I'm just saying in this day and age a guy at ANY position is not viable if he has a ceiling of 5 HR per year* *I'm not saying that is Gomez's ceiling. I have just heard he needs to get stronger and add power to be a real prospect moving forward.
Isn't he like 19? Don't worry about lack of home run numbers until he stops growing and starts to fill out. How long has he been stateside- less than 12 months?
Thanks for the update. I've got no idea about the ballparks and the stuff these guys actually have. I only know what I read and you can't know these things by reading the stuff I read. From what I've read, Brito and Fleury seem like the best pitching prospects in the lower minors.
Fangraphs says 35.9% at AA. I'd call it a yellow flag instead of red flag. The guy was known to be pretty raw when they drafted him and they've already pushed him to AA within 1 year of being drafted. Even with that K rate, he's still a 22 y/o MIF in AA running a 127 wRC+ and > .200 ISO. There's ALOT to like there.
Brice Matthews isn’t a natural hitter - still very raw for a 22 year old. However the wrists and quick hands let him wait until the ball is almost crossing the plate before he has to commit to swinging. That is a massive advantage that few guys have and half those guys are/were stars.
He has a chance, but as you say, he isn't a natural hitter. He needs to get PAs and not be rushed. Pena is a FA in 2028. Matthews: 2025: AA and AAA 2026: AAA and maybe cup of coffee 2027: replace Dubon on the roster 2028: starting SS (or CF if he doesn't stick there)
Anderson Brito vs. Kannapolis: 4 IP, 2 H (solo HR allowed), 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K Caden Powell went 2-3 with a two-run triple as Fayetteville won 7-3.
Edinson Batista @ Greensboro: 5 IP, 3 H, 2 unearned runs, 3 BB, 3 K Batista was someone who I thought would be leading the next wave of Latin arms along with Miguel Ullola and Carlos Calderon. Instead, Ullola is flashing big talent and big inconsistency in Corpus, while Calderon is on the Asheville IL and looking like a release candidate. Now, they have some competition coming up in Fayetteville with Yeriel Santos, Julio Marte, Raimy Rodriguez, and Sandy Mejia. Batista got roughed up in his first shot at Asheville last season and wound up on the IL on two separate occasions. He's been healthy all year and as a result, he's turned in a decent rebound season. I think he's shown enough to start in Corpus next year. Wilmy Sanchez allowed a double, which turned into a run when he threw a wild pitch, and struck out four in two innings of relief. Turning into a reliever-only prospect is a big dent in his stock, but he has acquitted himself well in his first taste of a full-season league. He'll need to considerably reduce his walk rate to be a viable prospect, however. Walker Janek went 2-5 with a double and an RBI single for the Tourists in their 5-3 win.
A.J. Blubaugh vs. Albuquerque: 6 IP, 3 H (solo HR allowed), 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, and this web gem (slowest jump throw I've ever seen lol):
There is a pretty good argument that Brito is the best all-around pitching prospect in Houston’s system. He may only need another ~20-30 innings in Fayetteville before they move him up to Asheville, which could put him in AA as a 20 year old in the second half of next season.
Can he get 20 innings this year and still have time to move up and pitch for Ashville? Especially with the tandem pitching, time is running short.
No, I think he will almost certainly start next season back in Fayetteville. Ideal realistic timeline would be Fayetteville until late May 2025, Asheville thru mid August, then a few weeks in AA to end the season. If it played out like that and he had good numbers all along the way he would be a very hyped prospect.
My dad and I were at this game last night. This was a fun play to watch unfold. The speed that Blubaugh showed getting off the mound and to the ball was great, and then the actual fielding and transfer to throw was kind of awkward. But the end result looked great. This game also featured Forrest Whitely pitching an inning and looking pretty dang unhittable. There was one guy that got a single on him when he was jammed inside and managed to flare a pop-up into an open spot in the outfield. But the other 3 batters all K'd against Whitely and looked kind of bad in doing so. They weren't seeing his offspeed stuff at ALL. Edit: I don't know what all else is keeping him down on the AAA roster. I know with his injury history and history of not listening to his coaches, it may be the Astros want to see him do this for a much more extended period of time before they extend him some more trust and give him another shot. But it certainly isn't looking like he has any more to prove with regard to his stuff and ability to get AAA batters out. Maybe he gets a shot to be a high leverage bullpen guy starting next season.
Brice Matthews homered and Joey Mancini threw 5 shutout innings for Corpus as they beat Amarillo 6-2. Jeremy Arocho (1) and Rolando Espinosa (9) also went deep for the Hooks. Matthews now has 13 homers between Asheville (6) and Corpus Christi (7). Mancini allowed a hit, walked two, and fanned three. Jose Fleury got the last four innings and he allowed a pair of solo homers, one other hit (a double), walked one, and struck out five.
Not sure how he’s doing it because his k rate is not that high, but Mancini has a 1.53 era in 59 AA innings. Thats a sizable sample to be the dominant at limiting earned runs.
UDFA IF Max Holy has 8 stolen bases in 12 pro games. 6th round pick IF Caden Powell is batting .366 thru 41 ab.
