Feature Photo: Kyle Tucker, OF, Astros
Welcome to the second week of Notes from the Midwest, where Mauricio Rubio, John Arguello, and Nick J. Faleris take us around the Texas and Midwest Leagues with prospect spotlights on Alex Vedugo and Daniel Poncedeleon in the Texas League; new video and reports on Houston’s 2015 first-round pick Kyle Tucker and sandwich-round pick Daz Cameron; and early-season updates on 10 prospects who graced 2080’s 2016 Top 125 Preseason Prospect Ranking List.
Midwest League Prospect Profile
Kyle Tucker, OF, Astros (Class A Quad Cities)
Ht/Wt: 6’4″/190 | B/T: L/R | Age (as of April 1, 2016): 19y, 4m
The Astros 2015 draft class has a chance to be something special, thanks to two of the top five overall picks (Alex Bregman at #2 and Kyle Tucker at #5) and some savvy maneuvering that landed them another potential top-10 overall talent in the supplemental round in Daz Cameron (#37 overall). Tucker, the youngest of the trio – two days younger than Cameron, in fact – is making a name for himself as one of the more impressive young bats in the Midwest League.
Tucker’s main draw is his uncanny ability to find the barrel. It’s a skill he showed off as an amateur and earned him the title of “best pure hitter in the high school class” from some evaluators. He casts the barrel as he loads up, which is a ding against him for some, but he makes the mechanics work for him, and he does a solid job getting his swing plane in sync with the pitch plane, producing loud contact to all fields. He has enough hand-eye coordination and wrist strength to manipulate the barrel and find the baseball at contact, and his overall feel and contact-friendly swing helps him project to a potential plus hit tool. The power projects to be average at maturity as he grows into his body and adds muscle, with the projectable frame looking like it can add at least 10 pounds of good weight in time.
In the field, Tucker has enough arm for right field, and he takes average routes to the baseball at present. He’s currently an above-average runner with 4.25 times HP-to-1B, but as the body continues to mature the speed should scale back some. Overall, it’s a corner-outfield profile with the potential to produce at the plate, giving him a good chance at a future as a first-division right fielder. – Mauricio Rubio
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2080 Top 125 Prospect Updates
-Lewis Brinson, OF, Rangers (#14): Brinson was banged up last week after some aggressive play in the outfield for Double-A Frisco, but is back taking BP and hopes to return to action soon.
-Raul Mondesi, SS, Royals (#16): Mondesi had a rough week at the plate for Double-A Northwest Arkansas, going 3-for-16 with five strikeouts, and seeing his average drop to .231. Detractors insist Mondesi will always have his struggles with consistent contact, but no one debates the speed and gorgeous defensive skills, giving him a solid foundation to be a future big league shortstop.
-Franklin Barreto, SS, Athletics (#19): Barreto broke out of a three game hitless streak on Saturday with a 3-for-4 performance, and has since gone 4-for-14 with a home run and four strikeouts. Same sizes this small are mostly irrelevant, but the hope is that we are starting to see the 20-year-old get comfortable in his first year of Double-A action.
-Alex Bregman, SS, Astros (#53): Bregman suffered a hamstring injury, landing him on the seven-day DL at Double-A Corpus Christi, but hopes to return soon. He’s off to a torrid start at the plate, slashing .340/.431/.660 through his first 13 games.
-Francis Martes, RHP, Astros (#60): Martes had a rough outing last Friday for Double-A Corpus Christi against the Frisco RoughRiders, retiring just two hitters before being yanked 31 pitches into the first inning. He’s just a 20-year-old tackling the Texas League, and the Astros should show some patience with him as he finds his way early in the season following a strong 2015 campaign.
-Joe Musgrove, RHP, Astros (#62): One scout from a rival organization recently made the argument that Musgrove is the third best pitcher in the Astros’ organization, major league arms included. While the point may be debatable, his production over the last 12 months is not – and more importantly, the scouting matches up with with his impressive lines. Musgrove put in limited work this past week for Double-A Corpus Christi, going just 3.1 innings while striking out four, but he remains one of the more interesting arms to follow in the eight-team Texas League.
-Isan Diaz, SS, Brewers (#95): The talented Diaz had a rough run of games for Class A Wisconsin against Peoria and Quad Cities, hitting about 40 points below the Mendoza line and dropping his slash line on the young season to .230/.347/.426. While Diaz is struggling with contact more than expected, the issues seem to stem more from his approach than any mechanical issues or struggles identifying spin. It’s not an ideal start to the season, but added reps should go a long way towards improved production, and better dovetailing with the positive scouting opinions.
-Daz Cameron, OF, Astros (#102): The Midwest League is a tough assignment for teenagers, given significant travel and at times brutal weather through April. Those challenges notwithstanding, and contrary to the struggles seen with Diaz, Cameron appears overmatched at the plate in Class A Quad Cities, hitting just .127 with four extra-base hits over his first 68 at-bats. He’s struggling to put good swings on the ball, striking out in 37% of his plate appearances thus far, and showing very little in the way of hard contact. (Read more on Cameron in his spotlight below).
-Derek Fisher, OF, Astros (#113): Fisher is 5-for-17 over his last four games at Double-A Corpus Christi, including a pair of home runs over that span. There’s still a disconnect between the power displays he can put up in BP and the frequency with which he taps into that power in-game, but there’s potential for impact in the stick, and if he can maintain adequate contact rates he has a chance to emerge as legitimate power threat at the highest levels.
-Junior Fernandez, RHP, Cardinals (#123): Fernandez had a strong start at Class A Peoria on Saturday, throwing eight innings while allowing just two runs on six hits with no walks and 10 strikeouts. It’s mostly his double-plus fastball at this point, though his changeup continues to show promise and could be a plus offering when all is said and done.
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Prospect Spotlights – Texas League
Daniel Poncedeleon, RHP, Cardinals
Daniel Poncedeleon, RHP, Cardinals (Double-A Springfield)
Ht/Wt: 6’4”/185 | B/T: R/R | Age (as of April 1, 2016): 24 y, 4m
Poncedeleon works in the low 90s with a heavy fastball as well as a curveball, changeup and cutter that each project as potential average offerings. Poncedeleon suffered through a shaky start against Arkansas on April 21 in which he gave up two earned runs in just 1.2 IP, as the righty struggled to find his spots and the zone. His lack of command in that game was uncharacteristic, as the former Houston Cougar will generally show well spotting his arsenal to both sides of the plate. He followed up that performance with a solid showing against Northwest Arkansas, in spite of a pitching line charging Poncedeleon with five earned runs in 6.1 innings of work.
Poncedeleon worked through six scoreless innings, punching out 10 while allowing just two walks and two hits before taking the mound again in the seventh. One hard hit ball from Bubba Starling followed by a walk, a soft single, a three-run homer, and an infield single, and Poncedeleon’s day was done. He doesn’t project to be an impact arm, but there’s solid feel for the craft, a nice mix of offerings, and some solid production to-date. If he develops more feel for and consistency from his secondaries he could eek out a back-end role. – Mauricio Rubio
Alex Verdugo, OF, Dodgers
Alex Verdugo, OF, Dodgers (Double-A Tulsa)
Ht/Wt: 6’0”/205 | B/T: L/L | Age (as of April 1, 2016): 19 y, 11m
The 2015 season was a year of adjustments for Verdugo, as the Arizona prep product struggled during his first taste of full-season ball before simplifying his swing in May and letting loose over the final three months of the season, topping out at High A Rancho Cucamonga and finishing the year with a combined slash line of .311/.340/.441. He was rewarded with an aggressive 2016 assignment to Double-A Tulsa as one of the youngest players in the Texas League, and he has thus far held his own, hitting .254 with two home runs through 19 games
There’s solid pull-side power in Verdugo’s lefty swing, but he can get off-balance in his cuts and struggle to drive the ball the other way with authority. He sees the ball fairly well, and has an understanding of the strike zone to go with a general plan of attack at the plate. At maturity, it’s possible to envision solid- average playable power to go along with an average or tick-above hit tool, and some on-base ability to boot.
Thus far in his pro career, Verdugo has primarily occupied center field. Whether or not he sticks there long term is probably dependent on whether or not he loses a step from his average foot speed as his body continues to thicken, and dependent on what other options the Dodgers might have by the time he’s ready to debut in LA. There’s plenty of arm for right field, however, in which case his ultimate value will come down to whether or not his overall offensive profile syncs up with his defensive home. There is plenty of time to sort out those issues but for now, Verdugo will focus on handling advanced arms as they adjust over their second and third looks at the youngster. –Nick J. Faleris
Prospect Spotlights – Midwest League
Daz Cameron, OF, Astros (Class A Quad Cities)
Ht/Wt: 6’2”/185 | B/T: R/R | Age (as of April 1, 2016): 19 y, 4m
Cameron profiled as a prospect with all-around average tools and not a lot of flash. His initial exposure to full-season ball is treating him roughly, with the Peach State native appearing overmatched at the plate and struggling to make contact. The 2015 sandwich-round pick is giving away at-bats early, expanding the zone and often working from behind in the count. Additionally, Cameron has failed to square-up the ball with authority when he is making contact, perhaps causing him to press even more.
Defensively, Cameron gets the job done in center and could profile as an above-average glove in time. He shows a good understanding of the game and natural actions across the field, which helps to bolster the floor on the profile. Still, it’s apparent through even brief looks that there is work to be done. Given his life growing up around the game with his father Mike, who enjoyed an impressive 17-year career in the major leagues, the hope is that his understanding of the game, and the struggles that come with it, will help him to deal with this early adversity. –Mauricio Rubio
Eddy Julio Martinez, OF, Cubs
Eddy Julio Martinez, OF, Cubs (Class A South Bend)
Ht/Wt: 6’1”/195 | B/T: R/R | Age (as of April 1, 2016): 21 y, 4m
The Cubs signed Martinez out of Cuba for a $3 million bonus in October, 2015. He’s a high-ceiling talent but also arrives with some questions. The questions come on two fronts, but they tie in together, and they’ll define what kind of player Martinez will ultimately be. The first is defense. While Martinez runs well, his reads and routes can be erratic. As a consequence, he spent much of camp in right field instead of center. The second question is whether he will have the kind of power teams traditionally want if he does remain in right. There is no question about his arm, which rates at least plus.
As a hitter, Martinez has quick, strong hands and good bat speed, and he’s able to drive the ball to both gaps. He has shown flashes of raw power, particularly to his pull side, but can be overly aggressive and chase pitches out of the zone. For now, he can still jump on mistakes, as he has twice this year in South Bend, but as he moves up and faces better pitching, he’ll have to develop a more mature approach.
Martinez is an exciting player who is still a bit raw despite already being 21 years old. There is work to do, but Martinez has the tools to become a dynamic all-around player. – John Arguello
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Top Performers
- Taylor Clarke (RHP, Diamondbacks, Class A Kane County): Clarke pitched six quality innings for Kane County on April 23, showcasing the ability to command his arsenal east and west and attacking down in the strike zone. There’s not a lot of high upside here but he could be a good back-end arm.
- Francisco Mejia (C, Indians, Class A Lake County): Mejia’s had a torrid week highlighted by a 3-for-5 performance on April 20. He’s still a young and raw product but his arm strength and catching ability are attractive draws in the 20-year-old’s profile. Mejia recovered well from a slow start last year so it’s a good sign that he’s hitting so well this early in the season.
- Jacob Scavuzzo (OF, Dodgers, Double-A Tulsa): Scavuzzo is off to a hot start in the Texas League and he had a strong game on April 23 as he went 2-for-5 with a home run. He’s a big, strong-bodied kid with plus raw power who projects to have a below-average hit tool thanks to his aggressive approach.
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Stat Wrap
Texas League
Hunter Dozier, 3B, Royals: 5-13, 4 BB, 2 K
Orlando Calixte, OF, Royals: 5-15, 3 SB
Dylan Covey, RHP, Athletics: 1 GS, 6 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
Joe Musgrove, RHP, Astros: 1 G, 3.1 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K
Hunter Dozier keeps on hitting and he’s putting some life back into his prospect stock. Orlando Calixte is a tooled guy who has had a long development path through the minor leagues as his hit tool needs work. Dylan Covey flashes good stuff, but he doesn’t miss bats and can lose his command on his bad days. Joe Musgrove is looking more and more like he’ll be in the Astros’ rotation soon.
Midwest League
Matt McPhearson, OF, Diamondbacks: 5-15, 2 SB
Derek Hill, OF, Tigers, 3-15, SB
Rogelio Armenteros, Astros, 1 GS, 5.2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 5 K
Albert Abreu, Astros, 1 GS, 5.2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
Matt McPhearson has started the season well but keep in mind his stature and style; he’s a slap hitter with minimal power. It’s good to see Derek Hill back at it after an injury-plagued 2015. He has the tools to climb onto midseason ranking lists with a strong performance, but for now Hill is off to a slow start in 2016. Albert Abreu recovered well after a rough start to 2016. The precocious Astros prospect touches 96 mph on occasion and has quickly established himself as an arm to watch.
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This Week at 2080 Baseball…
Reports
Kyle Tucker, OF, Astros (Class A Quad Cities)
Daz Cameron, OF, Astros (Class A Quad Cities)
Video
2080 Content
- 2080 Contributor Lisa Winston is having a ball tracking the major league debuts that have been happening since Opening Day. Her latest Les Debutantes column covering week two, can be found here, but for more reading check out the gang of players debuting in week one by clicking here for the A.L., and here for the N.L. debuts.
- 2080’s Mauricio Rubio and C.J. Wittmann discuss Alex Bregman, Kyle Tucker, Jose Berrios, Byron Buxton, and James Kaprielian on their most recent episode of The Scale, found here.
