Less Talked About, Fringy Players to Keep an Eye On

[ScGO's]

These aren't all necessarily prospects, but they are a few fringy guys in our system that are less talked about that I've been keeping an eye on. Maybe someone with more insight could comment their potential or development. 

AAA

Jace Peterson - Remember him?  He's OPSing .863.  He might find his way back up to the MLB club at some point.  

Mason Williams - Why isn't he given a shot in CF on the big club? His OBP is 77 points higher than his average. He's popped 8 Hrs in 200 ABs.  Can't be any worse than Broxton.

Christopher Bostic and Zach Vincej - OPSing over 700 and heard they have solid gloves.  Could offer another option at SS if Martin continues to struggle.

Tom Eschelman - Control is his calling card. Done well in AAA so far.  Could be a late bloomer.

Tanner Scott - Haven't heard his name much this year, but he's been cutting his walks down and the K's are still there.  ERA is under 4 now. 1.11 WHIP.  Might be able to bring some stability to the bullpen if he continues to improve.

AA

Ademair Rifaela - Slugging .460. K'ing too much, but still only 24 and doing a heck of a lot better his 2nd go around at AA.

Brett Cumberland - Piece from the Gausman trade, hadn't heard his name much. 2nd highest OBP on the team.  Not sure what his role will be, but I always have a soft spot for guys who are getting on base.

Tyler Erwin, Brian Gonzalez, Zach Muckenhim - All three are lefties with different stories.  Erwin has closed for the last two seasons, Gonzalez has struggled since being our first pick in the 2014 draft but has a 1.08 WHIP so far this season, and Muckenhim, an 11th round pick in 2016 out of North Dakota,  is averaging over a K per inning. I know the LOOGY seems to be dying, but who knows.

Francisco Jimenez - 1.09 WHIP across 3 levels this year.  An original Orioles signee out of the Dominican back in 2011.  It would be nice to see him climb all the way to MLB as he is only 24.

A

JC Escarra - Would be nice to see him get to AA by season's end being that he's already 24.  .350 OBP is nice, but needs to find his power stroke

WIlly Yahn - Slugging is up 100 points this year.  Still needs to learn how to take a walk. Another candidate to finish the season at AA.

David Lebron - acquired from TX, he's racking up K's.  Already 25, but only drafted last year

Luis Perez - Undersized Padres DSL reject.  Slowly climbing with good K numbers.

A-

Doran Turchin - OBP of .350.  766 OPS. Needs to get K's down.  Athletic outfielder will be 22 soon

Ofelky Peralta - Still only 22 after 2 failed seasons at Frederick.  Ks per inning are wayyyy up this season.

Hector Guance - Big bodied kid, 6'6'' getting his starts at age 23.  Could be a late bloomer

Tim Naughton and Zach Matson - Both are striking out everybody. Matson is a lefty, Naughton is the closer.

 

 

 

 

 

[Luke-OH]

Good stuff, a brief tidbit on Luis Perez...

I’ve seen him pitch a few times including once live, he’s always been low 90s with his 2S fastball, I’ve never seen a 95 from him, maybe a rare 94, but usually 91-93. Well, he popped 98 on a scout’s gun in the Carolina League all-star game. That’s really interesting, not a ton of command but a really live 2S/slider combo.

[Can_of_corn]

1 minute ago, Luke-OH said:

Good stuff, a brief tidbit on Luis Perez...

I’ve seen him pitch a few times including once live, he’s always been low 90s with his 2S fastball, I’ve never seen a 95 from him, maybe a rare 94, but usually 91-93. Well, he popped 98 on a scout’s gun in the Carolina League all-star game. That’s really interesting, not a ton of command but a really live 2S/slider combo.

I take it he's a starter that was working out of the pen?  98 2S/slider sounds like it would work out of the pen.

[Luke-OH]

30 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

I take it he's a starter that was working out of the pen?  98 2S/slider sounds like it would work out of the pen.

Multi inning reliever airing it out.

[52520Andrew]

Yahn is moving on up to AA according to the roster moves thread. Have to see how he does there

[ScGO's]

I almost put Billingsly on the list, but he was old for A ball, and he's got 0 pop.

[ScGO's]

Another decent start by Eschelman last night.   Williams is up to an .810 OPS after 3 hits last night.   I say we give Broxton and Straily till the end of July.  If they keep pooping the bed, we should give Eschelman and Williams their 40 man roster spots.

[jamalshw]

5 hours ago, ScGO's said:

Another decent start by Eschelman last night.   Williams is up to an .810 OPS after 3 hits last night.   I say we give Broxton and Straily till the end of July.  If they keep pooping the bed, we should give Eschelman and Williams their 40 man roster spots.

I don't know if you need to wait that long for Straily. I'd like to see Eschelman given a shot. Lord knows we need help in the rotation and pen. The Broxton/Williams thing is a push for me. I don't see either having a place on this team long term. Eschelman might as a No.5 starter or a long reliever if the command is really that good.

[LookinUp]

17 hours ago, ScGO's said:

WIlly Yahn - Slugging is up 100 points this year.  Still needs to learn how to take a walk. Another candidate to finish the season at AA.

Looks like he's promoted. I'd note that while he hasn't taken a walk, he also hasn't struck out that often. Only 30 times in 227 PA in A+ ball. This article was about Sedlock, but also had a section on Yahn. 

https://www.masnsports.com/orioles-buzz/2019/06/sedlock-will-start-thursday-for-keys-after-being-backed-off-to-limit-innings.html

Quote

 

In 56 games this season, Yahn is slashing .296/.314/.426 with five homers and 35 RBIs. The power surge has been unexpected for a player who had not homered in 121 previous games at the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League or Aberdeen before this season.

“I’d like to think I got stronger in the offseason, but it’s probably just a better bat path and just tweaking a couple of pieces of my swing mechanically,” Yahn said. “Being able to backspin some balls and drive them more instead of getting a lot of line drive topspin that I was getting the last couple of years.”

Minor has taken note of how diligently Yahn prepares and thinks the bump in power is a result of his commitment to the craft of hitting - and is even more surprising given his one-level leap from Aberdeen.

“The way he plays every day and prepares himself, it’s no surprise to me he has this success that he’s had,” Minor said. “He’s one of those guys you want on your team. You want nine of those guys. ... To be able to have that kind of guy - he kind of goes out and produces energy every day - it’s a credit to him. He works hard, man.

“He’s gotten bigger and stronger since we first drafted him. ... He’s a free swinger, so if he hunts fastballs - we don’t have a whole lot of guys who do that a whole lot. He’s ready to hit in every count and so far this year he’s had success early in the count hitting fastballs.”

 

 

[Aristotelian]

Agree on Mason Williams, but with Mullins back in the minors, Williams has been playing corner. Not sure what the plan is with him but I agree he would be better than Broxton.

[TheDeau52]

What do you guys think about Bostick, prospect or not?

.746 OPS so far in Norfolk for 2019.

Edited June 30, 2019 by TheDeau52

[linedrive]

Ok, just for fun I'll comment on the guys mentioned at the beginning. The only players I've actually watched are Tanner Scott, Tyler Erwin, Ademar Rifaela, JC Escarra, Ofelky Peralta, and Willy Yahn. 

I don't really consider Jace Peterson, Mason Williams, Christopher Bostic or Zach Vincej to be prospects. They're 26-29 years old and haven't had much minor or major league success. I see them mainly as minor league depth, and possibly being called up to the Majors if someone on the O's gets injured or sent down. 

But I still like Tanner Scott and consider him a true prospect. I think he just needs more time to figure out how to pitch at the Major League level. He throws hard and has had minor league success the last three seasons at AA and AAA. Glad to see he was promoted to the O's, and hope he sticks.

I also like Tyler Erwin and think he may have a future in the Majors. He's had success everywhere he's pitched. 

Tom Eshelman is young enough, drafted high (2nd round), has plenty of AAA experience, and is pitching decently, so I could see him promoted to the O's sometime this season. He could possibly help out the bullpen this season or next.

I haven't given up on Brian Gonzalez or Brett Cumberland, but haven't been impressed with either one. Neither have I been impressed with Ademar Rifaela or Doran Turchin, and I don't think Escarra will hit enough to break into the O's lineup (or anywhere else).

Out of Francisco Jimenez, Luis Perez, Ofelky Peralta, and Hector Guance, I like Perez the best. He's had the most success, but I hope the O's take their time with all four and give them a chance to develop.

As for David LeBron, it's too soon to tell, but he's looked good so far.

Zach Muckenhim has also looked good, and I wouldn't be surprised to see him promoted to the O's by the end of the season now that he's been promoted to AAA. I think it's worth keeping an eye on him to see how he finishes the season.

 

WIlly Yahn is certainly a fringy prospect, so he'll have to keep proving himself every step of the way, but I don't see him getting much more than a cup of coffee in the Majors, if he hits at AA and AAA. I think he's an extreme long shot. 

Both Tim Naughton and Zach Matson are having nice seasons, and they're relatively young, but neither has pitched very long at Frederick, so let's see how they finish. They have time to turn themselves into prospects.

 

[ScGO's]

An Update

AAA

Jace Peterson - Back on the big league club.  Not producing yet.  His AAA success does warrant his call up, but it may not be long till he's out.

Mason Williams - I still believe he deserves a call up.  He's hitting .300 at AAA still.

Christopher Bostic and Zach Vincej - The versatile Bostick is having a solid season, OPSing .766.  Vincej not far behind at .754.  Great depth to have at AAA.

Tom Eschelman - Made it to big club, but not showing much, especially with his fastball.

Tanner Scott - Back on big league club too. Take a look at his home/away splits.  3.00 ERA, 16 K/9 at Home, 7.88 ERA, 7.9 K/9.  Less walks at Home too.

AA

Ademair Rifaela - Called up to AAA. 652 OPS.  Crowded OF.  Needs to heat up to stick around.

Brett Cumberland - Doing well in Frederick, but was demoted to from Bowie. Dealt with injuries a bit I believe.  Still good depth

Tyler Erwin, Brian Gonzalez, Zach Muckenhim - I think Erwin is in AAA now, but got hit hard the other day. Gonzalez was hurt but is back at Bowie now, been average.  Muckenhim got called up to AAA, got shelled, got sent back down.

Francisco Jimenez - Been hit hard at AAA, and his back at Bowie now.

A

JC Escarra - Been really struggling.  Not good for the 24 year old.  OPS is .672 at A ball. Might not be around long.

WIlly Yahn - Hasn't been playing much since being called up to Bowie. Struggling when he does.

David Lebron - 10.2 K/9.  Walks are a problem. I wonder if he would be better as a bullpen arm.

Luis Perez - Had a rough June and July.  24 Year old has 8 K/9, but needs to finish strong.

A-

Doran Turchin - Got hurt and is at GCL on rehab I believe.

Ofelky Peralta - Can't seem to figure Frederick out. I don't think he needs to be added to the 40 man next season.  No one is drafting him in the Rule V.

Hector Guance - Been consistent this season.  Wonder if he's a BP arm though.

Tim Naughton and Zach Matson - For Naughton, walks are way up at Frederick, but he's still striking everyone out. Matson has made a smooth transition to Frederick although his K/9 "dropped" from 16.0 to 9.9

[ScGO's]

 

31 minutes ago, RZNJ said:

You guys are missing out on Patrick Dorrian, a 2B-3B at Frederick. He is 23 but is putting together a very nice year.

He's a new addition.  Guy we traded Yefry Ramirez for.  He has an interesting back ground. 

https://www.piratesprospects.com/2019/02/strong-hitting-and-added-versatility-make-pat-dorrian-a-player-to-watch-in-2019.html

Good find by Elias

[Frobby]

Eric-OH mentioned today that our new announcer Geoff Arnold, who used to broadcast for the Keys, is high on Tim Naughton, discussed in this thread.  I can’t say his stats impress me other than his high K rate, but we’ll see.