Rule 5 eligible players

[7Mo]

11 minutes ago, Frobby said:

He was on the same AFL team as our guys and pitched well there.   

That would be Sharp but yeah, 24 innings, 11 hits and 24 K's sounds real good.

“He’s one of the guys that maybe has taken one of the biggest jumps,” Collazo noted. “Obviously, he wasn’t in our top 10. I’m not even sure we ranked him in the top 30 prior to this year. Drafted in 2016. With Sharp what stands out with him is just exceptional athleticism.”

MLB.com did not have Sharp in its top 30 in 2017, but ranked him at No. 11 in 2018.

“He might not have a plus tool in a sense of his pitches or his control at this point, but his athleticism is elite,” Collazo added. “He was recruited to play basketball at the college level and could’ve played there, so I think he’s probably the most athletic guy in this entire system. Maybe Victor Robles has an argument there as well, but we went with Sharp.”

Collazo says Sharp’s fastball is 90-92 mph, but has a real good boring action down to the lower half of the strike zone, which makes it difficult for hitters to loft. Sharp features the fastball, slider and changeup.

“He’s a fastball, slider guy, kind of a sinking fastball,” Collazo said. “With his body control and the groundball rate that he has, and a really exciting arm, in my mind, and I heard nothing but good things about Sharp when I talked to scouts and Washington officials this year.”

https://www.masnsports.com/byron-kerr/2018/12/nats-top-prospects-no-8---rhp-sterling-sharp.html

A 22nd round pick in 2016, Sharp has gotten finesse outs at every level and was promoted to Double-A Harrisburg after being named to the Carolina League All-Star Game. Extremely thin and wiry at 6’3’’ and 170-pounds, the 23-year-old righty isn’t particularly strong and won’t blow anyone away. He works in the 88-to-91 mph with his fastball, dipping into the mid-80s at times later in outings. His ability to get ahead in the count and hide the ball from a deceptive, closed delivery play the fastball up a bit—but it’s still a fringy pitch at best. A low-80s changeup is his best secondary, thrown with the same arm action as his fastball with diving action down and away from left-handed bats. The deceptive moving parts in his delivery make it hard to pick up the ball, but Sharp’s plungy arm-circle is long in the back and gives him issue snapping off a spin pitch. A below-average slider is his third, sitting at 80-to-82 mph with soft and gliding tilt. Deception and control are what gives Sharp a chance at the big leagues, though it probably won’t be as a starting pitcher. Double-A will be a good test for him, as he won’t be significantly more polished than his competition with Harrisburg like he was in the Carolina League. The best-case scenario is a funky longman that throws strikes, but I see him closer to a FV 30 player—one with the chance for cups of coffee, but lacking a carry tool to carve out a 25-Man roster spot for a full season. https://2080baseball.com/spotlight/sterling-sharp/ Scouting grades: Fastball: 55 | Slider: 45 | Changeup: 55 | Control: 50 | Overall: 45 A 30th-round pick by the Braves out of high school in 2013, Sharp opted not to sign and instead honored his commitment to Eastern Michigan, where he pitched for one season before transferring to Division II Drury University and sitting out for all of '15. Taken by Washington in the 22nd round the following year, Sharp is looking like a Draft steal after making steady progress in each pro season en route to his first taste of Double-A in 2018. A two-sport standout who could have played college basketball, Sharp's tremendous athleticism translates and gives him big upside on the mound. The 6-foot-4 right-hander has an exceptional sinker -- it has an average spin rate of about 1900 rpm -- that sits in the low 90s and nets him ground balls at an elite clip. His 59.7 percent ground-ball rate in 2018 was tops among qualified starters in the Nationals' farm system and ranked inside the top 10 in the entire Minors. Sharp pairs his heater with a quality changeup, giving him two above-average offerings, and the Nationals have been pleased with his development of a slider. Sharp possesses average control and command because his athleticism allows him to repeat his delivery and arm action so well. That feel for pounding the zone allows for Sharp's three-pitch mix to play up, and he's never had issues keeping the ball in the park. Sharp is still a work-in-progress, and therefore his ceiling is still coming into view, but his impressive development and remaining projection portends to at least a back-end starter role at the highest level. https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/sterling-sharp-643532?stats=career-r-pitching-milb

[Number5]

7 minutes ago, Frobby said:

He was on the same AFL team as our guys and pitched well there.   

I assume you mean Sharp, not Robson.

[7Mo]

Sterling Sharp is a 6'3" very thin, wiry guy with great athleticism.

Sounds like a guy who could get in a throwing program over the winter and add some velocity. Seems very intriguing. 

[Frobby]

28 minutes ago, Number5 said:

I assume you mean Sharp, not Robson.

Correct.  

[Number5]

2 hours ago, weams said:

Robson He's 25 and having trouble graduating AAA

I think a lot of the guys eligible for the Rule 5 draft are that old or older, aren't they?  Especially if they were drafted out of college.  Figure they would be at least 20 when drafted and to be at least their 4th rule 5 draft.  Plus it seems like most of them haven't even reached AAA.

[weams]

3 minutes ago, Number5 said:

I think a lot of the guys eligible for the Rule 5 draft are that old or older, aren't they?  Especially if they were drafted out of college.  Figure they would be at least 20 when drafted and to be at least their 4th rule 5 draft.  Plus it seems like most of them haven't even reached AAA.

He spent two years there and his last one was a bit down. Hey, he might catch fire. 

[Number5]

5 hours ago, weams said:

 

Eli White of the Rangers looks interesting as a UTIL.  Listed as a SS-OF by MLB Pipeline, but as a 2B by milb.com.  He's also 25 years old and in AAA, Weams.  

Rangers: Eli White, SS/OF (No. 30) - The 11th-round pick from Clemson in 2016 broke out two years later by leading the Double-A Texas League in on-base percentage (.388), runs (81), hits (154) and triples (eight), impressing with his hitting ability, speed and versatility while drawing comparisons to Chris Taylor. After Texas acquired him from the Athletics in the offseason Jurickson Profar trade, his stock dipped when he hit just .253/.337/.418 with 14 homers and as many steals with the souped-up baseballs in Triple-A.

http://www.milb.com/player/index.jsp?sid=milb&player_id=642201#/career/R/hitting/2019/ALL

[Luke-OH]

There is a spectrum of Rule 5 players from immediate contributors to pure stash guys. 

On the spectrum of immediate help types, you have Sam Clay and Trevor Megill. 

Clay had a 70% GB rate, 0 HRA and a 2.80 FIP between AA/AAA. 91-94 mph sinker, slider, change. Average command. 

Megill is 6’7” and gets great extension, kind of what Adam Stauffer might be if he goes to the pen adds weight. 92-95 FB 12-6 Curve. The one projection system that’s out for 2020 projects him for a better ERA or FIP than any Orioles pitcher. He performed solidly in AAA in probably the most hitter friendly environment in pro ball.

[ScGO's]

If we could dump Davis, I'd like to stash a young guy like Shervyen Newton, Seuly Matias, Wander Javier, Lolo Sanchez,

Roberto Ramos would be an interesting pick too if we could let Davis go; he's essentially a poor man's Davis; the old Davis that is.  Might be able to contribute right away too.

[HowAboutThat]

23 hours ago, 7Mo said:

Adding info on Robson:

Scouting grades: Hit: 50 | Power: 30 | Run: 65 | Arm: 45 | Field: 50 | Overall: 40

The Tigers made Robson their eighth-round pick in the 2016 Draft after an injury-plagued career at Mississippi State that included a broken hand as a redshirt junior. Pegged by the organization as a breakout candidate ahead of his first full season, Robson did just that by reaching the Florida State League and finishing third in the system in batting average (.305) and fifth in stolen bases (21). The Ontario native then built upon the performance in 2018, hitting both for average and even some power as he climbed from Double-A to Triple-A.

Robson's best tool is his speed and it allows him to be a basestealing threat as well as a defensive asset in the outfield. He has played all three spots thus far, with his best chance to be a regular coming in center or left, where his fringy arm would be acceptable. He has shown a solid approach at the plate and a willingness to draw walks, and he added some power to his game in 2018 with career-high totals in home runs (11) and doubles (29), albeit at the cost of more strikeouts (140). The Tigers continue to stress bunting as a tool to help him let his legs do the talking.

Robson profiles best as a fourth outfielder or bench presence, one whose speed can do a lot of things. If he can continue to refine his approach and get on base, he could be a table-setting type at the highest level.

https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/jacob-robson-615699?stats=career-r-hitting-milb

It looks like Robson may have more to offer on the offensive side of the game than first expected, though. Here’s what Emily Waldon of The Athletic had to say in her preseason Tigers Top 30 Prospects list:

With his defensive instincts already common knowledge, the more refreshing aspect to Robson’s season was his deceptive push of raw power. At 5-foot-10, you wouldn’t predict that, but his natural eye at the plate complemented the added power on contact.

As the numbers referenced earlier would indicate, Robson utilized a newfound power stroke in 2018. If this new facet of his game is for real, that would obviously boost his value immensely. There will always be a place in the game for players with both power and speed. Even if he only makes minimal contact, that combination of attributes makes for a decent bench piece.

a look at his batting average on balls in play would indicate that, to a certain extent, Robson was getting lucky in 2018. An normal batting average on balls in play would hover around .300. Speedsters generally are able to pad that number thanks to their ability to beat out throws. Robson’s figures, though, were very high. He put up rates of .382 and .406 in 2018. Frankly, those are inflated and unsustainable. As they normalize, the rest of his stats will obviously suffer. To what extent, though, will determine his role.

Finally, while his speed makes him an asset on defense, his arm limits his defensive flexibility to center and left. It’s far from a death knell as a prospect, and he doesn’t profile well in right field offensively anyway, but it does limit his versatility.

https://www.blessyouboys.com/2019/1/25/17048116/detroit-tigers-scouting-report-jake-robson-farm-system

Isn’t another fourth OF the last thing we need?

how about a first third baseman/2nd baseman/SS?

Having said that, if this guy is better than what we have, sure why not.

[7Mo]

1 hour ago, doccat said:

Didn't see this guy posted anywhere?

 

http://www.milb.com/player/index.jsp?player_id=670351#/career/R/hitting/2019/MINORS

 

Any thoughts?

 

He certainly posted big numbers and I'm not fluent in comparing leagues but it's obvious that the PCL is a huge hitters league. 

I don't know anything about this guy other than the numbers. But yesterday Luke said this, which would cause me to question a few things:

"Remember that .900 OPS in the PCL is equivalent to .740 in the Eastern League due to hitting environment. It's still good, but not crazy." 

Rojas had an OPS of .938 with 31 home runs. Taylor Ward, another third baseman on the same team had arguably better numbers. 

Thanks for the post and it's an interesting name to take a look at. 

[POR]

27 minutes ago, 7Mo said:

He certainly posted big numbers and I'm not fluent in comparing leagues but it's obvious that the PCL is a huge hitters league. 

I don't know anything about this guy other than the numbers. But yesterday Luke said this, which would cause me to question a few things:

"Remember that .900 OPS in the PCL is equivalent to .740 in the Eastern League due to hitting environment. It's still good, but not crazy." 

Rojas had an OPS of .938 with 31 home runs. Taylor Ward, another third baseman on the same team had arguably better numbers. 

Thanks for the post and it's an interesting name to take a look at. 

Rojas had a .935 OPS in the Southern League in 2018.

[Luke-OH]

Here’s a guy, Ljay Newsome.

He’s kind of like a RH version of Lowther. Whippy arm action, 89-93, solid command, none of the secondaries are as good as Lowther’s curveball but there is a workable 4 pitch mix.

[Luke-OH]

10 hours ago, POR said:

Rojas had a .935 OPS in the Southern League in 2018.

He’s hit at every level, he’s also been 2 years older than most prospects at each level. I think he’ll hit some in the majors. I just don’t know if he plays passable defense at 3B or 2B. There are better bats out there IMO if you want a 1B/DH type.  Huge power types like Ramos,  Gittens, etc. or bat control/approach types like Nogowski or Filia.

[MurphDogg]

Rojas also played at one of the more hitter friendly stadiums in both the PCL and the Southern League, so you should probably discount his stats a little bit further from their league-wide level. Although his numbers were still good at both levels, they were markedly better at home than on the road.