Big League Debut: Nicky Lopez and Oscar Mercado Join The Bigs

Big League Debut: Nicky Lopez and Oscar Mercado Join The Bigs

Nicky Lopez and Oscar Mercado have been tearing the cover off the ball in Triple-A. Now with promotions to their respective clubs, it’s time to dive into what they bring to the table.

Big League Debut: Shed Long, Seattle Mariners

Big League Debut: Shed Long, Seattle Mariners

It seems like there isn’t an abundance of Shed Long love around baseball. That might be because he’s been the same player for the last three years or so with little variance, good or bad. We’ve long formed our opinion on the 5-foot-8 23-year-old. Yeah, that size is right. Long is anything but an imposing figure at the plate but he’s not lacking dynamic skills.

Big League Debut: Cal Quantrill, San Diego Padres

Big League Debut: Cal Quantrill, San Diego Padres

Son of a Big Leaguer, Freshman Phenom, Tommy John survivor, Top 10 pick, and under-performing prospect; Cal Quantrill’s career has been a roller-coaster ride of emotions. After varying results over the last season and a half, the former Stanford standout, received the call to the big leagues. Let’s dig into the scouting reports from the pre-season industry ranks and see how they compare with the pitcher we see tonight versus the Atlanta Braves.

Big League Debut: Nick Senzel, Cincinnati Reds

Big League Debut: Nick Senzel, Cincinnati Reds

Finally — and perhaps a year later than we expected — Nick Senzel is making his major league debut with the Reds. The elite prospect is batting second in the lineup and the hope is this is day one of his becoming a fixture in Cincinnati. Injuries have dogged him for the last year, to the point where I think some have forgotten just how good he can be.

April Prospects of the Month

April Prospects of the Month

The minor league season is officially into its second month — May is upon us. There was a lot to digest in the opening month of 2019 and, amidst the injuries, promotions, and MLB debuts, several performances went unnoticed. We went digging to make sure we spotlighted someone that you might’ve missed.

Big League Debut: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Toronto Blue Jays

Big League Debut: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Toronto Blue Jays

There was a moment last season where I realized what separates Vladimir Guerrero Jr. from every other minor league hitter I’ve every watched. The funny part is it wasn’t an actual at bat. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was on deck while Bo Bichette faced Jack Wynkoop a soft tossing lefty in the Rockies system Guerrero Jr had homered off in Hartford about 10 days earlier. Despite his prior success against Wynkoop, Vlad was staring daggers at each pitch with an intense focus rarely seen. Bichette roped a double out to left center on a soft fastball over the plate. Up stepped Vlad. He took two pitches off the plate, the next pitch a fastball, he hit on a laser for a single. 

Big League Debut: Carter Kieboom, Washington Nationals

Big League Debut: Carter Kieboom, Washington Nationals

Is this deja vu? The Nationals suffer an injury to a key position, available replacements haven’t been adequate and the team calls up a highly touted prospect quicker than we anticipated. In 2018, Juan Soto got the call and now it’s shortstop Carter Kieboom’s turn.

Chronicles of a Couch Scout: Is that a Curveball or a Slider?

Chronicles of a Couch Scout: Is that a Curveball or a Slider?

This is going to be a running series, acting almost like a journal of things I pick up, challenges I faced, and things I learn in my path to improving my ability to scout live games. I’m going to be open about my shortcomings, some of which may be surprising for someone who’s been in this industry for almost a couple of years now. But I hope that if someone is out there and is hesitant about attending games for fear of feeling out of place or like you can’t learn to look at a game with a scouting eye, this spurs you to just get out and try your hand at it.

Big League Debut: Pirates' Bryan Reynolds, Diamondbacks’ Taylor Clarke

Big League Debut: Pirates' Bryan Reynolds, Diamondbacks’ Taylor Clarke

The Pirates and Diamondbacks need some Triple-A reinforcement so in come Reynolds and Clarke, both prospects ranked inside each of their respective Top 20s in our Prospects Live Team lists. What kind of upside do they carry?

Big League Debut: Cole Tucker, Pittsburgh Pirates

Big League Debut: Cole Tucker, Pittsburgh Pirates

Sometimes injuries force teams to do things they likely don’t want to in the first place. Add “ineffectiveness" to the injury and you now have the recipe for unexpected call ups. This was the case for the Pirates when they recalled shortstop Cole Tucker on Saturday and promptly inserted him into the lineup as a leadoff hitter. Welcome to the big leagues, kid.

Big League Debut: Michael Chavis, Boston Red Sox

Big League Debut: Michael Chavis, Boston Red Sox

Every year I go on vacation to Florida. In the spring of 2017 I was in the Sunshine state on my usual siesta, taking in games in Bradenton (caught Ke’Bryan Hayes, Will Craig, and others that year), meanwhile in the Carolina League a former Red Sox first rounder was emerging early in the season. That player was Michael Chavis, he continued his assault on the minors throughout that 2017 campaign. I remember digging into the box scores on the plane ride back to New England, wondering at what point in the summer I would get to catch the upstart third baseman with Portland. In late June of 2017 Chavis was promoted to AA Portland playing alongside current Red Sox third baseman Rafael Devers. I remember taking in a series with the duo in Hartford, and while he was not quite on Devers level, the hard contact at the point of contact was obvious, as he ripped liners all over the field. Following the 2017 campaign Chavis was assigned to the Arizona Fall League and showed relatively well in 23 games with Peoria slashing .261/.327/.478 with four homers and 17 RBI. Then it came April, and with it an 80 game PED suspension for anabolic steroids that cut Chavis’ 2018 to just 46 games mostly split between AA Portland and AAA Pawtucket. For many this called into question the third baseman’s carrying tool, his 70 grade raw power. A year later, there’s been time for Chavis to regain some of his 2017 prospect stock but questions still remain. Let’s take a look at just what the Red Sox are getting with his recent promotion.