7th round pick out of South Alabama last year. Grandpa, Pat, was the 1971 Heisman Trophy winner. Apparently had some hamate issues but still managed to slug .531 last college season. Sullivan probably had some bad batted ball luck to start the season, which was why he had an OPS in the high .800s to low .900s despite hitting under .200 for much of last month. Changed his swing to allow himself to elevate the ball more and it's shown in the homers, but it's also resulted in an elevated strikeout rate. He's always been a pretty patient hitter, but I'm hoping that doesn't morph into passivity.
Luis Rodriguez vs. Lynchburg: 5.2 IP, 3 H, ER, 3 BB, 2 K Caden Powell went 2-4 with a double and scored a run. Jason Schiavone tied the game in Manfredball with an RBI single and scored the winning run following an error to give Fayetteville a 3-2 win.
Very interesting prospect. Didn’t turn to baseball until later than most because he was into football. He had a good but unspectacular college career against middling competition. Very deceptive athlete in that he is a very good athlete across the board but not spectacular at any one thing. His athleticism translates really well though. He can play CF - but I am not sure if he sticks there in the big leagues. He gets to balls well but sometimes over runs them. They think they can fix that. He can steal bases - not quite on par with Jacob Melton but he has an aptitude for it and if he gets on base he will steal 40-50 bags. Hitting wise - they have adjusted his swing some and he is now hitting for a lot of power but with increased strikeout concerns. Highly productive so far and last year - heading into this season, was the guy a lot of coaches and scouts were talking highly of. So far he is a hit machine but he is a little young and AA is really going to tell us a lot about him. When he is called up to AA soon, if he doesn’t increase his strikeouts and keeps hitting - he is going to draw a lot of attention. He is another “project” for the player development guys, similar to Pena, Chas, Loperfido and Meyers. Sullivan has the most natural feel for hitting amongst this group though. If you get a chance to watch him - do it, he really sticks out on the field and is a lot of fun and can get animated. Also - I haven’t noticed it, but he is supposedly really getting into working out and weight lifting/strength training this year.
One thing I haven’t seen discussed much in the last few years is the fact that with the shorter draft, UDFA have a bit more value than they used to. Rather than being total scrap heap finds like they were when the draft was a 40 round affair, they are more just very flawed or undiscovered prospects who would have previously been drafted in rounds 21-30. Several of Houston’s recent UDFA signings are performing pretty well: IF Max Holy 165 wRC+ OF Lucas Spence 145 OF Drew Brutcher 141 P Hudson Leach 2.13 xfip P Jagger Beck 3.30 Now aside from Beck, all those guys are older former college players who we won’t really know anything about until they get to AA. But I did think it’s worth noting that these guys probably have a little higher odds of panning out than UDFA signed prior to the draft being shortened. Big leaguers like David Hensley, Josh Rojas, Chuckie Robinson, and Chas McCormick all would have been UDFA under the current model. I might even venture to guess that going forward UDFA might have higher hit rates than guys drafted in rounds 15-20, because clubs might have an opportunity to evaluate undrafted guys more before they sign them than guys they commit to via the draft. I can envision a process where a team invites several of their favorite undrafted guys to a tryout (or redispatches scouts to get another look at all of them) and only signs the ones that separate themselves. Might be something worth tracking over the next couple of years.
That isn't a bad comparison - but I see some differences. Sullivan is 3-4 inches shorter, and as a result is able to corner and move better, his hips are not as stiff. They are similar in that both had their swing adjusted some, but Sullivan's is simpler and seems more natural. They are similar types of athletes, and I think that Loperfido is probably the better natural athlete - but Sullivan is like Jeremy Pena, in that he puts a lot of work into his body and that may carry him further than the natural athleticism of Loperfido. The biggest advantage that Sullivan has is that he can work the count better, he draws a lot of walks and is better at setting up pitchers to throw pitches into his "zone", which is something both Loperfido and DeZenzo have struggled at.
Whitcomb has played 4 games, 36 innings, in the middle infield so far this season. This does no lead me to think he's an option to replace Rogers
Cesar Hernandez hit his 7th home run of the year for Fayetteville. He got $1.7 million at the start of the 2024 IFA period and had an underwhelming debut in US pro baseball as he barely cleared the .600 OPS mark in 94 games with Fayetteville last season. This year, he's unlocked some power and has been more patient at the plate. Hernandez has made some progress this season, even though his numbers over approximately 540 plate appearances in Fayetteville have been less than ideal. A strong first half should allow him to move up to Asheville later this season.
Parker Smith made his pro debut in the FCL today and he went 1.2 innings, allowing a run on two hits, walking one, and striking out two. Smith was the Astros' 4th-round pick last season out of Rice.
Some of that might have been because for most of the season SL has had 2 healthy outfielders and have been using various IF out there.
Miguel Ullola vs. Las Vegas: 4 IP, 3 H, 4 BB, 6 K Had to slog through it as he threw 80 pitches, only 39 of which went for strikes.
He finished 4-5. I know Janek is not a sexy prospect and he has his detractors on this board, but I think the bat can play. Nobody is blocking him (the only person really in his way is Yainer), so here's hoping he gets a move on.
Yeah I still think he is a good prospect although his stock has gone down a bit. But it is pretty rare for a college catcher to go on to MLB success after not hitting very well in High A in his first full season. For college C drafted after 2006 who have put up more than 15 career fwar, here is their wRC+ in High A in their first full season: Weiters 172 Raleigh 137 Murphy 133 Smith 117 Lucroy 140 Posey 164
Since 2006, non-1B Astros prospects with wRC+ >150 in High A (min 150 pa), age <24: Kyle Tucker Jose Altuve Joseph Sullivan
It’s only been 42 pa, but Jacob Melton is off to a fantastic start in AAA. His avg EV is 94 mph, his hard hit rate is 50%, a 90% in zone contact %, a 79% overall contact %, and a 9.3% swinging strike %; those are all Yordan Alvarez level numbers. He needs to stay healthy but if he keeps that up for another 6 weeks he should be hyped as one of the best prospects in baseball.
