Daily Prospect Notes: 6/18

Notes on prospects from lead prospect analyst Eric Longenhagen. Read previous installments here.

We’re entering a time on the scouting calendar when a great shift in resources occurs. Short-season leagues get underway this week (if they haven’t already), which means some amateur scouts will pick up regional pro coverage now that the draft is done, while others stay on the amateur showcase circuit to prep for 2019. It also means teams that know if they’re buying or selling at the trade deadline can target scouting resources more efficiently by identifying likely trade partners and focusing on those systems. For example, the Padres have probably considered what teams are in need of lefty relief help at the deadline and have made it an organizational priority to know about those teams’ systems more than the systems of other rebuilding clubs. Daily Prospect Notes returns as a space to explain and discuss concepts like this, individual performers, my in-person notes, and whatever else I see fit to talk about.

Yordan Alvarez, 1B/OF, Houston Astros (Profile)
Level: Double-A   Age: 20   Org Rank: 3  FV: 55
Line: 2-for-5, HR

Notes
Sunday was Alvarez’s first game back from a hand injury that cost him about a month and a half. Injuries have limited him to 134 games combined in parts of three pro seasons. Between those extended periods of inactivity, however, Alvarez has dominated. This is a giant 20-year-old who is remarkably athletic and twitchy for his size and crushing Double-A in a modest sample. This was the relatively unknown guy that the Dodgers signed for $2 million just before the clock struck midnight on the 2015 July 2 period. He hadn’t suited up for the Dodgers before they sent him to Houston for Josh Fields, and now he’s the best prospect from that 2015 Dodgers July 2 class by a sizable margin. He’s a potential middle-of-the-order force and quickly closing in on an increasingly expendable A.J. Reed.

Francisco Mejia, C/OF, Cleveland Indians (Profile)
Level: Triple-A   Age: 22   Org Rank: 1  FV: 60
Line: 2-for-4, 2B

Notes
After a putrid start that saw him hitting .189 entering June, Mejia has caught fire and has a hit in 20 of his last 46 at-bats. Scout speculation regarding his early-season struggles focused either on the weight of learning a new position (Mejia began seeing time in left field this spring after giving third base a try last fall) or Triple-A pitchers taking advantage of his aggressive approach. He’s catching more often now than he was earlier in the year. (If one of the reasons he was tried in the outfield was because Cleveland wanted to accelerate his timetable to the bigs, Mejia’s offensive struggles make that moot.) His viability at catcher is the most important aspect of his entire profile.

Manuel Silva, LHP, Philadelphia Phillies (Profile)
Level: Short-Season   Age: 19   Org Rank: NR  FV: 35+
Line: 6 IP, 2 H, 0 BB, 0 R, 5 K

Notes
Here’s another interesting young Phillies arm from Latin America. Silva sits 89-92 and will touch 94 with good angle. His changeup and slider are both below average, but Silva’s arm slot creates natural vertical movement on the slider and it pairs well with his fastball. Silva’s got room on the body for more mass, but he’s not so athletic or physically projectable that I envision him growing into ridiculous stuff. Instead, he could end up with a bunch of 50s and 55s and find a home in the Nos. 3 to 5 range of a rotation.

Nathaniel Lowe, 1B, Tampa Bay Rays (Profile)
Level: Double-A   Age: 22   Org Rank: HM  FV: 35+
Line: 3-for-4, 2B, BB

Notes
A-ball and below is full of big-bodied mashers with offensive holes that haven’t been exposed yet. Lowe was recently promoted to Double-A and starting to stress-test our current evaluation. He has huge raw power and has shown an ability to stay back on breaking balls and drive them with power to the opposite field with his strength. If he keeps hitting like this in Montgomery for the rest of the summer, he could be one of the more drastic movers in a loaded Rays system.

Sean Reynolds, 3B, Miami Marlins (Profile)
Level: Short Season   Age: 20   Org Rank: NR  FV: 35+
Line: 2-for-4, 2 2B, BB

Notes
This is a name to know because Reynolds is a pretty athletic 6-foot-7 guy with big power projection and a whole bunch of late-bloomer traits. His size is one of those, as is his background, which includes a lot of time on the mound as an amateur. If guys like this figure it out, it’s usually late. Reynolds is only 20 and has barely had a taste of ball away from the complex.

Ty France, 3B, San Diego Padres (Profile)
Level: Double-A   Age: 23   Org Rank: NR  FV: 35+
Line: 2-for-5, HR

Notes
France has 55 raw power and has posted above-average strikeout rates throughout his pro and college careers. He’s a bit of a defensive tweener but has enough stick that he seems likely to play some kind of big-league role, be it as a platoon bat for corner bench option.

Other Stuff
Enigmatic Dodgers righty Yadier Alvarez is scheduled to rehab tonight in the Dodgers’ Arizona League opener. Two highly paid Mariners teenagers from last year’s July 2 period, Julio Rodriguez and Juan Querecuto, haven’t played in the DSL for several days. I’ll speculate that they’re on their way to Arizona. Giants righty Tyler Beede has now made two consecutive appearances out of the bullpen which, due to control issues, might be his forever home.