Welcome to a new weekly series here at Prospects Live! As I watch games I keep notes that just don’t fit into the character limits of Twitter, and the purpose is to share the thoughts and observations that don’t make it into the tweets. Of course, you can always find the highlights and videos on my Twitter account, @HoothTrevor. It’s important to note that these are one-game samples. The intention is not to have these observations act as a scouting report, but to share some of the more in-depth tidbits I see over the one-game span.
Mason Black, RHP, SF, Single-A
Game stats: 5 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
Notes: Black has a wipeout slider with big, sharp sweep to it with some downward action. He likes to establish his fastball early, but he doesn’t have to. His fastball is in the 93-95 MPH range. In the first start of his I watched earlier in the season he was very much committed to using the big slider as a strikeout pitch and only showed the two pitches. In this outing, the slider was used in strikeout situations in the couple innings, but he relied on painting fastballs for strikeouts. Regardless of batter-handedness Black liked to work the out fastball to the outside corner. He was commanding it to both sides of the plate successfully. He did sprinkle in changeups too, mostly when ahead 0-1. He did strikeout a batter on a changeup. It’s a distant third offering.
Noel Vela, LHP, SD, High-A
Game stats: 6 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 8 K
Notes: Southpaw with good velocity, sitting in the mid-90s with his fastball. Three solid pitches showed in this outing between is fastball, curveball, and changeup. Curveball is the clear out pitch. Big break, showed feel to get sharper break in strikeout counts. May struggle to get more advanced hitters to chase it, as some of the late-count breaking balls were borderline non-competitive. However, he was getting swings and misses to both righties and lefties. The changeup flashes as a solid pitch with downward action low in the zone. Fastball was playing up. It did appear that his arm path shortened when throwing the breaking ball.
Kevin Alcantara, OF, CHC, Single-A
Game Stats: 1-for-5, HR, 4 RBI
Notes: Home run was a grand slam to the opposite field. His quick hands help to generate power, but he swings extremely hard. Had some impressive at bats where he fouled off pitches with two strikes. Made an adjustment after rolling over an inside fastball within his first at bat, he was able to turn on one that nearly left the yard later in the game. It wound up being a hard hit fly out to the warning track in left. The real adjustment was to not get beat inside, which he did for his first two at bats. Showed an ability to recognize spin and adjust. Not much action his way defensively, though he did show the makings of a strong arm in right field. Projectable frame.
Connor Phillips, RHP, CIN, High-A
Game Stats: 6 IP, 3 H, 0ER, 1 BB, 9 K
Notes: His slider breaks so sharply it might need a turn signal. It’s like a frisbee. Plus pitch, easy. His profile reminds me of Royber Salinas. Fastball, slider, curveball with questions of command. Phillips slider is better and his command is a little better. There was no given velocity on this broadcast, Phillips fastball has been clocked around 93-95 MPH in the past. Some armside run on the fastball. Breaking pitches are distinct. The slider is sweepy and the curveball gets plenty of downward action. Lightning quick, whippy arm. He only walked one, but his command was very inconsistent. He did have an idea where the pitches were going, but he was finding himself in a lot of 3-ball counts with non-competitive pitches. As evidenced by the walk total, he was able to focus back in before issuing the free pass. It happened throughout the start, but it was very apparent later in the game as he got tired.
Brant Hurter, LHP, DET, Single-A
Game Stats: 5 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 9 K
Notes: ACC arm, very clearly too advanced for this level. Fastball was around the 93-94 MPH range. Flashed a changeup, but the slider was the crown jewel. He located the breaker to both sides of the plate, he could have it break below the zone, and it was a weapon to righties and lefties. He could pretty much do whatever he wanted, moving the fastball around and relying heavily on the breaking ball. He did give up some hard contact, including a triple to a rehabbing big leaguer. Big 6’6” frame, and he stays tall through the delivery while utilizing a lower arm slot. Hips fire through powerfully during the delivery.
Kyle Harrison, LHP, SF, High-A
Game Stats: 5 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 9 K
Notes: Coming in and expecting one of the best pitchers in the minor leagues. He certainly looked the part in some ways. Very loud, albeit raw, arsenal of pitches. His fastball touched 96 MPH, if not higher, during the outing. The big breaking ball gets a ton of movement and his changeup was working as well. The operation is very smooth and looks repeatable. There’s a lot to like. To be honest the biggest notes are that he’s still very raw. 6 of his strikeouts were looking, and most were on the fastball. Those two things correlate to what was a struggle in putting hitters away with two strikes. He did have 9 strikeouts, but on several of those, he went from 0-2 to 3-2. On a couple, there were a few foul balls with two strikes before the eventual strikeout. The latter can be attributed to hitters battling, the former is more what caught my eye. The pitches he was making on 0-2 and 1-2 were oftentimes not close enough to the zone to get a hitter to chase. There were frankly pretty non-competitive. It eventually worked out for Harrison, but that’s something to take note of. The hitters are only going to get better. It’s a one-start sample, it could’ve just been a bad day. If this is a trend though, it’s certainly something to keep an eye on and see how it develops.
Stiven Cruz, RHP, MIL, Single-A
Game Stats: 3 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 8 K
Notes: Single-A debut for Cruz. He was deep in a lot of counts, very high pitch count early on. He wasn’t missing the zone by a lot, but he was certainly nibbling. Not afraid to challenge the hitters in 3-ball counts. He was commanding his entire arsenal well, the fastball, curveball, slider, and changeup were all going for strikes. He would use the whole arsenal in any count. There were several 3-0 and 3-1 breaking balls. The fastball was generally 91-94 MPH, one read at 88 MPH per the broadcast. While he statistically performed well, the kitchen sink approach he used was a big factor. Going forward he will need to throw more strikes to continue to be effective. He does have a projectable frame. Hard to tell from the angle, but he appears to be a short strider, throwing from a standard 3/4 slot. Easy operation.
Liam Norris, LHP, ARI, Single-A
Game Stats: 5.1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 8 K
Notes: Usually Norris likes to live off his fastball and big curveball. That breaking ball is his best pitch. This outing was different. He struggled throughout the game to find the release point for his curveball. He would let it go early and it would miss way high, then he’d overcorrect and bury it. It caused his pitch count to be high because he was deep into a lot of counts. However, that didn’t stop him. He called on his third pitch, a changeup, to come to the forefront and compliment his fastball. The changeup gets nice fade low in the zone. He played well with mostly those two pitches. That adjustment away from his usual plan of attack was impressive to see. It also showed a third viable pitch that he hadn’t shown before. He was able to effectively move his fastball around the zone to compensate for the lack of his signature pitch. He hides the ball well during delivery with a quick, fluid arm. Starters build, and what appeared to be a starters pitch mix in this one. The impressive use of the changeup doesn’t take away from the command questions in the profile, in fact it accentuates them. But his ability to adjust was just as impressive.
Diomede Sierra, LHP, ARI, Single-A
Game Stats: 4 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
Notes: First look at Sierra, no radar gun. According to Baseball America his fastball was up to 95 MPH in the past. Especially from a 20-year-old lefty that is a significant number. He showed off two breaking pitches, a sweepy slider with plenty of movement and a changeup that had some armside fade. Potentially a two-seam variation of the fastball as well, the downfall of streams and no velocity is that it’s hard to tell. His armside run pitches, the two-seam/changeup, were pretty much exclusively located to the on the armside. They would run off the plate to miss frequently. The slider was use to both righties and lefties. It wasn’t his go to out pitch, but he would use it in those situations sparingly. His fastball was the main weapon for any situation. It was moved around the zone and effective in all parts of it. The issue here is command. His walk numbers for the season are high, granted it’s 18 innings. Even without the walks present in this start, he was having trouble finding the zone. There were a few instances where the ball would just sail on him. For the most part he was around the zone, but command will be vital. Limbs all over the place and what appears to be a lot of moving parts in the delivery. Fairly long arm action, too.