Beck's Minor League Threecap: 7/26/2024

It’s Friday, Friday, gotta get down on Friday. I’m tremendously sorry for that, I’m seeing Zebby Matthews in 17 hours and I don’t really know how to act. Let’s talk about Wednesday’s standouts!

More Than a Teeling.

Max Clark (DET) hasn’t posted gaudy numbers since being selected with the 3rd overall pick last summer but there’s a lot to like here. It’s hard to poke holes in any singular aspect of his game outside of power projection; he projects as a true centerfielder with 70-grade run times, a 70-grade arm, and he has a number of markers that would suggest his hit tool will be plus. He makes plenty of zone contact and has exhibited superb swing decisions, though his exit velocities leave something to be desired. It’s important to remember he’s in High-A as a 19-year-old, is following the trajectory you might expect from an early first round prep, and there’s plenty of time to make mechanical changes that allow for consistent loft and to add muscle. The difference between where I was as an evaluator a year ago and now is that I’m less willing to take power projection as a certainty, which would be required to expect 15-to-20 home runs from him annually. He was 3-for-5 with a home run on Thursday.

I haven’t really talked much about Kyle Teel (BOS) this year and it’s because he’s been perfectly cromulent. That’s not totally fair – he’s running a 143 wRC+ – but the brightest part of his future is certainly as a defender. He’s likely to be a league average hitter from behind the dish which carries a certain amount of value in one-catcher formats. His performance has been solid but isn’t totally backed by the traditional underlying indicators and is buoyed by BABIP, which, to be fair, has been the case for the duration of his professional career. He was 3-for-5 with an RBI on Wednesday.

Warren Peace.

I thought Will Warren (NYY) would be a candidate for a rotation spot early on this year, especially in the wake of Gerrit Cole’s lengthy absence, but the first few months of his year were rather rocky. He was in contention for a particular statistical oddity in which he would have an outing with every possible earned run value between zero and 10 in just 12 starts. That’s… not a good accomplishment to be on the precipice of completing and I think it had a lot to do with the command of his east/west arsenal. He’s usually very adept at mixing and matching his two-seam fastball and slider in a manner that would make Pitching Ninja blush but he struggled to locate consistently and became both erratic and very hittable, leading to an excess of damage in the air. He’s been far more effective over his last four starts, pitching to a 2.91 ERA with 30 strikeouts over 21.2 innings.

Chen-Wei Lin (STL) is a really interesting prospect story. He attended Chinese Culture University in Taiwan before taking part in the MLB Draft League and ultimately ending up in the Cardinals system. As a fun piece of bar trivia to impress your friends in extremely niche baseball conversations, Chinese Culture University has produced exactly one major leaguer, Chia-Jen Lo, who made 19 total appearances in 2013 before leaving the United States and competing in the Chinese Professional Baseball league for another five seasons. Lin is an imposing figure at 6-foot-7, 190-pounds, with the velocity you might expect from such a frame. His two-seam fastball has touched 99 mph and he mixes in a slider and a changeup. He’s shown more control and length than expected so far this year, renewing the previously dwindling possibility that he could be a starter, though there are many hurdles for him to clear developmentally as he progresses from Single-A to MLB. He lowered his ERA to 3.51 with 6.0 innings of one-run ball and nine strikeouts on Wednesday.

Don’t Spoil Your Appetite. 

The table has been a little lean as most of the better arms are slated for today and the remainder of the weekend. I think that’s okay as we get reacclimated, especially considering how good the performance has been. Jairo Iriarte and Cristian Mena managed to keep the scoreboard spotless while Will Warren kept his string of solid starts intact.

See? We’re gearing up for a very healthy serving size. Here’s what to watch for on Saturday with my recommendations italicized as usual:

• Zebby Matthews (3.60 ERA) for the St. Paul Saints (MIN) at 7:37 ET

• AJ Smith-Shawver (5.40 ERA) for the Gwinnett Stripers (ATL) at 6:35 ET

• JR Ritchie (2.08 ERA) for the Augusta GreenJackets (ATL) at 4:05 ET

• Kohl Drake (3.10 ERA) for the Hickory Crawdads (TEX) at 5:00 ET

• Yoniel Curet (3.68 ERA) for the Bowling Green Hot Rods (TBR) at 5:30 ET

• Bubba Chandler (3.67 ERA) for the Altoona Curve (PIT) at 6:05 ET

• Jarlin Susana (4.50 ERA) for the Wilmington Blue Rocks (WSH) at 6:05 ET

• Brandon Sproat (2.41 ERA) for the Binghamton Rumble Ponies (NYM) at 6:05 ET

• Carson Palmquist (3.28 ERA) for the Hartford Yard Goats (COL) at 6:10 ET

• Matt Wilkinson (2.66 ERA) for the Lake County Captains (CLE) at 7:05 ET

• George Klassen (4.22 ERA) for the Jersey Shore BlueClaws (PHI) at 7:05 ET

• Travis Sykora (3.17 ERA) for the Fredericksburg Nationals (WSH) at 7:05 ET

• Logan Henderson (3.71 ERA) for the Biloxi Shuckers (MIL) at 7:05 ET

• Tink Hence (3.29 ERA) for the Springfield Cardinals (STL) at 7:35 ET