Milb archives are a wonderful thing....
Here's my quick eyeball scouting of today's Akron day game:
If you think MLB umps are bad, oh boy...
Tommy Mace pitched a very good game. Haven't looked at the box score yet, but all of the 3 runs were because of bad defense decisions (bad fielders choice by Tolentino once, one error by Watson) and one was on an errant throw back by C Huff.
Mace is 25yo and was a 2nd rd pick. He needs tested in Columbus. His FB at the top of the zone gets a lot of weak contact and his other pitches are around the zone too, inducing lots of groundballs. Looks much better/improved than last year. Get him to Columbus. This org might have fixed him.
Walters is a beast. Pure and simple. FB was mentioned at 96 once. Throws a splitter and slider too. Hitters were totally overmatched, didn't stand a chance.
Leftwich I had high hoped as a SP before this season. Now seems to be moved to the bullpen full time. The pitches and overall mound presence look good, but results don't right now. He's regressed a bit, but I still believe in the arm talent, it's there.
The lineup:
K. Watson: A bit of a free swinger that shows some patience here and there. 2 mental errors at 2B, bobble a ball and high throw. Should have 2 errors. Uppercut swing trying to do damage, hit a no doubt 104 EV HR, got himself out too, but works counts. Hitting talent is obvious, but lack of maturity and consistency too.
Frias: had a great game at the plate. Roped a couple of no doubt doubles and another single and HBP early working the count. Barely hit over 100 before this game, looked like a top prospect today. Made an error at SS.
DeLauter: he's a mess right now. Late and hesitant on most pitches, weak contact, both grounders and pop ups. I'll tell you, with his odd swing, when he makes those easy outs, he looks like an amateur from the stands dragged down to the field. Just the looks of it. Remember the Josh Bell ABs? That's DeLauter. It's still my favorite comp for him. When his swing works, it looks nasty and powerful, when it doesn't, it looks just awkwardly bad. He did make a nice catch running towards the INF on a blooper
Planez: Finally showed off some pull power. No doubt 107 EV HR and another hard hit grounder double down 3B. Good game.
K. Huff: Just something about him that I really really like. Pretty good receiver and framer behind the plate, a no doubt C. And always has some of the better PAs when I review Akron games. The approach and quality of AB are strong, especially for a prospect that skipped A+ altogether. He's a no doubt ML in my mind. Stole another one from Colorado.
Tolentino: has looked terrible so far this season. Has a better game. A hit and a couple of flyballs to CF, not deep, but haven't seen many of those yet from him. It's a start. Had a brain freeze on ball hit to him with bases loaded. Instead of initiating the double play, he tried to tag 3B and no out was made. Could also be that Watson didn't do his job and get to 2B, couldn't see on telecast. Other than that looked very secure on defense, strong enough arm and clean fielding.
Lampe: I'm just not seeing anything here to be honest. Was picked as preseason breakout player, because of power/speed combo. I just see an overswinging insecure hacker without a clue at the plate. Pretty disappointing for a 3rd college bat.
Cairo: played LF. Weakest game this year, but still solid ABs, got another hit and another CF flyball. Mature PAs.
Naranjo: I'll never understand how you can give an undersized, somewhat chubby hit over power HS 1B almost 1M and waste a 3rd rd pick. Turns out he doesn't even hit. Totally overmatched at the plate. If he was a later rd pick, he'd have been already released. Mind you, I was intrigued by the pick when I read the draft reports. He's a bust.
Here's my quick eyeball scouting of today's Akron day game:
If you think MLB umps are bad, oh boy...
Tommy Mace pitched a very good game. Haven't looked at the box score yet, but all of the 3 runs were because of bad defense decisions (bad fielders choice by Tolentino once, one error by Watson) and one was on an errant throw back by C Huff.
Mace is 25yo and was a 2nd rd pick. He needs tested in Columbus. His FB at the top of the zone gets a lot of weak contact and his other pitches are around the zone too, inducing lots of groundballs. Looks much better/improved than last year. Get him to Columbus. This org might have fixed him.
Walters is a beast. Pure and simple. FB was mentioned at 96 once. Throws a splitter and slider too. Hitters were totally overmatched, didn't stand a chance.
Leftwich I had high hoped as a SP before this season. Now seems to be moved to the bullpen full time. The pitches and overall mound presence look good, but results don't right now. He's regressed a bit, but I still believe in the arm talent, it's there.
The lineup:
K. Watson: A bit of a free swinger that shows some patience here and there. 2 mental errors at 2B, bobble a ball and high throw. Should have 2 errors. Uppercut swing trying to do damage, hit a no doubt 104 EV HR, got himself out too, but works counts. Hitting talent is obvious, but lack of maturity and consistency too.
Frias: had a great game at the plate. Roped a couple of no doubt doubles and another single and HBP early working the count. Barely hit over 100 before this game, looked like a top prospect today. Made an error at SS.
DeLauter: he's a mess right now. Late and hesitant on most pitches, weak contact, both grounders and pop ups. I'll tell you, with his odd swing, when he makes those easy outs, he looks like an amateur from the stands dragged down to the field. Just the looks of it. Remember the Josh Bell ABs? That's DeLauter. It's still my favorite comp for him. When his swing works, it looks nasty and powerful, when it doesn't, it looks just awkwardly bad. He did make a nice catch running towards the INF on a blooper
Planez: Finally showed off some pull power. No doubt 107 EV HR and another hard hit grounder double down 3B. Good game.
K. Huff: Just something about him that I really really like. Pretty good receiver and framer behind the plate, a no doubt C. And always has some of the better PAs when I review Akron games. The approach and quality of AB are strong, especially for a prospect that skipped A+ altogether. He's a no doubt ML in my mind. Stole another one from Colorado.
Tolentino: has looked terrible so far this season. Has a better game. A hit and a couple of flyballs to CF, not deep, but haven't seen many of those yet from him. It's a start. Had a brain freeze on ball hit to him with bases loaded. Instead of initiating the double play, he tried to tag 3B and no out was made. Could also be that Watson didn't do his job and get to 2B, couldn't see on telecast. Other than that looked very secure on defense, strong enough arm and clean fielding.
Lampe: I'm just not seeing anything here to be honest. Was picked as preseason breakout player, because of power/speed combo. I just see an overswinging insecure hacker without a clue at the plate. Pretty disappointing for a 3rd college bat.
Cairo: played LF. Weakest game this year, but still solid ABs, got another hit and another CF flyball. Mature PAs.
Naranjo: I'll never understand how you can give an undersized, somewhat chubby hit over power HS 1B almost 1M and waste a 3rd rd pick. Turns out he doesn't even hit. Totally overmatched at the plate. If he was a later rd pick, he'd have been already released. Mind you, I was intrigued by the pick when I read the draft reports. He's a bust.
