Daily Prospect Notes: 5/22
Daily notes on prospects from lead prospect analyst Eric Longenhagen. Read previous installments here.
Bryan Reynolds, OF, San Francisco (Profile)
Level: Hi-A Age: 22 Org Rank: 3 Top 100: HM
Line: 5-for-6, 2B, 3B
Notes
After a hot start, Reynolds cooled off and was hitting a shade under .260 as Sunday’s action began. That’s somewhat concerning for a big-school college hitter in the Cal League. San Jose is one of the few pitcher-friendly (barely) parks in that league and Reynolds’ home/road splits are evocative of that: his OPS is .541 at home and a .913 on the road.
Corbin Burnes, RHP, Milwaukee (Profile)
Level: Hi-A Age: 22 Org Rank: 18 Top 100: NR
Line: 7 IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 0 R, 10 K
Notes
The fiery Burnes is starting to look like a bit of a steal in last year’s fourth round and has a 1.00 ERA over nine starts at High-A. His frame is filling out and he’s sitting 92-94 with a chance for three average secondaries (maybe a 55 curveball) and average command. He’s athletic, fields his position well, and profiles toward the back of a rotation.
T.J. Friedl, CF, Cincinnati (Profile)
Level: Low-A Age: 21 Org Rank: 9 Top 100: NR
Line: 3-for-4, BB, 2 2B
Notes
Last year’s post-draft signee and Team USA spark plug, Friedl is hitting .291/.381/.464 despite a pull-only approach to hitting. He’s a college hitter who likely needs to be tested at a higher level and, other than Daniel Sweet, non of the outfielders at Cincinnati’s Florida State League affiliate are hitting. Friedl’s speed, defense, and bat speed all point to a potential everyday role in center field, but some scouts are a bit concerned about how much he’s pulling the ball on the ground.
Nick Plummer, OF, St. Louis (Profile)
Level: Low-A Age: 20 Org Rank: 19 Top 100: NR
Line: 3-for-5, 2 2B
Notes
Plummer missed three weeks with an oblique strain and has played in just 18 games this year. But he’s hitting .2813/.433/.472 and has knocks in nine of his last eleven games. He missed all of last year with a hand injury that required multiple surgeries and comes from an odd developmental background in Michigan (where high school at-bats start with 1-1 counts), so I expected him to start slowly. That said, he’s walking in 19% of his at-bats (he walked at a 17% clip over 50 games in 2015, so perhaps that number isn’t a total aberration) and playing center field.
Scott Kingery, 2B, Philadelphia (Profile)
Level: Double-A Age: 23 Org Rank: 12 Top 100: NR
Line: 4-for-5, 2 HR
Notes
Yes, a portion of of Kingery’s offensive output this year is caricatured by the Eastern League pitchers’ Twilight Zone in Reading, and he’s not going to slug .650 in the big leagues like he is now, but he has some elite hitter traits in his lightning-quick hands, plays a plus defensive second base, and is a heady baserunner with 70 speed. (He’s 9-for-9 on steal attempts this year.) Philly has a difficult decision on the horizon at second base.
Kyle Funkhouser (Profile)
Level: Hi-A Age: 23 Org Rank: 10 Top 100: NR
Line: 7.2 IP, 3 H, 0 BB, 2 R, 10 K
Notes
Though many of Funkhouser’s starts have been made on an extra day’s rest, his stuff appears to have resurrected. He’s sitting in the mid-90s with that same bat-missing slider that allowed him to dominate as an underclassman at Louisville. He’s also shown an improved changeup with which he’s missing bats, he’s throwing more strikes than he did at Lousiville, and a scout noted that Funkhouser looks athletic and was quick off the mound — adjectives that weren’t used to Funkhouser late in his college career. The hitter in the following video is midseason top 100, Jesus Sanchez of Tampa Bay.
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Notes from the back fields
Angels RHP Chris Rodriguez was electric on Friday morning, sitting 93-96 with a plus mid-80s and above-average low-80s curveball. They’re two distinct and effective offerings that Rodriguez commands despite a violent delivery. His changeup is better than it was last summer after he signed. He has some feel for locating it now. It has a bit of tumble to it and, while it’s still below average, scouts are encouraged by the progress Rodriguez is making. He has the best present stuff of any pitcher I’ve seen in Extended Spring Training this year and only San Diego LHP Adrian Morejon has any kind of argument in that regard.
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.
Any idea if Kingery has made some adjustments to keep the ball off the ground? His batted ball profile has had a dramatic shift towards more flyballs this year.