On Wednesday June 8 I made the trip up from my MLB Draft League location in Williamsport to check out the New Hampshire Fisher Cats vs. the Binghamton Rumble Ponies. The matchup featured a handful of highly touted position player prospects currently ranked inside of the Prospects Live Top 100.
Francisco Álvarez, C (NYM)
1-2, HR, 1 BB, 1 K (Game 1)
Following the promotions to Adley Rutschman and Gabriel Moreno, Francisco Álavrez may very well be the best catching prospect in the minor leagues.
He has a very stocky frame, which may lead to his weight having to be monitored as he matures which could have a negative impact on his mobility behind the plate. Despite his size, Álvarez possesses some of the best raw power in the minor leagues, which is evident in the attached video as he unloaded on a middle-in fastball and deposited the ball onto the train tracks outside of the ballpark behind the left field fence. His plus bat speed and the ability to get his barrel into a launching position is a scary combination for opposing pitchers as Álvarez no doubt profiles as a future 25-30 home run profile in the major leagues.
Defensively, Álvarez is serviceable behind the dish. He showed good lateral mobility on a few breaking pitches that were spiked in the dirt and he did a good job of positioning his body to block the ball and keeping it in front. He also did a good job of receiving pitches behind the plate. Perhaps the loudest tool defensively is his transfers. I had his average pop time in the neighborhood of 1.88, which would put him in the 99th percentile currently at the major league level. It is no doubt a double plus throwing arm out of the crouch.
One knock on his hit tool is that he had the tendency to cheat on a couple of pitches by exposing his front side early, which sacrifices his plate coverage and makes him susceptible to some swing and miss. The higher strikeout rate is something I am not concerned about when contextualizing the overall offensive profile Alvarez will produce from behind the plate.
Orelvis Martinez, SS (TOR)
1-6, 1B, 1 K (Game 1,2)
Following the promotion of Gabriel Moreno, Martinez is the best prospect in the Blue Jays minor league system. Still just 20-year olds, Martinez is one of the most explosive athletes in the minor leagues. The last time I had seen Orelvis Martinez was in 2020 as an 18-year old. He was very much a wiry athletic kid who had plenty of projection remaining. In that two-year time frame, Martinez has put on a noticeable amount of muscle and has grown into his athletic frame.
Prior to muscle development, Martinez was an explosive quick-twitch athlete. Factor in the added strength and the amount of leverage he creates through his kinematic sequence and the torque he creates leads to his plus bat speed and ability to punish baseballs. He has double-plus raw power and profiles to be a future 30 homer guy at the major league level.
During game one, Martinez was unable to make a mid-AB adjustment as he struck out after he chased three straight sliders on the outer third of the plate. Martinez has posted a 28 K% in his first full season in Double-A. In terms of his long term development, I am not too concerned with Martinez's approach. After all, he is still just 20 years old and performing in Double-A. He is also coming off of a season in which he blasted 28 home runs as a 19-year old.
Defensively, Martinez is serviceable up the middle at shortstop. He has decent range and an above average throwing arm. He made a couple of charging plays in which he had to throw on the run in which he showed off his athleticism. Long term, if he continues to max out physically as he has in the last couple of years, he may lose that quickness which may eventually push him off of shortstop and over to third base. As an organization, the Blue Jays have no shortage of young shortstops in the system headlined by Bo Bichette at the major leagues trickling down to Jordan Groshans, Orelvis Martinez, Leo Jimenez and Emmanuel Beltre.
Brett Baty, 3B (NYM)
2-6 1 HR, 1 1B, 3 K (Game 1,2)
To date, Brett Baty has had an up and down season at the plate, and that was on display in both games on Wednesday. Baty had numerous plate appearances in which it looked like he lacked an approach and fell into a free-swinging approach, chasing velocity up and spin down and out of the zone. He also has a longer swing path, which results in him being beat on certain parts of the plate as his barrel is late to the hitting zone. The lack of a consistent approach has led to Baty posting a 33 K% in Double-A.
As I had mentioned the up and down approach at the plate, despite the three poor at-bats, he strung together two professional at-bats. One of which resulted in a left-on-left home run in which he got on plane with a high fastball and drove it out of the park. Additionally, he put together another professional at-bat after falling behind in the count 1-2, before fouling off a handful of pitches and taking a few balls to make the count 3-2, before he laced a hard line drive single into the outfield.
Defensively, Baty played both games at third base. He made all of the routine plays, including a nice running throw across his body on a slow roller up the line. Baty also made a great diving play on a hot shot hit to his backhand side in which he dove and got up to his feet quickly to nab the runner at second base. Despite his strong performance at the hot corner, Baty may eventually find himself transitioning across the diamond to first base where he may replace Pete Alonso if Alonso eventually transitions to a full-time designated hitting duties.
Ronny Mauricio, SS (NYM)
1-5, 1B, BB, K (Game 1,2)
From a physical standpoint, Mauricio is one of the most athletic-looking middle infield prospects evaluators will come across. He has a very wiry, high-waisted 6’3 frame, with still plenty of room for physical projection through his frame. The switch-hitting Maurico appears to be a far better left-handed hitter. Eight of his nine home runs on the season have come from his left-hand side. During both games, Mauricio had a handful of uncomfortable looking swings from his right-hand side. Despite the questionable offensive production from the right side, Mauricio is tooled up. He projects to have above-average power and speed at the next level combined with a plus throwing arm.
Despite the talent that Mauricio displays, there were a handful of instances where it appeared that he took plays off. One instance there was a routine ground ball hit his way at shortstop which he booted, as the ball caught him in the heel of his glove. In the first game, he hit a check-swing roller to first base in which he walked out of the box and peeled off before he got to the bag. However, he made a great play ranging up the middle on a hard ground ball and showed off his plus arm strength on a double play. Later in game two, after he scorched a line drive single back up the middle, he stole second and third base on successive pitches. If Mauricio could play with that fire and aggressiveness on every play, we could be talking about one of the more coveted middle infield prospects in the game.
Long term, given his current size, physical projection, and arm strength, I think Mauricio eventually moves off of shortstop and finds a home at third base or in a corner outfield position. Not to mention that he is blocked at the major league level with Francisco Lindor following his 10-year contract extension.
Other performers of note
Jose Butto, RHP (NYM)
Butto started game two of the twin bill and tossed five innings of one-run ball, striking out three, while walking two. Butto was around the zone all night, showing three pitches, a fastball, curveball and a changeup. All three pitches had distinct movement profiles. His fastball appeared to carry with late life up in the zone in the low 90s. He paired that with a sharp downward breaking 12-6 curveball and a lateral moving changeup.
Wyatt Young, SS (NYM)
Young has been a pleasant surprise for the Mets in 2022. A 2021 15th rounder has played across three levels this year, including a three-week stint in Triple-A where he slashed .352/.446/.437. Young profiles more as a utility infielder with present bat-to-ball skills. There is minimal power production in his game as he has more of a flatter swing path. He does a good job of peppering low line drives to all fields.
Andrew Bash, RHP (TOR)
The soon-to-be 26-year-old Bash is a former Angels farm hand who signed as a minor league free agent in 2021. Following a few mechanical adjustments to his operation, Bash has found himself a niche as a relief prospect for the Blue Jays. He is a two-pitch guy who relies on a mid 90s fastball and the patented sweeper. Considering Bash was a MiLB free agent signee, the Blue Jays appeared to have acquired a bit of surplus value as Bash has value as a major league middle reliever.
Spencer Horwitz, 1B/DH (TOR)
Horwitz, a 24th-round selection in the 2019 draft, is having himself a solid campaign in 2022. He unloaded on his 5th home run of the season. Along with his power output, Horowitz does a good job of working at-bats, which is reflected in his 16% walk rate.