Before I get into anything here it’s important to mention that Film Study Friday is nothing if not interactive. If there is a player you want to be included, shoot me a tweet (@HoothTrevor) at any time during the week and I’ll see what I can do!
Film Study Friday is back. The MLB Draft is coming up. There is so much talent around the minors and they are playing well. It’s a good time to endlessly watch prospects, trust me on that. Honestly, it seems like the lower levels are really exciting at the moment.
Before jumping in I have three players who deserve honorable mentions. Astros Shay Whitcomb has gone from last pick of the draft to tearing the cover off the ball and even earning a promotion to High-A. Dodgers Andy Pages can’t stop hitting monster tanks and it’s majestic. And, finally, Cleveland’s Daniel Espino has modified his arm action to be shorter and he is on a tear with his big stuff.
With that in mind, let’s jump in.
Bombs Away
Every so often I stumble upon someone who seems fun. The latest of that group is Giants outfielder Armani Smith. He hit back to back homeruns this week, then another one a day later. His season has been split between Low-A and High-A. Power hasn’t been is strong suit, neither has been walking. However, he seems to be surging a bit following a promotion, so let’s see how high he can fly.
The other man on a mission lately is top international signing Yoelqui Cespedes. If you just look at his numbers, then you’ll be wildly disappointed in the start of his professional career. And to be honest the jury is still out. That said over the span of three days he accumulated three doubles and two homers, which is not a bad week at the office.
Impressive Pirates
To be up front about this, four innings is not enough to make an actual judgement on a baseball player. With that in mind, I’m convinced after four innings of watching Quinn Priester throw a baseball that he is special. His fastball was low-to-mid 90’s with a two seam variation. The star of the show was his breaking ball that was simply fantastic. All upside with him and I am bought in despite the small sample of seeing him.
The other Pirate that has been a lot of fun lately is Liover Peguero. He’s another guy who is all upside, but his bat looks really good recently. The makeup of his profile is hit over power, which is usually a decent one to bet on. Frankly, he’s 20-years-old so there is still plenty of room for more power to come on his frame. I was as skeptical as the come on Peguero, I’ll own it. Every day I seem to be getting less skeptical.
Keep Hope Alive
These next two guys I’m including had good moments, but are struggling. They are still young and frankly I love the upside. There’s not much else to say about it. Enjoy Cubs Fabian Pertuz and Rangers Keithron Moss.
Daxing On The Hitters
Marlins Dax Fulton is still a teenager and also a massive human. His most recent start was not his best, however when the stream camera was on him he performed. The southpaw showed a good fastball that he complimented with a nice breaking ball. Speaking of upside, he was a lot of fun to watch. Between he and Eury Perez there are some monstrously tall upside pitchers in Jupiter.
Hoothpick Of The Week
There isn’t a ton to say about this weeks Hoothpick, it’s more about sharing the sheer excitement that his career is underway. Tampa’s second round pick Ian Seymour threw his first pitches. He went just three innings and struck out four batters. His delivery is interesting enough to watch by itself without the actual talent that Seymour possesses.
Before going any further, here is a quick look at the arsenal he showed in his debut: fastball, slider, changeup.
His fastball touched 97 MPH at least once. His slider was sweepy, but was generating some whiffs at the Low-A level. Those two pitches right there might’ve served the purpose for one start. That changeup looked like a legit offering though. It’s one of those where it seemed like every time it came out of his hand the hitter had no shot.
Seymour’s debut wasn’t all perfect, his command was a little erratic. It was most noticeable with the fastball. There are some other negatives, but why dwell? The point here to all of this is that Seymour showed off his big arm and in a system like the Rays, that is super exciting. We should be thankful for a healthy Seymour and restless to see more.