It’s amazing the difference a year makes. Just 12 months ago the Angels had one of the most wretched farms in all of the land. A couple of intriguing talents, a lot of system depth, and tons of minor league fodder. Then came last June’s draft, where the Angels were lucky enough to land a handful of really nice talents, players like Griffin Canning, Jacob Perason, and John Swanda, but none more talented than Jo Adell. Last year’s 10th overall pick out of Ballard High in Kentucky, hit rookie ball like a ton of bricks in 2017 slashing .325/.376/.532, with 5 homers and 8 steals. So it came as no surprise that Adell was assigned to low-A Burlington of the Midwest League out of camp. Through 25 games at the low-A level Adell was once again putting up elite production to the tune of .326/.398/.611 with 6 homers, and 4 steals, while placing amongst the leaders in RBI at 29. That’s more than a steak a game! The Angels brass, having functioning eyes, saw this, and promoted the talented Adell to high A Inland of the California League. If you know anything about the Cal League, it should be this, {power + Cal League parks = Kieboom!} BTW, that’s how we say Kaboom in prospector. Going forward Adell should be viewed as a top tier prospect, a player capable of pushing his way to the Top 10 by season’s end. In my most recent update of my top 25, Adell leapfrogged up to 21. He should be owned in all dynasty formats, and is a player worth targeting in trades for rebuilding teams.

Another young talent, and former Top 10 pick was recently promoted as well, I’m of course talking about the Twins middle infielder Nick Gordon. Promoted to AAA Rochester, Gordon is just one shot away from the show, and he’s been an improving player over the last year plus. Tapping into more power, more than doubling his ISO in two years, which is huge boost to his offensive upside. Gordon has the ability to contribute in a multitude of categories. Below I have included an astute observation, and corresponding tweet by Connor Kurcon of 6-Man Rotation, showcasing the changes in Gordon’s swing this year.

#MIN SS Nick Gordon Pic #1 is from May 2017, pic #2 from 2 weeks ago. Couldn’t find open face video from this season, but from CF, the change in setup this season is definitely noticeable. Gordon’s fly ball % is up 6%, ISO is up to a career high, and K% is at a career low. pic.twitter.com/awcdUu0XbE — Kurcon (@ckurcon) May 22, 2018

Who wants to talk about Kevin Smith? The Blue Jays 4th rounder out of Maryland last year, is a player with true offensive skills, with the defensive chops to stick on the left-side of the infield. His bat speed, clean hips, and strong wrists have been on display early this season in the Midwest League. His slashline is an insane, .373/.425/.675 with 33 extra base hits to 28 strikeouts. The one knock on Smith was the ability for pitchers to exploit some of the holes in his uppercut swing. However, that does not seem to be the case at the moment. It will be interesting to see how far he ascends before struggling, but in the present he appears a legit breakout candidate from relative obscurity. Here’s Top Twitter Prospect follow Jason Woodell’s take, with some tape from the backfields.

#BlueJays Kevin Smith is crushing everything in sight. 193 wRC+ .658 SLG

Watch his hips in this swing. Stays compact and barrels. pic.twitter.com/9jvw0kzjrK — Jason Woodell (@JasonAtTheGame) May 21, 2018

I admittedly tend to focus more on hitting prospects than pitchers. As a dynasty manager, I tend to bet on bats giving you better return on your investment. My Fantrax Baseball Show co-host Andy Singleton is the opposite. He’s always mining for breakout arms, and he might have found a great one in the Angels 20 year old lefty Jose Suarez. The short stout southpaw, mixes a nasty mid-90’s heater with an elite changeup, and an average hook. His K per 9 numbers are eye-popping, having gone from a 5.7 K/9 in 2015, to a 10.68 in 2016, to a 11.8 in 2017, before maxing out at 16 per this season across high-A and AA. The lefty got the promotion to AAA Salt Lake, and makes his debut for the Bees sometime over the weekend.

Speaking of up and coming pitching prospects… the reports from Baseball America’s Kyle Glaser regarding Rangers righty Jonathan Hernandez have me drooling. High spin-rate two-seam fastball with velo that touches 98 MPH, on a pitch that features nice run as well. He mixes a trio of secondaries in two breaking balls, and an off-speed pitch. The best of which is his slider, routinely pairing with his fastball to generate wind power. Watching tape of Hernandez this morning, and it’s obvious why his strikeout numbers have been so robust. With the spin on his two seamer, he’s able to challenge hitters up in the zone. This is something teams are searching for more and more, with increased launch angles, many hitters have mastered elevating low balls in the zone. It’s becoming increasingly important for pitchers to be able to challenge hitters up in the zone. His season stats bear this out, as they are as eye-popping as his stuff. A 1.94 ERA, .176 batting average against, and a K/9 of 12.04 set the tone. Sure he’s doing this in high-A as a 21 year old, but the stuff is there, and I’m fully buying in.

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via Gfycat

Lance and I are headed up to Manchester, NH for another “Scouting Date” on Friday night to watch the only two teams we ever catch. The Hartford Yardgoats and the New Hampshire Vlad-Bo-Biggios. Speaking of Biggio, he continued his tear last night going 3-for-5, with a double and a triple, driving in 3. The young son of a Hall of Famer, (no, not that one, the other one), is now slashing .304/.429/.689 with 25 extra base hits, 12 of them homers. He should see AAA Buffalo before we know it, and might be a good bet to end up a bat first second baseman at the major league level. I’m all in.

The Padres super-giant Michel Baez was back to his old tricks yesterday going 6 scoreless, allowing 4 hits, 2 walks, and striking out 4. It was by no means a dominant start, but a step in the right direction for an arm that has struggled.

A player I’m slowly starting to obsess over is the Indians George Valera. A talented J2 kid from last year’s class, Valera draws comps to Juan Soto of recent MLB callup fame. There was a great post in Baseball America this week detailing his back story, and it’s pretty interesting. He’s actually an NYC kid, who moved down to the Dominican Republic following an accident his father was involved in. In the box Valera reminds me of a young Robinson Cano. Only I assume he is not on PEDs.

Here’s @billazbbphotog writing about a young OF prospect who I think shares a lot in common with Juan Soto: https://t.co/Fo2hAGjFpD pic.twitter.com/refWGTa2R9 — Ben Badler (@BenBadler) May 22, 2018

Yankees lefty, and top pitching prospect Justus Sheffield returned from the DL last night to go four scoreless, allowing four hits, a walk, while striking out 5. I’ve gotten a lot of questions regarding Sheffield’s impact in the Bronx this season. I’m apprehensive to say yes, due to the difficult nature of not only pitching in the AL East, but also Yankee Stadium. Blessed with a plus-plus fastball that touches 98, and two above average secondaries in his slider and changeup, the last piece of the puzzle is mastering his command and consistency on all of his offerings.

My partner in crime on the Prospect Pod, Mr. Lance Brozdowski, is doing some work for the Cardinals SB Nation site Viva El Birdos, and dug in on the recently promoted Andrew Knizner, and the adjustments he’s made to his swing. Read Lance’s post here.

Just for all my peoples here’s another Vladito homer from this morning’s game. His 9th of the season.

Vlad Guerrero Jr. absolutely crushed this ball for his 9th home run of the season. Might be time to call him up… pic.twitter.com/TzlyrblxbF — Joe Binder (@JoeBinder) May 24, 2018

There’s a couple of second baseman that are on the come up at the moment. One being Padres 20 year old phenom Luis Urias, and the other being Brewers 2017 first rounder Keston Hiura. The former is in the midst of a hot streak that has allowed him to move past some early season struggles. His average on the season is up to .290 following multi-hit games in 3 of his last 4. Urias has the defensive chops to stick in the middle infield, and the ability to one day be listed as one of the better all around players at the keystone. As for Hiura the 9th overall pick in last year’s draft has caught fire the past two weeks slashing .348/.464/.522 while playing second base 7 of the past 10 games. A really good sign for a player with some position question marks following an elbow injury that limited him to DH duties his final year at Cal-Irvine.

While we’re on the topic of 2017 draft picks, there’s yet another catcher not named Mejia putting up crooked numbers in the MiLB at the moment. That man is Diamondbacks high-A catcher Daulton Varsho. A personal favorite coming out of the draft Varsho is the son of MLB player Gary Varsho. So far this season he’s slashing .300/.399/.500 with 6 jacks to his credit, and 11 steals. A quick lefty bat, with an advanced approach, and above average athleticism for a catcher, Varsho hits for power, contact, gets on base at a high clip, and even runs a little too. He’s played 27 of his 38 games behind the plate, which could delay his ETA some, should he develop as a catcher.

via Gfycat

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