Posts belonging to Category Prospect Buzz

• There’s been a growing buzz surrounding University of San Francisco RHP Kyle Zimmer, as he’s asserted his name into the No. 1 overall discussion.  In his first couple starts of the season, his command of four pitches has been great while consistently bringing it in the upper-90s.  John Kilma of Baseball Prospect Report – formerly known as Baseball Beginnings – details what he likes about Zimmer and provides some personal video of the right-hander.

• In the back-end of a double header on Sunday, Georgia Southern right fielder Victor Roache broke his wrist while diving for a ball and is expected to miss the remainder of the 2012 season.  Roache, who is ranked by Baseball America as the No. 9 prospect on their draft board, was coming off a monster offensive season in which he slashed .326/.428/.778 with 30 home runs.  Prior to the injury, he was hitting .412/.600/.765 with two home runs.

• Andrew Pentis of MLB.com wrote a great article on Trevor Bauer and his quest to be the perfect blend of a power and finesse pitcher.  Bauer apparently has nine (yes, nine) pitches, each one specifically designed for a given scenario and/or count.

• After watching endless video and reading a host of scouting reports, a player I like more and more everyday is David Dahl.  I love his setup at the plate as well as his bat path and balance to the point of contact – it’s pretty.  All the tools are there and everything he does on the baseball field looks natural.  Conor Glassey of Baseball America recently posted a first-hand video of Dahl recorded this past summer.  Baseball America also named him a 2012 First Team Preseason High School All-American.

• The great John Sickels of Minor League Ball has finally released his Top 120 prospects for the 2012 season.  In my personal opinion, his list is always one of the best and this year is no different.

• If you’ve enjoyed Dee’s articles on scouting philosophy and the evolution of the prospect landscape, then be sure to check out Nathaniel Stoltz’s “There’s No Such Thing as a First Base Prospect” at Seedlings to Stars.  Stoltz and the rest of the S2S staff have done an impressive job since launching last May, and I find myself reading it daily.

• Over at FanGraphs, Mark Anderson compares Pirates pitching prospects Gerrit Cole and Jameson Taillon.  He examines their respective mechanics and arsenal as well as their overall command and mound presence.  However, I’ll let you find out who he ultimately prefers.

As usual, the Flagrant Fan continues to churn out impressive work.  One of my daily must-read sites, the Fan also does a great job maintaining order as the President of the Baseball Bloggers Alliance’s General Chapter.  Yesterday he wrote about the Yankees’ catching situation and how Jesus Montero’s bat needs to be in the everyday lineup in 2012.  And you know what? I couldn’t agree with the Fan more.

Mike Newman of Scouting the Sally and FanGraphs explores Bill James’s 2012 projections for Paul Goldschmidt—a player Newman’s personally scouted—and more specifically, his .382 wOBA, which would place him in elite company.  Keep your eyes peeled for an upcoming Q&A with Mike, who has scouted many of baseball’s most exciting prospects in the Sally.

Also at FanGraphs, you can read a Q&A with Eric Hosmer in which he thoroughly discusses his swing and overall approach to hitting. (Sometimes I have to resist the urge to post links to every FanGraphs article; what an absolutely phenomenal site.

As we gradually unveil our Post-2011 Top 50 Prospects, I’d like to draw attention to Seedlings to Stars, who are also in the midst of their own prospect countdown.  However, their Top 100 is a bit more ambitious and really well done.  Just today we named Zack Wheeler as our No. 41 prospect, while at S2S, he was just ranked No. 51. I’m excited to see how our Top 50 rankings compare.

One of my colleagues and good buddies MJ Lloyd—a fellow staff writer at Tomahawk Take and a newly appointed staff writer at Halo Hangout—shares his thoughts on Mike Trout’s loss of rookie status for 2012.  As he contends, it really doesn’t matter. Trout will be an impact player whether he’s considered a rookie or not.

• In the wake of the MLB Futures Game, John Sickels dedicated one of his ‘Prospect Profile’ installments to the Rays’ Matt Moore.  Moore was the most impressive pitcher at the Futures Game, and at the rate he’s going may force the Rays’ hand earlier than anticipated. Since entering the Minor Leagues in 2007, Moore has compiled a 615/192 K/BB ratio over 439 innings and really has nothing left to prove at Double-A.  On Tuesday morning Moore was promoted to Triple-A, which leads me to believe that we will see him in the pros fairly soon.  Since the Rays have been rumored to have most of their starters on the trading block, maybe they want to get Moore several starts at Triple-A before someone is dealt and he gets the call…Just a thought.

• ESPN prospect guru Keith Law recently updated his Top 50 Prospects list, and because guys like Dustin Ackley, Mike Trout, Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas have all received promotions, it has a much different look.  Kevin Goldstein over at Baseball Prospectus also reorganized his Top 50 list, which is a much bolder (and exciting) list if you ask me.

• Jonah Keri argues that the Angels gave Mike Trout the call too soon.  Currently hitting .125 (and granted that it’s only through six games), Trout is yet to truly flash all his tools.  And according to Keri, the news of Peter Bourjos hitting the DL may only intensify the 19-year-old’s early struggles.

• On July 11, Braves’ outfielder Stefan Gartrell slugged 16 total home runs to win the Triple-A Home Run Derby.  His opponent in the final round: 17-year-old high school junior Kayden Porter.  Using an aluminum bat, the 6-foot-5, 250-pound first baseman dropped 14 bombs, one of which traveled an estimated 545 feet and cleared the batter’s eye in center.

• Also at Fangraphs, Matt Klassen explores the potential reasons why the Indians are yet to call up Jason Kipnis.  Regarded by many as a more projectable prospect than teammate Lonnie Chisenhall and with Minor League numbers comparable to those of Dustin Ackley, Kipnis’ arrival is imminent. Like Klassen, I say the sooner the better.

• Playing for Triple-A last night, San Francisco Giants prospect Brandon Belt turned in an ugly and disconcerting performance: 0-for-4 with four strikeouts and a walk – a golden sombrero. In 190 Minor League at-bats this season, Belt has struck out 30% of the time but maintains a 20.8% BB/PA.  The Crazy Crabbers explore whether the Giants should recall him with Aubrey Huff slumping, or if the kinks should be smoothed out before he’s forced to face big league pitching.

With the draft quickly approaching and in light of the incident with Buster Posey at the plate a week ago, I think it makes sense to look at the catcher position and the future of it within the draft.  Granted I probably would not even have considered this if the two best catchers in baseball weren’t currently on the disabled list, but that hardly makes anything about the inherent risks of the position less true.  No reader of this site requires an explanation of these risks and the dangers of the catcher position, but I am skeptical many would disagree that it’s about time the offensive catcher disappears from baseball, and it starts with the draft.

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• After surviving another round of the cuts this past week, Baltimore Orioles’ left-hander Zach Britton will likely get one more Spring Training start before he is either sent to Triple-A or chosen as the O’s fifth starter.  The 22-year-old, our No. 25 prospect, has been ridiculous this spring, giving up only one earned run in 14 innings of work while walking four and fanning nine.  But just like with any high-profile prospect, the organization has a decision to make: have him begin the 2011 season in Triple-A and control his contract for an extra year, or immediately put him to work.  For everyone over at Birds Watcher it’s a no-brainer: keep this promising left-hander in the organization as long as possible.

• The Giants’ Brandon Belt is in the same boat as Britton – he is yet to be assigned to Triple-A and is being considered (perhaps even favored) for an Opening Day roster spot.  Compared to other prospects, Belt has received an inordinate amount of playing time this spring – kind of like a big league crash course – and has played well enough (.292 BA, 5 doubles, 3 home runs, and 13 RBI) to keep himself in mix.  Our friends at Splashing Pumpkins weigh in on the situation in a piece called, ‘The Brandon Belt Conundrum,’ and establish a set of criteria that, if met, would justify the first baseman’s spot on the Opening Day roster.

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