Daily Prospect Notes: 6/29/21

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

Juan Corniel, SS, Arizona Diamondbacks
Level & Affiliate: Complex Level Age: 18 Org Rank: TBD FV: TBD
Line: 3-for-5, 3 RBI, R

Notes
Corniel has been one of the Extended Spring standouts in Arizona. At a projectable 6-foot-1 or so, he’s an amalgam of twitch, athleticism, and body projection right now. He has the athleticism and actions to play shortstop but doesn’t yet have sentient control of his body. Offensively, the switch-hitting Corniel has swings that are fairly short to the ball but still explosive.

Alberto Sojo, RHP, Chicago Cubs
Level & Affiliate: Complex Level Age: 20 Org Rank: TBD FV: TBD
Line: 2 IP, 4 K

Notes
Though realistically a relief prospect, Sojo is now part of a suddenly robust contingent of hard-throwing pitchers in a system that has struggled to develop them for the last several years. The 20-year-old righty has been up to 97 in my looks while sitting just below that, and his most-used secondary is a hard, low-90s cutter. I’ve also seen a slower breaking ball that Sojo has had trouble finding feel for, but he had no issue throwing strikes last night in Mesa. Here’s an inning from his final Extended appearance. He’ll likely be in the 35+ FV tier on the upcoming Cubs list as a slow-burning relief prospect.

Juan Carela, RHP, New York Yankees
Level & Affiliate: Complex Level Age: 19 Org Rank: NR FV: TBD
Line: 4 IP, 2 H, 2 HBP, 0 BB, 0 R, 3 K

Notes
Carela has a prototypical teenage pitching prospect’s build at a rangy 6-foot-3 and 180 pounds. He sat 90-93 in 2019 but is more consistently 93-95 now, and Carela has feel for creating action on a mid-80s changeup and for inducing two-plane movement with bat-missing depth on his low-80s slurve. He’ll likely be in the 40 FV tier on the Yankees list shortly; there’s a starting pitcher’s foundation here.

Luis Yanel Diaz, 3B, Los Angeles Dodgers
Level & Affiliate: Complex Level Age: 21 Org Rank: 2HM FV: 35
Line: 3-for-4, 2 HR, K

Notes
I could have chosen one of several hitters who had multi-hit efforts in the Dodgers/Angels ACL game last night, a contest that featured 27 combined hits and some verbal sparring between the clubs after a Dodgers player admired a home run. It’s been two years since most of these young kids have played meaningful baseball and there was a lot of intensity in this one. Diaz is tooled out but this is his fourth season (fifth year) stuck down in rookie ball and the track record for players who spend even three years down here is very troubling. In short, don’t be surprised if Diaz puts up huge numbers early this year, as he’s much older and more physically gifted than the average complex-level prospect and needs his approach tested by full-season pitching.

Jack Leiter, RHP, Vanderbilt Comodores
Level: NCAA Age: 21 Draft Rank: 3 FV: 50
Line: 6 IP, 3 H, 3 BB, 2 R, 8 K

Notes
Vanderbilt had a huge first inning against Mississippi State lefty Christian MacLeod and never looked back. Leiter, in what was likely his last college outing, was his usual mid-90s with feel for locating both breaking balls to his glove side. He also made some very athletic defensive plays in the first inning, bounding off the mound in both directions to field weak infield contact, at one point covering for his first baseman’s mistake and beating senior Tanner Allen to first base in a foot race. He’s arguably the safest prospect available in the July draft and a lock to come off the board in the first few picks.