Another good day to talk Minor League ball. A ton of great performances across the board and I am here to break them down. Enjoy!
MiLB Hitters
Luke Keaschall, 2B, MIN, 21, AA
A Double-A promotion has not shown Keaschall down at all, as he continues to show one of the best hit tools in the Minors. After tearing up High-A, hitting seven home runs and stealing 14 bases while posting a .335/.457/.544 slash in 197 plate appearances, Keasachall earned a well-deserved promotion to Double-A. In those 16 games, a .344/.444/.492 slash, which included his first home run since joining the Wichita Wind Surge.
Keaschall rarely swings at a pitch out of the strike zone, showing elite plate discipline to pair with some of the best contact skills in the minors. The jump to Double-A has not affected him at all. On the year, he is running contact rates near 83 percent overall and 90 percent in-zone.
The power is probably above-average, and the exit velocity data does not jump off the page. But Keaschall does hit the ball at ideal launch angles, leading to more balls leaving the yard than you might expect. A peak season for Keaschall might look something like a .290 batting average with a .370 OBP paired with 15 home runs and 20 stolen bases.
Echedry Vargas, 2B, TEX, 19, A
Vargas was one of my favorite players at the complex last year, as he mashed 11 home runs and stole 17 bases while slashing .315/.387/.569. Vargas is smaller but has a powerful stroke from the right side, generating a ton of extra-base hits while also showing over-the-fence power at a young age. He does put a lot of effort into his swing, using a big leg kick and getting to most of the power to the pull side.
While the overall slash line in Single-A is pretty modest at .265/.326/.406 with four home runs, Vargas has been picking it up as of late. On Thursday, he mashed two home runs and reached base two more times via walk and single. Over his last four games, Vargas has had ten hits, including four extra-base hits.
The good news is that Vargas is showing very strong contact skills, striking out just 16.3 percent of the time this year while having a contact rate of 74 percent. That is not bad for someone who just turned 19 years old in full-season ball.
Sub below to get access to the full article plus a ton of great resources for dynasty.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to The Dynasty Dugout to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.