The Farm
Jon Harris had a nice start in New Hampshire. He went seven innings and allowed one earned run (and one unearned run). Bo Bichette homered and walked twice, while Vladimir Guerrero Jr. doubled, singled, and walked. Down in the GCL, Hagen Danner hit his first professional homerun.
Vancouver Canadians
I was at the Vancouver game last night and while I missed the late innings heroics by the home club (shame, I know), I did get a good look at some of our prospects. Here are my notes:
Brock Lundquist
Lundquist looks to be a nice find in the sixth round. He’s not a big guy, but he looks good in a uniform (as scouts often say). Lundquist looks like he found the weight-room at Long Beach State and down the line could develop into one of those “throw-back” muscle-bound ballplayers. Think Gabe Kapler-lite. Lundquist made two plays on the evening that would have left most scouts in attendance with something to write their regional coordinator about. He tripled in the sixth on one of those balls to right field that most guys seemingly now like to jog into second base while “saluting” the dugout with some form of hand/leg/arm/facial/ear/cap/nose/elbow/hip gesture. Lundquist hustled out of the box and made it safely to third. He showed above-average speed such that you could project 10-15 bases a season down the line. The second play was a throw home from mid right-field to hold the tagging runner from third. He showed plenty of carry with the throw such that you’d like grade out his arm as above average. All this to say that the Jays may have found something in Lundquist. He’s athletic guy who can likely play all three outfield positions with a good feel for the game. The bat looks OK. He’s not going to hit a lot of homeruns or for a high average, but there’s enough there to say this is a guy who will advance through the system in due course and may make it to the Majors.
Reggie Pruitt
Pruitt has struggled with the bat this year and the issues that were noted at draft time for Pruitt remain. He has a bit of an arm-bar with the bat which prevents him from getting to good velocity and generating any power. I’m a little surprised the Jays haven’t worked with his set-up to get him starting a bit higher and thus freeing up his arms to attack ball downwards. Rajai Davis has this problem and does a bit of the same. All this to say that he’s still a project at the plate, but I wouldn’t write-off the bat just yet. The bat aside, there are some plus tools there. Pruitt can run and play a nice centerfield. I think there is a 70 tool there in his speed and a definite 60 tool in his defence. The speed shows up all over the field. He stole a base that everyone knew he was stealing. I don’t think he’s going to be able to do that going forward, but there is an annual 30+ stolen-base threat there. In the outfield he has that gliding speed that can be a treat to watch. There was a ball hit to the right-centerfield wall that Pruitt had no business getting to and he nearly tracked down. His routes to balls were excellent. He caught a ball ranging behind and to his left in stride that most centerfielders in the big leagues couldn’t do. He can also throw the ball and there’s probably a 50-60 tool there in his arm. All this to say that there’s a prospect there.
Kacy Clemens
Kacy Clemens looks to be another solid draft pick. There aren’t really any loud tools there, but there’s still a lot to like. His hit tool is clearly his calling card. I think it’s slightly above average. He took advantage of sloppy fielding to advance to second in the eighth on a heads up play and didn’t get cheated on any of his at-bats. I don’t think there’s much power or raw bat-speed to suggest he’s going to hit a lot of homeruns down the line. He’s not overly athletic and I worry that unless he works on getting more explosive, he’s going to be limited defensively. He looked to have average actions at first base
Kevin Vicuna
Kevin Vicuna can play short-stop. He made several nice plays and looks to be a plus defender there. The glove alone is going to get him to the upper minors. He needs to develop physically, but the frame is there to add weight. He’s a guy in a couple years you could be saying he’s a top 10 organization prospect.
Matt Morgan
I worry about Matt Morgan. He looks a good defender and has pretty good actions behind the plate, but was completely overwhelmed at the plate, especially by good velocity. In fairness, most of these guys struggled with the 93-95 that was coming at them later in the game, but Morgan particularly struggled. That’s not good.
The Pitchers
I perhaps should have led with Kyle Weatherly. Weatherly had a no-no going into the sixth. He deserves recognition for his compete, but the stuff really isn’t there to say he’s going to get above High-A. The fastball was 87-88 and the secondary stuff wasn’t all that good. The command wasn’t really there either. Miguel Burgos might have a future as a left-handed specialist. The pint-sized submariner pitched 86-88 with the fastball and featured a slurvy breaking ball. The stuff wasn’t overly sharp or crisp, but he had at least one left-handed hitter swimming.
Three Stars
3. Hagen Danner
2. Bo Bichette/Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
1. Jon Harris
