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Minors  | General | 12/15/2015

PG in the Pros: AL East

David Rawnsley
Photo: Perfect Game

As part of Perfect Game's recurring 'Before They Were 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 'Before They Were Pros' series for other reports on prospects, both past and present.


Baltimore Orioles

Before They Were Pros, 2013-14 – Kevin Gausman, Dylan Bundy
Before They Were Pros, 2014-15 – Hunter Harvey, Chance Cicsco, Christian Walker, Josh Hart

Mychal Givens, RHP

The Orioles drafted Givens out of Plant High School in Tampa in the second round of the 2009 draft and signed him out of an Oklahoma State scholarship for $800,000. Givens was drafted as a shortstop and he labored in the lower minor leagues at the position until 2013, when the Orioles finally acknowledged the inevitable; that Givens would need to switch to the mound.

Mychal Givens
It was by no means the first time that Givens had stepped on a mound competitively.

Givens first appeared at a Perfect Game event as an eighth grader at the 2004 WWBA Underclass World Championship, topping out at 84 mph. He was considered the top prospect in the country in the early years of the 2009 class due to his overall athleticism. Givens threw at PG events every year from then on up until his graduation and set a record for fastball velocity record at the PG All-American Classic at 98 mph in 2008, a record that has since by broken by Tyler Kolek. Givens even went 8-4, 1.71 with 113 strikeouts in 78 innings as a high school senior.

Two pitching moments stood out for Givens before he turned professional as a shortstop. He threw at the 2008 PG National Showcase, and while his hitting notes were solid, his pitching notes clearly indicated that the PG scouts were more impressed by his work on the mound at that event.

Easy fluid arm action, 93 w/ run and sink, top 96, 10/4 slurve good, CH has nasty movement, special arm, has good feel on mound. Outstanding delivery, + balance, easy velo, can make ball break both ways, speed it up and slow it down. Can't ask for much more than that.

The second moment was a month later at the 2008 17u WWBA National Championship. Givens' team, the All-American Prospects, didn't make the playoffs and Givens hadn't pitched in pool play. There was such a clamoring among scouts to see Givens on the mound that the PG staff scheduled All-American Prospects in a consolation game on East Cobb Field 4, a small field at the bottom of the East Cobb complex that was never used for regular games. This was done so that the scouts could watch the playoff games up on the main fields and then run down to see Givens pitch when necessary. Givens didn't disappoint, pitching in the 94-96 mph range with an 80 mph slider and 84 mph changeup.


Boston Red Sox

Before They Were Pros, 2013-14 – Jackie Bradley, Henry Owens, Garin Cecchini, Blake Swihart, Mookie Betts
Before They Were Pros, 2014-15 – Rafael Devers, Matt Barnes, Brian Johnson

Michael Kopech, RHP

Kopech first appeared at a Perfect Game event as a just turned 16-year old at the 2012 Junior National Showcase. He had a super loose arm and almost ideally proportioned and projectable 6-foot-4, 180-pound build and an effortless arm action that produced a fastball up to 92 mph to go with a mid-70s curveball and a nice changeup. Here is the report from that event.

Loose projectable athletic build, some present strength. Busy delivery with big side step and leg hitch, gets back turned, repeats well but has a better more simple delivery from the stretch. Extremely loose and fast arm, ball comes out of hand effortlessly, low-90s fastball jumps out of his hand, easy to project mid-90s in the future. Tends to get under off-speed pitches, big sweeping curveball with good spin, drops slot on changeup but with good arm speed. Around the plate with all pitches and has athletic actions. Very high ceiling talent.

Kopech did throw harder later in high school, he topped out at 94 mph at the 2013 PG National Showcase and a notch or two higher as a high school senior. But that first impression was the best this scout saw him in five outings before he graduated. Kopech's delivery, with lots of movement before he actually started forward and a pronounced back arch coming through to release, had a few too many variables to be consistent. But the looseness and ease in his arm and the projection in his body also made it obvious that there was plenty more in there once his mechanics were refined.

Kopech slid a bit further in the draft than originally thought, dropping to the Red Sox at 33rd overall, perhaps because of the same hesitations that this scout had. But the Red Sox have a high tolerance for risk as long as it comes with a high ceiling and signed Kopech out of an Arizona scholarship for $1.5 million. He's now throwing in the upper-90s and has been up to at least 102 mph.


New York Yankees

Before They Were Pros, 2013-14 – J.R. Murphy, Tyler Austin, Greg Bird
Before They Were Pros, 2014-15 – Ian Clarkin, Rob Refsnyder

Aaron Judge, OF

Judge probably didn't have time in high school to make himself known to baseball scouts, aside from local area scouts. The 6-foot-7, then 230-pound three-sport athlete averaged 18.2 points and 12.8 rebounds per game on the basketball court as a senior, caught 54 passes for 969 yards and 17 touchdowns on the football field and went 6-0, 0.88 on the mound during the spring while hitting .500-7-32 for good measure. Although the Oakland A's drafted him in the 31st round and he was a small blip on the national scouting radar screen, Judge wasn't really considered "a guy" out of high school. Perfect Game had him ranked 147th in the country at the end of his senior season.

Judge's career at Fresno State was solid as he hit .345 with some extra base power, posted solid walk-to-strikeout ratios for a hitter of his size and was athletic enough to play center field. His first two seasons he did frustrate scouts with his lack of over-the-fence power, especially for an athlete whose future projection largely centered around power, as Judge hit only six home runs over 103 games in those first two college seasons.

The summer that followed his sophomore year Judge improved his stock with scouts in the Cape Cod League hitting .270-5-16 in 100 at-bats and putting on huge batting practice displays with a wood bat. He came back as a junior at Fresno State and hit .369-12-36, again showing scouts glimpses of the type of power they wanted to see.

While there was some talk of Judge as a mid-first round pick, he slid to the 32nd overall selection in the 2013 draft where he received an overslot $1.8 million bonus.


Tampa Bay Rays

Before They Were Pros, 2013-14 – Jake Odorizzi, Andrew Toles
Before They Were Pros, 2014-15 – Justin O'Conner, Nathan Karns, Taylor Guerrieri, Justin Williams

Blake Snell, LHP

Tampa Bay had 10 picks between Nos. 24 and 60 in the 2011 draft and the returns five and a half years later are not especially encouraging, yet. Outfielder Mikie Mahtook (No. 31) is the only one of the 10 who has appeared in the big leagues. Righthanded pitcher Taylor Guerrieri (No. 24) has regained his prospect status after Tommy John surgery and off-field issues. Outfielder Tyler Goeddel was the first pick in the recent 2015 Rule 5 draft. Shortstop Brandon Martin was released after less than three years and is facing multiple murder charges. Blake Snell, the 52nd overall pick, remains as the biggest hope for the Rays to find a diamond among that bounty of picks.

Snell's father, Dave, played for six years in the minors as a righthanded pitcher in the 1980's, eventually reaching AA, so there were definitely some family genetics helping Snell. He never circulated on the national circuit and his only significant appearance outside of his home state of Washington was at the 2010 Area Code Games. He worked his fastball in the 84-90 mph range, with a 73 mph curveball and 81 mph changeup. Here are this scout's notes from that appearance.

Slender 6-4 build, very loose shoulder, projects physically, Hi 3/4's to OH release, release is a bit forced but ball comes out easy, FB straight, inconsistent FB velo, good arm speed on Chg, very downhill, rare CB had soft spin, said to have touched 94 in Washington state playoff finals.

Snell had a very successful senior season at Shoreline High School, striking out 128 hitters in 63 innings to go with a 1.00 ERA. He flashed plus velocity on his fastball but mostly pitched in the 88-92 mph range, although he did start showing a much improved curveball from the one he had shown in Long Beach. He was definitely still a projection type of pick but was generally talked about where he ended up being drafted.

Snell was signed with Washington but quickly agreed to a $684,000 signing bonus that was exactly the recommended slot number.


Toronto Blue Jays

Before They Were Pros, 2013-14 – Marcus Stroman, Aaron Sanchez, Daniel Norris, Chase DeJong

Rowdy Tellez, 1B
Rowdy Tellez
Tellez started as a freshman at the powerhouse Elk Grove High School program in the Sacramento area and was a very well known prospect almost immediately. He hit .354 as a freshman, then followed that up with a .505-9-50 sophomore season and a .568-7-47 junior year. If you wanted to see performance as a scout, Tellez was a good bet to provide satisfaction.

This scout first saw the 6-foot-5, 250-pound Tellez as an underclassman at the 2011 Area Code Games and filed the following notes: Big kid, very strong, can flat hit, easy swing, sees the ball very well, squares it up and drives the ball, consistent hard game contact. Speed could impact ceiling.

There is one aspect of those notes that proved especially correct. Tellez was a contact hitter in a power hitter's body in some ways. He only struck out eight times in 232 plate appearances his last two years in high school and has posted abnormally low strikeout totals even as professional. In fact, the contact approach has sometimes haunted him with scouts. But, of course, there was always the power. Tellez won the Rawlings Home Run Challenge at the 2012 PG National Showcase before being named a PG All-American and his every at-bat was carefully watched by scouts and fans alike, as that is what always happens with big power hitters.

Tellez was ranked 51st in the country going into the 2013 draft and was a good student with a scholarship to USC. Those last two factors contributed to his being passed over in the upper rounds but the Blue Jays took a flier on him in the 30th round. With money saved from higher in the draft they were able to sign Tellez to an $850,000 signing bonus shortly before the deadline.
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