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Minors | General | 12/12/2018

PG in the Pros: NL East

David Rawnsley

Photo: Touki Toussaint (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 | NL Central

Atlanta Braves

Before They Were Pros, 2013-14 – Lucas Sims, J.R. Graham, Jason Hursh
Before They Were Pros, 2014-15 – Alec Grosser
PG in the Pros, 2015-16 – Dansby Swanson
PG in the Pros, 2016-17 – Kolby Allard
PG in the Pros, 2017-18 – Austin Riley

Touki Toussaint, RHP

As Toussaint gets further into his big league career it will be fun to read and hear the mainstream media delve into his background, as it is one of the most interesting to come through the prospect ranks in memory.

Toussaint's father is from Haiti, a country that despite sharing the Caribbean island of Hispaniola with baseball crazed Dominican Republic does not have any heritage of baseball. He was born in Florida but moved to Haiti when he was three months old, only to return when he was six. His mother is Kenyan. While he played some baseball in his youth, he was primarily a soccer player and only tried out for the Coral Springs Christian Academy baseball team when a baseball friend whom he played soccer with dared him to.

His baseball talent was obvious and immediate, although more so on the mound despite Toussaint initially thinking of himself as a position player. He topped out at 88 mph at his first Perfect Game event, the 2010 14u BCS Finals just two weeks after his 14th birthday.

Toussaint ended up throwing at 16 PG events along with a handful of other national level showcases. While he topped out at 97 mph at PG events, his defining characteristic as a developing pitcher was that he had so many different pitches that seemingly came naturally to him. Nothing he threw was straight. Toussaint's curveball was originally a low-70s pitch with huge depth and he gradually tightened it up with added velocity. He developed both a high-80s cutter and a slider and could work the entire spectrum of breaking balls from 72 to 90 mph. His changeup gradually developed and by the 2013 WWBA World Championship was a plus-plus pitch up to 87 mph that completely overmatched hitters and contributed to one of the most dominating performances in Perfect Game history.

The flip side was that Toussaint had a high energy, fast-paced delivery that, when combined with his relative lack of innings and repetitions, contributed to inconsistent control. The athleticism was certainly there to improve but everyone in the scouting community knew it would take some time. But when Toussaint was in the zone, as he was in Jupiter as a senior, there was no realistic way that high school hitters of any type were going to hit him.

With all that background and questions about his future command potential, Toussaint was a bit of a wild card before the 2014 draft. Perfect Game was on the optimistic side, ranking him fifth overall in the high school class. He was eventually picked 16th overall by the Diamondbacks, signing for an over slot $2.7 million to buy him out of a Vanderbilt scholarship.

Miami Marlins

Before They Were Pros, 2013-14 – Andrew Heaney, Jake Marisnick, Anthony DeSclafani
Before They Were Pros, 2014-15 – Trevor Williams, Avery Romero, Justin Nicolino
PG in the Pros, 2015-16 – Tyler Kolek
PG in the Pros, 2016-17 – Braxton Garrett
PG in the Pros, 2017-18 – Dillon Peters

Nick Neidert, RHP

Neidert had a slender 6-foot-1, 180-pound build and excelled as a left-side infielder in high school as well as on the mound. He likely could have played at a mid-level Division I school at shortstop based on his defense alone, but his future path was clearly on the mound despite his modest size.

Neidert made the jump from 88-91 mph between his sophomore and junior seasons to 91-94 mph between his junior and senior years and even touched 96 mph at the 2014 WWBA World Championships But his leading trait as a pitcher was his command of a four-pitch arsenal along with a definite competition zeal on the mound. Here is his report from the 2014 PG National Showcase:

Slender young athletic build, middle infielders look, plenty of room to get stronger. Three-quarters to mid three-quarters arm slot, fast arm with good extension out front, short stride with some energy at release, hides the ball well. Low-90s fastball, topped out at 93 mph, big fading and running life at times, spotted his fastball to all quadrants with intent. Varies shape and velocity on breaking ball, big sweeping curveball with hard spin, will shorten up the pitch with hard and tighter slider shape, has a feel for spinning the ball. Tends to lengthen arm stroke on change up but gets big sinking life at the plate. Very impressive performance with two quick innings and many overmatched hitters.

Neidert's dominating performances at major events like the PG National, the WWBA World Championship – where he threw a two-hit complete game shutout as a senior – and at national level WWBA tournaments for Team Elite Prime labeled him with the scouting community as a big game, high performance starter.

Elbow tendonitis during his senior year shelved Neidert for part of the season but he returned healthy during the last month with the same raw stuff and command and scouts were not worried on that front. Their concerns were more about Neidert's relative lack of physicality and his lower arm slot. In retrospect, Neidert strongly resembled Phillies all-star righthander Aaron Nola at the same age, only with more present velocity as a high school senior.

Neidert was ranked 29th in the final PG class rankings and signed with South Carolina. The Mariners picked him in the second round in the 2015 draft, signing him for a $1.2 million bonus.

New York Mets

Before They Were Pros, 2013-14 – Kevin Plawecki, Brandon Nimmo
Before They Were Pros, 2014-15 – Steven Matz, Dominic Smith
PG in the Pros, 2015-16 – Gavin Cecchini
PG in the Pros, 2016-17 – Thomas Szapucki
PG in the Pros, 2017-18 – Pete Alonso

David Peterson, LHP

Peterson, a Colorado native, made his first strong impression on the Perfect Game scouting staff at the 2012 Junior National Showcase at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. Listed at 6-foot-6, 220-pounds, with very loose athletic actions, Peterson was also potentially a high level first baseman, although his height made projecting him as a hitter difficult. His report from that event read:

Outstanding athletic build; lean loose and very projectable. Easy fast-paced delivery, smooth effortless arm action, mid three-quarters release point, tends to pick up plate late with eyes. Consistent upper-80s fastball, topped out at 89 mph, much more in there, has excellent late running life on fastball, will bust righthanded hitters inside with live fastball. Good curveball shape and spin with proper velocity, consistent release point, still developing feel for changeup. Works extremely quick and pounds the strike zone, uncomfortable at-bats for hitters. Very athletic defensive actions at first base, light on feet and very balanced. Lefthanded hitter, nice calm swing, uses hands to drive the barrel, squares up the ball, projectable power. Elite level athlete.

Peterson continued to improve incrementally over the rest of his high school career, adding more strength and growing into his big body. His velocity inched up into the 90-92 mph range and his changeup would flash solid average at times. Although he called his upper-70s breaking ball a slider, it was strongly a curveball in shape, depth and release for the PG scouts. He was an easy pick to play in the PG All-American Classic.

Peterson was hampered by rehabbing a broken leg during his senior spring and even with the chance of being a relatively high draft pick out of high school, Peterson choose to go to Oregon, although he was picked in the 28th round by the Red Sox. He joined the Ducks starting rotation almost immediately, going 4-6, 4.39 as a freshman and 4-5, 3.63 as a sophomore before exploding as a junior.

With a calmer delivery and better command of his 90-94 mph fastball and two potential plus off-speed pitches, Peterson went 11-4, 2.51 in 100 innings with 140 strikeouts and only 15 walks his third year in school. Included in his huge strikeout total were a 17-strikeout game against Mississippi State and an eye-opening 20-strikeout performance against Arizona State, hardly two pushover opponents.

As Peterson pitched most of the time with a 50 grade fastball, scouts labeled him more as a very high floor middle-of-the-rotation starter rather than a potential top half of the first round impact prospect. The Mets selected Peterson with the 20th overall pick in the 2017 draft and signed him for a $2,944,500 bonus.

Philadelphia Phillies

Before They Were Pros, 2013-14 – Jesse Biddle
Before They Were Pros, 2014-15 – J.P. Crawford
PG in the Pros, 2015-16 – Zach Eflin
PG in the Pros, 2016-17 – Cornelius Randolph
PG in the Pros, 2017-18 – Mickey Moniak

Cole Irvin, LHP

Irvin and Braves lefthander Max Fried were Southern California contemporaries in the 2012 high school class, with long projectable bodies, solid overall athleticism and an advanced ability to spin the ball and work their changeups. It was just a matter of who would get stronger and when, as both had high-ceiling skills and projectability.

Here is Irvin's report from the 2011 PG National Showcase:

Classic projectable pitcher's build, narrow hips, sloped shoulders, loose actions. Well-paced leg raise delivery, compact arm in back, good extension out front. Upper-80s fastball, topped out at 90 mph, consistent late fastball life, throws his fastball to spots with intent. Potential plus curveball with more power, tight spin with bite and good depth. Very advanced changeup, plus life at times, big fading action. Has all the pitches now and the ability to throw them where he wants with life, just waiting for the strength to kick in. Showed some ability with the bat, quick hands, smooth balanced swing, squared the ball up well.

Fried was the southpaw who got stronger first and he was rewarded with the seventh overall pick in the 2012 draft. Irvin continued to sit in the 87-90 mph range through his senior year and had an obvious path to take: use his 3-4 years at Oregon to get stronger and add velocity. He was drafted in the 29th round in 2012 by the Blue Jays after ranking 86th in the final Perfect Game class rankings.

Irvin had a tremendous freshman year at Oregon, going 12-3, 2.48 in 113 innings and walking only 22 hitters, although his very low strikeout total, 60, points to his advanced finesse and ability to spot the ball rather than his raw stuff. Unfortunately, Irvin didn't hold up to his freshman workload, going down with an elbow injury during the summer and eventually having Tommy John surgery that would sideline him for all of 2014.

Irvin came back in 2015 and struggled, going 2-5, 4.10 in 79 innings but had a big redshirt junior year, going 6-4, 3.17 in 105 innings, striking out 93 hitters and walking only 16. His raw stuff hadn't improved notably after the TJ surgery, although he could reach back for a 92 or a 93 on occasion, but Irvin's plus command and ability to mix his pitches profiled him as a next level crafty lefty. The Phillies liked him enough not only to draft him in the fifth round in the 2016 draft but to give him a $800,000 bonus, well over the $417,000 slot amount.

Washington Nationals

Before They Were Pros, 2013-14 – Lucas Giolito, A.J. Cole, Brian Goodwin
Before They Were Pros, 2014-15 – Michael Taylor, Jake Johansen
PG in the Pros, 2015-16 – Trea Turner
PG in the Pros, 2016-17 – Andrew Stevenson
PG in the Pros, 2017-18 – Blake Perkins

Carter Kieboom, SS/3B

Kieboom is the youngest of three baseball playing brothers, with oldest brother Spencer, a catcher, having logged time in the big leagues with the Nationals the past two years. His middle brother, Trevor, also an infielder, played at Georgia.

As a Marietta, Georgia, resident and a member of the East Cobb program, Kieboom was a regular at Perfect Game tournaments and showcases dating back to the 2011 14u WWBA National Championship before his eighth grade year.

Kieboom was a solid athlete in high school, with 6.73 speed in the 60-yard dash and left side infield athleticism. Interestingly, he was ambidextrous throwing a baseball but did not switch-hit. The 6-foot-2, 185-pound righthanded hitter's best tool, though, was his bat. He showed the polish at the plate of someone who both came from a baseball family and played lots of baseball and the raw bat speed of an elite level prospect. That bat speed and ability to square up the ball really stood out at the 2015 PG National Showcase:

Lean athletic build, good present strength, very projectable physically. Righthanded hitter, spread stance with a high hand start, balanced swing with very fast hands, gets extended well, fluid swing with very good bat speed, squared up with lots of pull-side power, was really timed well against high level stuff, outstanding game swings, Corey Seager swing mechanics from the right side. 6.73 runner, fields the ball out front with soft hands, clean arm action, light on his feet and can really charge the ball well, will be very solid at third base defensively with the athleticism to play other positions. Outstanding prospect who should keep improving.

Kieboom had a strong senior year at Walton High School, cementing his status as one of the best high school hitters in the class. There was some concern among scouts about his ability to stay at shortstop long-term, a regular talking point for any high school shortstop, but Kieboom's high-level bat made that concern very secondary. He was committed to Clemson, where brother Spencer played and brother Trevor originally committed, but signed with the Nationals for $2 million as the 28th overall pick.

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Minors | General | 12/13/2024

PG Down on the Farm: NL West

David Rawnsley

It’s the time of the year again (i.e. the off-season) for the annual PG Down on the Farm feature. We identify a top prospect in each of the 30 Major League organizations with as much Perfect Game background as possible and delve into that PG history for some insight into his development as a prospect. Some of them might be high profile, high draft pick, ex-PG All-American talents who fans have been long familiar with. Others might be more obscure prospects who have significantly improved either in college or as professionals. Note that players who have used up their rookie eligibility are not considered. The idea isn’t to necessarily pick the best PG background prospect in each organization but the one who might be closest to the big leagues. Sometimes that is the same player, other times not. And there is plenty of variation among organizations...