed at just shy of 6-feet tall but he’s really closer to 5-foot-7 or so. He is not lacking strength or explosion, though. He swings as hard as anyone in the org and has shocking power for a person his size. There’s pop from both sides of the plate and plus speed here. There’s also real hit tool risk and no guarantee that, even though Polcovich is fast, that he’s going to be able to play a premium defensive position. He really struggled at second during my amateur looks at him, and so far Seattle has played him there for a handful of games and in center field for one. His skillset reminds one of a watered down Ian Happ.

Oswald Peraza, SS, New York Yankees
Level & Affiliate: Hi-A Hudson Valley   Age: 20   Org Rank: 3 (68 overall)   FV: 50
Line: 4-for-6, 2 SB

Notes
That’s seven steals in six games for Peraza. I consider him a high-probability everyday player more than a toolsy superstar sort of prospect, which often correctly hits as “better in real life than fantasy” to our readers, but the stolen bases might close that gap. This night buoyed what was otherwise a slow first week for Peraza.

René Pinto, C, Tampa Bay Rays
Level & Affiliate: Double-A Montgomery   Age: 24   Org Rank: NR   FV: 30
Line: 4-for-4, 2 2B

Notes
Pinto went from an honorable mention prospect to one who was not on the Rays list at all. Removing him may have been premature. He plays the scarcest position with the lowest offensive bar in the entire sport and has a .280/.335/.421 career line. Even though Francisco Mejía is out with a strained oblique, there are so many catchers (including a couple with big league experience) ahead of Pinto on the Rays organizational depth chart (Kevan Smith, Joseph Odom, Brett Sullivan) and prospects who likely will be long-term (Ford Proctor, Blake Hunt).

Zach Remillard, SS, Chicago White Sox
Level & Affiliate: Double-A Montgomery   Age: 27   Org Rank: HM   FV: 35
Line: 2-for-2, 3B, HR, 2 BB

Notes
Realistically an upper-level org player and perhaps a future ex-pat, Remillard is a well-rounded player who I just like to watch. He has the arm strength to hides other flaws at shortstop (and he plays all over the field) and he has a high-effort, buggywhip style swing with a bat wrap. It creates a lot of noise and length in his swing, but it looks really sweet when he connects. He’s got a .258/.316/.381 career line (lately as an old-for-the-level player). The big league average batting line at shortstop right now is .236/.303/.382. With Danny Mendick clearly ahead of him as the shortstop/utility bench player on the big league roster, Remillard might make for an interesting minor league free agent or overseas option soon, especially if his swing can be toned down without taking away its explosion, since Remillard needs every bit of it.