Daily Prospect Notes: 5/18

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

Walker Buehler, RHP, Los Angeles NL (Profile)
Level: Double-A   Age: 22   Org Rank: 5   Top 100: 74
Line: 3.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 9 K

Notes
Buehler made five dominant but abbreviated starts at High-A, never superseding the 65-pitch mark. He was then shut down for 10 days before earning a promotion to Double-A. He’s been sitting 95-99 all spring with a plus-plus, hammer curveball and a hard slider/cutter anywhere from 87-91. He’s very athletic, balanced, and always appears in control of his body despite the high-effort nature of his delivery. He throws all three pitches for strikes. He has the stuff and enough polish to pitch in the big leagues this year in a multi-inning bullpen role — and, if his usage and early-season inning management is any indication, the Dodgers seem to think so, too.

Christin Stewart, LF/DH, Detroit (Profile)
Level: Double-A   Age: 23   Org Rank: 2   Top 100: HM
Line: 2-for-5, HR

Notes
Stewart has plus raw power and continues to get to it in games at Double-A, netting 11 homers already this year, the most in the Eastern League. Scouts have him projected as a below-average defensive corner outfielder or designated hitter. He also swings and missed a lot. Nevertheless, his combination of plate discipline and power (he’s hitting about 50% of his balls in play in the air this season) should profile there. If a Weird Science remake were set around 21st century internet baseball writers instead of 80s teen misfits, they’d accidentally create a Christin Stewart.

Sam Travis, 1B, Boston (Profile)
Level: Triple-A   Age: 23   Org Rank: 4   Top 100: NR
Line: 2-for-4, BB, HR, SB

Notes
Travis had a bad April, which included a two-week stretch without an extra-base hit. He had a sub-.300 OBP as May began. He has begun to hit and has six multi-hit efforts in his last nine games. Scouts are skeptical about him having the power to profile at first base, but he might reach base enough to be a second-division regular.

***
Notes from the back fields
Royals prospect Hunter Dozier, who was placed on the 60-day DL with an oblique strain on April 2, was in the Kansas City lineup at first base in Surprise on Wednesday. He exited after a few at-bats, healthy. His bat speed appears intact. I once again ran into RHP Janser Lara (about whom I wrote on Monday) and once again Lara was 94-97 but this time flashing a better breaking ball.

Milwaukee LHP Chris Nunn was out of baseball last year after San Diego released him before the season. This post from Brew Crew Ball details an eventful year away from organized ball, which includes a male modeling stint and serious eye injury. He’s garnered multiple curious looks from scouts in Arizona, as Nunn’s max-effort delivery produces a mid-90s fastball that has been up to 97 in extended. He’s also flashing a late-breaking, plus slider, though he doesn’t locate it consistently.





Eric Longenhagen is from Catasauqua, PA and currently lives in Tempe, AZ. He spent four years working for the Phillies Triple-A affiliate, two with Baseball Info Solutions and two contributing to prospect coverage at ESPN.com. Previous work can also be found at Sports On Earth, CrashburnAlley and Prospect Insider.

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RonnieDobbs
6 years ago

Is Walker a RP? I hate spelling his last name.