Notes from the Field: June 28, 2016

Justin Steele, LHP, Chicago Cubs (Low-A South Bend)

Steele is in his first year at full-season ball, and flashes an above average fastball/curveball combo from the left side. He is listed at 6-foot-2, which seems a little generous. Still, the fifth-rounder from the 2015 draft is able to get good plane on his pitches, with an arm motion that has some deception, revealing the ball late. Steele's fastball dipped at times down to 88 mph, but sat 91-92 in the first, maintaining 90 until the sixth inning. While fastball command proved evasive for him at times, he was able to challenge Great Lakes' hitters inside, while effectively elevating his fastball and generating whiffs. Steele's calling card is his curveball (73-75), and I saw plenty of evidence to justify an above-average-to-plus grade in part due to his ability to spot it. The Mississippi native can really spin it, and does not telegraph the pitch. On multiple occasions, he spotted the curveball back door to right-handed hitters, who likely don't see that type of command of a curveball, with tight rotation, and two-plane depth in the Midwest Leauge. Of course, Steele's future as a starting pitcher will depend on, yes, further advancing his fastball command, but mainly the development of his changeup, which, in its present state, is mainly a show-me offering with some drop that gets whiffs from over-aggressive hitters. Steele is just 20 years old, and there's still physical projection, with the potential for the fastball to gain velocity. Pairing his curveball, which will develop into a legitimate outpitch, with the development of his changeup will be crucial to Steele's candidacy as a starting pitching prospect. —Will Siskel

Adbert Alzolay, RHP, Chicago Cubs (Low-A South Bend)

A 2012 signing out of San Felix Venezuela, Alzolay featured a three-pitch mix, aided by fluid, repeatable mechanics in my look at him. In the first inning (May 25 start v. Great Lakes), Alzolay's fastball was sitting 92 with some heaviness. While his mechanics suggest a starting pitcher profile, he had some trouble overcoming his frame and control. Listed at 6-foot-1, 175 pounds, Alzolay, 21, had issues with his stuff flattening out. He started to leave his fastball centercut, which led to hard contact and consistent barreling. Alzolay flashed his back-end starter potential in the third inning, specifically in an at-bat versus Great Lakes' Logan Landon (see 2:18 in above video). He missed his spot on a fastball low and away, leaving it up, but Landon fouled it off. Then, Alzolay offered a changeup with good arm speed replication, that had late, diving action, and got Landon out front. After a leaving slurve out over the plate, Alzolay returned to the pitch and showed out-of-zone command, getting Landon to chase on a biting curve with more tilt (11-5 shape), tighter rotation, and more horizontal movement. All this adds up to an interesting starting pitcher kit. As he continues to develop, it will be important to observe if he can overcome his size and tendency to leave the FB center-cut, with his stuff flattening out at times. Whether those challenges are a reality of Alzolay's frame (and implicitly his plane), remains to be seen as he progresses in full-season affiliate ball. According to John Arguello of Cubs Den, Alzolay's velo plays up (and can reach 96), which is fitting given his fluid mechanics and arm strength. —Will Siskel

Jesus Lopez, UTIL, Oakland Athletics (Low-A Beloit)
Lopez is the type of player at first glance you don't pay much attention to but after seeing him play multiple positions and consistently make hard contact, he starts to force your hand. A switch hitter, he starts from an open stance with his hands near his ear and the bat plane is a slight uppercut. He consistently makes hard contact and has some barrel awareness but he will give at-bats away by swinging at the first pitch he thinks he can handle instead of working counts. Defensively he plays short, second, and third. The arm is a touch short for the throw from the hole at short, but he handles the other throws with carry through the bag. His feet and hips work well enough to turn the double play at second. Lopez has a chance to climb the ladder as a utility guy with a bat that will surprise at times. —James Fisher

Tito Polo, OF, Pittsburgh Pirates (High-A Bradenton)
Polo was an underwhelming look throughout last season as he struggled to get comfortable in his first full-season assignment. This year’s version is a different story. He’s more aggressive in the zone and is driving the ball with greater authority, allowing him to fully tap into his average raw power. He has cleaned up a swing plane that was often choppy last season by leveling it off and gaining some loft. He displayed loose hands and above-average bat speed last year, but he’s actually utilizing these to his advantage now. The approach remains raw, especially on spin away, but the hit tool appears more fringe-worthy than well below-average. Polo also looks smoother in center field. He’s a plus runner and glides in the field, but he has also taken steps to shore up his reads and routes. If Polo can max out his hit tool, mash a few over the fence and become an above-average defender up the middle, the Pirates have the makings of a solid contributor. —David Lee

Julian Leon, C, Los Angeles Dodgers (High-A Rancho Cucamonga)
I wrote up a generally postive report on Leon in early May, and he's made me eat most of those words in several additional viewings since. The approach at the dish has cratered, as he's being fed a steady diet of breaking pitches early in counts and obliging by fishing for 80 percent of 'em out of the zone. His at-bats of late have been, for lack of a better word, lazy. He's reactive and late with most swings, and the quality of contact if and when he makes it has diminished notably. He also continues to give up on ground balls with half-assed home-to-first efforts, and it cost him a potential base hit in a recent game when the second baseman bobbled the ball. If he'd have found his way to first in less than 4.9 seconds he may just have been able to stay there. The receiving has similarly regressed, as he has been slow to the ground on multiple occasions lately, leading to passed balls that really had no business getting past him. He's looked like a completely different player over the past month, and not in a good way. —Wilson Karaman

Seth Spivey, OF, Texas Rangers (High-A High Desert)
Spivey has shown little development with his swing over the past year. He starts from an open stance, with his hands migrating in a north-south hitch at load. The back shoulder drops frequently, and coupled with a stiff front side it creates a looping bat path that more often than not takes him over the ball. He's an above-average runner with a nose for the ball and enough arm for utility in either corner of the outfield, but the bat doesn't project to big league caliber at this stage. —Wilson Karaman

Luiz Gohara, LHP, Seattle Mariners (Short-Season Everett)
Gohara looked like the best version of himself in my June 23 viewing. He sat 93-94 with his fastball, touching 96 and overwhelming short-season hitters unaccustomed to seeing elite velocity from the left side. Very few of Boise's hitters could put the ball in the air, most were quite late on the fastball, and Gohara exploited hitters cheating on the gas with a slider that flashed above-average and an inconsistent, but promising changeup. His slider has more movement on it than it did last year, and while the break isn't as sharp as you'd like to see, it has good shape and sits in the mid 80s. His change can firm up on him, and he'll slow his arm down on the pitch slightly, but he also threw a couple of plus cambios with late fade and a little tumble that left hitters helpless. Stuff wise, he's outgrown the Northwest League, but there is still some doubt about his ability to bring his A-game to the mound multiple times in a row, a concern that stems from the larger makeup issues surrounding the player. Gohara's weight is a real problem to monitor as well, particularly after he reported to spring training well above his target (he has subsequently worked to trim down). If you want a glimmer of hope in that regard, consider this: Last year he drank Mountain Dew in the stands while charting. This season, he's switched to water. Is that one tiny gesture indicative of a newfound commitment to his craft? Fans of good pitching and the tender-dispositioned alike have ample reason to hope so. —Brendan Gawlowski