2060.10 - The Long Beach Independent - State of the Farm - AAA Commerce

[Lane]

READY TO CATCH A WAVE

Gary Tinstaap

Commerce, CA

Let's dive right in to the headliner out of Commerce, Héctor Herrera. He's not the flashiest prospect, or the prospect closest to making a debut, but he's unique to the system, and should he find success in Long Beach, would be the first two-way player to do so. Acquired last season in a trade with Nashville for rental RP Harold Nothard, Herrera made a successful jump from Short Season A ball to AAA this year. He played as a starting pitcher and second baseman. He hit well, with a 104 OPS+ and solid gap power. On the pitching side he was less successful, but this was primarily due to an inflated BABIP of .364. He has significant steps to take to bring his control up to it's potential, and there are concerns that he may not quite make it as a starter at the BBA level. However, it is clear that the Long Beach front office continues to work with him as a two-way player and will give him every opportunity to prove himself at the next level.

Next up we have first baseman Gustavo Espinoza, who has had two trips up to the big league club already in his career. In those stints, he has demonstrated the ability to succeed against BBA pitching. The acquisition of Unem Ploid, and the breakout of fellow prospect Elia Lulani has unfortunately delayed Espinoza's path to a full time role. He's a development success story for the organization, being selected in the 12th round of the 2055 amateur draft. Under the professional coaching in the Surfers' minor league system, Espinoza was able to increase his in-game power from about average to well above average. In fact, in the 103 games he has played at the BBA level, he has hit 27 home runs. His path to a full time role in Long Beach may be clearing up after the 2061 season. Lulani, for all his success struggles to hit left-handed pitching. And Ploid, 33, has the opportunity to become a free agent after the 2061 season.

Let's touch on a couple of pitching prospects before we wrap up this series. In the Yard Goats' bullpen, we have 25 year old righty Frank Geddes. Like Espinoza, he's had a couple of successful stints with the big league club. He's not a flamethrower, sitting low-mid 90s, but he has an electric forkball, which, in combination with a good fastball result in batters having a hard time squaring up any well located pitches. Thanks to that ability, we anticipate him having a significant role in the Surfers bullpen in the coming seasons.

Finally, we have starter Wilson Pérez, a 23 year-old southpaw. Like Geddes, he does a great job of keeping the ball in the yard, but is severely lacking in strikeout skills. With OSA rating his stuff as below average, he'll be very reliant on keeping the ball on the ground. He had a brief cup of coffee this season, making five starts. They were a success by ERA, but he did allow three home runs in just 22 innings. We're not sold on Perez being a significant piece of the next good Surfers' rotation, but he could certainly make some appearances over the next few seasons.

[BaseClogger]

I’ve been surprised by some of the guys on yer BBA roster. Are you prioritizing getting these guys a full season of consistent starts at AAA?

[Lane]

i assume you mean not on my BBA roster? yeah i'd rather them continue to consistently play at AAA than sit on the bench in the big leagues, especially in a season where we're not making the playoffs.

[BaseClogger]

I lost a game to 25 OVR Curt Henderson and was salty. Hate losing to a “C” Kurt.

[Lane]

embarrasing! haha