The only low guy on Martes I can think of is Eric Longenhangen of Fangraphs. Everywhere else seems to have a universally high opinion of him, like #2 starter stuff. But even Longenhangen admits that his take is based entirely off of the Arizona fall league, where Martes was significantly worse than in- season/fatigued.
So the White Sox have 3 of the top 10 RHP.. No wonder they probably want Bregman.. Give them Tucker and some fielding prospects..
Yep, the Sox are stacked with young starting pitching: Rodon, Fullmer, Giolito, Lopez, Kopech should make for a stellar rotation in a year or two. Their position player side is less stacked, but Moncada, Anderson, and Collins is a great start, and they still have Quintana, Abreu, Robertson, and Frazier to deal. If Houston were to build a package based on Chicago's long term needs, something like this makes sense for Quintana: 1B Reed 3B Moran OF K. Tucker OF Fisher OF Teoscar That fills all of Chicago's long term needs and presents a lot of total value without giving up Martes or Bregman. Tucker is the real get of course, but Reed, Fisher, and Teoscar have borderline Top 100 value, and Moran is an upside throw-in. I think that's still a little light, so I doubt Chicago would do it, but is one that could turn out great for both teams.
Anything can happen to a prospect. However Martes is a very well rounded prospect that is probably underrated. He has a very strong work ethic and baseball IQ. While his delivery is complicated (they worked on it) he is a very good athlete without any injury red flags. His body isn't likely to grow taller, but his fastball last year added another tick or two. He profiles as having a good shot at being a high end #2 or possibly a #1.
Actually looking at that list of RHP's, it's crazy that Kopech is getting that kind of respect. Seems like media-driven inflation "oh he was traded for Chris Sale so he must be amazing". No doubt the guy has as high of an upside as any pitcher but he pitched ~50 IP at high A last year vs Martes pitching a full season at double A.
Baseball America: Minor League Transactions, January 6-15 In addition to Barrios and Nicely, the Astros released the following players: LHP Bryan Radziewski was drafted by the Astros in the 9th round in 2013 out of Miami. He did not pitch in 2016. The Astros purchased the rights to OF Leo Heras from the Mexico City Red Devils in 2013, along with Japhet Amador. He was the #25 prospect in the 2014 Baseball America Prospect Handbook. In 2016, he only played in two games with Fresno before getting loaned back to the Mexican League. In 194 games in the US, Heras slashed .234/.339/.362. RHP Manuel Gonzalez was originally signed by the Padres in 2012 and spent three seasons in that system before being released. He made 13 relief appearances in the GCL in his lone season with the Astros organization.
Obviously moot compared to the bigger Astros news of the day (GO BAGPIPES!) but Baseball America put up their podcast review of the Astros farm system today. http://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/astros-top-10-prospects-podcast/
White Sox are in the position the Astros were when they traded Jared Cosart. There was no need to trade him so they asked for the moon and got it. I like Quintana, but it feel the White Sox like him better. Astros, please move on, I'm sure Luhnow offered a fair deal to no avail.
Makay Nelson was released on Friday. In addition, IF Kolbey Carpenter was also released. Carpenter was the Astros' 33rd-round pick in 2015 out of Oklahoma; he only appeared in five games for Tri-City in 2016.
Anyone feel like posting Keith Law's top 100? Looks like Franklin Perez and David Paulino made the list, curious what other Astros made it.
http://insider.espn.com/mlb/insider/story/_/id/18559233/zips-top-100-mlb-prospects-2017 29. Francis Martes 45. Kyle Tucker 54. Franklin Perez 78. Ramon Laureano 85. David Paulino 97. Derek Fisher 99. Jason Martin Jason Martin being in the ZiPS top 100 is very surprising. Otherwise, not a lot of shock value here.
37. Martes 57. Tucker 66. Perez 78. Whitley Spoiler: breakdowns 37. Francis Martes, RHP, Houston Astros Age: 21 (11/24/95) | B/T: R/R Height: 6-1 | Weight: 225 Top level: Double-A | 2016: 40 Martes gets a lot of Johnny Cueto comparisons, which fits both in terms of his physical appearance and his style of pitching, which is very aggressive and has him throwing both his fastball and breaking ball for strikes. When he’s online to the plate, Martes will throw heat that sits in the low 90s with good sink, but he can reach back for 98-99 mph up in the zone to try to get a swing and miss, and he’ll show a 70 curveball with short, hard break, along with a hard changeup that comes in 89-90 with some cutting action but probably needs to be slower. Martes’ delivery can come apart on him, and when he flies open at release -- which he did in his first outing at the AFL, which I saw -- everything flies up to his arm side, so hitters square up on his fastball and he can’t finish his breaking ball out front. Frances just turned 21 in November and has already succeeded in Double-A, so there’s time to work on getting his delivery consistent start to start, and he should appear in the majors at some point this year, with the potential for him to be a solid No. 2 starter or more depending on that delivery question. 57. Kyle Tucker, OF, Houston Astros Age: 20 (1/17/97) | B/T: L/R Height: 6-4 | Weight: 190 Top level: High-A | 2016: 67 The fifth overall pick in 2015, Tucker had a solid full-season debut for Low-A Quad Cities. He hit .276/.348/.402 as a 19-year-old with solid plate discipline, then moved up to destroy Lancaster because hitting there is like playing on the surface of the moon. (The Astros must be overjoyed to move their high-A affiliate out of the California League to the Carolina League.) Tucker played more center in 2016 than either corner, but I think he’s clearly going to end up in right field, given his average speed and plus arm. He showed great feel for hitting and baserunning in 2016, especially in his approach at the plate, and though his power output was modest, his swing is definitely geared to produce more extra-base hits and around 20 homers a year when he fills out. I did hear from some scouts who were just tepid on Tucker, saying he doesn’t play with much energy and calling him a “low motor” guy, though I find those observations tough to verify or refute. Assuming that isn't a problem, he should be primed for a solid step forward in 2017, adjusting to better pitching in high-A and perhaps bringing some more of his batting practice power into games. 66. Franklin Perez, RHP, Houston Astros Age: 19 (12/6/97) | B/T: R/R Height: 6-4 | Weight: 210 Top level: Low-A | 2016: NR Signed out of Venezuela in 2013 for $1 million, Perez had thrown only 15 innings in the U.S. before 2016. He comes from a family of athletes, including his mom, a former collegiate volleyball player. The Astros sent him to Quad Cities in mid-May, and he pitched as well as any starter in the league, despite being its youngest pitcher at just 18 years old. Perez doesn’t look that young, with a 6-foot-4, 210-pound body, and he’s very athletic for his size, pitching at an easy 92-94 mph and showing up to 96 at times. He works with four pitches now, with an above-average curveball and average changeup, and there’s nothing specific that would say he isn't a starter other than his youth and the need to keep him healthy as his arm matures. The Astros did baby him last year -- he had at least six days between all of his starts -- but I imagine this year we’ll see just how good Perez is over a longer period. He offers a good No. 3 starter package now, with his ability to become more than that a function of how well his secondary pitches evolve. 78. Forrest Whitley, RHP, Houston Astros Age: 19 (9/15/97) | B/T: R/R Height: 6-7 | Weight: 240 Top level: Rookie | 2016: NE The Astros went semi-local with their first-round pick in 2016. They took San Antonio high school right-hander Whitley with the 17th overall selection in the June draft, betting on his combination of size, present stuff and relative polish. Whitley has been clocked throwing up to 97 mph, his fastball sat at 89-95 once he entered the Astros’ system, and he already works with four pitches, including a hard power curveball that’s at least a 55 right now. He’s ginormous -- sorry to use the technical scouting term there -- at 6-foot-7 and 240 pounds, but unlike a lot of kids his height, he is pretty coordinated and can repeat his delivery already. He’s atypical of high school pitching drafts -- there’s nothing substantial that has to change or develop here, other than the sort of adjustments every player has to make when facing better competition at each level. He’s built like a horse, and without any changes in his present stuff, you could project him as a potential No. 2 or, most likely, a good No. 3, giving better than average performances with the capacity to handle 200 innings.
