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Minors  | General | 12/11/2018

PG in the Pros: NL Central

David Rawnsley
Photo: Ke'Bryan Hayes (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.

 Previous 2018-19 PG in the Pros features: AL Central

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
PG in the Pros, 2016-17 – Trevor Clifton
PG in the Pros, 2017-18 – Dillon Maples

 Alex Lange, RHP

Lange was a well-known high school prospect from his early days at a Missouri high school. He was a very mature teenager in all respects: in his physical development, in his polished stuff on the mound and as a student off the field, where he was a 4.0 student. His peak Perfect Game event during that time was between his sophomore and junior years at the 2012 Junior National Showcase. His report read as follows:

Strong physical build, pretty mature physically. Leg raise drifting delivery, compact arm action catches up well, fast arm, repeats delivery well and pitches to spots. Upper-80s fastball, topped out at 91 mph, has deception and fastball gets on hitters quickly. Outstanding split-fingered changeup, identical release point/arm speed to fastball, hard late tumble at times, big league pitch right now. Hard slurve-type breaking ball with good spin and some depth/bite. Hitters had no chance when he was mixing pitches, abusive three-pitch mix.

Lange's raw stuff remained the same the rest of his high school career and he was ranked 134th nationally as a senior and with his raw stuff and grades and an LSU scholarship in hand, wasn't drafted.



His maturity on the mound was immediately evident during his freshman year at Louisiana State when he went 12-0, 1.97 in 114 innings and was named the NCAA Freshman Pitcher of the Year and a consensus All-American. His raw stuff took a step up from his high school levels, as he now worked up to 95 mph consistently, with a tighter slider replacing his split-change as his go-to off-speed pitch.

Lange's sophomore and junior seasons didn't match up to his freshman year, as he went 8-4, 3.79 and 10-5, 2.97 while allowing more home runs and not cutting down his walk numbers. Scouts had concerns over his future big league role as a starter or reliever, although everyone agreed he would be a fast-track player in either role and particularly as a reliever.

The Cubs picked Lange with the 30th overall pick and signed him just before the deadline for a slightly below slot $1,925,000 bonus.


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
PG in the Pros, 2016-17 – Nick Senzel
PG in the Pros, 2017-18 – Taylor Trammell

 Tyler Stephenson, C

Stephenson was a regular at Perfect Game events around the Atlanta area during high school, both as a member of the Kennesaw Mountain High School team and while playing for the East Cobb Astros and East Cobb Yankees. He was a well known player with a scholarship to Georgia Tech that most evaluators, at that point, seemed to take for granted that he'd fulfill.

That projected future path changed completely during the 6-foot-4, 225-pound Stephenson's senior year. He had always been considered a high-level defensive catcher, with outstanding arm strength and surprising quickness and agility for his size. But Stephenson's righthanded swing approach at the plate wasn't as advanced, especially from professional eyes. He hit from an open stance that often stayed open and had a short very inside swing with limited shift into contact and lower body usage. It was a high contact, low power approach on an athlete that looked like a born middle-of-the-order power hitter.

Stephenson played four games at the heavily scouted 2015 PG High School Showdown in mid-March and it served as a coming out party for the swing adjustments he had made and his new prospect status. He was swinging more aggressively with more barrel extension and turn and pulling the ball with loud authority consistently while keeping his swing still short and direct. After that event here is the report that was filed:

Aside from Chris Betts, there might not be a more draftable catcher in the high school ranks than Tyler Stephenson. He has the prototype body that scouts love and big tools on both sides of the ball. He didn't take a bad swing in four games and the ball just explodes off his bat. I'm thinking third round potential right now.

Stephenson kept building on that over the rest of the spring, eventually hitting .415-8-25 in one of the most competitive high school baseball areas in the country and flying up draft boards as the top high school catching prospect in the class. The Reds were not scared away by the industry’s normal hesitance on high school catchers, picking Stephenson with the 11th overall pick. He signed almost immediately for an on-slot $3,141,600 bonus.


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
PG in the Pros, 2016-17 – Isan Diaz
PG in the Pros, 2017-18 – Monte Harrison

 Corey Ray, OF

Ray attended Simeon High School in Chicago as a teenager, a school with a long basketball history but much less so of producing baseball players, and played extensively during the summer with the Chicago White Sox ACE program, an inner-city based program. He played in numerous WWBA tournaments with the ACE, along with participating in the 2012 PG National Showcase, and other major national showcases.

At a slender 5-foot-11, 170-pounds, Ray wasn't especially strong yet but had a quick and fluid lefthanded swing and was a plus runner on the bases and in the outfield, with his 6.76 60-yard dash time at the PG National not being indicative of his true baseball speed. He was a gap-to-gap hitter who worked the middle of the field and had nowhere close to the raw power, nor even the projection, that he displayed as he filled out.

Ray was ranked 176th in the 2013 class as a senior and was drafted in the 33rd round by the Mariners, with it being a foregone conclusion that Ray, a very good student, would attend Louisville.



As a freshman, Ray got into 43 games, including 19 starts and hit .325-1-17. Earning a full-time starting job as a sophomore, Ray blossomed, hitting .325 again but with 11 home runs, 56 RBI and 34 stolen bases. His power continued to develop as a junior and he hit .310-15-60 with 36 walks and an eye-opening 44-for-44 on stolen base attempts.

While acknowledging that Ray was one of the top athletes and prospects in the 2016 draft class, scouts sat on a number of fences with Ray and how he projected as a professional. Much of his dramatically increased power came from an aggressive swing approach, yet he walked frequently and saw his strikeouts almost drop by 50 percent during his junior year. His ability to steal bases was more a testament to his instincts and jumps and not to burning speed. Would that hold up as a pro? And there was consistent debate over what outfield position he would settle at, and did his offensive game, with the above questions, hold up a defensive game that could end up in left field?

In the end, all the analysis didn't matter for much, as the Brewers like him the best and picked him fifth overall, signing him to a slightly below slot $4,125,000 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
PG in the Pros, 2016-17 – Mitch Keller
PG in the Pros, 2017-18 – Cole Tucker

 Ke'Bryan Hayes, 3B

Hayes was a baseball field junkie and a regular at Perfect Game tournaments and showcases dating back to the summer before his freshman year. During many of his 20-plus PG tournaments dating back to the 2011 PG/East Cobb 14u/15u Invitational, Hayes played for his father, Charlie, a 14-year big league veteran and a baseball field junkie himself.

Hayes' polished skills at a young age enabled him to play up in age bracket consistently, including playing in Jupiter at the 2011 WWBA World Championship as a freshman, and he always had virtually the same build throughout high school, although he was gradually shedding the baby fat and replacing it with hard muscle the entire time.

The defining feeling about Hayes during his high school years was that he just kept getting better incrementally without there ever being a single moment when, as a scout, one declared "Yes, Ke'Bryan is a top prospect." He grew into it gradually and by the time he was a senior and was eventually ranked 19th in the 2015 high school class, there wasn't any doubt about his future potential.



One thing that was mildly frustrating about Hayes’ high school development was that you always knew he had far more raw power than he showed in games. His righthanded game approach during games was always very controlled and line drive oriented, with an inside swing path and a middle-to-opposite field orientation. But occasionally in batting practice, and once during a 2015 PG High School Showdown game when he hit two balls over the left-center field scoreboard, you'd see the easy power unleashed. As the old scouting mantra goes, "If you've seen it once you know it's there."

The report from the 2014 PG National Showcase does dwell on Hayes' untapped power potential, while also acknowledging his already obvious defense genius.

Strong athletic build, especially in the lower half. Very mobile and athletic defensively at third base, long arms and soft hands, fields the ball easily out front, very accurate strong throws, top level defensive player. Righthanded hitter, strong swing with lots of torque from his strong lower half, stays on top of the ball and drives the gaps, will loop under at times when too opposite field conscious, has big untapped power to start using at some point in the future. Also pitched, well-balanced directional delivery, full clean arm action, easy low effort mechanics, high three-quarters slot. Upper-80s fastball with good run, consistently low in the strike zone, good curveball spin and power. Has the potential to be a high-level pitching prospect if he wanted to.

Hayes was signed with Tennessee but went to the Pirates with the 32nd overall pick and signed to an exact slot $1,855,000 bonus, some 32 years after his father signed out of a Hattiesburg (Miss.) high school as a fourth round pick of the Giants.


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
PG in the Pros, 2016-17 – Alex Reyes
PG in the Pros, 2017-18 – Jack Flaherty

 Dakota Hudson, RHP

Hudson was a big and strong 6-foot-5 righthander already during high school growing up in Dunlap, Tennessee, a small town of barely 4,000 people directly north of Chattanooga. He threw at a number of WWBA tournaments down Interstate 75 in Atlanta for the Chattanooga Cyclones, generally working in the 87-90 mph range, touching 91 mph occasionally and throwing a solid slurve-type breaking ball that would fluctuate between a curveball and a slider. Hudson was ranked 238th nationally in the final class of 2013 rankings before heading off to Mississippi State, although he was drafted in the 36th round by the Texas Rangers.

Hudson's first two years at Mississippi State were not noteworthy. He started five games as a freshman but only went 1-2, 4.67 in 17 innings while allowing 33 baserunners. He worked exclusively out of the bullpen as a sophomore, appearing in 17 games while going 1-1, 4.32.

Something clicked before his junior year, as Hudson won a spot in the Bulldogs rotation from the start of the year and went 9-5, 2.55 in 113 innings while refining his now mid-90s sinker, allowing only two home runs all season. His breaking ball was now a power slider in the mid-80s, although he was still working to fully develop a changeup.



Hudson was especially strong early in the season and quickly established himself as a potential top half of the first round prospect with his raw stuff and performance. He understandably faded as the season wore on, as his 113 innings that spring easily lapped the 33 innings he had thrown the previous two springs combined. Scouts started talking more about the chance that he might end up in the bullpen without a viable third pitch and wondered about his long and wrapped arm action in back and if he would have the future command to start.

The Cardinals found the middle ground, picking Hudson with the 34th overall pick and paying him a $2 million bonus. It was a small comedown from the scouting consensus back in March but something that seemed unrealistic at any time prior to his junior season.
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