Daily notes on prospects from lead prospect analyst Eric Longenhagen. Read previous installments here.

Ike Davis, LHP, Los Angeles NL (Profile)

Level: Rookie AZL Age: 30 Org Rank: He’s 30 Top 100: It’s Ike Davis, guys.

Line: 1 IP, 3 K, 0 H, 0 BB

Notes

He’s not a prospect, but Davis was 88-92 last night and struck out the side in a perfect inning. Davis was a two-way player in college at Arizona State and last pitched as a pro in 2015, during which he made two appearances for Oakland. The Dodgers have frequently tried reclamation projects like this. They moved Stetson Allie — who looks like the pizza-eating stoner son of the cop from Stranger Things — back to the mound this year (he’s only thrown two innings but was up to 99 in the one that I saw) and tried Jordan Schafer as a pinch-running LOOGY. Eventually, one of these laboratory experiments will work out, if only for a brief while.

Luis Guillorme, SS, New York NL (Profile)

Level: Double-A Age: 22 Org Rank: 15 Top 100: NR

Line: 3-for-3, 2 BB

Notes

Known for his spectacular defense, Guillorme is reaching base at a .374 clip at Double-A largely because his slashing, opposite field approach makes him very difficult to strike out. He likely won’t have the bat to play every day, even at shortstop, but his glove and ability to grind out tough at-bats should make him an effective utility option. He’s seen his first action at third base this year.

Hosea Nelson, OF, Cleveland (Profile)

Level: Short Season Age: 20 Org Rank: NR Top 100: NR

Line: 2-for-5, 2B, HR

Notes

Nelson is an impressive physical specimen who entered pro ball without much baseball background. He went to high school in Detroit, then to a Wabash Valley in Illinois for a year and then finally to Clarendon College in Texas where he hit .531/.606/1.020 as a sophomore. But his swing was hideous and in need of a drastic overhaul to avoid excessive swing and miss. Nelson hasn’t had much playing time this year in a crowded outfield picture that includes WIll Benson and last year’s AZL power hitting enigma, Oscar Gonzalez, but he’s made the most of his time in the Scrappers lineup, slashing .300/.355/.429 there.

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Notes from Blair Field

I’m at Area Code Games in Long Beach. Expect most of this week’s daily notes to be dominated by 2018 draft talk.

Mountain Ridge HS (AZ) LHP Matthew Liberatore was arguably the best prospect on the field yesterday. He’s a projectable 6-foot-5 and already has passable control of a low-90s fastball. He flashed a plus curveball yesterday, one that elicited a collective, audible moan from those in attendance (mostly scouts, advisors and parents) and was measured at just over 3,000 rpm by the on-site Trackman. Liberatore also flashed an average changeup. He can get too cute with his curveball and his desire to quick-pitch (which he utilized several times, including in one at-bat’s first pitch, before the hitter had even seen Liberatore’s natural windup and therefore lacked the visual context to be fooled by a quick pitch) but has promising stuff and build.

Teammate Nolan Gorman, a 3B from O’Connor HS (AZ) launched a rocket double to the opposite field, made a few spectacular defensive plays, showed an arm worthy of the left side of the infield during in & out and has great feel for baseball. He looks like one of the more advanced high school position players in the draft right now. Both Gorman and Liberatore are committed to Arizona.

Knoxville Christian (TN) INF/OF Ryder Green had one of the louder batting practice sessions on Sunday. I have a present 60 on the raw power. He’s also an above average runner with an above average arm and while his swing is rather inelegant, he’s physical enough to succeed against elite competition at this level. He’s committed to Vanderbilt.

Boston College Prep )MA) RHP Mike Vasil went deep into the Northeast teams’ game, sitting 90-93 for much of the outing with a sweeping, average curveball that he routinely located down and away from right-handed hitters who simply couldn’t lay off of it. He’s listed at 6-foot-4, 210 and is committed to Virginia.

I thouht two Texas arms were impressive yesterday. RHP Simeon Woods-Richardson worked quickly with a 90-92mph fastball and above average curveball. He varied his arm slot to manipulate the shape of the breaking ball but was mostly delivery from straight over the top and missing bats with his fastball while frezzing them with the curve. He showed a modicum of changeup feel late in his appearance. He’s comitted to Texas. Forney HS (TX) LHP John Childress sat in the upper-80s with lots of downhill plane and the day’s second best curveball, behind Liberatore’s.

On the way to Long Beach I stopped in Lake Elsinore to see the Mariners and Padres Hi-A clubs. Most notable was Mariners top prospect Kyle Lewis who has dealt with nagging knee issues since return from the injury and subsequent surgery that ended his 2016 campaign. He isn’t running well and walks with some visible discomfort but the bat speed is intact. His approach is very aggressive and he’s swung early in counts at pitches with which he could do very little, at least for his first few at-bats. Then he settled down and had more opportunities to drive the ball.