3/20/2012 1:31:27 AM
The DPL Scout Day Sunday at the Los Angeles Angels complex was cancelled after the states of Iowa and Arizona swapped mid March weather conditions for a few days. While the PG offices in Cedar Rapids were enjoying 70 degree weather and sunshine, the spring training complexes in the Desert were treated with rainy, 50 degree temps with hail being reported in Scottsdale.
The weather was chilly but the rain held off on Monday morning for the DPL vs. Langley Blaze (British Columbia) game. Sunday’s rain did prevent the teams from taking BP and infield on the field.
Watching BP and infield provides a good framework for what to watch for in a game and identifies players with standout tools and impact bat speed that might not be able to be displayed in a 9 inning game.
The task was a bit tougher Monday as both the DPL and Blaze shuffled players and positions, giving most of their players at least one at bat (which was quite a task for the coaches as each roster totals around 25 position players).
Tomorrow’s DPL Blue vs. DPL Red with full batting practice and infield will give a clearer picture of many of the prospects mentioned, but here are some standout and observations from Monday.
-LHP Kelyn Jose (eligible to sign) was the standout, a long loose lefty who sat 87-89, but touched a few 91s and a 92. He was 74-76 with his curveball. It had depth but not much hard spin and the few splits he threw were buried. Smooth, loose, easy arm action, the velocity and Jose’s young build make him extremely interesting.
Here is video of Jose from Monday.
-When looking at Jose and the other DPL prospects, context is a thing to always remember. Jose is an elder statesmen on the team, one of the three players of the team who is eligible to sign. He doesn’t turn 17 until May 19th, so when looking at him one has to think of him as a high school sophomore, or a player participating in the 16u WWBA or Junior National Showcase, which is a bit of a change after scouting 2012 draft prospects for much of the week.
-RHP Bryan Munoz (eligible to sign) got the start for the DPL All-Stars and pitched very effectively. He didn't allow a single ball to leave the infield until the fourth inning. Munoz topped out at 90 mph and showed good command to both sides of the plate working consistently at 88-89 with good pitchability, breaking three bats in his highly effective outing. His curveball showed hard spin and good depth that registered as high as 81 mph, though it was at its best at 79. He also worked in an occasional low 80s changeup up to 83 mph. Munoz changes his arm slot at times, but generally throws from a high 3/4 slot with a loose whippy live arm. His delivery, size and feel for pitching are reminiscent of Cincinnati Reds prospect Daniel Corcino, a 21 year old Dominican native who has established himself as a legitimate prospect after a strong showing at Low-A Dayton of the Midwest League in 2011.
-A couple swings in the cage is not nearly enough to get a feel for a player’s offensive ability, but the player whose bat speed stood out for me was Amaurys Minier a switch hitter with easy bat speed from both sides. I like him a little more from the left side as he has more bat speed and loft. He has active hands with a bit of rock and roll with hands pre-swing and uses it to generate the big time bat speed. He has such wrist strength and bat control that he should be able to adjust to off-speed pitches even with that approach.
-OF Gustavo Cabrera had an unproductive day at the plate, but he flashed highly impressive tools nonetheless. Cabrera's strong athletic body and quick twitch movements all around were impressive, but it was his plus-plus raw bat speed that made him a true standout. Quality pitching from the Langley Blaze kept him off balance and he didn't square up anything in game action, but the off-balance popups he hit were towering, suggesting that when he does square the ball up that it will explode off of his bat.
-Miguel Munoz approach and swing reminded me of former WWBA and National Showcase standout Eric Arce. Both players have most of their strength in their lower half and use a deep load and very quick hands to turn on pitches on the inner half. Munoz has some of the most usable present power on the squad.
-The big bolt of the game a double of the base of the left field wall by C Richard Nunez (eligible to sign). He has a lean, active body with strength and his hit tool is very strong at present with a smooth swing and some of the best balance of any DPL prospect.
-Yoel Gonzalez relieved Nunez behind the plate in the later innings and showed very good defensive ability with quick feet, feel for receiving and arm strength.
-Two infield defenders stand out with SS Richard Urena and Yancarlos Baez showing lots of athleticism and top of the line tools on defense. Urena is very quick twitch and covers ground in a hurry, he doesn’t have the long, lean build of Baez but has loose arm action and easy arm strength. Baez is what you would envision a 16 year old Dominican SS to be: long, lean, loose, very projectable and smooth. Baez isn’t there yet but with additional foot quickness and arm strength has the tools.
-Alberto Sanchez has a chance to be special at the plate. One of the youngest players on the roster, he has a smooth easy swing with lots of bat speed. He isn’t quite as projectable as some of his teammates but has strength and lean muscularity. He current swing lends itself to fly balls to right-center field, some of which probably carry for doubles but many that get run down. Once he pulls the ball with authority and continues to uses the whole field, watch out.
-The two bodies that stand out are Ronny Carvajal and Jose Pujols. Carvajal is long with a high waist and present strength, the 2012 prospect he brought to mind body wise was George Washington OF Fernelys Sanchez. Pujols oozes with potential, long and lean with bat speed and loose and easy everything. Projecting these players 5-10 years down the line is the name of the game, but Pujols is the one player I would love to throw in a time capsule and jump to 2017 when he is 21 as his body and tools could make him one the top prospects in the game.
-A couple of other comps that came to mind on Monday: Emmanuel Tapia’s left-handed swing brought to mind longtime 1B Randall Simon and Natanael Delgado has some Alfonso Soriano in his game. Same body type (albeit a bit smaller), but the same long levers. The ball really jumps off his bat.
-In a game that saw a couple of pitchers around 90 it is rare to see three stars and a circle around a player whose fastball sat 82-84. But Alvaro Castillo, stands 6’6, 195 with strength throughout, is very loose, arm works very well, and is seemingly playing catch at 82-84. Another scout and I both commented that it looked as if he was throwing in the upper 80s with ease during warm-ups, only to see him below 85 during his stint. Projecting a pitcher to gain more than 3-5 mph is a tough to do, but I see the possibility of Castillo adding 8-10 mph to be almost probable.
-While not as toolsy as the DPL Team the Langley Blaze has a strong team of the top players from British Columbia.
-Their standout prospect from Monday is a Montanan, CF Justin Black, who, due to his state’s lack of high school baseball is traveling with the Blaze this spring. A Nebraska commit. Black has added a good amount of strength to his frame since the summer but was able to maintain his best tool, his impact speed. He stroked a line drive single to left field, and after the ball was misplayed by the RF, scooted all the way around the bases with ease, inducing some chatter from behind home plate. His speed also plays in CF and his arm is solid average and also plays at the position.
-Catcher Tyler O’Neill is a defensive catcher with strength, popping consistent sub 2.00s in between innings. If O’Neill can get his throws online he will be very tough to run on.
-Two SS/3B with similar builds and skills sets are Jesse Hodges and Greg Rodgers who both currently play SS, profile at 3B and have loose athleticism. Rodgers currently a bit ahead with his bat and Hodges with the glove.
-Mitchell Robinson looks the part of a D1 catcher with well proportioned strength and athleticism. He is raw with his swing actions but does have a line drive plane and strength.
-Jordan Ramirez had the best swing of the day for Langley, ripping a triple to right-center field and putting up a good run as he sped around the bags. He is a solidly build athlete who runs well for his size and has strength in his bat.
-Langley starter 2013 RHP Brock Dykxhoorn (Goderich, ON) was similarly raw like many of the high upside DPL prospects. But on the few pitches where he stayed tall in his delivery and drove the ball downhill he flashed signs of what may come. His potential to consistently generate downhill leverage with his highly projectable pitcher's frame to utilize his raw arm strength give him upside. His tendency to collapse his backside led to his delivery becoming rotational often but he still managed to stay around the strike zone well in spite of his balance and timing issues.
--BC/TG