<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Steve Webber won a national title as Georgia’s head coach in 1990. With Astros at AAA last two years, he’s moving on: <a href="http://t.co/8ZWNfsw2TM">http://t.co/8ZWNfsw2TM</a></p>— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) <a href="https://twitter.com/EvanDrellich/status/519536515500621824">October 7, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
California League Top 20 1. Carlos Correa 8. Vince Velasquez 19. Teoscar Hernandez 20. Lance McCullers From the chat with Jim Shonerd:
1. Carlos Correa, ss, Lancaster (Astros) Age: 19. B-T: R-R. Ht.: 6-4. Wt.: 205. Drafted: HS—Gurabo, P.R., 2012 (1). Correa’s season ended abruptly June 21 when he broke his right ankle and fibula sliding into third base. The injury cost him the chance at a promotion to Double-A, but presuming he returns to full health, it hasn’t taken any of the shine off him. Correa has the ingredients to be an all-star shortstop, impressing Cal League observers on both sides of the ball despite being the circuit’s youngest everyday position player. His modest home run total—considering Lancaster’s launching-pad reputation—belies the impact in his bat. He easily drove balls out of the yard to all fields in batting practice but tended to dial it down in games, showing an inside-out swing and only gearing up for power when he got in favorable counts. Opposing managers admired Correa’s ability to battle with two strikes and refusal to give away at-bats. Though he should continue to get bigger and stronger, Correa is athletic enough to stay at shortstop. He may end up an average runner, but that should be his only tool that isn’t plus. His arm is strong and accurate, while he has the hands to make all the plays, no matter the degree of difficulty. “He just stood out,” Lake Elsinore manager Jamie Quirk said. “When he’s on the field, you know who he is, you know where he is, you know what he’s doing. He is the best player on the field—offensively, defensively, arm, hands. He knows the game.” 8. Vince Velasquez, rhp, Lancaster (Astros) Age: 22. B-T: B-R. Ht.: 6-3. Wt.: 203. Drafted: HS—Pomona, Calif., 2010 (2). Multiple managers believed Velasquez looked like the best prospect on Lancaster’s prospect-heavy staff that also included Mark Appel, Lance McCullers Jr. and Josh Hader. Velasquez hides the ball well before his fastball explodes out of his hand, jumping on hitters at 93-95 mph and peaking at 97. He spots the heater well to both sides of the plate and doesn’t shy away from pitching inside. His fading, mid-80s changeup was his best secondary pitch. His breaking ball features slider action and can be plus when it’s on, but it gets loopy at times. “He’s under control on the mound,” Lake Elsinore manager Jamie Quirk said. “He’s very confident, and a strike-thrower. He’s just a guy who would challenge hitters and beat them.” Velasquez added to his lengthy injury rap sheet by missing more than two months from early May through late July with groin problems. He already has Tommy John surgery on his résumé, having missed the entire 2011 season. 19. Teoscar Hernandez, of, Lancaster (Astros) Age: 21. B-T: R-R. Ht.: 6-2. Wt.: 180. Signed: Dominican Republic, 2011. Hernandez’s instincts have a ways to go to catch up with his impressive raw tools. He swings and misses frequently and struggles with recognizing pitches, but the ball carries off his bat when he squares one up. Hernandez has strength in his hands and generates good bat speed. Most of his home-run power comes to his pull side, but he can drive balls to the gaps as well. Despite his strikeout issues, he still had a strong year with league-champion Lancaster and in fact performed better in road games (.974 OPS) than home (.878). Hernandez exudes athleticism, running with double-plus speed. He gets good jumps on balls in center field and will save hits on balls hit to the gaps. He also has at least an average arm, if not plus, though many scouts project him to fill out and move to a corner. 20. Lance McCullers Jr., rhp, Lancaster (Astros) Age: 20. B-T: L-R. Ht.: 6-2. Wt.: 205. Drafted: HS—Tampa, 2012 (1s). McCullers’ raw stuff matches up well with anyone in the Cal League. He throws lively fastballs in the low 90s and can reach 96 mph. His curveball—often labeled a slider because of its 80-plus mph power—can have such late, violent break that it can make hitters look bad, even in counts where they know to look for it. He also does have a useable changeup, but it’s clearly his third option. As enticing as McCullers looked when he was throwing well, he could be frustratingly wild at times. He pitches with a high-effort delivery, which leads to erratic control. His walk rate of 5.2 per nine innings rate was the second highest among Cal League pitchers who threw at least 90 innings. As the son of the former big leaguer of the same name, McCullers does show baseball intelligence. However, he tends to overanalyze and get away from pitching off his fastball, and he sometimes struggles to control his emotions on the mound. His stuff and demeanor may point toward a career as a closer, but he’ll need more consistent command regardless of role.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Line for <a href="https://twitter.com/astros">@Astros</a> prospect <a href="https://twitter.com/MAppel26">@MAppel26</a> in his <a href="https://twitter.com/MLBazFallLeague">@MLBazFallLeague</a> debut: 3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 BB, 2 K: <a href="http://t.co/I6Mpk8mLte">http://t.co/I6Mpk8mLte</a> <a href="http://t.co/mKL9YzUka6">pic.twitter.com/mKL9YzUka6</a></p>— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) <a href="https://twitter.com/MLBPipeline/status/520048414504271874">October 9, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Mark Appel tonight: 3IP H BB HBP 2K 47 pitches(27 strikes) 4 groundouts 2 flyouts 12 batters faced And tweeters gonna tweet Spoiler <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Astros?src=hash">#Astros</a> Appel is very quick to the plate at between 1.00 and 1.04 with man on base. Falling behind in counts though.</p>— Bernie Pleskoff (@BerniePleskoff) <a href="https://twitter.com/BerniePleskoff/status/520028163779620864">October 9, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Astros?src=hash">#Astros</a> Appel fell behind <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Mets?src=hash">#Mets</a> Nimmo who then doubled and then he walked <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Mets?src=hash">#Mets</a> Mazzilli. Has to work out of a jam in the first.</p>— Bernie Pleskoff (@BerniePleskoff) <a href="https://twitter.com/BerniePleskoff/status/520028385452769280">October 9, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Appel was 94-97 in the first. Command wasn't great. Nimmo smoked a changeup to RCF for a double.</p>— keithlaw (@keithlaw) <a href="https://twitter.com/keithlaw/status/520029237143949312">October 9, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Appel: 94-97 in first with high-80s change and low 80s slider. Struggled with command. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/astros?src=hash">#astros</a></p>— Josh Norris (@jnorris427) <a href="https://twitter.com/jnorris427/status/520029250569928705">October 9, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Astros?src=hash">#Astros</a> Appel went to 3 balls on 3 of the first 4 hitters for Scottsdale. W/ two men on, <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Yankees?src=hash">#Yankees</a> Bird hit into a 4-6-3 double play. 0 runs.</p>— Bernie Pleskoff (@BerniePleskoff) <a href="https://twitter.com/BerniePleskoff/status/520029364378169345">October 9, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Astros?src=hash">#Astros</a> Appel getting good sink on his pitches and has better command in 2nd inning. Changing speeds very well.</p>— Bernie Pleskoff (@BerniePleskoff) <a href="https://twitter.com/BerniePleskoff/status/520034519689482240">October 9, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Appel was 92-95 that inning with more focus on sinking the ball. Offspeed stuff still unimpressive.</p>— Josh Norris (@jnorris427) <a href="https://twitter.com/jnorris427/status/520040288052871170">October 9, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> Ruiz, Applin & Heineman also playing tonight.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Mark Appel 93-97, isn't repeating. Slider flashing plus plus, change is fringey. When he spots that heater boy howdy he is vicious.</p>— Eric Longenhagen (@longenhagen) <a href="https://twitter.com/longenhagen/status/520038315761094656">October 9, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Thanks for posting this, but the article is just a off season piece from the look of it. Small sample sizes and irrelevant comparisons. It is a fun read in the sense that you get to compare players, but the relevance and the likeliness of Baez and Singleton matching the players to which they compare them seems low. 200 and 300 ABs as a sample size? Come on now...
The eyeball test was good enough for me, Singleton looked absolutely lost at the plate most of the year.
Meh.... Singleton may turn out to be a bust, as most good prospects fail to reach expectations. It should be kept in mind though that 2013 was a total wasted season for Singleton, absolutely no development baseball wise. He then hit well early this season and was called up. This doesn't even address the substance abuse, issues with his father's health, the fact he lost a lot of weight and is working on an entire approach at the plate. That is a whole lot on a 22 year olds plate. Especially for a guy that admitted he has never worked hard. By all reports from friends that work for the Astros (and family), Singleton has worked very hard and the Astros coaches feel he is making improvements. I am not willing to write him off yet, but agree that he may well end up a bust.
Texas League Top 20 Prospects 15. Tony Kemp, 2b, Astros 20. Delino DeShields, of, Astros The chat's behind the paywall. No offense to our boys but it must be kind of a down year in the TL for both those guys to make the list. Kemp put up a solid above-average line but isn't particularly toolsy and DDJ put up a mediocre line and doesn't have a defined position. That being said the scouts apparently still recognize DDJ's plus speed and relative youth (his age 21 season in AA).
Evaluating the Prospects: Houston Astros by Kiley McDaniel - October 10, 2014 1. Carlos Correa, SS 2. Mark Appel, RHP 3. Vincent Velasquez, RHP 4. Colin Moran, 3B 5. Rio Ruiz, 3B 6. Lance McCullers, RHP 7. Mike Foltynewicz, RHP 8. Brett Phillips, CF 9. Teoscar Hernandez 10. Domingo Santana, RF 11. Nick Tropeano, RHP 12. Derek Fisher, LF 13. A.J. Reed, 1B 14. Josh Hader, LHP 15. Michael Feliz, RHP 16. Nolan Fontana, SS 17. J.D. Davis, 1B 18. Preston Tucker, LF 19. Max Stassi, C 20. Kent Emanuel, LHP 21. Andrew Thurman, RHP 22. Joe Musgrove, RHP 23. Tony Kemp, 2B 24. Brady Rodgers, RHP 25. Delino DeShields, LF 26. Ronald Torreyes, 2B
http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/mark-appel-jake-reed-scouting-reports/ by Eric Longenhagen - October 10, 2014 Scouting report on Appel after his performance in the AFL. Here is the conclusion:
A number 2 starter in scouting terms is generally in the 10th to 30th best pitcher range (I.e. About 4-4.5 WAR)
Tonight Appel went 4ip, 0r, 1h, 2bb, 6k in his second arizona fall league start. In his first two games combined he's gone 7ip, 0r, 2h, 3bb, 8k
Another good outing so far for Appel. 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 K Only two hits are courtesy of Francisco Lindor (top Indians prospect). Appel is sitting 93-95 with his slider looking plus-plus. Great news.
