Some scouting notes from low-A and short-season games this week, featuring three teams -- the New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, and Boston Red Sox -- who could trade away some of these very prospects between now and Wednesday:
Roansy Contreras is probably not as famous as some of the other Yankees' pitching prospects, like Deivi Garcia or Luis Medina, but he's among their better starting pitcher candidates because he has a chance to throw three above-average pitches with very good control. Contreras started for Charleston (Yankees) at Lakewood (Phillies) on Thursday and was throwing 92-95 mph, with his fastball sitting at 94 throughout his start, to go with an above-average to plus changeup at 86-88 mph that had screwball-like tailing movement. His curveball was fringy, with some two-plane break to it, at 75-76 mph, but it needs to be harder and tighter to be an above-average pitch. He seems to have the arm speed for it and the loose wrist to spin it; if he does, he could be a league-average starter.
Charleston right-hander Yoendrys Gomez made his full-season debut on Friday night at Delmarva (Baltimore), replacing Luis Gil, who was promoted to high-A Tampa the same day. Gomez showed an intriguing three-pitch mix as well, working with 91-95 mph velocity and sitting 94-95 early in his start, along with a curveball and changeup that both showed promise but were also both inconsistent. There is some modest effort in Gomez's delivery as his stride isn't very long and he ends up using his arm more to generate velocity, but his main problem on Friday was location, as he was middle-middle or middle-in with a lot of pitches, especially the second time through the order. He's one to watch for 2020, with starter upside but several specific areas for development to get there.
Charleston's most notable prospect, catcher Anthony Seigler, got hurt just before this road trip and is done for the year. The Yanks' first-round pick in 2018 has now suffered three significant injuries in the 14 months since signing, each unrelated to the others, but it has cost him a lot of development time and at-bats that he needs.
Keegan Curtis, the Yankees' 22nd-round pick in 2018 out of the University of Louisiana-Monroe, threw in relief on Thursday and showed two major league pitches -- 93-94 mph fastball velocity paired with a downer curveball at 80-83 mph that he threw for strikes, even to left-handed batters. I'm not sure why they started him in extended and then short-season ball this year, but he's too good for this level.
Outfielder Canaan Smith was the Yanks' fourth-round pick in 2017 out of a Texas high school and has bounced back very nicely after a disastrous summer with Staten Island in 2018. He's now up to .312/.412/.459 for Charleston and across two nights this week showed he could catch up to decent velocity and make hard contact, even hanging in against Grayson Rodriguez on Friday. His swing can get a little long and he definitely doesn't pick up changeups well yet. He's got a good eye, though, and enough potential with the hit tool that I think he's at least an extra outfielder with time (he's 20 years old) to develop into a lot more.
Francisco Morales threw three innings in relief for Lakewood and had a 70-grade slider, a wipeout pitch that would make him a high-strikeout reliever in the majors in short order if he threw enough strikes. Morales was also throwing 94-96 mph and overpowered some guys with the fastball, but he had grade-30 command, and his changeup was too firm without any deception at 90-92 mph. I think he's a reliever in the end, maybe an elite one, with a Dellin Betances build and demeanor, but I would give him another year or so to see if he can start.
Lakewood shortstop Jonathan Guzman might be a grade-70 defender. There's enough bat there to project him as at least an extra guy in the majors, maybe a contact guy without a lot of power but enough defensive value to make him valuable.
Grayson Rodriguez (Delmarva, Orioles) started against Gomez and was dominant, again; this was my third look at him in the past two months and certainly the best, as he showed very good feel for his changeup, and could probably have gone through the Charleston lineup twice with just that and his fastball. He was throwing 94-98 mph through five brief innings, and his changeup came in at 80-83 mph and was at least a 55-grade pitch. His curveball looked like it had better spin, although right-handed hitters seemed more comfortable against it than against the changeup, while his slider was again his worst pitch. He threw the latter pitch at 80-84, and at the very top of the range you could see how it could become a weapon for him; maybe he just needs to throw it more to get used to throwing it as hard as he can to get better tilt and longer break to the pitch. The delivery concerns I raised about him in June are still absolutely there, but his secondary stuff was clearly better this time around.
Right-hander Ruben Garcia was the Orioles' 14th-round pick in 2016 out of a Florida junior college and has sort of languished in relief in their low minors, but there's something here to watch. He was throwing 93-96 mph in two innings on Friday night and the ball seemed to explode on hitters, especially when he came in to right-handed hitters. His curveball was coming in at 80-82 mph and ranged from fringy to a shade above-average, although given his arm speed I wonder if he could throw a better slider in the mid-80s. He's 6-foot-4 and lanky, with some funk in the delivery but nothing terribly concerning, a regular three-quarters arm slot that just picks up deception from the other movement in his delivery. It looks like a high-quality fastball, and that alone should give him a chance to move up.
Lowell (Boston) center fielder Gilberto Jimenez might be an 80-grade baserunner; he's at least a 70 runner with good bat control and a potential leadoff profile depending on how his plate discipline evolves. On Wednesday night at Aberdeen, Jimenez worked the count in several at-bats, staying on a breaking ball in a two-strike count to slap a single to right field. He's a switch-hitter who hit once right-handed in the game, getting jammed in a 3-2 count in his last at-bat.
Ryan Zeferjahn started for Lowell and was throwing 93-96 mph velocity with big life up, but he's dealing with a hangnail and couldn't throw his spike curveball or find the strike zone.
This is the second time I've seen Joey Ortiz with Delmarva now and while he can really play shortstop, I don't think he can hit. He's a below-average runner, doesn't look like he can handle velocity, and doesn't have any power.
Cam Cannon, the Red Sox's first overall pick last month (in the second round), is not a shortstop -- he might be a second or third baseman, if he works at it and his employer is willing to give up some defense for some offense -- but he played there on Wednesday night. I don't usually find myself putting a 20 grade on any pro player's defense but he was a 20 defender at short. It's unfair to ask him to do that, but I suppose the team wanted to give prospect Antoni Flores a night off. He showed a good approach at the plate and fouled a lot of pitches off in a tough first at bat, although he ended up with nothing to show for it in the box score.