On Friday, April 8 I kicked off my live look coverage for the season by attending the Scranton Wilkes-Barre Railriders vs. Syracuse Mets double-header in Syracuse. The matchup featured a handful of prospects that appeared in our organizational top 30 rankings as well as two overall top 100 prospects.
Deivi García - Right-Handed Pitcher
3 IP 1 ER 2 H 3 BB 1 K 2 HBP (Game 1)
García worked in and out of traffic over the course of his three innings of work. He struggled to establish the zone with his fastball and he found himself working deep counts which led to his three walks. He was also erratic with the control of his fastball as he plunked two hitters. One encouraging takeaway in regards to his fastball was the velocity. He sat 93-96 over the course of his outing. Despite battling his fastball command, he was able to locate his slider and was able to deploy the offering to get back into counts. Slider (80-82) had plenty of lateral movement and dived away from right-handed hitters. García flipped in a couple of 11-5 shaped curveballs for strikes early counts as well as mixing in a couple of changeups to left-hand hitters. Although Deivi struggled in his season debut, there is still plenty to like from a metric standpoint. His low release, high hop profile and sweeping slider can be above average tools at the major league level if he is able to put it all together.
Oswald Peraza - Shortstop
0-5 1 K (Game 1)
Peraza played in the first game of the doubleheader and started at shortstop. He has gotten off to a bit of a slow start at the plate in the early going. Despite not having the results, Peraza showed a patient approach in the box by working deep counts. His bat to ball skills were on display as he put four balls in play and also spoiled a handful of pitches. He struck out once in which he chased a curveball out of the zone, which happened to be his only poor swing decision on the night. In the field, Peraza handled the two balls hit his way and showed good footwork around the second base bag as he facilitated a double play turn with a strong throw across the diamond. He is currently ranked as the 25th prospect in our top 100 prospects list.
Oswaldo Cabrera - Shortstop
3-4 3 XBH 1 K 1 BB (Game 2)
The switch-hitting Cabrera was the standout of the night. All five of his at-bats came from the left-hand side. At the plate, he barreled three balls and drove them into the right-center field gap. He showed a quick swing path through the zone which allowed to catch the ball out front and drive the baseball. He worked a handful of hitters counts which put him in a favorable position to do damage in which capitalized. Cabrera showed good instincts in the field on a hard hit ground ball up the middle in which he ranged left to nab the ball and set his feet to make a strong throw across the diamond. Cabrera, now 25, has the presence in the box and defensive versatility to be a solid utility infielder at the major league level. In the live looks I have had of Cabrera dating back to last year, he appears to have the athleticism which would allow for him to potentially play a corner outfield spot in addition to his versatility around the dirt.
Estevan Florial - Outfielder
0-4 2K 1 BB
After blasting two mammoth home runs in his first two games of the season, Florial regressed back to the mean as he did not collect a hit in his five plate appearances. Florial stands out for having a very strong frame which helps contribute to his athleticism. He has a knack for working deep counts and Friday was no exception as he worked deep counts in all of his plate appearances. He swung through numerous changeups in the zone, as well as rolling over to second base on an off-speed offering. Florial has struggled to put all the tools together which once made him one of the most highly coveted prospects in the Yankees system. He will need to show the ability to cut down on some of his whiffs and increase his contact rate if he projects to be an everyday contributor in the major leagues.
Mark Vientos - Third Baseman
1-6 1 2B 3 K
Vientos is one of the Mets’ highly regarded prospects, as he checks in as the 80th ranked prospect on the top 100 list. At the plate, he works from a tall, slightly open stance. He has a sturdy frame with an athletic build and it appears he still has room for some physical projection. Overall, the two games I saw for Vientos exposed a couple of his weaknesses. He showed an aggressive approach at the plate as he struck out three times and had a difficult time picking up spin out of the hand. This was evidenced in his inability to lay off sliders out of the zone. It has also been noted that there are questions surrounding Vientos and the position he will play in the field long term. He started at third base and made two fielding errors as he mishandled two ground balls hit his way. Vientos rounded out his night with a hard hit double that he kept inside the third base bag.
Khalil Lee - Outfielder
0-3 1 BB
Lee started game two for the Mets and played center field. Although the box score reflects zero hits, he hit two balls hard and plays were made by the defense. Lee is known for having a distinct eye at the plate which is reflective in his career walk rates, as he drew a four-pitch walk in the game. Lee is a serviceable defender across all three outfield spots and provides the Mets good outfield depth.
Other performers of note:
Although both players exhausted their prospect status a while ago, Ender Incriarte and Greg Bird have gotten off to hot starts in the early going. Bird appears to finally be healthy as he put together a great spring training with the Blue Jays and has now carried over that success to the Yankees. He barreled two pitches, one of which he drove over the center field wall for a home run and another that he drove to the warning track in right field. Inciarte started in game two and proceeded to blast two no doubt home runs to his pull side and patrolled centerfield well as he has shown in the major leagues. Neither player is on the Yankees 40-man roster at the moment, as both players are providing the Yankees veteran organizational depth. Both Bird and Inciarte are names to follow if they continue to perform as other organizations may look to be upgrading their 40-man roster depth.