His floor has been steadily rising. He probably never sees a top 100 list again before he is in the majors but an argument for it could be made.
Ryan Clifford hit his first homer of the year for Fayetteville. Joey Mancini allowed two hits, walked three, and struck out 8 over four scoreless in his pro debut. Mancini, a 15th-round pick out of Boston College last year, did not pitch after signing with the Astros.
Kenedy Corona homered for the second straight night for Asheville. Meanwhile on the mound, Brayan De Paula threw 4.2 scoreless, allowing three hits, walking one, and striking out 10. De Paula, a lefty, came to the Astros in 2018 via trade from the Marlins. He missed all of last season due to an injury.
Let's start with this: https://bbs.clutchfans.net/threads/2016-mlb-draft.270917/page-4#post-10506400 Forrest Whitley, Alamo Heights HS. Got to see him twice, Nolan was there for his no-hitter a couple of weeks ago. The kid's about 6'6, 220. He has a great arm. I had relatives in AH who turned me on to him, so I went to several of their games that year. That's how I got to watch a game talking to Nolan Ryan. He loved the kid, and he was about as impressive as I've ever seen a HS pitcher...and I got to ground out (no K!) against Kelly Wunsch throwing 100. Talked to his folks a couple of years ago at the SA Fiesta "pooch parade", didn't badger them but just asked how he was doing. They said "he's happy again" He was by all accounts a great kid, from a great family, who was totally serious about his MLB career. My total guestimation is that his arm hurt the past couple of years, and he pitched through it until it was surgery time, and he had to face adversity for the first time in his baseball life...think about it: you've been the baddestest on every team you've played on for you entire life, now you can't do what you're used to. I'm solidly rooting for the guy.
It's amazing how many talented people ultimately fail because they never developed any resilience until it was too late. Glad to hear Whitley might not end up in that category.
3 standouts from the first 2 weeks: SS Grae Kessinger, AAA: walked as much as he’s struck out SS Shay Whitcomb, AA: hit for power without striking out too much OF Ryan Clifford, A: 30% walk rate in 20 early pa, hit for power, very young for his level. Here’s the list of Astros prospects who are young for their league: AAA: 3B Joe Perez, C Korey Lee, P Jairo Solis, P Misael Tamarez AA: OF Colin Barber, 2B Luis Santana, P Jaime Melendez, P Julio Robaina, P Angel Macuare, P Spencer Arrighetti, P Jose Betances, P Rhett Kouba A+: C Miguel Palma, P Alex Santos, P Edinson Batista, P Carlos Calderon, P Miguel Ullola A: OF Ryan Clifford, 3B Tyler Whitaker, C Sandro Gaston, P Alimber Santa, P Jose Nodal With big seasons, Clifford, Barber, and Whitaker could be in Top 100 discussions.
What are the odds Ullola gets in a discussion like that. I was listening to a podcast previewing the AL West by a Mariners fan and they were describing what it would look like for the Astros not to win the division and it was basically catastrophic injuries, and then he finished with the line- but really- would it surprise you if I told you all that happened and they calmly pulled Miguel Ullola up to the bigs and he was a star? That was a pretty deep cut, and I have heard his name mentioned before, so just wondering.
Who here watches (like eyes on the TV or in person) a lot of these guys down on the farm? How much would you say you watch? Do you watch entire games or just certain guys pitch or certain guys AB's?
Clifford rocking a .520 obp early on, got my eye on him to be first baseman of the future when Abreu contract is up
I mostly get tape from people I know. I used to go watch them somewhat often. I will say that there are some things that only jump out in person in the minors. Skills are a lot louder in person IMO.
Always wanted a good ol' bats and throws L/L 1B with pop. If a player is good, he's good, but lately it feels our FO has prioritized R/R contact over power guys at first base. Wouldn't mind seeing Melton get more looks there (he played a lot of first in college) but I think Clifford ultimately ends up there as opposed to the outfield. Have not really seen them hit but Clifford seems MUCH more advanced than Whitaker in his first year as a pro.
Astros mostly have just wanted to avoid strikeouts. I don’t think they would be adverse to a power hitting lefty with size. Clifford is likely a more developed hitter than Whitaker at the same age. Clifford has basically been on the pro circuit since he was a freshman in HS. He has been very well coached, played against top notch competition and his parents ensured he always had the best when it came to his baseball career. There are some scouts that question his bat speed and positionally he is viewed as limited and not really an athlete… I don’t quite agree, he seems fine athletically to me, similar to Ryan Klesko. No, he isn’t a burner and is limited to 1st and LF, but if he can hit it doesn’t matter. Whitaker is a very different kind of prospect. He is considered to have a higher ceiling because, although his skills are raw, he is viewed as someone that can play multiple spots - can run some and has a prettier swing. Whitaker is more of a boom or bust prospect. Melton is pretty good in the field, not sure the Astros want to plop him at first yet. The outfield is really deep, so he may get minutes at first - but he doesn’t have much to prove there, I’ve heard they are confident he can play there, but may have more value in the outfield. CF is absolutely stacked for the Astros system. Reports are that Kenni Gomez may end up being the best CF glove of the group once he matures - he should be a junior in high school in the USA.
JJ Matijevic has had two two HR games so far this year. JJ has homered twice twice. For the second time this season, Matijevic has homered for the second time. If I had a nickel for everytime this season Matijevic has hit 2 HRs in a game, I'd have ten cents. That ain't a lot, but it's kinda neat that it's happened twice. Okay, I think that cleared it up.
I try like hell to go to every game Sugar Land plays in Round Rock. The last few years I have made at least one Hooks game. I watch every clip of any Astros prospect available on Twitter. I tried to talk my wife into going to Asheville for our anniversary later this summer but she chose Napa instead. I am on an early retirement path and one thing I’d like to do once my kids are older is stop working and go to spring training plus at least 3 games of each affiliate (including FCL and DSL if it’s possible) each year. My trip to the back fields the one time I went to ST was awesome. And like nook said these guys stand out a lot more in person.
I don't think his power has ever been questioned. It's a shame MLB pitchers are better than AAA pitchers. At this point I think J.J. is what he is: a AAAA DH/1B only guy who will strike out way more than league average but can be an emergency injury fill in and surprise us with a great PA once or twice per year. I think they made a mistake keeping J.J. over Taylor Jones last year.
