Daytona Tortugas (36-38, 4-2)

The Tortugas are stocked full of Reds Top 30 guys, so let’s get right into it. We have a lot to talk about.

DH/3B Cam Collier – Reds #5

Cam Collier (John Brophy/Prospects Live)

There’s a running joke internally at Prospects Live that Cam Collier doesn’t swing. That is sort of true...it’s just that he doesn’t really swing at anything of quality. Collier went 4-for-21 (.190) in five games this series, which is obviously not ideal for a player who was drafted 18th overall nearly a year ago. When he ran out for the handful of singles that I saw, it wasn’t because of his speed because there really isn’t any. He’s not slow - he can run faster than I can - but he’s also not Justin Crawford quick, either. All told, he’s a below-average runner.

Collier is of average height and has an average build. His frame could likely take on more muscle, but I don’t think it would help him much. It appears more that Collier’s problem is, while he tends to make light contact, he’s swinging at bad pitches. His walk rate is actually very good, though, at 15%, but he’s striking out way too much at 32%. Both of these are tied to passivity at the plate and swing decisions in general.

I have no concerns with his defense because he’s got a Yin & Yang sort of situation going where his offense may be poor, but he has good defense. There was a fly ball that went foul, and he went flying up the third base line into the outfield to chase it. He didn’t run like that when he hit a ground ball in a separate play, and his ability to make that defensive play impressed me. I would say that that defense alone is what would qualify him as a good prospect, but I don’t know if it justifies #5 in the system good. I wanted to see more with the bat.

2B Carlos Jorge – Reds #9

Carlos Jorge (John Brophy/Prospects Live)

Jorge was immensely impressive in this series. I don’t do research ahead of time or have any preconceived notions about prospects, and he and Rodriguez below absolutely blew me away. Jorge left a good first impression on me in the first game of the series going yard twice: a 354 ft home run to the right field bar area, which was 102.3 MPH off the bat, and a 328 ft grand slam down the first base line to right field, 96.6 MPH off the bat.

Jorge is a smaller 5-foot-10, 160 lb. frame that oozes speed. In fact, I have him timed at just under 4.0 seconds, which translates to double-plus speed, and I would almost say he’s an 80-grade. His bat is just OK though. He went 6-for-22 (.273) in this series, which is a little worse than his season average. The mechanics are definitely there, but he was swinging at the wrong pitches. When you have more strikeouts (7) than hits (6), that’s when alarm bells should be ringing. It’s a small sample, though. The power potential was clear from his first game.

CF Héctor Rodríguez - Reds #12

It’s a little of the same with Rodriguez, who batted 5-for-22 (.227) with seven strikeouts in this series, but he doesn’t have many other redeeming values like Jorge does with his speed. I feel like he has elite exit velocities just based on what I saw of foul balls, but most of the swings I saw were foul balls. The hardest hit ball where an exit velocity was recorded was a homer on June 29 that was hit at 102 MPH. The performance may not have been there during the series, but I came away impressed with his ability to hit the ball hard given his size.

Rodriguez is a smaller guy at a 5-foot-8, 186 lb. frame but isn’t as quick as you might expect. I timed him at 4.16 (above-average) on an opportunity to beat out a single, which he didn’t do in this instance, by the way.

3B/DH Sal Stewart – Reds #15

Sal Stewart was another prospect that left a strong first impression in his first at-bat of the series on the first pitch seen from Tampa pitcher Leonardo Pestana. The pitch was up and would have been called a ball, but in the traditional strike zone, it would have been a high strike. Either way, Stewart pumped this homer 378 feet to the right field bleachers at 100.8 MPH off the bat.

Despite his 6-foot-3 height, Stewart looks like he’s a little bigger than his listed weight of 215 lb., and you can sort of tell with his speed. I feel like his lower half could handle more muscle, and it may help his speed some, but he’s got plenty of muscle in his upper half for good power. The mechanics are sound, and he swings easier than fellow first rounder Cam Collier. Indeed, Stewart batted 8-for-19 (.421) with six strikeouts (31.6%) and five walks (20.8%) during the series.

I feel I should note that he argued with an umpire on a strike three call in a game and flipped them the bird as he walked away to the dugout after spewing a few choice words. In my opinion, that’s uncalled for and inappropriate in a game where there were a lot of kids present. That said, there was some sour language coming from both dugouts, so take that as you wish.

LF Cade Hunter – Reds #19

Hunter was the biggest surprise of the bunch. I knew of our ranking going into the game, but that’s where the research ended, and seeing Hunter hit two home runs in one game set in stone for me that he was one of the prospects to be excited about.

Hunter is a taller prospect with an average build, and his frame has lots of space for muscle, but I don’t think he needs to add more muscle. This is especially true because the first home run was essentially a golf chip shot similar to that like the swing of Yankees outfielder Giancarlo Stanton. While Hunter doesn’t have nearly as much muscle as Stanton, the swing was similar.

Here’s the fun part: Hunter batted 9-for-19 (.474) in five games with five strikeouts (26.3%) and four walks (16.7%). He also drove in five runs in that span. There’s a lot to like about Hunter, and if he can place everything together properly like lowering his strikeout rate, he could be a prospect that flies up through the system, especially given his utility aspect since he plays the corner out field positions along with spending the rest of the season behind the plate.

LHP Bryce Hubbart – Reds #20

Hubbart, a left-handed pitcher, has an average frame and throws from a ¾ slot. His frame can’t handle more muscle, although his velocity is lower than would be expected for his build.

Hubbart may have been playing hurt in this game because his command was not there at all, and he also left the game after only one and two-thirds innings. I didn’t see what happened, but the manager, pitching coach, and trainer came jogging out to the mound. Hubbart was also up to 40 pitches in only 1.2 IP, so I suspect that could have been it, too.

I really liked the curveball (73-74, T78) by Hubbart that I saw as far as movement goes, but it moved a little too much and landed down and out. I don’t know his full repertoire, but Savant identified a pitch as a changeup that has identical movement (15” V, 8” H) and velo (87-88, T91) as his four-seamer. I suspect that’s based on pitch spin as the CB had a lower RPM (about 2100) than the four-seamer (about 2300). Hubbart also threw a slider, but four of the six pitches thrown were called balls because they moved too much.

I really have mixed feelings about Hubbart’s position in our Reds Top 30 at #20. Granted, this is the first and last time I’ll see him in person this season but, going off first impressions, I’m not impressed. His stats say otherwise, so I should reserve judgment, but the lack of control that I saw really worries me.

Tampa Tarpons (35-40, 2-4)

The Tarpons have been incredibly underwhelming after most of this staff was part of the FCL Championship team last year and was smoking everyone else in the league offensively.

Anthony Hall – Yankees #22

The Yankees were cautious with Hall this season after he broke his hamate in the second at-bat of his pro debut last season, in addition to another undisclosed injury incurred in the offseason. He started the season exclusively as a designated hitter but has settled into the center field role in the past few months rather comfortably.

Hall has a 6-foot-1 frame and listed at 200 lbs, but I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s a bit higher on account of more muscle. He has a good amount of muscle tone, but it’s not to the extent of fellow Yankees OF prospect Jasson Domínguez.

Hall only batted 2-for-19 (.105) in the five games played, but at least one of the two hits was a three-run home run. He went on the injured list shortly after this series, so it’s possible that he was playing hurt.

Jared Serna – Yankees #26

Jared Serna (John Brophy/Prospects Live)

Serna has had the hottest bat of all of Tampa and honestly should have been in High-A well over a month ago. Serna played shortstop more than second base in this series, as he told me that he’s most comfortable there in an interview earlier in the season. His problem then is that there’s too many shortstop prospects in his way. Serna is a bit of a utility player given he can play second, third, and short on the infield, and he told me in that interview that he thinks he could handle the outfield in a pinch (he played three innings of right field in 2021 in the DSL).

Serna is the smallest guy on the team, but I don’t think his listed height is correct. He’s listed at 5-foot-6, 168 lbs., but he has to be at least 5-foot-8. Serna has good power for his size, and I don’t know how much muscle that compact frame could handle anyways given the position he plays requires agility.

Serna seems to me to be a more promising middle/left infielder than many of the other prospects in his position. I prefer his bat over anyone in High-A, especially Alexander Vargas, and possibly Trey Sweeney. I’d like to see Serna challenged at a higher level, but at the pace he’s been on, I think he deserves a few notches up the Top 30 list. In this series, Serna went 6-for-27 (.222), had six strikeouts (22.2%) and only one walk (3.4%). That’s a little worse than his performance in June, but despite recording a hit in five of the six games played in the series, he seems to be sliding into a slump.

Sean Hermann - Yankees #30

Sean Hermann (John Brophy/Prospects Live)

Hermann, a righty thrower, has an average but somewhat thin frame that throws from a ten o’clock slot across the body 10-4. His arm speed varies as much as the slots do. Savant says that Hermann threw five different pitches in this game.

Hermann does not look like the same pitcher I saw last year in the Florida Complex League or briefly in Tampa. I mean, physically, he’s the same skinny kid (6-feet, 160 lb.) that was practically just drafted from a local high school, but something’s amiss with the control. In this game, he threw 28 pitches in the zone and 40 pitches missed.

Stats may say otherwise, but I preferred Hermann’s cutter (85-88, T91) over his sinker (88-92, T93). The only problem there is that the cutter forgot how to cut and has less horizontal break (0-5” of break) than his sinker (7-19”). The reason I prefer the cutter is that Hermann had more control over it. Most of the sinkers were called balls so, if he could nail the control and command, it would be an absolutely filthy pitch. In fact, the one swinging strike he had in this outing was on a sinker that nearly hit the batter’s knees. I’m also concerned with the velocity of the changeup (85-86, T88) compared to the other pitches given there wouldn’t be a ton of deception, but the lack of spin on that pitch is something kind of special (658-971 RPM).

Given the outings that Hermann is put up this year, I wouldn’t be surprised if his stock keeps falling this season. He’s currently ranked as our #30 Yankees prospect, and I have a few other names I’d rather have in that spot; Tyrone Yulie has been much more dominant of late in High-A than Hermann is in Single-A.