Big Hype Prospects: Thompson, Rodriguez, Pratto, Perez, Bello
This week, we take one last check-in on an uber-prospect then turn our attention to new fast-risers.
Five Big Hype Prospects
Zack Thompson, 24, SP, STL (AAA)
44.1 IP, 11.37 K/9, 3.05 BB/9, 4.67 ERA
The Cardinals recently announced Thompson will join the Major League roster, presumably to start one of the games this weekend. Reading the tea leaves, this might be a single-appearance arrival in the big leagues. He should eventually be a fairly regular member of the rotation at times during this season. Like fellow left-handed Cardinals pitching prospect Matthew Liberatore, Thompson’s individual pitches draw strong grades from scouts. However, the repertoire as a whole might leave something to be desired, especially since his fastball and curve don’t tunnel effectively. In other words, they look different out of his hand. That could partly explain his elevated Triple-A ERA despite strong strikeout and walk rates.
Liberatore, a 22-year-old former Rays farmhand, was dinged for a 5.54 ERA in three starts and generated just 6.1 percent swinging strikes. Scouts from multiple outlets have noted the similarities between these left-handed starters. We’ll see if Thompson can make a stronger claim to Major League readiness.
Julio Rodriguez, 21, OF, SEA (MLB)
205 PA, 6 HR, 15 SB, .272/.322/.424
Through the first two weeks of the season, Rodriguez hit a miserable .154/.233/.179 with a 41.9 percent strikeout rate. He struggled, in part, with bad strike calls. Since then, the precocious prospect is batting .303/.346/.487 with all six of his home runs and 11 steals. His strikeout rate during that span is down to 25.9 percent and slowly improving as the season progresses. He’s rapidly establishing himself as one of the most dynamic players in the league.
The obvious next step in his development is improved plate discipline. Rodriguez drew a healthy number of walks in the minors last season, though that could have been a function of opponents working around him. Thus far, he’s proven especially susceptible to swinging outside of the zone. His early experience with egregious strike calls might have taken a mental toll. If he can improve to even a league average swing rate outside the zone, superstardom will be his.
Nick Pratto, 23, 1B, KC (AAA)
186 PA, 10 HR, 4 SB, .221/.349/.461
Prior to this season, Pratto was seen as ahead of teammate Vinnie Pasquantino. Now, it’s not so clear. Both players are first basemen with sufficient thump to make their presence felt out of the designated hitter slot too. The trouble is the Royals entered 2022 with a logjam of cornermen and are resistant to setting aside their veterans. In particular, Carlos Santana has performed poorly since the start of 2020, batting just .203/.322/.311 in 1,061 plate appearances. Their loyalty in the face of contrary evidence is a factor in their 16-33 record.
While Pasquantino is having the spicier season, Pratto’s bat has come alive in the last two weeks. Over his last 59 plate appearances, he’s batting .217/.390/.565 with five home runs. He profiles as a slugger in the mold of Kyle Schwarber, one whose patience and penchant for fly ball contact will serve both as a strength (walks and home runs) and weakness (strikeouts and low batting average).
Eury Perez, 19, SP, MIA (AA)
38 IP, 13.26 K/9, 2.13 BB/9, 3.79 ERA
Unless I’m mistaken, Perez is the youngest member of Double-A, and he’s absolutely thriving. A looming 6’ 8’’ on the bump, Perez has uncanny command for a player his size and generates swinging strikes with ease. To that end, he’s recorded an 18.8 percent swinging strike rate against Double-A competition. He has a traditional repertoire of mid-90s fastball, curveball, and changeup. His build remains youthful. Given his height, Perez will probably add 30 or more pounds within the next couple years.
The Marlins have carefully managed his workload, keeping him to between 18 and 21 batters faced in most starts. In all probability, we won’t see Perez in the Majors this season. He might, however, find his way to the doorstep in time for an early 2023 debut.
Brayan Bello, 23, SP, BOS (AAA)
17 IP, 13.76 K/9, 4.24 BB/9, 3.18 ERA
The Red Sox have a number of interesting starting pitcher prospects headlined by Bello. While their big-league rotation is solid, they desperately need reinforcements in the bullpen. Bello kicked off 2022 in Double-A where he posted a 1.60 ERA with 11.23 K/9 and 3.21 BB/9 in 33.2 innings. He’s hardly missed a beat since joining the Triple-A rotation. A slight uptick in walk rate is the only sign he’s been challenged. Bello features a three-pitch repertoire of above average offerings. His fastball sits in the upper-90s and could play up in relief. He also throws a tight slider and a wipeout changeup.
Bello is poised to immediately reinforce the Red Sox pitching staff, either by joining the bullpen directly or freeing Garrett Whitlock to resume a late-inning role.
Five More
Grayson Rodriguez (22): Rodriguez was 20 batters into what many (including me) believe was his final minor league start when a lat strain ended his outing a few batters early. Such injuries can be complex and difficult to rehab. He’ll likely be shut down for at least several weeks before a throwing program is considered.
Ethan Small (25): Small received his first cup of coffee last Monday. He’s a southpaw whose fastball and changeup blend together beautifully even if they lack the big velocity associated with this era. His third pitch, a slider, lags behind the others. With Freddy Peralta and Brandon Woodruff sidelined, the Brewers might need Small again soon.
Taj Bradley (21): Bradley has built upon his breakout 2021 season with a mirror replica in Double-A. He’s posted a 2.20 ERA with 11.20 K/9 and 2.20 BB/9 in 41 innings. A promotion to Triple-A should be forthcoming, at which point he’ll become one of the youngest players at the level.
Gunnar Henderson (20): Speaking of young Double-A players on the cusp of reaching Triple-A, Henderson has put together an otherworldly .433/.500/.767 line over his last 30 plate appearances. Overall, he has more walks than strikeouts along with eight home runs and 12 steals in 200 plate appearances. A promotion is overdue.
Jordan Westburg (23): Although his overall performance hasn’t been as emphatic as Henderson’s, Westburg was just as hot since May 25. He’s batting .406/.486/.594 over his last 37 plate appearances. While Henderson appears to be mid-breakout, Westburg is merely showing modest skills growth.
Minor MLB Transactions: 8/3/17
Here are Thursday’s minor moves from around the game…
- Per an announcement from the Indians, righty Perci Garner has been released after clearing waivers. Garner was designated for assignment recently. The 28-year-old cracked the majors briefly last year and showed well in the minors, but he has missed a lot of time in 2017 for injury reasons that remain less than clear. When he has pitched, his control issues have resurfaced. Through 14 1/3 Double-A frames, Garner permitted nine walks but also rang up 18 strikeouts while allowing five runs on only seven hits. But he managed to permit seven earned runs on only one hit in his three appearances at Triple-A, owing to eight free passes in just 1 1/3 innings.
- The Marlins have acquired outfielder Eury Perez from the Pirates, per an announcement from the Indianapolis Indians. Perez had been playing for Indianapolis, the Bucs’ top affiliate, since joining the organization on a minors deal over the winter. He has been productive at the plate (.336/.400/.433) continued to run wild on the bases (22 steals) in a fifty game sample. Perez has seen MLB action in four seasons, though he has just 156 total plate appearances — with a poor .254/.307/.282 batting line — at the game’s highest level.
- The Tigers are set to select the contract of veteran right-hander Edward Mujica, reports SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (on Twitter). The 33-year-old hasn’t pitched in the Majors since 2015, as he’s spent the past season plus between the Triple-A affiliates for the Phillies, Royals, Twins and Tigers. The former Cardinals closer has generally been excellent in Toledo this season, though, logging 46 innings with 7.4 K/9, 1.0 BB/9 and a 36.5 percent ground-ball rate en route to a 2.35 earned run average. He’ll join a Tigers ‘pen that has an MLB-worst 5.18 ERA and recently traded its best reliever, Justin Wilson.
Pirates Sign Josh Lindblom, Eury Perez To Minor League Deals
The Pirates have inked right-hander Josh Lindblom and outfielder Eury Perez to minor league contracts with invites to Major League Spring Training, tweets MLB.com’s Adam Berry.
[Related: Pittsburgh Pirates Depth Chart]
The 29-year-old Lindblom was briefly a part of the Pirates organization in the 2014-15 offseason after Pittsburgh picked him up on waivers from the Athletics. However, the Bucs released Lindblom in order to allow him to pursue an opportunity in the Korea Baseball Organization, and Lindblom would go on to spend the next two seasons pitching for the KBO’s Lotte Giants. The 2015 campaign was a huge success for Lindblom, as he worked exclusively as a starter for the first time in his career and racked up a career-high 210 innings in the Giants rotation. That year also saw him record a 3.56 ERA — no small feat when considering the KBO’s hitter-friendly nature — with 7.7 K/9 against 2.2 BB/9. The 2016 season was more of a struggle, as Lindblom fought some control issues (3.8 BB/9) and saw his ERA jump to 5.27 while his innings total fell to 170 2/3. He’ll provide the Bucs with some depth in the ‘pen and in the rotation in his return to the organization.
Perez, meanwhile, will presumably compete for a bench job in Spring Training and can report to Triple-A Indianapolis if he doesn’t make the team. The 26-year-old boasts blistering speed but has never hit enough to carve out a consistent role on a big league roster. His lengthiest (and most recent) MLB stint came in 2015 with the Braves, for whom he slashed .269/.331/.303 in 133 plate appearances over the life of 47 games. Perez comes with a very nice Triple-A track record — .298/.347/.393 with 111 steals in 336 games — and will vie for a fourth or fifth outfielder role. At present, Adam Frazier seems like the favorite to occupy that slot.
Minor MLB Transactions: 6/23/16
Here are the day’s minor moves:
- The Rays have acquired outfielder Eury Perez from the Astros, per an announcement from Tampa Bay’s Triple-A affiliate. Cash considerations will go back to Houston in the deal. Perez, 26, received a career-high 133 plate appearances last year with the Braves, slashing .269/.331/.303 and swiping three bags. The speedy center fielder does bring value with the glove and on the bases, though, so he is at least a useful depth piece. Tampa Bay has dealt with a variety of injuries at the major league level, and was obviously looking to fill out its roster at Durham and ensure that it has options on hand. Perez owns a .267/.298/.385 batting line with nine steals in his 146 plate appearances at Triple-A this year.
- Southpaw Darin Gorski has joined the Mets on a minor league deal, per an announcement from his independent league club, the Somerset Patriots. (Hat tip to Mike Ashmore of mycentraljersey.com.) The 28-year-old will head to Triple-A Las Vegas, which is where he spent last season. He moved to the indy ranks after putting up 137 innings of 5.52 ERA pitching there in 2015, with 7.1 K/9 against 4.5 BB/9. Those peripherals look about the same over his 60 1/3 frames for Somerset this year, though Gorski has tamped down the earned runs to under four per nine. New York originally selected him in the seventh round of the 2009 draft; this will mark his eighth season with the organization.
Astros Sign Eury Perez To Minors Deal
The Astros have announced the signing of outfielder Eury Perez to a minor league pact. Houston also added righty Cesar Valdez and invited both to major league training camp this spring.
Perez, 25, received his first chance at extended big league action last year with the Braves. Over 133 plate appearances, he slashed .269/.331/.303 and contributed three stolen bases. He was non-tendered by Atlanta earlier this winter.
While he’s always been light on power, the center field-capable Perez has shown quite a bit of speed in the minors and owns a .307/.358/.402 batting line in 1,115 Triple-A plate appearances. He was once a fairly highly-regarded prospect with the Nationals and could still have some function in the majors if he can reach base enough.
The 30-year-old Valdez saw brief MLB action back in 2010, but has pitched exclusively overseas since 2012. His return to affiliated ball was likely driven by his 2015 performance in Mexico. Working for the Olmecas de Tobasco, Valdez threw 160 2/3 innings in 23 starts and racked up 9.0 K/9 against 1.6 BB/9.
The ‘Stros also announced their non-roster spring camp invites, which include some notable names from the minor league system. Among them are recent draft picks Alex Bregman and Derek Fisher as well as prospects A.J. Reed, Tony Kemp, Colin Moran, and J.D. Davis.
2015-16 National League Non-Tenders
Major League clubs have until 11pm CT tonight to tender contracts to players for the 2016 season. Remember that you can track all of the action using MLBTR’s Non-Tender tracker, and we offer a full list of non-tender candidates (in the estimation of MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes). Also important for reference is the set of arbitration salary projections from MLBTR and contributor Matt Swartz.
We’ll run down the list of National League non-tenders here, and update it as reports come in.
- Pre-arb outfielder Eury Perez was non-tendered last night by the Braves, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman reports on Twitter. The 25-year-old could, in theory, have served as Michael Bourn‘s backup in center, but it appears that Atlanta will look for an alternative.
- The Rockies won’t tender contracts to left-handers Yohan Flande or Jason Gurka for the 2016 season, per a club announcement. The team also announced that outfielder Rosell Herrera will be non-tendered. Flande, 29, is the most experienced arm of the bunch, having soaked up 127 1/3 innings for Colorado over the past two seasons, albeit with a 4.95 ERA.
- The Dodgers announced that they’ve non-tendered righties Juan Nicasio and Lisalverto Bonilla. Nicasio is a mild surprise considering the fact that he logged a 3.86 ERA with a robust 10.0 K/9 rate and a 2.83 FIP in 2015. However, he also averaged 4.9 walks per nine innings and had what was almost certainly unsustainable luck in terms of home runs, yielding just one big fly in 58 1/3 innings. The hard-throwing righty should garner some interest on the free-agent market.
- The Marlins announced that they’ve non-tendered Aaron Crow, who missed the 2015 season due to Tommy John surgery. The team also formally announced its previously reported decision to non-tender Henderson Alvarez (more on that controversial decision here).
- The Nationals will not tender right-hander Craig Stammen a contract for the 2016 season, per a club announcement. He missed nearly the entire season due to a pair of torn tendons in his right forearm that required surgery.
Earlier Updates
- The Cubs announced that right-hander Ryan Cook has been non-tendered. An offseason waiver claim, Cook never suited up for Chicago. The former All-Star setup man yielded an astounding 18 earned runs in just 8 2/3 innings this season between Oakland and Boston.
- The Giants have also non-tendered backup catcher Hector Sanchez, per a club announcement, which additionally confirmed Petit’s non-tender.
- The Giants will non-tender right-hander Yusmeiro Petit, MLBTR’s Steve Adams reports (Twitter link). The right-hander has recorded a solid 3.66 ERA with 8.8 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9 across 245 2/3 innings for the Giants over the past four seasons while spending time in both the rotation and the bullpen. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweeted that Petit was offered to at least one other club in a trade, but clearly nothing materialized, as he’ll now hit the open market in search of new club.
- The Brewers announced that they’ve non-tendered utilityman Elian Herrera. The 30-year-old was not yet arbitration eligible, but Milwaukee clearly preferred to keep the rosters spot open. Herrera hit .242/.290/.395 last season in a career-high 277 PAs, and GM David Stearns has interest in retaining him on a new minor league deal, tweets Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
- The Reds will not tender contracts to righty Ryan Mattheus, outfielder Ryan LaMarre, or righty Pedro Villarreal, C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports on Twitter and the club has since announced. Of those players, only Mattheus was eligible for arbitration. The 32-year-old, who threw 55 innings and posted a 4.09 ERA last year, projected for a $1.3MM salary. LaMarre, 27, just cracked the MLB roster last year but spent most of the year at Triple-A. Villareal, also 27, notched a solid 3.42 ERA in his fifty frames in 2015, but his strikeout rates fell and ERA estimators did not smile upon the quality of his contribution.
East Notes: Marlins, K-Rod, Braves, Lee, Hamels
The Marlins‘ best offer for Francisco Rodriguez was for two years and $10MM, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. While that was not enough to convince K-Rod to part from the Brewers, it does represent a relatively significant chunk of change that the team could presumably tap into at some point in the future.
Here’s more from the eastern divisions:
- Braves owner Liberty Media continues to provide some interesting insight into the club through its legally-required Securities and Exchange Commission filings, as Tim Tucker of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution explains. In addition to ticking through the accounting for last year’s emergency pickup of Ervin Santana and release of Dan Uggla, the filing documents that the organization has already borrowed about $100MM from credit facilities arranged to help fund its portion of the funding of its new stadium.
- Atlanta’s biggest write-off may be yet to come, as struggling and now injured center fielder Melvin Upton could eventually go the way of Uggla. For now, the team is focused on finding a temporary replacement and getting him back up to speed as soon as possible, as David O’Brien of the AJC reports. One possible fill-in, prospect Todd Cunningham, says that the players in camp “can kind of smell blood in the water,” while Eric Young Jr. called it an “unfortunate situation” but acknowledged that “you’re kidding anybody if you don’t see it as an opportunity.” The most interesting possibility could be Eury Perez, who is just 24 and has a solid track record in the upper minors but never had a real chance with his prior clubs.
- The Phillies have had one of their top advisers, Charlie Kerfeld, watching Red Sox prospects as the clubs continue to eye one another over left-handed pitching, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reports. There is a sense now that Cliff Lee could be dealt before Cole Hamels, Cafardo adds, though that doesn’t necessarily mean Boston is the inevitable destination.
- As Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald reports, there are no signs of progress on a Hamels deal. The Sox are more likely to be willing to part with players like Garin Cecchini, Deven Marrero, and Jackie Bradley Jr. in any trade scenarios than they are some of their other top young players, Mastrodonato adds.
Braves Claim Eury Perez From Yankees
The Braves announced that they have claimed outfielder Eury Perez off waivers from the Yankees. The speedy Perez was designated for assignment by the Yankees in order to clear a spot on the roster for Stephen Drew.
The Yankees claimed Perez off waivers from the Nationals in late September, and the 24-year-old went 2-for-10 with a pair of singles in a brief cameo with the Bombers late in the season. Perez has just 23 big league plate appearances and a .174/.174/.174 batting line to show for it, but he possesses a well-regarded glove and blistering speed in center field. In 844 PAs at the Triple-A level, he’s a career .310/.354/.411 hitter with eight homers and 63 steals (in 79 attempts). Perez will provide the Braves with some outfield depth and a center field alternative should B.J. Upton‘s prolonged struggles continue in 2015.
Yankees Designate Eury Perez For Assignment
The Yankees announced that they have designated outfielder Eury Perez for assignment in order to clear a 40-man roster spot for infielder Stephen Drew, whose one-year deal is now official.
The Yankees claimed Perez off waivers from the Nationals in late September, and the 24-year-old went 2-for-10 with a pair of singles in a brief cameo with the Bombers late in the season. Perez has just 23 big league plate appearances and a .174/.174/.174 batting line to show for it, but he possesses a well-regarded glove and blistering speed in center field. In 844 PAs at the Triple-A level, he’s a career .310/.354/.411 hitter with eight homers and 63 steals (in 79 attempts).