Notes from the Field: August 30, 2016

Walker Buehler, RHP, Los Angeles Dodgers (Low-A Great Lakes)

Buehler made his first start in Low-A after going under the knife last summer for Tommy John surgery, and impressed in his one inning of work. On a two inning/35-pitch limit Buehler impressed with a 95-97 mph fastball with inconsistent but hard arm-side run. His command of the fastball was a work in progress, but for where he is at it will be a matter of working his arm strength back up and getting the necessary reps. He also had a great feel for his breaking ball throwing a hard, 11-5 curve with confidence. He had some inconsistent shape on it, but the overall it was impressive in his inning of work. His changeup had hard fade in the low 80s as well. He has a loose, live arm that has solid arm speed, and quick hand separation. He stays online as he finishes his delivery and showed some effort. This is obviously an incredibly small sample and major conclusions shouldn't be drawn from it, but it's an encouraging outing nonetheless. —Grant Jones

Ruddy Giron, SS, San Diego Padres (High-A Lake Elsinore)

My first couple looks at Giron—well, let's call it a look and a half after he took a bad hop off the grill and exited the second game early—were not the best of looks. He boasts an athletic frame with some height to his waist and projectable strength. There's some rigidity in his actions, though, and both his running stride and fielding actions lacked efficiency. He ran a 4.37 double-play dig, and his crossover step at short lacked fluidity to where he showed below-average range to his right. He struggled with the glove in both games, booting a backhand at one point and olé-ing a relay to allow a runner to move into scoring position with two outs later on. At the plate his swing features a long hitch, and he doesn't control the bat to trigger consistently. That led to a bunch of swing-and-miss, including one particularly ugly at-bat in which he swung through three straight 40 fastballs, expanding up against two of them. —Wilson Karaman

Duane Underwood, RHP, Chicago Cubs (Low-A South Bend)

Underwood made his third start for South Bend, sitting 90-92 with arm-side run and dive on his fastball. His curveball showed inconsistent 12-6 shape, occasionally sliding into an 11-5 break. Even with the inconsistency he showed a good feel for his high-70s breaking ball. He has the poise on the mound, and has a long path to slot with a soft ending in comparison to the rest of his delivery. —Grant Jones

Matt Wotherspoon, RHP, New York Yankees (Double-A Trenton)
I feel like it’s becoming cliche to point out that you can get a guy who throws 95 with a good slider basically anywhere now, but here we are nearing the end of the season, and I’m going to point out another interesting one. Wotherspoon probably has the most consistent notes over a long period of time in my 2016 notebook, despite being thrown into every possible pitching role from spot starter to closer. In all outings, he’s been throwing a fastball sitting 92-95 and touching higher, with impressive arm-side run. He’s been peppering various parts of the mid-80s with a solid slider, and he throws a changeup that flashes average at least a few times per outing but without much consistency. Throw in solid command and the ability to throw multiple innings, and that sure sounds like a guy that’s going to pitch in the majors for awhile. There isn’t much projection here, but he’s definitely on the major league map, and the Yankees tend to do well with this profile. And where did they dig him up? Wotherspoon was a 34th-round senior sign as a starting pitcher out of Pitt in 2014, just a few rounds from going undrafted and ending up with, say, the Sonoma Stompers—or out of baseball entirely. Just two years later, he’s on the doorstep of the majors, having already reached Triple-A and conquered Double-A. —Jarrett Seidler

David Fletcher, MI, Double-A Arkansas (Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim)

It's a lazy but inevitable comparison to drop David Eckstein's name into the mix when talking about Fletcher, but, well, it's inevitable. He presents as the epitome of a scrappy, high-energy player that plays above his size and raw skill. His quick, choppy footsteps help his borderline range play up into fringe-average territory at short, and sound fundamentals in the field-and-transfer help offset similarly on-the-cusp arm strength. The throwing motion is max-effort to get everything he has behind the ball, and when he's on the move his throws lack requisite zip to first. He's accurate, though, and looks to possess enough sum-of-its-parts skill at the six spot to hang on at the position for the time being. Long-term it's a profile that would look much better at second, however. He's not particularly fast, logging a 4.5 on a late check-up. The stride lacks explosion into a second gear, though his start-up is quick and he shows a good break out of his leads. In the box his stance is statue-style quiet, with a long, looping two-piece hand load into his body. He repeats it well despite the length, and the tight launch angle it produces gets him quick into the zone and on plane. There's little in the way of leverage or loft, and his lightning quick stride leaves him hitting with "happy feet," an arrangement that leaves him unable to drive the ball with a ton of authority. But he makes contact and sprays the ball all over the place, and combined with a patient approach shows the underpinnings of a decent on-base profile. —Wilson Karaman

Erick Julio, RHP, Colorado Rockies (short-season Boise)
Righty, over-the-top slot, long arm action, equal & opposite mechanically, average arm speed, may be room to increase arm speed, straight stride, athletic frame. Fastball is 88-91, T91. Below-average movement, throws a two-seamer and a four-seamer with a bit of natural cut, present command is fringe average. Change is in the low-80s, slows arm down, sinking action, pitch occasionally flattens, flashes fringe average. Curve features mid-70s velocity; 12-5 break; inconsistent shape; can hit zone; command below average; slows arm; occasionally threw for strikes, often spiked the pitch. Projectable but rough at present. May have more velocity in tank. Still only 19, will add weight, projectable arm, needs to tighten up secondary offerings. Likely org future, could see time as backend rotation piece or middle relief arm if offspeed ticks up more than anticipated. —Brendan Gawlowski