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Observations From Columbia, Viall Shows Flashes

By Doug M

April 10, 2018 No comments

Chris Viall/Photo by Ed Delany

Monday evening, Chris Viall, 22, took to the bump against the Hagerstown Suns for his low-A Columbia Fireflies debut. The former 2016 sixth round pick out of Stanford was everything he was supposed to be.

The tall right-handed pitcher, standing a full 6-feet-9 inches, generates plenty of velocity from his 250 lb frame. Viall cruised through the first two innings, holding the opposing team scoreless, while pounding the upper half of the zone with his four-seam fastball.

According to John Calvagno at notesfromthesally.com, Viall sat 92-95 early on in this one, featuring good life and plane. Hagerstown batters, which included top Nationals prospect Juan Soto (held hitless in four at-bats by Columbia pitching), struggled to put Viall’s heater in play. Viall even showed a few curveballs with tight break, including the ability to bury it in the dirt for swings and misses.

Viall’s night took a turn in the third inning however when he lost his release point. This has been a known point of emphasis for Viall and his coaching staff, as like most pitchers with his height, Viall struggles to repeat his mechanics consistently.

The result in the third inning was Viall falling behind hitters quickly, missing way out of the strike zone, even uncorking two pitches to the backstop. In total, Viall labored through his final two innings, and was pulled after four innings, throwing 82 pitches, giving up two runs (one earned) on five hits, while walking two and striking out sIx.

It was a positive full-season debut for Viall, showcasing swing and miss stuff, but the need to continue working on mechanical consistency in his delivery. Meanwhile, Columbia’s offense and bullpen did more than enough to back the solid effort, as Columbia hung a six spot on Hagerstown in the second inning and held on for an 8-3 win.

Blake Tiberi/Photo by Ed Delany

At the bat, Blake Tiberi, 23, continues to rake in what will essentially be his first full pro season. Tiberi, drafted in the 3rd round (100th overall) of the 2016 Amateur Draft out of Louisville, missed almost all of the 2017 season after undergoing Tommy John Surgery.

Back healthy, Tiberi stroked three more hits in this one, after coming in hitting .500/.529/.750. The left-handed hitter uses a balanced swing to generate hard contact, but it is not currently leveraged to generate consistent homerun power.

While Tiberi served as the DH on Monday night, he has been used at second base early on this season, where his hit over power profile might play better than at the hot corner, where Tiberi has traditionally played since college. Likely, the Mets are merely exploring his defensive versatility at this point, as Tiberi currently has only marginal lateral range.

Elsewhere, first baseman Jeremy Vasquez, 21, screams anything but 28th round pick when you watch him hit. That is where the Mets snagged him in last year’s draft, but don’t be fooled. Vasquez, who takes healthy cuts from the left-side, ripped two pitches off of the Hagerstown lefty starter, one for a hard single and another for a long homerun, his first of the year.

Vasquez shows good bat speed and a lofty swing that generates good pull power. If he can cap his strikeout rate at last season’s 25% as he moves through the system, look for Vasquez to start to garner more and more attention, with potentially enough stick to profile at first base.

Edgardo Fermin, the still teenaged international free agent signee out of Venezuela in 2014, is the youngest of the Columbia regulars, and continues to showcase excellent bat to ball skills. Fermin collected three more singles tonight to raise his OPS on the season to a healthy .944. His currently slight frame allows for a speed over power profile, and Fermin is adding center field, where he got the start on Monday, to his middle infield defensive profile.

Fermin is not a traditional burner, and may be best served by adding more strength over the next few years. He already boasts two triples on the young season, acquiring both after landing well-struck baseballs over the outfielder’s heads. With added strength, Fermin could potentially grow into average game power to go along with his solid hit tool.

While Nicolas Debora, Joshua Payne, and Trey Cobb all pitched acceptably out of the pen to nail down Columbia’s third win against two losses, it was Cobb who flashed the best stuff out of the pen Monday evening.

Cobb, last June’s eighth round pick out of Oklahoma State, throws primarily a two-seam fastball, slider, and curveball. Cobb struck out two in his scoreless ninth inning, as his fastball showed very good sink, his slider broke hard down in the zone, and he even spotted a tight curveball multiple times for called strikes. Cobb, 23, should move relatively quickly, but will have plenty of competition in a system rich in right-handed relievers.

So with Monday’s win in the books, Columbia will look to keep it going Tuesday evening as Marcel Renteria takes the hill, in what will be his full-season debut.