Beck's Minor League Threecap: 7/7/2024
Beck breaks down three major things you need to know from yesterday's MiLB action.
Hello! Welcome back and happy Sunday. It’s been a beautiful weekend in Minnesota after what felt like six straight weeks of rain. It’s been a super bizarre start to the summer that has really dampened my ability to get to the ballpark – here’s to hoping I can be outside more often for the remainder!
Cole World.
The week of the Rockies prospects marches on. Cole Carrigg (COL) was a really interesting amateur prospect at San Diego State with the ability to play nearly any position on the field while switch hitting. The profile is a little shakier offensively and there were concerns coming out of the draft that his mechanics at the plate may hold him back, but the results as a professional have been pretty undeniable thus far. He’s spent the majority of this year with High-A Spokane and owns a .303/.374/.496 slash through 63 games, which looks pretty great on the surface but is complicated by the hitter-friendly environment he plays his home games in. The home and road splits bear this out – there’s about a .300 point difference in OPS between the two – and that’s really cooling me off on him. He was 3-for-5 with two home runs on Saturday.
Yasser Mercedes (MIN) had his day in the sun in 2022 as one of the biggest standouts in the DSL, but a lackluster 25 game sample in the Florida Complex after a stay in extended spring training really dampened his prospect stock. To be fair, there were issues beyond the poor surface results that made most evaluators shy away; he demonstrated shockingly bad swing decisions and paired it with concerning contact rates. It’s a new year and a new Mercedes (sounds nice, I should pull up the trusty Cars.com search) and things have been going better for him. He’s mostly erased the damage from last year’s slash and has made notable strides with chase and has reworked his swing to keep the bat through the zone longer. This is the perfect time to buy back in for cheap in leagues that roster 250 or more prospects. He was 2-for-4 with two home runs and a walk yesterday.
Jackson Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt.
Jackson Ferris (LAD) just had his best outing of the year and it came at a great time. His previous start lasted just 0.2 innings and took 35 pitches, so it was a nice rebound to go 7.0 innings of scoreless ball with just two hits surrendered and 11 strikeouts. He’s been good if not outstanding this year and between him and Zyhir Hope, the return for Michael Busch and Yency Almonte is looking very healthy (which I’m sure every baseball fan who doesn’t happen to root for the Dodgers is thrilled about). There’s a lot to like in his profile; a big lefty frame, a mid-90’s fastball, and a trio of average to potentially plus offerings backing the heater up. The Dodgers know exactly what they’re doing in terms of pitching development, so don’t be surprised when they unlock another level here.
There’s not much to say about Jacob Misiorowski (MIL) that hasn’t already been written (freak frame, ridiculous fastball, maybe the best stuff in the minors but poor command, etc.) so we’re just going to focus on how good he’s been lately. He hasn’t walked more than two batters in any given outing since May 30th, has thrown strikes at a 64% clip over his last four starts (20.1 innings, 57% in the 12 games prior), and has struck out a massive 36.4% of all batters over the same duration. Sure, there may be plenty of relief risk in the profile, but if he continues throwing strikes the way he has of late he could very well be one of the best starters in baseball – at any level. He went 6.1 innings on Saturday, struck out 10, and allowed just one earned run on two hits and two walks.
Triple Double.
Three double-digit strikeout games for the table! Nobody look at Chayce McDermott’s line.
No viewing guides on Mondays. Have a great start to your week!