Daily Prospect Notes: 8/6/2021

These are notes on prospects from Eric Longenhagen and Tess Taruskin. Read previous installments of the Daily Prospect Notes here.

Eric’s Notes — Games on 8/4

Chandler Redmond, 1B/2B/3B/LF, St. Louis Cardinals
Level & Affiliate: Hi-A Peoria Age: 24 Org Rank: 34 FV: 35+
Line: 2-for-3, 2 HR, BB

Notes
It’s time for Redmond to be promoted. He’s hit .245/.361/.520 since June 22 and owns a career .259/.368/.508 career line, but he’s done so as an old-for-the-level prospect. Redmond was a 32nd round pick out of Gardner Webb, so it made sense to begin his career in the Appy League even though he was already 22. Now 24, he’s not seen a plate appearance above A-ball. Redmond has big, all-fields power and has played all over the field. He could be a bat-first piece, hidden on defense wherever the opposing club is least-likely to hit one that day. Visually, his swing is kind of grooved, and I’d like to see Redmond’s contact skills stress-tested against more advanced arms.

Connor Seabold, RHP, Boston Red Sox
Level & Affiliate: Triple-A Worcester Age: 25 Org Rank: 9 FV: 45
Line: 6 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 0 R, 10 K

Notes
I was at Seabold’s first Triple-A start, at Lehigh Valley against his former org, and there he commanded 91-94, while his changeup was frequently plus (he casts it on occasion). He deploys his slider rarely enough that it usually catches hitters off guard even though it’s not a great pitch on pure stuff. His pitch count has climbed — 85 pitches in his 8/4 start, up from about 70 in his first two outings — and he’s one of the few viable, upper-level starters on the Red Sox 40-man (he and Tanner Houck), so he’s likely to be called upon at some point over the next two months. Long-term, Seabold should seize control of a spot toward the back of a competitive Red Sox rotation.

Dax Fulton, LHP, Miami Marlins
Level & Affiliate: Low-A Jupiter Age: 19 Org Rank: 19 FV: 40+
Line: 5 IP, 1 H, 0 BB, 0 R, 10 K

Notes
Fulton’s average fastball velocity has climbed three ticks since his first start, and he’s now sitting 93 and topping out at 96 rather than sitting 90 and peaking at 93. I’ve moved him into the 45 FV tier. If fully healthy (which he appears to be now), Fulton just goes in the middle of his draft’s first round, comparable to Andrew Painter in terms of skill and size, rather than falling because of a looming TJ rehab. The risk associated with Fulton and fellow fireballing fawn Eury Perez is roughly the same, in my mind, as the risk that the hit tools of whiff-prone sluggers (like Peyton Burdick in this system) bottom out.

Tess’ Notes — Games on 8/5

Hunter Greene, RHP, Cincinnati Reds
Level & Affiliate: Triple-A Louisville Age: 21 Org Rank: 2 (40 overall) FV: 50
Line: 6.1 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 10 K

Notes
As I mentioned when I last checked in with the Greene, his first start after his mid-June promotion to Triple-A was flawed to say the least. He gave up four home runs (three in the first inning alone), and lasted only four innings, shorter than any of his starts at Double-A. Before his promotion, Greene had allowed only two home runs in seven starts, and he had a 1.00 WHIP through 41 innings, with 37% K-rate to boot. After that rocky first outing, it took Greene a few games to settle in to his new surroundings. But settle in he has, and on Thursday, he gave us a glimpse of what his brand of dominance can look like at this new level of competition. The 6-foot-5 flamethrower sat comfortably in the triple-digits against a formidable St. Paul lineup (seven hitters in the starting lineup have OPS above .800), and was virtually untouchable. He recorded his third 10-strikeout game of the season, and his first at Triple-A, relying heavily on his trademark heater, and locating his slider well low in the zone to keep batters off balance.

St. Paul infielder Nick Gordon banged a single off the right field wall to lead off the fourth inning, but that was the only hit Greene allowed in his 6.1 innings of work, and what little damage had been done was eliminated on the very next pitch when Gilberto Celestino grounded into a double-play, giving shortstop Jose Barrero a chance to show off his much touted defense with a short-hop-glove-flip combo that he made look effortless. This has little to do with Greene, so forgive me for shoehorning it in here, but I think you’ll agree it’s worthwhile:

Aaron Ashby, LHP, Milwaukee Brewers
Level & Affiliate: Triple-A Nashville Age: 23 Org Rank: 1 FV: 50
Line: 6 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 11 K

Notes
Ashby made his major league debut at the end of June; if you don’t remember it, the lefty is probably grateful. In his start with the Brewers, he gave up seven runs on four hits and three walks, lasting only 2/3 of an inning before being pulled (the Brewers offense and bullpen miraculously combined to spare him the loss). Ashby was promptly optioned back to Triple-A, where he’s been used out of the bullpen, and in an opening role; he hasn’t pitched more than four innings since early June, which may hint at the org grooming him for a relief role. But on Thursday, Ashby looked every bit the starter against the Toledo Mud Hens. He was one foul ball shy of immaculate in the first, throwing 10 consecutive Ks to strikeout the side. His fastball touched 97, and he employed both his slider and his curveball to great effect against the lefty-heavy Toledo lineup. He worked incredibly quickly throughout the evening; it took him less than three minutes to record a groundout and two strikeouts in the top of the sixth inning. In fact, when he issued his only walk of the game, and the runner advanced on a past ball, he seemed to make a concerted effort to slow things down, but that resulted in a throwing error when he tried to pick off the runner at second base, allowing the runner to advance to third, where he was ultimately stranded when Ashby retired the next two batters in order.

In a strange bit of synergy with Hunter Greene, the only hit Ashby allowed on the night was a single to right field, which was immediately erased by an atypical double play. After JaCoby Jones reached on a softly-hit, well-placed groundball through the 3-4 hole, the next batter, Juan Centeno chopped a ball off the front of the plate. Mirroring Barrero, who initiated a double play without the use of his throwing hand, Nashville catcher Luke Maile did so without the use of his glove. I’m going to shoehorn in another barely-relevant video here, and once again, I’m not sorry:

Drew Millas, C, Washington Nationals
Level & Affiliate: High-A Wilmington Age: 23 Org Rank: 13 FV: 40+
Line: 3-for-5, K

Notes
Millas was acquired by the Nationals as the most noteworthy part of the prospect package exchanged for Yan Gomes and Josh Harrison. In his first game with his new club, the ultra-athletic catcher hit three singles, one of which drove in two of Wilmington’s 10 runs. Even with his strikeout in the fourth, Millas has walked more than he’s fanned this year, boasting a K-rate of just 15.1% while walking 14.8% of the time.

Christian Koss, SS, Boston Red Sox
Level & Affiliate: High-A Greenville Age: 23 Org Rank: 42 FV: 35+
Line: 3-for-5, 3 HR, K

Notes
Koss got off to a slow start in 2021, but after a couple of months of tinkering with his timing, he’s managed to right the ship, and turn his season around. Since the beginning of July, the infielder is slashing .362/.400/.648 for a wRC+ of 174, and has struck out just 15.7% of the time in that span. On Thursday, Koss accounted for all of the offensive production in the game (on both sides, in fact), launching three home runs off three different Rome Braves pitchers, collecting four RBI in Greenville’s 4-0 victory.

Other Notes: While Koss’ three-homer night, the first in the club’s history, was undoubtedly the story of the game, the three pitchers on the mound for the Greenville Drive put up a solid performance, even if they were out-shined. The starter was 22-year-old southpaw Jay Groome, who allowed only one hit across five innings of shutout baseball, punching out six hitters in the process. Righties Jacob Wallace and Zach Bryant pitched two scoreless relief innings apiece, combining with Groome for a total of 13 Ks on the night. Meanwhile, Jasson Dominguez hit his second career home run at Low-A Tampa. It came off his bat at 100.6 mph, which was his second hardest contact of the night, after his groundout later in the game, which clocked in at 109.1.