Minor League Discussion & Boxes, 4-26-22

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Scheduled Game (All Times Central):

 

Iowa vs Indianapolis, 6:38 pm

Tennessee at Chattanooga, 6:15 pm

South Bend at Quad Cities, 6:30 pm

Myrtle Beach vs Columbia, 6:05 pm

 

Tennessee: RHP Anderson Espinoza

South Bend: LHP Jordan Wicks

Myrtle Beach: RHP Tyler Schaffer

[CaliforniaRaisin]

 

 

 

Cristian went 2/3 with a triple, HBP and single. Roederer and Ballesteros both went 0/4.

[Hrubes20]

Schlaffer, much like many (most?) of the pitching prospects in the system, has big K numbers so far. Does anyone know if he's added a better breaking ball this offseason? I seem to recall him being a 92-94 guy with a good changeup last year in his brief 1st stint with MB.

[Bertz]

 

Apparently it's Wicks day, which with all apologies to to Chris Clarke is a much more fun day

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Brandon Hughes was promoted to AAA:

 

[CaliforniaRaisin]

BA’s prospect got sheet for the top 20 hottest prospects in baseball last week:

 

3. Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF, Cubs

Team: Low-A Myrtle Beach (Carolina)

Age: 20

 

Why He’s Here: .417/.533/.833 (10-for-24), 6 R, 2 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 10 RBIs, 4 BB, 3 SO, 3 SB, 1 CS.

 

The Scoop: Now 17 games into his pro career, Crow-Armstrong is sitting on a .500 career on-base percentage. Only once in his career has he failed to reach base at least one time in a game. He has gone hitless four times—but he usually figures out some way to reach base, and in one game he went 0-for-1 with four walks and a hit-by-pitch. Coming out of high school, there was plenty of confidence in his ability to play plus or better defense in center field. So far, he’s looking like an excellent table-setting lead-off hitter as well. (JC)

 

8. Nelson Velazquez, OF, Cubs

Team: Double-A Tennessee (Southern)

Age: 23

 

 

Why He’s Here: .455/.520/1.227 (10-for-22), 5 R, 3 2B, 1 3B, 4 HR, 9 RBIs, 3 BB, 4 SO, 0-for-1 SB

 

The Scoop: After a whiff-filled opening week where Velazquez struck out 18 times he rebounded in a big way in week two. The outfielder connected for eight extra-base hits, including four home runs while only striking out four times across 25 plate appearances. A standout in the Arizona Fall League in 2021, Velasquez has the bat speed and raw strength to hit for power at the highest levels. He has now hit 13 balls 100-plus mph in 2022 including two home runs on Wednesday that were a reported 108 and 112 mph off the bat. (GP)

[Hrubes20]

Brennen back in the lineup for Iowa tonight.

[sneakypower]

Nelson Velazquez, two-outcomes hitter w/ another HR and 3 K

 

nice night for Canario, 2 HR & SB

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Davis striking out 50% more while also cutting his IsoP in half from his short Iowa stint last year(which now have about an equal number of PA) is easily the most depressing thing about the early prospect season so far. Really hoping this is some early season weirdness(Davis has never played pro games in April, oddly enough), because him leading the line for the system not only solves some short term problems but makes the inevitable fizzles out at the lower levels easier to swallow.

[We Got The Whole 9]

Nelson Velazquez, two-outcomes hitter w/ another HR and 3 K

 

nice night for Canario, 2 HR & SB

BN pointed something out that I hadn't really noticed but MiLB teams are playing the same opponents for the entire week. The Reds and Rays absolutely dominated Velasquez, but he feasted on the Angels system, with just a 16% K rate and a 12% BB, along with monster wRC+. Makes sense considering the talent level in those systems. So now he's getting his 2nd look at Chattanooga. First game didn't go too well but hopefully we start to see some improvement this week.

[We Got The Whole 9]

Davis striking out 50% more while also cutting his IsoP in half from his short Iowa stint last year(which now have about an equal number of PA) is easily the most depressing thing about the early prospect season so far. Really hoping this is some early season weirdness(Davis has never played pro games in April, oddly enough), because him leading the line for the system not only solves some short term problems but makes the inevitable fizzles out at the lower levels easier to swallow.

Easily the most depressing. I expected some struggle but not to this extent. Grounders and pop ups make up about 70% of his batted balls and fg shows 6% LD, which... Ooof. Even if that number may be slightly inaccurate, whatever the case may be, it's not going to push it into a range of non-concern. Dude is just flat out getting dominated at this point.

[Tim]

But Tom told me he was ready.

[Bertz]

Brennen did change his swing over the winter, I believe brought his hands lower like Rizzo? So that may be a contributor to his struggles, though I believe the intent of the change was to improve contact, so you'd kind of hope the struggles would manifest with lower K rate but maybe less ideal quality of contact.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

BA’s Geoff Pontes on Wick’s start about 10 days ago: https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/pontes-of-view-may-5/

 

Tuesday, April 26

 

Jordan Wicks, LHP

High-A South Bend (Cubs)

 

The Cubs’ first-round pick last year out of Kansas State, Wicks was the first college lefthander taken in the 2021 class. He made four starts with High-A South Bend last year out of the draft and returned to the level out of camp this spring.

 

This was Wicks’ third start of the season. He faced off against Quad Cities on the road. Wicks took a bit to settle in, struggling to land his changeup to the arm-side part of the plate early, which left his fastball vulnerable in the zone. Before he recorded an out in the second inning, Wicks had already allowed a pair of doubles, a pair of singles and a walk. He managed to escape the second with only a single earned run allowed. His command of his secondaries seemed to lock in as soon as the first run hit the scoreboard.

 

After that, Wicks sat down eight consecutive batters, four via strikeouts. Once Wicks locked in and started to execute to his arm side with his changeup and curveball, he became nearly unhittable.

 

Wicks showed the ability to adjust and settle in even after a difficult opening to this start. His fastball sat 93-94 mph with plus vertical break. He played his low-to-mid-80s changeup off of it and mixed in a high-spin downer curveball in the low 80s. He showed a starter’s mix and ability to repeat. If he can tighten his command for long stretches, Wicks has true mid-rotation upside.