Daily Prospect Notes: 7/11

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

Andres Gimenez, SS, New York Mets (Profile)
Level: Hi-A   Age: 19   Org Rank: 3   FV: 50
Line: 3-for-5, 2B, 3B

Notes
Gimenez is a 19-year-old shortstop slashing .280/.350/.430 in the Florida State League. That’s good for a 107 wRC+ in the FSL. Big-league shortstops with similar wRC+ marks are Trea Turner (a more explosive player and rangier defender than Gimenez) and Jurickson Profar, who have both been two-win players or better this year ahead of the break. Also of note in the Mets system last night was Ronny Mauricio, who extended his career-opening hitting streak to 19 games.

Bobby Dalbec, 3B, Boston Red Sox (Profile)
Level: Hi-A   Age: 23   Org Rank: 11   FV: 40
Line: 4-for-4, 2 HR

Notes
Dalbec is slashing .260/.370/.570 at High-A but also striking out 30% of the time as a 23-year-old. Dalbec has 70 raw power and a 60 arm and might hit 30 homers in the big leagues so long as his ability to reach base and/or make contact makes him a viable big-league hitter. Confidence in his ability to hit big-league pitching will be bolstered if he hits upper-level minor-league pitching, which he hasn’t yet had the opportunity to prove.

Bernardo Flores, LHP, Chicago White Sox (Profile)
Level: Double-A   Age: 22   Org Rank: HM   FV: 35+
Line: 7 IP, 6 H, 0 BB, 2 R, 7 K

Notes
Flores was jerked back and forth between the bullpen and rotation at USC and never had a chance to develop pretty promising stuff. After he was drafted, his velo spiked into the mid-90s and I ran him way up the White Sox system ranks. Last year, it tanked into the mid-80s and he fell into the honorable mention section of Kiley’s rankings, only remaining there due to the quality of his secondary stuff. He’s throwing harder again this year, sitting in the low 90s, and once again looks like a potential rotation piece.

Other Notes
There was an unusually high number of rehabbers scattered across the minors last night, several of them big leaguers. I’ve compiled them here, with relevant injury and scouting notes if I have them.

Stephen Strasburg
This was Strasburg’s first rehab start back from right shoulder inflammation. He threw 57 pitches and touched 96 mph.

Estevan Florial
Florial has played in three GCL rehab games since returning from hamate surgery.

Clarke Schmidt
Sitting at 92-95 with a plus slider atop a four-pitch mix, Schmidt is working back from Tommy John. His three GCL appearances constitute his only pro experience, so he isn’t technically rehabbing, but the GCL is beneath his combination of stuff and polish.

Dalton Pompey
Still only 25, Pompey missed four weeks with a torn left thumb ligament. He has also had wrist issues this season and had knee and concussion issues that limited him to thirteen games last year.

Victor Robles
He’s rehabbing from a hyper-extended left elbow.

Austin Riley
He’d missed four weeks with a sprained PCL.

Jose Cardona
Oblique, missed a month.

Kyle Cody
The Rangers have given both Cody and LHP Joe Palumbo multiple AZL appearances.

Tim Locastro
Hip pointer. Returning to Triple-A Oklahoma City today.

Donovan Solano
Solano suffered a hamstring injury in May and has played five AZL games to start his rehab. It’s worth noting that he was hitting well at Oklahoma City and that his ground-ball rate had dropped precipitously. He has a 50% career rate that dropped to 43% last year and was way down at 32% in 160 plate appearances before his injury.

Chris Heston
Heston has made five relief appearances in the AZL on his way back from a shoulder injury which shelved him after his first Triple-A start in April. He also had shoulder issues in 2016.

Brian Duensing
Duensing has been on the DL with shoulder fatigue since July 1.

Ervin Santana
Santana made a rehab start at Double-A, his fifth start back from capsular release/debridement surgery on his right middle finger’s metacarpophalangeal joint. He threw 63 pitches. His next start will be for Triple-A Rochester.

Mitch Keller
Not rehabbing, as Triple-A Indianapolis had an off day and Keller pitched down a few levels to stay on normal rest for Sunday’s Futures Game.





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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Joe_nello
5 years ago

Austin Riley is playing rehab games in rookie ball