Minor League Discussion & Boxes 7-29-14

[Rob]

I believe the talking ads were the ones on the bottom of the page. I've replaced those with text ads that shouldn't talk.

 

If anyone continues getting talking ads, please let me know where on the page they originate.

 

Thanks!

 

I saw your test article tweets a bit ago Tim. Up to something?

[Guest]

I believe the talking ads were the ones on the bottom of the page. I've replaced those with text ads that shouldn't talk.

 

If anyone continues getting talking ads, please let me know where on the page they originate.

 

Thanks!

 

I saw your test article tweets a bit ago Tim. Up to something?

maybe...

[Vanilla Ice]

can there be another poster picture thread

[weitliz]

Because this is actually kind of fun...would a mod want to spin some of this thread off into the socil forum for a lurker thread? I'm curious how many of us would pop in and say, "Hi" if there's a dedicated thread.

[CubsWin]

i am going to make yohan matos (catcher on DSL cubs) my favorite random prospect who nobody else cares about. reported $280k bonus. hitting .314/.414/.540/.954 with 23 bb/31 k as a 17 year old catcher.

I was browsing the VSL/DSL rosters the other day and came up with 6 guys to keep an eye on based on stat scouting and DOB:

 

Alfredo Colorado

Erling Moreno (well, this one was kind of obvious)

Eugenio Palma

Luis Hidalgo

Wladimir Galindo

Yohan Matos

 

I pay attention to those guys plus Frandy de la Rosa who got a big bonus two years ago.

I wouldn't say no one else cares about Yohan Matos, Truffle. :wink:

 

Pedigree/Bonus Baby

 

Delarosa (18), Moreno (17), Galindo (17) and Matos (17). Based on their signing bonuses alone, we have reason to believe they have decent tools. And all are performing reasonably well, especially considering their ages.

 

Non-Bonus Position Players

 

OF Luis Hidalgo - VSL (18) .318/.370/.430

SS Andruw Monasterio - VSL (17) .292/.363/.350, 10 SB (highest number in the VSL without being caught)

 

With pitchers, I'm willing to go a little older especially if they have good size and stats. Pedro Araujo, now in Mesa, had performed well in the DSL the last two seasons and was called up shortly before his 21st birthday this year. He's not anyone I would call a prospect, but he's stateside which is more than most DSL/VSL guys can say.

 

Non-Bonus Pitchers

 

RHP Oscar De La Cruz - DSL (19) 6'4", 200 lbs.

RHP Santiago Rodriguez - DSL (20) 6'0", 185 lbs.

LHP Eugenio Palma - VSL (17) 5'11", 170 lbs.

RHP Jose Morel - DSL (19), 6'6", 204 lbs.

 

De La Cruz has prototypical size and this is essentially his first full go around in the DSL despite being 19 (he pitched 11 innings last year). DSL hitters are averaging .181 against him. At 20, it's surprising that Rodriguez is in his first season at any professional level. He started out well, not allowing an earned run in May/June. More importantly he only allowed 3 unearned runs in 32 innings (defense is so sloppy at this level that ERAs don't mean all that much) and he held opponents to a .190 avg. in June. But his peripherals were unremarkable and he was 20, so I didn't think much of him. But all of a sudden, he's become a strikeout machine. In his last three starts, he's struckout 9 with no walks, 9 with 1 walk and 14 with no walks. He's K'd 42 against 4 walks in 28.2 IP in July with good numbers overall on the season. So, for me, he's worth a follow. Palma is 17 and is putting up good numbers. He's a small lefty (almost exactly the same size as Carlos A. Rodriguez) and is most likely another soft-tosser, but who knows what his actual scouting report is. Morel is only intriguing to me because of his size, he's K'ing almost a batter per inning and he hasn't sucked. I wish I knew more...

 

Alfredo Colorado is 18, but only pitched in 2 games (June 16th and 19th). His numbers weren't all that good, and it's just not enough for me to go on. He's not one that I follow, but what do I know...

 

Most of these guys, bonus baby or not, will never make it, but they're fun to track and dream on. The Starlin Castros of the world that sign for $45,000 and come out of nowhere always keep me coming back and checking the box scores every night.

 

FYI, De la Cruz got an $85k bonus and Morel got an $80k bonus in 2012-13. Araujo got $100k in 2011.

Thanks, Raisin. What I meant by non-bonus is that they didn't fall into the same category as the bonus babies previously listed. I guess, non big bonus would have been clearer but sounded too stupid to actually use.

[CubsWin]

...

....Pedigree/Bonus Baby

Delarosa (18), Moreno (17), Galindo (17) and Matos (17). Based on their signing bonuses alone, we have reason to believe they have decent tools. And all are performing reasonably well, especially considering their ages.

 

Non-Bonus Position Players

OF Luis Hidalgo - VSL (18) .318/.370/.430

SS Andruw Monasterio - VSL (17) .292/.363/.350, 10 SB (highest number in the VSL without being caught)

 

Non-Bonus Pitchers

RHP Oscar De La Cruz - DSL (19) 6'4", 200 lbs.

RHP Santiago Rodriguez - DSL (20) 6'0", 185 lbs.

LHP Eugenio Palma - VSL (17) 5'11", 170 lbs.

RHP Jose Morel - DSL (19), 6'6", 204 lbs.

....

Most of these guys, bonus baby or not, will never make it, but they're fun to track and dream on. The Starlin Castros of the world that sign for $45,000 and come out of nowhere always keep me coming back and checking the box scores every night.

 

Thanks much, CubsWin. Very helpful summary/compilation.

 

Rodriguez was the only one of the those four non-bonus pitchers that I've been tracking. As you say, a weird case. As a short Dominican righty, not pitching pro till his turn-20 summer doesn't suggest a very big arm, and nothing great during his first 40 innings. But 32K/1BB over his last 19 innings, that's a weird turnaround, kind of interesting.

 

Hadn't been especially watching Morel, but hadn't realized he's 6'6", so perhaps there's some big-arm projection in there. Morel was straight rotation other than one relief inning after a terrible start. De Le Cruz has been rotation all season. Usually the guys with more favorable physical projection, or simply the guys who look stronger velocity-wise, they have them starting. Rodriguez by contrast has 7 of 12 appearances in relief. So my guess is that he doesn't have the same kind of arm projection, but simply pitched well enough to get himself into the rotation.

 

Delarosa has made some nice progress, in my view. Last year, I thought he had bust written. 20K/39AB in DSL, and he was just as bad in US in instructional league play, I didn't anticipate that the gift of contact was a matter of a year's experience. And while he started well this summer, then I thought he was struggling again. But overall his stats now look like they no longer have any red flags. 19/42 XBH/H, that's OK. 27K/13BB/169AB, nothing notably great but no real problems there, either, even if the walk-rate is kinda low for the wild-man DSL. But seems like the doubles are coming more frequently lately. Hopefully his step up from last year is the first step up, and he'll keep improving steadily.

 

Matos, he's had a remarkably good season. For a 17-year-old in a league with 40 teams or whatever to be a top-10 guy in most of the key offensive stats, that's totally unexpected. Jeimer Candelario and Felix Pie are the only guys that come to my memory who were immediately really excellent as 17-year-old pro hitters. I suppose their subsequent decline confirms that Matos isn't safe to actually hit at later, but I'm hoping. Castro and Lake are two others, although neither were remotely as good as Matos (both were .750-OPS types versus Matos .950....).

 

Heh, I wish Matos had been more of a "bonus baby". With inflation, his $280K or whatever probably isn't all that much more than Castro's $45. Why didn't he get more? My fear is that he got <$300K because he's got no defensive tools, and is really a DH/1B type. My hope is that scouts undervalued him for any of several reasons:

1. Maybe he just didn't play that much in places where scouts could see him? I suppose even in Dominican that may be possible.

2. Maybe he just got connected with a crummy buscone. A new guy who doesn't get you set up with the right showcases? A new guy who doesn't negotiate, or realize what you're worth?

3. scouts like runners with athletic builds and positional flexibility? Chunky catcher-only guys, maybe undervalued?

4. Maybe he was just a slow 1B/3B/LF guy, with no defensive aptitude for those, but the Cubs scouts had the eyes to see that he could convert well to catching?

5. Hitting is hard to scout, when guys don't play in games. Maybe there are 20 other kids who scout about the same hitting wise, but he's the rare one who can actually hit in competitive games. Scouts couldn't have really known he'd be .950 rather than .650 at this point?

6. Maybe he's just improved a ton?

 

Catching is hard, and hitting is hard. We'll see if he can carry either one on up.

Thanks, Craig. Good thoughts. I agree on Delarosa's progression at the plate. And all this after surviving that horrific car crash...

 

Along with Matos, Galindo has also put up top ten numbers (in the VSL) as a 17-year-old, though he's been slumping/injured lately. Gotta love 17-year-olds who can hit. I imagine both Matos and Galindo will be brought north for ExST and given a chance to play at Mesa next season (with a strong likelihood of making it). Do top DSL/VSL guys usually attend fall instructs?

 

I know nothing about Monasterio other than he didn't get a large enough bonus to be noticed. But he is the youngest player on the team, born in May of '97. He's got a decent frame at 6'0", 170 lbs. He's a switch-hitting shortstop who started slow but has been on a tear of late (.337/.386/.402 in July) and apparently has good speed having stolen 10 bases without getting caught. The fact that he's performing the way he is after turning 17 just two months ago makes him worth following in my opinion.

 

Oh, and Matos hit his 6th HR tonight. He's now hitting .319/.416/.560.