2080 Prospect Spotlights: Notes from the NY-Penn League (v.2)

Miguel Mercedes - Oakland Athletics 2014 extended spring training (Bill Mitchell)

Feature Photo: Miguel Mercedes, 1B, Athletics

Alec Dopp continues his look around Short-Season A NY-Penn League with updated video from the NYPL All-Star Game, held on August 16 at Duchess Stadium in Wappingers Fall, NY, home of the Hudson Valley Renegades.  Among 10 new NYPL All-Star Game videos posted to our Video Library are Adonis Medina (RHP, Phillies), Miguel Mercedes (1B, Athletics), Travis Ott (LHP, Rays), and Tyler Hill (OF, Red Sox).


New York-Penn League All-Star Game Video Highlights

 

LogoMLBPHIAdonis Medina, RHP, Phillies (Short-Season A Williamsport, NY-Penn League)
Ht/Wt: 6’1” / 185   B/T: R/R   Age: 19 yrs, 8m

Medina’s first season as a full-time starter hasn’t yielded flashy results (2.39 ERA, 3.9 K/9, 3.2 BB/9 across 11 starts), but the 19-year-old Dominican right-hander was the toast of the NYPL All-Star Game last week. Signed as a minor league free agent in 2014, Medina’s plus fastball sat 93-to-96 mph with late life in his lone inning of work, and he complimented it with a plus-to-double-plus 79-to-83 mph slider that made some of the league’s best hitters look foolish in the brief appearance. Medina’s changeup is raw (84-to-86 mph, with fade) and he will need to pack on muscle to his lean, athletic build to support bigger innings totals, but his fastball/slider combo alone could make him an interesting late-inning relief candidate down the road.

 

LogoMLBOAKMiguel Mercedes, 1B, Athletics (Short-Season A Vermont, NY-Penn League)
Ht/Wt: 6’4” / 200   B/T: R/R   Age: 20 yrs, 11m

Mercedes, signed by the A’s as a non-drafted free agent in February of 2013, burst onto the scene to start his first campaign above Rookie ball, slashing .370/.417/.556 across his first 14 games with the Lake Monsters. While his production has steadily waned, the 20-year-old still features one of the better power bats in the NYPL, owning a .181 ISO that ranks fourth-best among qualifiers. Mercedes’ tall, strong build yielded exclusively pull-side power in BP and in-game, and his swing generates natural loft and topspin off the barrel. Though his plate discipline metrics have been generally poor (0.29 BB/K; 27.5% strikeout rate), Mercedes showed some selectivity and patience in the game and didn’t expand his zone in either of his two plate appearances.

 

LogoMLBTAMTravis Ott, LHP, Rays (Short-Season A Hudson Valley, NY-Penn League)
Ht/Wt: 6’4” / 170   B/T: L/L   Age: 21 yrs, 2m

A season that began from the bullpen has morphed into a stellar one from the rotation for Ott, who leads all qualified NYPL arms in ERA (0.54), WHIP (0.70) and ranks fourth in K/9 (9.1). The southpaw, a 25th-rounder from the 2013 draft acquired by the Rays as part of the three-team deal sending Will Myers to San Diego in December of 2014, comes home with a crossfire delivery from a low ¾’s arm slot, and has a loose arm action. His outing at the NYPL All-Star game was impressive, whiffing a pair of batters with a 74-to-76 mph curveball that flashed 1-to-7 shape with depth, and he also threw a below-average 88-to-91 mph fastball with minimal arm-side action, which he struggled to keep it down in the zone. He’s also got a slider and changeup in the mix, though they were not viewed in this relief outing. With added mass to his tall, lanky build, Ott could still add a few ticks to his fastball, which will help his cause in remaining in a starting rotation long term.

 

LogoMLBBOSTyler Hill, OF, Red Sox (Short-Season A Lowell, NY-Penn League)
Ht/Wt: 6’0” / 195   B/T: R/R   Age: 20 yrs, 5m

Hill’s introduction to the Penn League has been impressive, as the 20-year-old leads his qualified counterparts in average (.330) and ranks second in OPS (.873). He features quick wrists, a compact swing and a level bat path and worked all fields with line-drive trajectories during batting practice. Hill, the Sox’ 19th-round pick in 2014, showed an aggressive approach in the All-Star game, though he did look defensive against Adonis Medina’s advanced slider in one at-bat. He did pound a leadoff home run (see video), which showed he can turn on fastballs. Hill has been a below-average base stealer thus far as a pro (67% success rate in 34 attempts) and base stealing won’t be a part of his profile (fringe-average 4.38 HP-to-1B time in this view) moving forward, though he does get out of the box with a quick burst to make up for what is lacking in speed underway.