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

Michael Paez, INF, New York NL (Profile)
Level: Low-A   Age: 22   Org Rank: NR   Top 100: NR
Line: 4-for-5, HR

Notes
Paez was the best prospect on Coastal Carolina’s 2016 College World Series championship team. He’s 5-foot-8 but has sneaky pull power to which he’s always been able to get in games despite high strikeout totals. He’s 22 and a college hitter at Low-A so his season .306/.404/.543 line needs to be taken with a large grain of salt, but he could be a big-league bench piece as a power-before-hit infielder who can play second and third base.

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This coming Monday, Jeff Sullivan and I will be joining a talented group for a Pitch Talks show in Seattle.

Jeff will be joined by current Lookout Landing editor (and FanGraphs first resident) Kate Preusser along with Meg Rowley and Patrick Dubuque of Baseball Prospectus for a panel that should be pretty entertaining. I’ll be hanging out with local scribes Shannon Drayer and Ryan Divish for a panel on the state of the Mariners, and how 2017 factors into the future of the organization. And between those discussions, Kyle Boddy, the owner of Driveline Baseball, will chat about the changing face of training and rehab, and how organizations like his are attempting to develop a very different generation of pitchers.

Mike Salk (ESPN Radio) will host the event, and with that line-up, it should be a pretty great night of baseball talk. You’re definitely going to want to make it to this one.

Tickets are $25, but using Homestand as the coupon code, you can get it down to just $20. I should note that the venue states this is a 21 and up show, so unfortunately, adults only at this one.

Hope to see you guys on Monday night.

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

Bo Bichette, SS, Toronto (Profile)
Level: Low-A   Age: 19   Org Rank: 10   Top 100: NR
Line: 3-for-4, HR

Notes
Now at .381/.458/.619 on the year, the Bo Bichette I saw as an amateur looks like the outlier and not the one who was arguably the best prospect at some later showcases before the draft. While Bichette’s style of hitting violates Lansing noise ordinances, his feel for contact and hand-eye coordination are sublime and he has plus-plus bat speed. Bichette is also showing a measured two-strike approach. He’s making a case for top-100 consideration, even though he’s unlikely to stay at short.

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Position: Sports Info Solutions Research and Development Internship

Location: Coplay, Pa.

Description:
Sports Info Solutions is looking for candidates to fill a paid internship in our R&D Department in the summer and fall seasons. Ideally, the candidate will be available in early-to-mid June through the end of the year. The intern will work out of our office near Allentown, Pa., and will assist our R&D team, supporting research for publications and future products. Recent R&D interns have landed internships and full-time jobs with major league teams.

The position requires a variety of skills including (but not limited to) an analytical mind, computer expertise, writing ability, and a passion for football and baseball.

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

Julian Merryweather, RHP, Cleveland (Profile)
Level: Triple-A   Age: 25   Org Rank: NR   Top 100: NR
Line: 8 IP, 4 H, 0 BB, 8 K

Notes
I left Merryweather off of Cleveland’s offseason list entirely because I had reports from scouts who thought he was succeeding as a 24-year-old in A-ball due to deception, a good changeup, and little else. Turns out that was foolish. Merryweather is 25 but he’s pitched his way to Columbus and he carved up one of the more talented lineups in the International League yesterday, garnering swings and misses with all three pitches. He’s deceptive, athletic, touched 95 several times, flashed a plus curveball and changeup, and despite some issues timing all the moving parts of his delivery, he threw lots of strikes. There are scouts who think he fits better in relief, but he has mid-rotation stuff.

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

Jahmai Jones, CF, Los Angeles (AL) (Profile)
Level: Low-A   Age: 19   Org Rank: 1   Top 100: 92
Line: 3-for-5, 2 2B

Notes
After a prolonged period of failure that resulted in a .167 batting average as May began, Jones has begun to hit as well he did on the complex each of the last two years. He has 11 multi-hit games in May and has raised his average to .250, possibly a sign that he has made some adjustments. Jones has had issues with covering the outer half of the plate this year and has struggled to lay off of or spoil breaking balls down and away from him.

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

Jose Marmolejos, 1B, Washington (Profile)
Level: Double-A   Age: 24   Org Rank: 19   Top 100: NR
Line: 3-for-4, HR, BB

Notes
Marmolejos returned from a non-throwing forearm strain that required a 60-day DL stint on the 12th, and he has a hit each day since then. He’s got terrific bat-to-ball skills and is a good defensive first baseman but is blocked, not only at the big-league level by a resurgent Ryan Zimmerman, but at Triple-A by veteran Clint Robinson. He probably lacks the power to play every day, but it looks like he’s going to hit enough to merit a bench spot.

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

Ryan Burr, RHP, Arizona (Profile)
Level: Low-A   Age: 22   Org Rank: NR   Top 100: NR
Line: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 BB, 1 R, 3 K

Notes
Burr was remarkably consistent at Arizona State, sitting 93-96 with an above average slider each time I saw him. After dealing with injuries last year, he’s back to missing bats, albeit at a lower level than one might like to see from a college prospect in his second full pro season. He has setup-man upside if everything is intact.

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Position: Sports Info Solutions Information Technology Analyst

Location: Coplay, Pa.

Description:
The candidate will develop new features and products as well as help maintain existing internal and external products within a mature codebase. The ideal candidate will be responsible for building applications, including anything from back-end services to their client-end counterparts. The primary responsibilities will be to design and develop these applications, and to coordinate with the rest of the team working on different layers of the infrastructure. Therefore, a commitment to collaborative problem solving, sophisticated design, and quality product is essential.

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

Anthony Gose, LHP, Detroit (Profile)
Level: Hi-A   Age: 26   Org Rank: NR   Top 100: NR
Line: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 R, 1 K

Notes
Gose hasn’t technically been a prospect since 2012, but he’s attempting to stick the landing on a Reverse Ankiel and convert to the mound after nine pro seasons as an outfielder. Gose’s inability to hit at the big-league level has sparked whimsical discussion about a conversion because he’s very athletic, was up to 97 on the mound in high school, and had some breaking-ball feel. His fastball was hovering in the mid- to upper 90s during extended spring training as he got up to speed for affiliated ball.

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