8/28/2062
I’m gonna shake up my format a little bit to mimic what Ron’s been up to with his “Prospect Watch” series. I still want to assign letter grades but listing some ratings on the screen and limiting myself to a top 5 should make it more readable.
Here is a link to the last time I analyzed my relief pitching prospects. We traded two of those guys to Calgary over the offseason for
Bill Irvine. I’m declining to list the recently drafted phenom
Carlos Williams since he has a sub-2.00 ERA in 32.1 BBA innings, and
Duane Bishop because I’ve been writing about that guy for years and he should join the San Fernando bullpen for good once rosters expand.
Reminder on the scale:
A: star player just by developing to their potential
B: BBA regular just by developing to their potential or star potential but has some risk factors
C: potential is enough to make it to the BBA but beyond that uncertain
D: needs some bumps to have a BBA future or a lot of uncertainty around their potential
#1
José Díaz (C+) | Age: 22 | AA
| OVR/POT | STUFF | MOV | HRA | BABIP | CON |
|---|
| 45/50 | 5/9 | 5/6 | 5/7 | 6/6 | 5/5 |
Diaz is one of several relievers coming up thru the minors around the league with two plus-plus pitches, low stamina, and stuff for days. He successfully completed an offseason dev program to boost his slider and while it was successful progress remains painfully slow overall. Diaz should be death to lefties if that ever happens. We’re hoping his excellent personality ratings get him there. Look for Diaz to pitch out of the AAA bullpen in 2063.
#2
Orlando Gonzáles (C) | Age: 19 | SA
| OVR/POT | STUFF | MOV | HRA | BABIP | CON |
|---|
| 40/45 | 5/7 | 5/6 | 5/7 | 6/6 | 3/5 |
Another lefty with 1 stamina, Gonzalez distinguishes himself by utilizing a couple of pitches that are equally effective against opposite-handed hitters, a curveball and a cutter. Those pitches need some polish as does Gonzalez’s control but more than anything we need to build up his innings after he lost time to a torn UCL in mid-2061. The 7 HRA potential is his most valuable skill.
#3
Dale McCutcheon (D+) | Age: 26 | AAA
| OVR/POT | STUFF | MOV | HRA | BABIP | CON |
|---|
| 40/45 | 5/7 | 6/7 | 6/8 | 6/6 | 4/4 |
Having recently turned 26 years old its questionable whether I should have included McCutcheon here one last time. But as of now his potential remains too tantalizing and I expect him to survive the 40-man roster over the winter. He won’t be getting a dev lab spot this time though and will have to develop his excellent three pitch arsenal on his own. He’s going to have suspect control but with fully developed pitches we expect McCutcheon to reach his stuff and movement potential. Right now the walks are limiting him to a 4.98 FIP in AAA Brooks.
#4
José Pedrasa (D+) | Age: 22 | AA
| OVR/POT | STUFF | MOV | HRA | BABIP | CON |
|---|
| 45/45 | 4/4 | 6/6 | 7/7 | 5/5 | 6/6 |
Not a lot of stuff or stamina for Pedrasa but the rest of his game is solid and he’s fully developed. I can’t get too excited about a 4 stuff reliever with no pitch rated over a 5 but he’ll be on the cusp of the majors next year and a bump to 5 stuff would easily earn him some BBA playing time. He’s making easy work of his AA competition with a 2.71 FIP.
#5
Ignacio Ryder (D) | Age: 22 | AA
| OVR/POT | STUFF | MOV | HRA | BABIP | CON |
|---|
| 35/40 | 5/7 | 4/5 | 4/5 | 5/5 | 3/6 |
Another AA reliever, Ryder wasn’t a recent draft pick but rather was a 16th rounder in 2057 and has toiled away for years in our lower minors. He still needs a lot of development but there is just about a BBA ceiling if he can fill the ratings in. Stuff is built off a high 90s fastball, plus slider, and average sinker. It’s the current control that holds back his results at AA and will return to that level if offseason progress fails to occur.
