The Orioles are finally calling up one of their top hitting prospects, and it isn’t the one I expected to get the first call. Jordan Westburg will make his debut later today. I expected Colton Cowser to win the race to the Majors. With Cedric Mullins recently returning, Cowser is left to await another injury or Aaron Hicks’ inevitable collapse (good outcomes, deeply terrible EVs).
Five Big Hype Prospects
Jordan Westburg, 24, 2B/3B/SS, BAL (AAA)
301 PA, 18 HR, 6 SB, .295/.372/.567
There’s a disconnect between public perceptions of Westburg and scouting reports. The bat will play, though Westburg’s penchant to swing-and-miss could result in long slumps as reports identify exploitable weaknesses. His minor league exit velocities would rate as above average in the Majors. Additionally, Westburg seemingly mixes discipline and targeted aggression in a way that could help keep his strikeouts under control – it has thus far in the minors.
The trouble is his defense. He’s trained all over the infield. Some think he’ll eventually land in left field. We see these sorts of bat-first players all over the league. His flexibility enables the club to view him as a tenth man akin to Chris Taylor (to be clear, Taylor is a far superior fielder). When approaching roster construction, Westburg can be slotted into whatever spot needs filling or else rotate with the regulars to keep everyone fresh.
Luis Matos, 21, OF, SFG (MLB)
45 PA, 1 HR, 2 SB, .282/.378/.385
On the back of a mediocre AFL performance, it wasn’t guaranteed the Giants were going to roster Matos this year. He would have likely gone early in the Rule 5 draft if they hadn’t. Matos immediately rewarded San Francisco’s decision to protect him. Though discipline has long been a weakness, he has more walks than strikeouts through 45 plate appearances after hitting .398/.435/.685 in 116 Triple-A plate appearances. The 21-year-old has looked like a new hitter this year.
There are still worrying details under the surface. His 89.5-mph average and 107.5-mph max exit velocities suggest middling power. Given his age, he could easily grow into more power – several evaluators believe this will happen. It’s my expectation Matos will soon enter a slump due to poor quality of contact. However, I’m optimistic about the long-range picture. In addition to burgeoning hitting skills, Matos is a plus defensive center fielder.
Justin Crawford, 19, OF, PHI (A)
202 PA, 0 HR, 32 SB, .346/.395/.456
I was surprised to recently discover Crawford had crept onto Baseball America’s Top 100 list. That’s not meant as a knock against Crawford. There happens to be a large number of high-quality prospects around the league. Crawford is more projection than actuality at this stage of his development.
The 17th pick of the 2022 draft, Crawford was seen as the sort of toolsy, incomplete prospect the Phillies have historically loved – and struggled to develop. He’s performing decently in Low-A where his first-rate speed is on display. A .423 BABIP has allowed him to get away with too many swinging strikes for his current low-power profile. He’s expected to age into roughly average pop, so this problem could go away in a couple ways. Comparisons to his father, Carl Crawford, come naturally as they share quite a few traits. He’s reportedly comfortable making adjustments to his hitting mechanics which further increases the volatility of his prospectdom.
Carson Whisenhunt, 22, SP, SFG (AA)
(A/A+/AA) 49.2 IP, 12.9 K/9, 3.1 BB/9, 2.90 ERA
Whisenhunt would rank higher among evaluators if not for off-field issues. As it is, he’s still in consideration for the back-end of Top 100 lists. The simplest issue to comment on publicly is his failed PED test in college. You’ll notice, it’s rare for college players to be caught for PEDs, and it’s not because they’re squeaky clean. For his part, Whisenhunt blames a tainted supplement. The skinny southpaw leads with a double-plus changeup and is only just reaching a level where hitters will have some capacity to cope with the pitch. His changeup is such that he won’t truly be tested until he reaches the Majors. The profile and build are reminiscent of Cole Hamels.
Roman Anthony, 19, OF, BOS (A+)
(A/A+) 251 PA, 5 HR, 12 SB, .236/.379/.382
Anyone statistically minded is going to like Anthony. A 19-year-old performing well in High-A is exciting stuff, particularly when said 19-year-old has a 171 wRC+ in 49 plate appearances. He was considerably more ordinary in Low-A, posting a 110 wRC+ in 202 plate appearances. A sweet-swinging lefty slugger, Anthony has considerable development ahead of him if he’s to continue this speedy race toward the Majors. The P-word gets thrown around. Against better competition, Anthony will find himself behind in the count all too often. Passivity isn’t a death knell. We saw Gunnar Henderson defeat it entering last season and again about a month ago. It’s a trait which has a way of echoing. But for the passivity, Anthony has all the traits of a starting corner outfielder.
FanGraphs gives Anthony a four-paragraph writeup that says more than I can in this space.
Three More
Edouard Julien, MIN (24): The star of the 2022 AFL, Julien is on the verge of losing his prospect “eligibility.” He’s batting .252/.336/.439 through 123 plate appearances. A 34.1 percent strikeout rate has held him back. He also has a 12.5 percent swinging strike rate – nearly double that of his Triple-A performance. Defensively limited, Julien appears in need of an adjustment or two. He has the tools to pull it off.
Jacob Misiorowski, MIL (21): It’s good to be unique as a pitcher. Misiorowski certainly checks the “unique” box. The 6’7’’ right-hander has the sort of funky arm action that makes it hard to identify balls and strikes. Misiorowski lacks a changeup, but we’ve seen plenty of starters succeed without one in recent years, especially those who can live up in the zone with hard heat. He currently has poor command.
Quinn Priester, PIT (22): Priester has been on the radar for a while, bouncing in and out of the Top 100 prospects. He’s a ground ball pitcher who manages around a strikeout per inning while limiting walks and piling up ground balls. Since his fastball isn’t particularly effective, he should be viewed as a potential back-of-the-rotation guy – the type who keeps his team in the game.
Did I miss a detail or nuance? DM me on Twitter @BaseballATeam to suggest corrections.
One Pirates prospect I think should be highlighted next week is Liover Peguero. He’s having a nice rebound year. Since April 21st, Peguero is batting .282/.361/.491 with a walk rate above 10% (11.2%), strikeout rate below 20% (17.3%), a .209 ISO, and 130 wRC+. With how poorly the Pirates’ middle infield has been playing, maybe it’s time to give him a shot.
And he is a career
.333 hitter in MLB!
I am glad someone else is saying it now 🙂
On Whisenhunt “The simplest issue to comment on publicly is his failed PED test in college. You’ll notice, it’s rare for college players to be caught for PEDs, and it’s not because they’re squeaky clean.”
So what is the unspoken part?
I live in the town where Whisenhunt went to college and attend many games. He bought supplements from a national vitamin store. When he tested positive just three days before the season began, he brought in the bottle of supplements that he purchased to be tested. Sure enough, he had bought a tainted supply. Whisenhunt wasn’t trying to cheat, but since everyone is ultimately responsible for what they ingest, he was denied an appeal and he accepted his year long suspension. He still was drafted as the final pick in the first round in last year’s draft. Don’t let this writer’s speculation mislead you. Carson Whisenhunt doesn’t have any off-field issues. He made an honest mistake. It could happen to anyone…
Well clarified. Thanks.
Great info thanks!
Yes. those “national vitamin stores” often carry tainted products. They get them from China mostly.
I directed nutrition for
terminal patients awhile back and we tested the
few products they supplied
us. Results were not good…..
Correction: Whisenhunt was a 2nd round selection in last year’sdraft, not a first rounder. My apologies…
He wasn’t drafted as the final first round pick in last years draft. That was Reggie Crawford
The first 7 words of your quote tell the reader if they want to learn more, look it up. But that’s just my linear inference as a reader without familiarity with Wisenhunt.
I looked him up, and I see nothing at all, besides the PED test. Search his name + controversy, name + news, or anything relates, and you probably won’t find anything.
I think that they won’t put him as a top 100 prospect due to the failed test. I think the giants had similar going with webb, it seemed like his prospect status may have dipped to due to his ped issue of his own in the minor league. Great news they can still be great players after the failed tests but some of the shine of being a prospect is surely eliminated. Purely speculation on my part.
Luis Matos’ slump (3 for 19) is over. He is 4 for 8 with a home run in his last 2 games. His offensive numbers are excellent (117 wRC+) and he is running everything down in center field.
IMO, this kid (second youngest in MLB) is the real deal and if Luis Arraez has taught us anything, exit velo is not everything.
Arraez is close to worthless. No power, no speed, no RBI’S, doesn’t
score runs, terrible defense.
The textbook definition
of “empty” offense…..
There isn’t one team that wouldn’t want that “worthless” and “empty”.400 BA. Not one.
Batting average might not hold the weight it used to, but every team in baseball would take Arraez hitting .400 at the top of their line-up.
Yeah. Even as someone who hardly cares about batting average, look at his OPS. Besides, a .400 average is so good that you have to start caring at that point.
It’s almost like people are against a guy getting a single, but praise them for walking. A single still counts towards both OBP and SLG. A walk does not.
The thing is that a high batting average isn’t always sustainable, with the old or new shifting, unless the gut does it consistently. Walks tend to be a more sustainable skill, given that 62 or 63 percent of pitches are usually strikes, and few guys are above 70%. This means all pitchers rely on getting chases to some extent. That’s why.
Agreed!
Meanwhile batting average accounts for 75% of OBP and 2/3rds of OPS. Noobies have a hard-on against BA but it exposes their ignorance.
Yeah, sure, it’s not sustainable for Arraez despit his demonstrated history. It wasn’t sustainable for Carew or Boogs or Gwynn or Ted Williams.
Fact is, BA tends to remain around the same for almost all batters, with occasional outliers. As foot speed decreases, BA tends to fall some.
Singles are far more productive than are walks.
jorge78
Where do you kids come up with this nonsense?
Luis Arraez has a:
.399 BA
.451 OBP
.493 SLG
161 WRC+
and a 3.5 bWAR in less than 1/2 of a season.
Yes, he’s not a good 2B and should be playing 1B. But the Marlins are one of the upside surprise teams in MLB this year (along with the Reds) and Arraez’s offensive production is a large reason why.
Get your head out of the spreadsheet and watch some Marlins games.
@sam
Lol—You just gave him spreadsheet data. Jorge isn’t a kid either. Not sure how anyone could think a guy batting .400 isn’t highly useful. .493 SLG pct. 60% above average offensively.
Eyes and the Spreadsheet both check out
His head isn’t in a spreadsheet. It’s up his own ass.
lol
lmao even
You apparently don’t know much about baseball.
Hi Wilmer, hope you are doing well!
About time Crawford get some love. SB threat, good plate vision, CF defensive is plus.
They didn’t give him a very good write up.
I don’t know what the problem with crawford is —- power is the only thing he’s lacking
Sorry, but if you think Westburg’s defense is a problem you haven’t been paying attention!
And predicting Hick’s “inevitable” collapse. I really don’t care how quickly a hr leaves OPACY or how a ball finds the gap. I’ll take the good ole fashion eye test over stats everytime. Dude can hit.
Yeah. What is an EV? Secondly, who cares? I’ll go with the eye test as well and the quality at bats. It’s like FIP. In my opinion, a made up statistic. Here’s one I personally made up. . . . . STDMA or Statistics That Don’t Mean Anything!
Oh whew. I thought they were tracking something else now. When I was young the STDMA was very high in young men in their 20’s especially when we were in minor league towns.
I love how morons have stooped to denigrating exit velocity (i.e. simply how hard the ball is hit) in their crusade against analytics
Throwing out 80% of the data points is unscientific. Imagine if scientists took that approach to health care: most of life is just “noise.” It figures the dude named Bob with the self-given nickname was so yearning for fame that he designed a catchy, garbage stat-toid. What’s amazing is how many people swallowed it hook, line and sinker.
Funny how some pitchers give up a lot of base hits year in and year out regardless of the fielders behind them. While others maintain low H/9 each year. Guess which ones ACTUALLY allow fewer runs regardless of some bogus stat that was supposed to *predict* ERA, not replace it.
I just read a fan on a game thread posting fear that the opponent might bring in a reliever with a 1.76 fip. And a career 4.26 ERA over the past year and a half with a 1.518 WHIP on one of the best defensive teams in MLB. Yeah, I was shaking in my boots.
EV is not the “end all, be all” that many have made it out to be.
It’s not a crusade against analytics, it’s a crusade against noobs abusing analytics.
I agree. I don’t know what he’s talking about. Looked really solid last night at second base.
I don’t recall anyone suggesting Matos wouldn’t be protected in the rule 5, I mean he wasn’t slam dunk Luciano but it would be weird for a top 100 prospect in 2021 who had a down (injury) 2022 to be exposed given his other tools.
He’s been interesting to watch so far, I think his MiLB track record suggests more a high contact (low K and BB rates) vs undisciplined hitter. His early AB he’s seemed to both seeking better pitches to swing at but he’s also take a little swing out too. Well at least until this past weekend when he ambushed Merrell Kelly. First time I saw the elite bat speed, he let out some serious shaft.
I am a fan of the Giants MLB staff, players seem to go to that team and get better, be it improving an approach, staying healthy, in case of JD Davis, remake himself defensively. Matos appears to be a good study so far. You realize SF hasn’t developed a home grown CF since Chili Davis
Well said. They invested in player preparation and development and recruit people with egos conducive to buying into it. On top of that, they do the homework and put them in game positions where they have the best chance of success. 10 position players with a wRC+ above 100 says it all.
Now they have young talent graduating into the system and looking like veterans because of it. Highly commendable stuff.
sfjackcoke & foppert1;
That’s fine this year, but where were they the 2 previous years?
Waiting for the farm while winning 107 and 81 games.
The Giants won 107 games 2yrs ago in 2021. With mostly the same core many who had a resurgence in performance Crawford, Belt, Longoria, Posey as well as transform Kevin Gausman and Anthoney Diclalfani + keep Alex Wood healthy.
Health is important and it wasn’t there in 2022, in particular the left side of the infield went on the DL and the backups didn’t catch the ball. Still look how Rodon was handled.
Finally Giants fans are seeing their Farm produce exciting young players to root for…
Question is, what do they do at the trade deadline?
What do you think they’ll do… or maybe SHOULD do? In for a penny, in for a pound, right? Buy if you’re still up near the TDL, sell if the wheels come off. The West is wide open! Cheers
Pitching. Almost always pitching
I’m on Stroman. They like him, he likes them and the 2 teams have done a rental deal recently.
Hi foppert, I don’t think we will get Stroman, I’ve heard some things about him that would not jive with Kapler and the clubhouse. But you never know
Hey Agnes. Yeah. I thought that when they courted him as a FA. Stromans comments post signing with the Cubs indicated some mutual respect. As you say, who knows.
People seem to forget that there was no 2020 minor league season and it really set back the development of many prospects. 2021 was a strong season for SFG MiLB players but injuries to top prospects was the theme in 2022 including Bailey and Matos.
It’s nice to see them both and others take steps forward in development and when called upon help the big club.
The lack of a 2020 minor league season really derailed Heliot Ramos’ development.
Exactly why teams were not affected the same. Teams like the Yankers buy talent; they don’t care about developing prospects. Meanwhile, teams that develop prospects were impacted harder. And a team like the Orioles that were bereft of minor league talent were set back the most because of the delay in being able to develop minor leaguers.
Jonatan Clase needs some love. I know he just got to double A but his numbers are video game MLB the show worthy. 16 hrs and 46 SBs in 66 games is pretty nutzo. He’s gotten better ever year and I won’t be surprised when he’s in AAA to start next April. Could be in bigs after next year’s all star game.
Didn’t really just get to AA, he’s been there for 201 PA following 106 in High A. And after leaving the hitters’ paradise that is Spokane, he’s hit .201 in Arkansas with a 34 percent strikeout rate. Not exactly a slam-dunk major leaguer yet.
I don’t really get the dig about Westburg’s defense. He looks like he should be about average or maybe a tick or two above at his most likely long-term home of 2B.
Maybe a tick or two below average. Joey Ortiz is recognized to be superior defensively. It’s Westburg’s bat that will see him sink or swim.
Quinn throws a lot of strikes. Pirates got quite a few of not average defenders at all levels. Contact pitchers tend to have problems in those situations.
He has one blow out type game every handful of games but the other games is top rotation looking. I have seen him pitch a few times and his stuff is pretty darn good. upper 90s fast ball, a holy crap curve ball will perplex hitters. struck out 10 his last outing, if he goes for the strike out more often he is a top of the rotation guy. My opinion of course. the opinion of scouts seem mixed.
Since May it has been darn good, even when including the blowout games.