Off Topic
As members of the Yellow Springs Nine head to Fools Gulch for Spring Training, it’s time for us baseball writers to have fun taking a look at the players in the organization and pretend like we know who it going to make a difference. In the past we’d wait until later in the year and do a prospect review, but this time we figured why not go full Monty and do it all at once, right?
Today we’re going to talk about the starting pitchers, focusing first on the guys we expect to see in Yellow Springs, and then a few others down deeper in the organization who could crack the lineup over the next several years.
Yellow Springs
| Player | Age | T | OVR | STU/MOV/CON | Pitches |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carlos Valle | 29 | R | 70/70 | 8/8/8 | 97 MPH. 10/7/8/8/7 |
| Carlos Pineda | 23 | L | 75/80 | 9/6/8 | 100 MPH. 8/10/7/10/6 |
| Ernesto Ramos | 28 | R | 65/65 | 10/6/7 | 98 MPH. 10/11/11 |
| Tomas Ramirez | 24 | R | 65/70 | 7/6/7 | 101 MPH. 10/4/8/8 |
| * | * | * | * | * | * |
| Josh Henson | 23 | L | 50/55 | 6/7/9 | 93 MPH. 8/9/1 |
| Jose Sanchez | 24 | R | 45/45 | 7/7/6 | 98 MPH. 9/7/6 |
| Al Colbert | 23 | R | 55/55 | 6/8/10 | 92 MPH. 8/8/2 |
I don’t think you’re going to have a hard time believing me when I say that the top four guys in the rotation are as good and deep as about anything the opposition can throw at them.
Valle Looks for
Nebraska #3
Pineda, who, with his 38-8 lifetime record and career 3.73 ERA in a tough offensive environment, may be the better pitcher. He’s 23 years old now, getting close to that ager where the team might unleash the pitch count a little. At only 6’1” his frame is little, but scouts say his mechanics are precise and efficient. 2042 saw him touch 200 innings for the first time in his career, we doubt it will be the last.
Of course, Ernesto Ramos is sometimes thought of as the team’s #2 and for good reason. He won 20 games in 2040, and has been in lock-step with Valle throughout his career, but while Valle is a “steady ahead” kind of guy, Ramos has been all over the place. Streaky, you might say. When he’s on a run, he can carry a team, though. He’s entering the first and most pricey season of the 6-year deal he signed last summer. We’ll see how the pressure sets on him. The good news for Nine fans is that scouts who’ve recently checked in on him says his circle change may well now be one of the best in baseball.
And as for Tomas Ramirez, well, on several other teams Ramirez might well be a #2 or #3 at least. The 24-year-old throws 101 and still manages to be sneaky. He’s got a bit of an injury history that includes a strained back last summer and has limited him to 155 or so innings each of the last two seasons. It has also made the team keep close tabs on him. But his K-rate soared to 7.9/9 last year while his walk rate dropped to a scant 2.8. If the development curve keeps going that way for Ramirez, that’s a good sign for Nine fans.
The “problem” comes at #5, which the team juggled last year between Luis Colon (now traded to Phoenix), Jose Sanchez, and rookie lefty Josh Henson. Our guess is that these two will see the bulk of #5 starts again, with maybe Al Colbert thrown in there every now and again if Colbert sticks. They all have experience starting games but are probably all better off in the bullpen. Sanchez is a guy the team sees as vastly under-rated by most fans, and Henson has good enough stuff that he threw a no-hitter in the minors a few years back.
BEST CASE PROJECTION: Everyone stays healthy, Henson becomes a bit of a media darling, and the Nine’s rotation is the best in the Frick.
CONCERNS: They are all pitchers, and pitchers are freaky. Someone could get hurt. Ramos could go in a season-long funk. The rookies could rookie. You name it.
Prospects
| Level | Player | Age | T | OVR | STU/MOV/CON | Pitches |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AAA | Dave Lee | 21 | L | 40/75 | 8/8/9 | 97 MPH. 8/11/9 |
| AA | Derrick Chaney | 21 | R | 25/50 | 8/6/65 | 101MPH. 11/9/1 |
| AAA | Dean Stranaghan | 21 | R | 40/40 | 7/6/3 - | 100 MPH. 10/7/7 |
| R | Juan Medina | 18 | R | 20/45 | 7/4/6 | 93 MPH. 8/7/7/6/2 |
| IC | Edgardo Mota | 17 | R | 20/45 | 7/7/5 | 93 MPH. 9/10/2 |
| A | Bartolo Bermudez | 20 | R | 25/35 | 6/4/5 | 98 MPH. 8/9/8 |
| SA | Cisco Galvan | 19 | R | 30/45 | 5/6/5 | 96 MPH. 8/7/7 |
| AAA | Jimmy Ferguson | 25 | R | 35/35 | 6/2/6 - | 95 MPH. 9/6/7/6 |
I expect it will be tempting to bring Dave Lee up to fill the #5 slot, but I’d caution Nine fans not to expect it any time soon. Lee was acquired in the deal that send Roberto Viramontas and three solid prospects to Charlotte, and he projects to be a mid-low #1 or a high #2. If he can add that last notch of velocity, which at 21 he still could, the sky could be the limit. Still, maybe let’s not pile that kind of expectation onto him. He’s got some angsty splits, and his fastball is a cutter rather than the four-seamer. We’re excited, but we’ll see.
The drop to the next group is fairly precipitous, but there are some good arms in this mix.
Chaney is probably on track to become a dominant bullpen ace, but is still in the hunt as a starter right now. He’s the club’s #1 pick last year, and went 4-2 with a 3.93 ERA in short A last year. A good spring will probably have him starting in AA this season. And Stranaghan, too, may wind up in a major league bullpen—but he’s continued to blossom in a starter’s role—his 4-9 record in Fort Worth is an indicator that the reulsts have not matched the performance, as Starngahan’s K-rate was a blistering 11.8/9. Of course the walk rate skyrocketed, too. A solid stint in winter league put some ease to those fears.
Juan Medina came out of the international complex, and has scouts beginning to buzz, and Cisco Galvan was the team’s 7th-round selection last year, then earned a trip to early spring camp with a nifty 3.93 ERA in Alamogordo R-level ball. 17-year-old Edgardo Mota is still in the team's International complex, but people are beginning to buzz. Obviously, it's too early to make any real projections on him, but we made room on the list for him just before Bermudez, who seems to have stalled out at the moment.
Last year, while looking at Jimmy Ferguson, someone asked if movement ever improves and if he might be a lost cause. Well. It bumped a notch last year, though it hasn’t yet filled in. His changup came in, though, and his numbers in 21 AA starts were a solid 5-7, 4.16. He’ll get one more go around on the “prospect” list before falling off, but I’m gaining a little (barely?) optimism that Ferguson might become one of those rare late bloomers.
| Level | Dark Horses | Age | T | OVR | STU/MOV/CON | Pitches |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SA | Ken Park | 20 | R | 20/35 | 6/4/5 | 94 MPH. 10/8/1 |
| SA | Eric Estes | 20 | R | 20/35 | 5/4/6 - | 96 MPH. 8/9/1 |
Estes, on the other hand, is turning into some fans favorite guilty pleasures. He’s Mr. Irrelevant of last year’s draft, and went to rookie ball, where he performed just well enough to get a stint in short A. Results in small sample sizes were mixed, but scouts are gently optimistic, or at least heavily rooting for him.
OVERALL FARM SYSTEM STATUS: Not bad. Not great. Lee is a prime-grade prospect, and there are a couple others that, with a little help, might round out a staff here or there. It’s not a flashy farm, but with at least four solid arms at their peak or younger, the team will cross its fingers that what they’ve got is good enough.
