Hicks’ numbers at age 23 in AA compare favorably to Bloss’ at the same age/level. I think Bloss probably had a slightly higher ceiling due to more velocity and spin.
Nice things being said about Brito: Keith Law at The Athletic: The most impressive pitcher I saw was Houston Astros right-hander Anderson Brito, who was partially responsible for that one game where the teams combined for fewer than 10 walks — well, sort of, as he walked the first two batters he faced, so I don’t want to give him too much credit. He then struck out the next seven, allowed a groundout, and struck out one more to finish the day with eight Ks in three innings. Brito was 95-97 from a high three-quarters arm slot with a hard sweeping slider at 84-88 and a changeup at 86-88 that both missed bats, along with a cutter at 91-92 and a curveball at 85-86. He doesn’t have a pretty delivery, with some late effort and a stiff landing, but the slider is easily a plus pitch, and the changeup isn’t far behind. He’s listed at 5-foot-10, 155 pounds, with the weight probably a few years out of date; he is small for a starter who lives off a four-seamer rather than a sinker, but I’d absolutely let him start until he shows he can’t do it. Eric Lonerhagen: Hudson Leach is a potential power reliever who has the best pure breaking ball I’ve seen so far this Fall. .... Little Astros righty Anderson Brito (whom I’ve seen once bad and once very good) is only 5-foot-10, 160 pounds or so. There are many more relievers who look like him, physically and mechanically, than there are starters. But Brito has one hell of a curveball, throws really hard for a 5-foot-10 guy, and still has multiple years to develop as a starter because he isn’t Rule 5 eligible until 2027. If you want active precedent for a guy this little succeeding as a starter, Sonny Gray provides some amount of it, but he’s maybe the only one from the last decade or so to have a prolonged career as a starter at 5-foot-10. For every Sonny Gray there are many more David Robertsons (if Brito were to become a career-long setup man like Robertson, that’d be a great outcome) and Deivi Garcias. I think it merits developing Brito as a starter just to see what happens, but he’s the one of this group I’m least convinced will stick in that role. https://blogs.fangraphs.com/arizona-fall-league-prospect-stock-check-in/
