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Minors  | General  | 12/15/2016

PG in the Pros: NL Central

David Rawnsley     
Photo: Perfect Game


As part of Perfect Game's recurring PG in the Pros series David Rawnsley will take a look at some of the top prospects in minor league baseball and their impact on the sport prior to their professional careers. This will be done in a six-part series, one feature for each division in Major League Baseball while identifying one of the top prospects for each team. Links are provided below to past installments of the PG in the Pros series for other reports on prospects, both past and present.


2016-17 PG in the Pros Series: NL East | NL West | AL West | AL Central | AL East


Cincinnati Reds

Before They Were Pros, 2013-14 – Robert Stephenson, Billy Hamilton, Jesse Winker
Before They Were Pros, 2014-15 – Michael Lorenzen, Ben Lively, Nick Travieso, Phil Ervin
PG in the Pros, 2015-16 – Amir Garrett

Nick Senzel, 3B

Nick Senzel was the second pick in the 2016 draft out of Tennessee but wasn't drafted out of high school in 2013, nor was that ever a serious consideration by professional scouts.

Senzel was physically mature in high school and was listed at 6-foot-1, 200-pounds, just about the same size he's listed at today. He played at a top high school program in Farragut High School in Knoxville, Tenn., and played in a half dozen WWBA tournaments with a variety of teams. Senzel never participated in a PG showcase but this scout did see him at the 2012 East Coast Pro Showcase. The righthanded hitter ran a 6.65 hand-timed 60-yard dash and showed lots of raw bat speed, but it was a long metal bat swing. He played shortstop at that point but had trouble making plays athletically on the move, indicating a near-term position switch was forthcoming. Senzel generally hit every checkbox as a future college player.



Senzel put together three solid seasons at Tennessee and hit .352-8-59 as a junior with 25 stolen bases and 40 walks compared to only 21 strikeouts. The eight home runs doubled his previous career high, although scouts did definitely take note of his 25 doubles in 57 games when projecting his future power.

Where Senzel really made his mark, though, was in the Cape Cod League the previous summer, where he hit .364-4-33 with 16 doubles in 40 games with the Brewster Whitecaps. The bat speed and power potential Senzel showed in his first extended use of wood bats showed scouts that he had the offensive tools to be a first rounder. As a result of that performance he was named Perfect Game’s 2015 Summer College Player of the Year.

The Reds signed Senzel for a $6.2 million bonus almost immediately after the draft and he was able to play in 68 games during his first pro summer, most of those in the Low A Midwest League.


Chicago Cubs

Before They Were Pros, 2013-14 – Javier Baez, Albert Almora, C.J. Edwards, Dan Vogelbach
Before They Were Pros, 2014-15 – Kris Bryant, Billy McKinney
PG in the Pros, 2015-16 – Duane Underwood

Trevor Clifton, RHP

Like Nick Senzel above, Clifton was part of the 2013 Tennessee high school class, attending Heritage High School with a scholarship waiting for him at Kentucky.

That's where the similarities between Senzel and Clifton end, however, as they've taken completely different paths since. Clifton was a much better known and respected prospect in the scouting community and eventually was ranked 134th nationally in the 2013 high school class. He made his debut at PG events at the 2011 WWBA World Underclass early in his junior year with Marucci Elite, topping out at 91 mph, and later that month topped out at 92 in Jupiter while with the Royals Scout Team.

Clifton was listed at 6-foot-5, 185 pounds in high school and was still not fully coordinated and still raw mechanically. His notes from the 2012 PG National Showcase, where he topped out at 91 mph with a 74 mph curveball and a 77 mph changeup, reflected this:

Long slender frame, jerky delivery, short in back, three-quarters slot, effort, nothing smooth and easy, short AA, short in back, head jerk, not a loose arm, not much downhill, hittable, didn't miss bats, CH best present pitch, Ch-only pitch he has feel for, CB-loose rotation, slow to throw it, not an out pitch, slow, loose break, improved feel as he went.

When this scout saw him later in the summer, Clifton had taken steps forward in many areas, although my notes on his delivery still said "multi-piece effort delivery, multiple head jerks." He was topping out at 93-94 mph with better angle and his curveball was much better with tight, hard spin. Notably, despite his delivery, Clifton was always a strike thrower.

According to published reports, Clifton topped out at 97 mph as a senior while going 3-2, 3.35 with 79 strikeouts and 21 walks. The Cubs picked him in the 12th round and signed him for a $375,000 signing bonus, or approximately fourth round compensation.


Milwaukee Brewers

Before They Were Pros, 2013-14 – Tyrone Taylor, Jimmy Nelson, Taylor Jungmann
Before They Were Pros, 2014-15 – Devin Williams, Jorge Lopez, Tyler Wagner
PG in the Pros, 2015-16 – Kodi Medeiros

Isan Diaz, 2B

Isan Diaz is a player who almost slipped through the cracks in high school, but once scouts had a chance to see his bat, it was pretty obvious what was going on.

Up until late in the summer before his senior year, Diaz had no national scouting profile. A resident of Springfield, Mass., his first Perfect Game event was the 2013 17u WWBA National Championship with the New England Ruffnecks. When his name appeared on the Yankees 2013 East Coast Pro Showcase roster there were many scouts, including this one, who noted "OK, here's a guy from the Northeast I've never heard of and who doesn't have a college commitment yet."

Diaz' speed at that event – 7.17 seconds in the 60-yard dash – and his defense, where he had flashed quick hands but very limited arm strength, didn't excite anyone, either. But that all changed when he started to hit. A lefthanded hitter, Diaz pretty much dominated every at-bat for four days, lining singles up the middle and doubles and triples up the right-center field gap with numbing and impressive regularity. He traveled to the Area Code Games with the Yankees immediately afterwards, then played for the Syracuse Sports Zone Chiefs in Jupiter, doing much the same thing and cementing his newfound standing with the national scouting community.



Diaz traveled to Fort Myers for the Perfect Game 2014 World Showcase, and, again, did about the same thing and I filed this report:

Solid athletic build, good present strength, looks stronger than last observed. Lefthanded hitter, big pull back load, flows into contact, timing can be impacted but approach develops big bat speed, explosive hands at contact, loose and fluid swing with lift and extension out front, has pull-side power, owned mid-level pitching in every at-bat and made hitting look easy, advanced hitter with tools and feel. 7.22 runner, middle infield actions, stays balanced and works through the ball, plays under control and slows the game down, compact quick release, second base profile and tools. Can be a high level offensive second baseman.

In retrospect, it would have been difficult to evaluate Diaz and his bat-centric tools just facing local competition in New England. But once he had his opportunity to face higher level pitching at PG and scout run events, that hitting ability quickly made itself obvious. The Diamondbacks liked him the most and drafted him in the second round with the 70th overall pick, signing him to a $750,000 bonus.


Pittsburgh Pirates

Before They Were Pros, 2013-14 – Jameson Taillon, Nick Kingham, Josh Bell
Before They Were Pros, 2014-15 – Reese McGuire, Austin Meadows
PG in the Pros, 2015-16 – Tyler Glasnow

Mitch Keller, RHP

Keller grew up in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the home of Perfect Game, in the shadow of his older brother, Jon. Jon Keller was a big 6-foot-5, 225-pound righthander who threw hard early in his high school days and was regularly 92-94 for his last two years of high school but with limited secondary pitches. He was an 11th round pick out of high school, attended Nebraska and Tampa and is now in Double-A with the Orioles.

Mitch Keller, was and is a different athlete than his older brother and has taken a different development path. He is a lean, long-limbed 6-foot-3 athlete whose reports in his early high school days were always dotted with the word ‘projectable.’ He spent most of his junior year throwing 86-88 mph with a low-70s curveball that had good shape and depth but lacked the power one wanted to see. The summer before his senior year he touched 90 mph a few times and threw for the St. Louis Pirates at Jupiter, topping out at 91 mph and showing a bit more power to his curveball. At that point Keller was signed with North Carolina and looked like a solid college prospect but probably nothing more than a late round pick out of high school.



That all changed over the winter. I remember being at Glenwood (Iowa) High School in early to mid-March, 2014, for the first weekend of the Iowa Spring League along with a host of other scouts. PG All-American righthander Keaton McKinney, now at Arkansas, was the main attraction. The weather was actually pretty good for that time of year, typically windy but sunny and maybe touching 50 degrees.

Keller announced his presence in the afternoon game very quickly, warming up at 92-93 mph and settling in at that velocity for three innings, touching some 94s and 95s. He curveball had some real hair on it in the 75-77 mph range with tight spin and sharp bite. Best of all, Keller was still throwing with his usual low effort mechanics and filling up the strike zone as he usually did. He was even showing a pretty good changeup. For the rest of the Iowa Spring League season and for the PG Spring Top and Pre-Draft Showcases, Keller was pretty much the same guy. By draft time he was ranked 31st in the 2014 class.

The Pirates ended up drafting Keller almost exactly where PG had him ranked, grabbing him in the second round with the 64th overall selection and signing him away from the disappointed Tar Heels for an even $1 million bonus.


St. Louis Cardinals

Before They Were Pros, 2013-14 – Kolten Wong, Carson Kelly, Tim Cooney, Randal Grichuk
Before They Were Pros, 2014-15 – Rob Kaminsky, Charles Tilson
PG in the Pros, 2015-16 – Luke Weaver

Alex Reyes, RHP

Alex Reyes took one of the most unusual paths to signing, let alone to becoming a top prospect and big leaguer, that one will ever hear.

Reyes grew up in Elizabeth, N.J. and went to high school for three-and-a-half years at Elizabeth High School. He was a primary shortstop who also pitched and played for the Farrah's Builders travel team. His lone appearance at a PG event was at the 2011 Northeast Qualifier, where the then 6-foot-1, 185-pound Reyes topped out at 82 mph with a 69 mph curveball. Evidently that velocity increased that summer and fall, as there are numerous written reports that Reyes was throwing in the upper-80s by December.

In December, 2011, Reyes and his Dominican born parents moved to the Dominican Republic so that Reyes could train full-time for his baseball career. Even though Reyes would have been eligible for 2012 draft if he had stayed in the United States, Major League rules state that a player in Reyes situation had to wait a year after moving before he was eligible to sign under international signing rules.

Reyes evidently worked diligently and kept improving, and while he didn't work out for many teams, and many later said they had no knowledge of him, the Cardinals did know about him and signed him exactly one year after he arrived in the Dominican for a $950,000 bonus. At that point Reyes was throwing in the 90-94 mph range with rapidly improving secondary pitches.

The rules that Reyes and his family took advantage have been used a couple of times since, most notably by shortstop Lucius Fox, who returned to his native Bahamas prior to his senior year in the United States and eventually received a $6 million bonus from the Giants on the July 2, 2015 international signing day. When Fox left American Heritage High School in Florida, he profiled as a potential second round pick, so that decision paid off lucratively. We probably don't hear about the times, however, when that path does not pay off at all.
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