(D2baseballnews.com)
We continue our top 80 with Numbers 70-61. Just a note with the top prospects, this far back, we usually note people with some types of upside, many of which need to take a step forward or have the tools, but they haven’t presented themselves to their full potential. This time around, as a suggestion by commenter CJM, I will post how their age was relative to their level.
Let’s dive in:
70. RHP Ronald Guedez
Ht: 6’1″ Wt: 160 Level: Rookie Ball DSL and GCL B/T: R/R Age: 1/26/1996 (20) Age Dif: -0.9
Statistics: 60 IP, 12 G, 11 GS, 52 H, 10 BB, 29 K, 2.40 ERA
Profile: Young projectable arm out of Venezuela for 170k in 2012. He dominated the DSL and did well in Gulf Coast. Has an 88-92 fastball and a decent curve and changeup. However, he hasn’t shown the ability to miss bats as of yet.
Next Level: Possible Brooklyn rotation piece.
Arnaldo Berrios, Perfect Game
69. OF Arnaldo Berrios
Ht: 5’9″ Wt: 175 Level: Rookie Ball Kingsport B/T: S/R Age: 1/15/1996 (20) Age Dif: -1.5
Statistics: 57 G, 228 PA, 197 AB, 49 H, 8 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 7 SB, 5 CS, 21 BB, 71K, .249/.336/.340
Profile: 39th rounder out of Carlos Beltran‘s Academy in Puerto Rico in 2014 draft, he’s a small outfielder with above average speed and a level line-drive stroke. Has a decent eye but, he did strike out in 31% of his plate appearances.
Next Level: Likely going to be an outfielder in Brooklyn
68. RHP Tyler Badamo
Ht: 6’2″ Wt: 190 Level: Short Season-A B/T: R/R Age: 8/8/1992 (23) Age Dif: +0.7
Statistics: 14 G, 3.10 ERA, 81.1 IP, 61 H, 22 BB, 61 K, .207 BAA
Profile: Drafted out of the 24th round out of Dowling College, and was very dominant in Division II ball. Has a 88-93 mile per hour fastball included in a decent 4-pitch mix. He was named the New York-Penn League pitcher of the week on July 6th after throwing back-to-back great seven inning starts in which he didn’t allow an earned run. The first of the two on July 1st, he threw a one-hitter needing only 63 pitchers to do so.
Next Level: St. Lucie Rotation
MILB.com
67. RHP Merandy Gonzalez
Ht: 6’1″ Wt: 190 Level: Rookie Ball Gulf Coast & Kingsport B/T: R/R Age: 10/9/1995 Age Dif: -1.6
Statistics: 13 G, 9 GS, 66.2 IP, 2.56 ERA, 49 H, 22 BB, 64 K .202 BAA
Profile: I’ll admit, I don’t know much about him except that he threw a no-hitter on July 9th and throws in the high-80’s. He did well at rookie ball, and we’ll monitor him in his next assignment in A-ball. Gonzalez threw a 7-inning no-hitter as part of a doubleheader against the GCL Marlins. He faced three over the minimum as he allowed one walk and two Marlins reached on errors while striking out six.
Next Level: Brooklyn or Columbia Rotation
timesnews.net
66. RHP Thomas McIlraith
Ht: 6’4″ Wt: 185 Level: Rookie Ball Kingsport B/T: R/R Age: 2/17/1994 Age Dif: +0.2
Statistics: 12 G, 9 GS, 58 IP, 1.71 ERA, 48 H, 19 BB, 34 K .221 BAA
Profile: Tall pitcher with a low 90’s fastball, an ok slider, and splitter. Command is shaky, so they likely will have him start to repeat his motion, and then change him back to reliever in a few seasons.
Next Level: Columbia Rotation
65. RHP Gabriel Llanes
Ht: 6’4 Wt: 185 Level: Rookie Ball Kingsport B/T: R/R Age: 1/15/1996 Age Dif: -1.8
Statistics: 4 g, 27.2 IP, 4.23 ERA, 27 H, 2 BB, 18 K, .271 BAA
Profile: Young projectable right-hander taken in the 15th round out of high school for an over slot bonus of 300k, he can sit in the 89-93 range with an intriguing slider, but still has no changeup. He hasn’t missed many bats yet, but he’s still got time to get on track.
Next Level: Brooklyn Rotation
64. C Jose Garcia
milb.com
Ht: 6’0 Wt: 200 Level: Short Season-A B/T: L/R Age: 11/3/1994 (21) Age Dif: -1.1
Statistics: 35 G, 114 PA, 105 AB, 30 H, 6 2B, 7 BB, 23 K, .286/.342/.343
Profile: Left-handed hitting catcher signed for 800k in 2011 out of Venezuela. Has above-average catching ability, with intelligence and a quick release. He alternated with Brandon Brosher in Brooklyn. He has a solid line-drive stroke but must learn to hit for a bit more pop.
Next Level: Catcher at Columbia
63. RHP Josh Prevost
Ht: 6’8″ Wt: 225 Level: Rookie & A B/T: R/R Age: 1/15/1992 Age Dif: +1.0
Statistics: 15 G, 14 GS, 81.1 IP, 3.43 ERA, 84 H, 20 BB, 54 K, .268 BAA
Profile: Tall pitcher taken as a senior sign out of Seton Hall in the 5th round of the 2014 draft. Prevost is a sinkerball pitcher who lives at 89-94 with a hard slider and solid changeup. He hasn’t been completely dazzling, especially at A-ball as a year over the average, especially since he hasn’t missed many bats. He missed some time in the middle of the year due to injury, and then got better towards the end.
Next Level: St. Lucie Rotation
62. 1B Miguel Patino
Ht: 5’11” Wt: 155 Level: Rookie DSL & GCL B/T: R/R Age: 12/17/1995 (20) Age Dif: +0.6
Statistics: 53 g, 177 PA, 157 AB, 48 H, 4 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 12 BB, 21 K, .306/.358/.363
Profile: He signed on July 2, 2012 from Venezuela as a possible plus shortstop with the ability to make contact. However, unfortunately for him, the Mets have accrued a large amount of middle infielders in recent years from the international free agency. He’s played around in other spots as well, but mostly 1st base lately, though we doubt he will stay there for long.
Next Level: Kingsport Infielder
61. 3B Walter Rasquin
Ht: 5’9″ Wt: 160 Level: Rookie GCL B/T: R/R Age: 3/21/1996 (19) Age Dif: -0.4
Statistics: 36 G, 126 PA, 104 AB, 31 H, 5 2B, 1 HR, 5 SB, 3 CS, 11 BB, 21 K, .301/.375/.379
Profile: Signed in 2012 for 140k out of Venezuela, Rasquin is a small, stocky guy with a very solid stroke, as well as approach. He’s played at 3rd base, 2nd, anywhere on the diamond except shortstop. However, right now it’s a line drive stroke and while he has a good approach and can gain a decent OBP, he’s not going to hit for too much pop.
Next Level: Potential infielder in Brooklyn’s 2016 team.
Click here to view #71-80 of MMN’s Top 80 Prospects
Ted’s Prospect Extras
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Kind of expected to see Bautista among this crowd. I have Merandy a little higher.
Heads up on a question I planned once you guys get to 50. Which 3 players do you see making the jump to the top 30 after the season?
Guedez – Good WHIP, good ERA, looks like a good control pitcher. When I look at MiLB pitchers, the main things I look at are velocity, BB/9, and Ks. Guy’s not striking out very many yet. What kind of ceiling velocity are we talking about? I imagine at 20 he has room to add a tick or two to that fastball.
Berrios – Pretty small guy. I assume based on profile he doesn’t have a very high ceiling in the power department. Cut down the Ks, continue to develop a good eye, and look to become an on base machine. It seems to me though that a guy like this will never make the Majors.
Badamo – I like the top end velocity but not sure how much room for increasing it there is at age 23. Having 4 pitches is nice but it may be excessive. Take your best three pitches and refine them. What’s his ceiling? Major League bullpen?
Gonzalez – Pitching well when you’re over a year younger than average age is a good sign. But imo only hitting the upper 80s doesn’t show much in terms of ceiling potential. With 64 Ks in 66 innings and a no-hitter, I imagine he might be crafty. But I think craftiness gets hit harder as you move up through the Minors.
Mcilraith – Splitter sounds unnecessary if he’s having control issues. Refine fastball command and work on the slider. Add a changeup and come back to the splitter if you’re ready to add a legit strikeout pitch.
Llanes – Despite poor numbers, this is an arm that sounds like it has promise. Just 20 years old and touching 93? Don’t worry about the changeup yet. Get that fastball velo up and perfect the slider. This guy sounds like he has a higher ceiling than most the other pitchers listed here. I’ll go out on a limb and say he gains recognition as a potential future starter this season in Brooklyn.
Garcia – Look it’s no secret that it can take catchers longer to learn to hit. The defense sounds promising and the overall numbers would point to a decent approach at the plate. Interesting how many catchers we’ve seen on the list so far. Is that a result of positional premium?
Prevost – I’d imagine sinkerballers are hurt more by poor defense in the Minors. Of course, the Mets aren’t really focused on great D in the Majors, but this guy’s stuff sounds promising. And at 6-8, 225, he’s a tank. You know who he sounds like? Mike Pelfrey.
Patino – Sounds a little questionable when a potential plus shortstop is playing a lot of time at first at just 20 years old. Is the general lack of power among most these positional prospects the result of pitchers’ parks in the lower minors?
Rasquin – Dude, that guy is jacked! Another high OBP looking prospect. Guess the implementation of the infamous “approach” is seeping down to all levels. Here’s a tangentially related question: how do Mets Minor League affiliates rank in their respective leagues in terms of OBP? Seems that with prospects, having guys who are focused on reaching base more could lead to an advantage in the W/L column in the Minors.
General thoughts?
The guy from this group who sounds most promising to me is Llanes, despite the poor numbers.
I am not huge on numbers. I get to about quite a few minor league games a year and try to form my own opinion. The SP from Kingsport I am anticipating taking the next step is Harol Gonzalez. I am sure he is further up the list.
Merandy did perform at 2 levels which is always a good sign. Extended ST with an assignment to follow, I am thinking they continue to push him.
Do you think Gonzalez has the potential to gain MPH on his fastball? If he threw a little harder he would be much more intriguing
Guedez- since we haven’t gotten a report since signing, I assume his fastball has improved, but the K-rate is worrying.
Berrios- he’s a long shot, as a late round pick out of Beltran’s academy. He’s also a small switch hitter with a decent eye so we’re making sure you guys see that too.
Badamo- likely a reliever, should be reverted in the next few seasons.
McIlraith- I agree
Llanes- definitely a pick in the rounds that the mets use for projectable arms, and he fits that mold.
Garcia- not a positional premium, but he’s young. Projections on power are split.
Prevost- Pelfrey had higher velocity on his fastball, but had terrible breaking balls. Prevost is ahead on that regard but we’ll see what he turns into.
Patino- DSL and GCL parks are both set to mimic Citi’s dimensions.
Rasquin- I’m interested in. Don’t have time on organizational OBPs though.
Possibly. we don’t have much on him as of yet.
Bautista I believe is up next.
K thx.
That profile….Bunher is the name that comes to mind
Thanks for the response Teddy.