Beck's Minor League Threecap: 6/13/2024
Beck breaks down three major things you need to know from yesterday's MiLB action.
It’s a good day on the Threecap for those of you in deep leagues or who like relatively unheralded prospects. Throwing in a few extra writeups today given I’m starting earlier than I usually do. Let’s jump in!
The Echedry Chamber.
Everybody loves catchers in Pittsburgh, especially when their names are Davis or Rodriguez, but Shawn Ross (PIT) doesn’t get the same chatter. It makes sense – his journey to professional ball was a little more meandering than most given he went undrafted and played indy ball before joining the Pirates – and his performance hasn’t really justified a second look. It doesn’t appear that there’s a demonstrable offensive tool here outside of power (which has come in spades over his season and a half of pro ball). He’s a career .194 hitter with a 38.7% strikeout rate, but is managing to carry an .824 OPS by way of a 16.3% walk rate and .483 slugging percentage. He’s ended 61.9% of his career plate appearances with one of the three true outcomes, a walk, strikeout, or home run, which puts him well above Joey Gallo territory (career 58.9% TTO).
Nobody tell Nate Handy I’m writing about AJ Vukovich (ARI) today. This is just between you (yes, you) and me. I’ve always had a sort of affinity for Vuk given he’s a Wisconsin prep (he’s just like me fr) and I’ve had a few opportunities to see him live, which actually has the opposite effect of the old “distance makes the heart grow fonder” adage. He’s a really physically impressive ballplayer who actually played a solid center field in my live looks, largely in spite of his hulking 6-foot-4 frame. His physicality hasn’t ever really translated to huge offensive outputs, which bothers me more than it probably should. He’s hit his way to a perfectly cromulent .277/.336/.447 line with Double-A Amarillo, but that line is rather disappointing for a guy in his third go at the level (778 total plate appearances) and in a pretty hitter-friendly environment. He went 4-for-5 with two doubles on Wednesday.
Echedry Vargas (TEX) missed about three weeks of game action in April after taking a pitch off his wrist and it doesn’t look like he’s fully recovered. At minimum he has had some trouble finding his footing in his first stint at Single-A and currently totes a .252/.311/.358 slash with just two home runs in 167 plate appearances. He’d been very productive in the Arizona Complex last year, belting 11 homers and swiping 17 bags in 52 games (222 PAs), and the power output in particular indicates to me it’s likely that wrist ailment sapped some of the damage on contact. He’s got seven hits in his last three games including a 3-for-5 night with a double on Wednesday, so he might be finding his groove. I’m still relatively in on him as a top-200 guy.
Moves Like Jagger.
His name is Brad Lord (WSH) and he’s here to shut down the Bowie Baysox. He went 7.0 near-perfect innings and struck out 10 on Wednesday in what was his strongest outing of the year and the latest in a long string of great starts for Fredericksburg. He’s sitting with a 1.55 ERA and a 19.4% K-BB over 63.2 innings and has allowed just two earned runs over his last 26.0 innings. He was an unheralded draft prospect out of South Florida and ultimately went in the 18th round of the 2022 draft as likely organizational depth, but he’s having more success than even the Nationals anticipated.
In the spirit of transparency, I’ve never seen Jean Cabrera (PHI) pitch. That said, his listed height/weight of 6-foot, 145 pounds paints a real picture about his frame and all I can imagine is a Triston McKenzie clone who is five inches shorter and 20 pounds lighter. He’s 22 and in High-A with solid if unspectacular results, and his strikeout rate doesn’t necessarily jump off the page (you might expect it would given his age/level), so I think it’s OK not to invest too much time given the vast expanse of pitching prospects out there. He had one of the best starts in the minors yesterday, though, going 6.1 innings, allowing three earned runs, and striking out 14 (fourteen) hitters. Have a night, Jean!
Jagger Haynes (SDP) is immediately in the running for one of my favorite names in the sport. He was a 5th rounder in the shortened 2020 draft out of a North Carolina high school but didn’t compete in professional games until 2023 after undergoing Tommy John surgery shortly after his selection. Now fully healthy, the 6-foot-3 lefty has pitched his way to a 4.40 ERA with High-A Fort Wayne, though the peripherals suggest it should be worse. He’s striking out just 20.3% of all batters faced and walking 14.6%, and while I’d love to grant him grace for ramping back from UCL reconstruction surgery, those numbers are tough to grapple with. Perhaps his 6.2 innings of one-run ball and 11 strikeouts on Wednesday will be the start of a hot stretch.
A Little Bit Leiter Now.
Hey, the real table is back. That feels better. Giesting, Madden, and Leiter all pulled together pretty solid outings while Misiorowski floundered. As far as tomorrow is concerned, I can’t recommend George Klassen’s High-A debut enough. It’ll be really interesting to see how he fares outside of the Florida State League.
Here’s Friday’s viewing guide with my recommendations italicized, as usual:
Chase Dollander (2.91 ERA) for the Spokane Indians (COL) at 4:05 ET
Anthony Solometo (6.00 ERA) for the Altoona Curve (PIT) at 6:00 ET
Jarlin Susana (6.44 ERA) for the Fredericksburg Nationals (WSH) at 6:30 ET
Adam Maier (4.17 ERA) for the Augusta GreenJackets (ATL) at 6:30 ET
Shane Baz (5.33 ERA) for the Durham Bulls (TBR) at 6:35 ET
Gary Gill Hill (2.51 ERA) for the Charleston RiverDogs (TBR) at 7:00 ET
George Klassen (0.00 ERA) for the Jersey Shore BlueClaws (PHI) at 7:05 ET
Jonah Tong (4.39 ERA) for the Brooklyn Cyclones (NYM) at 7:05 ET
Charlee Soto (7.31 ERA) for the Fort Myers Mussels (MIN) at 7:05 ET
Brandon Sproat (1.38 ERA) for the Binghamton Rumble Ponies (NYM) at 7:05 ET
Thomas White (2.16 ERA) for the Beloit Sky Carp (MIA) at 7:30 ET
Caden Dana (2.57 ERA) for the Rocket City Trash Pandas (LAA) at 7:35 ET
Marco Raya (4.99 ERA) for the Wichita Wind Surge (MIN) at 8:05 ET
AJ Blubaugh (3.78 ERA) for the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (HOU) at 8:05 ET
Cristian Mena (4.73 ERA) for the Reno Aces (ARI) at 9:35 ET