Last week we had our first dispatch in this series, with the Baby Rangers taking on Dallas Baptist. This is the second part, this time against Big 12 stalwart TCU. The Horned Frogs are under newish management with pitching coach Kirk Saarloos taking the skipper job from Jim Schlossnagle, who took the Texas A&M gig at season’s end.
Not unlike DBU in the first dispatch, this is a high quality college team for a group of young players who haven’t seen this quality of play. Talking to evaluators during these games, it’s fair to rank the quality of stuff they’re seeing as A Ball level and in some cases fringe Double A quality. That’s a big step up for draftees out of high school, or even international signings who have yet to play organized ball stateside.
Another thing worth stating that probably should have been said the first time: These are one game samples. The best thing we can take from these as both evaluators and fans alike is a representation of skills and potential. A bad game doesn’t mean they’ll be terrible forever, nor does an outstanding game mean they’re Hall of Fame bound. It gives you a baseline, a theory to work upon going forward.
Despite all that tamping down, both teams gave us a lot of exciting baselines and theories last Friday. If you like good pitching, this was quite a bonanza.
Texas Christian
The Horned Frogs starter Friday was familiar to readers of this site, because he generated quite a bit of buzz in before times. Draft eligible sophomore Riley Cornelio, a top 50 prospect in the 2019 MLB Draft, got the ball and went about showing why he’ll be talked about the same way next summer. Showing three pitches led by a 93-96 fastball, a hard curveball at 85-87, and a changeup with some fade at 93-87, Cornelio made quick work of the opposition. At 6’3” and 195 lbs,
Cornelio could even add 10-15 pounds of muscle to fill out even more.
There were two candidates for best pitcher in this game, and Cornelio makes a strong case for it. The floor for a guy like Cornelio is high, and with the possibility of improvement there’s plenty on which to dream. This is a name to monitor with priority come early spring, because there’s a good chance we’ll be hearing it many more times associated with high picks.
Draft eligible last year but unselected, lefty Austin Krob has something to prove this season. He started that campaign well against the Baby Rangers. The fastball was 93-95, along with a slider at 81-85. What’s unique about Krob is his delivery. It draws attention as soon as he warms up: he has a sidearm style delivery from what’s best described as a 3/4th arm slot. It’s quite unique, and gives a lot of deception with which the hitter must process.
That combined package creates a bullpen profile that could be impactful. If there’s a third pitch it didn’t come out Friday(in fairness Krob didn’t need it), but even as presented there’s a lot to enjoy.
A victim of the pandemic shortened draft in 2020, righty Cam Brown turned down the chance to start his pro career for more experience with the Frogs. That appears to be a gamble which will pay off. Brown came into this one pumping 94-97, touching 99 a couple times while pairing that with an 84-86 curveball. The velo bump from previous outings is encouraging, and with a solid breaking offering Brown fits into the same potential mold as his teammate Krob.
If you stayed until the winds grew chilly and the innings hit double digits (guilty), you got another treat with sophomore righty Garrett Wright. A College Station native that TCU plucked out of the Aggies’ grasp in 2020, the righty worked fastball 94-97 and changeup 87-89. Without an intimate knowledge of the Texas A&M pitching staff, this seems one that the maroon clad faithful might regret getting outside the city limits. The body is maxed out, so the next stage here might be a third pitch (assuming Wright just didn’t use one he has Friday), but an almost throwback pitch pairing worked well against this opposition.
Rangers Instructional
The big news for the Rangers side in this game was righty Ricky Vanasco pitching outside of rehab and Arizona for the first time since his Tommy John surgery. The results came back mixed, as one might expect.
The pitches themselves look quite good. Vanasco’s fastball hummed at 93-96, hitting 97 with some late run. The curveball had bite at 83-86, and the changeup functioned fine at 84-86. The problem was Vanasco had control issues during his entire outing. The first inning ended up being rolled (ended without three outs being achieved by request of a team) after Vanasco couldn’t find the handle.
It was disappointing but not surprising. It takes years to get right from that surgery, and Vanasco shows promising signs of recovery but part of it still need walking. The righty is in great shape, the pitches themselves appear to be in order. With time and repetition, outings like this will be in the far rearview mirror.
The other candidate for pitcher of the night followed Vanasco in TK Roby. The righty came in looking peak with his fastball 93-95, changeup and curve both 81-85, and able to command all three. The curveball in particular gave opposing hitters fits. A victim of elbow ligament damage earlier in the year, Roby looked none the worse for wear against TCU.
If this level of performance is something Roby can maintain along with his health, Texas has another quality arm they can add to their stable rising through the ranks. The top end is well stocked with names like Jack Leiter and Cole Winn, but the system will survive and thrive on arms like this if they hit. Of all the impact names to follow in Texas’ ascending farm, this is one to file away.
If you’ve made it this far, congratulations! You’ve earned a special treat in the form of a deep sleeper. Here’s righty Emiliano Teodo, who has almost 30 career innings since being signed in 2020 out of the Dominican Republic. The 20 year old does one thing well: bring the gasoline. With the temperatures in the 50s and the wind kicking up, Teodo still sat 97-99 and hit 100 multiple times. He’s pairing that with a curveball at 82-85 that has the word “fine” written next to it in the notebook.
Teodo’s control isn’t Alex Speas bad, but it’s something he’ll be working on going forward. If that improves, Texas has another flamethrower who will just need more experience before being ready for a bigger stage. It seems a safe bet that Teodo will find his way to Low A to start 2022, and if you like heat he’s one to know.