Hitter of the day
Cody Bellinger, 1B, Los Angeles Dodgers (Glendale Desert Dogs) 2-5, 2 2B. Power is the carrying tool for Bellinger which is a good thing since he’s likely headed to a corner outfield spot or first base for the rest of his career, putting pressure on the bat to produce. Bellinger’s actualized his raw power in game well and he pairs the pop with a solid approach.
Pitcher of the day
Josh Staumont, RHP, Kansas City Royals (Surprise Saguaros) 4 IP, 1 H, 0 RA, 2 BB, 4 SO. Staumont’s velocity is very real and his curve is a potential bat misser at the highest level. He slips in and out with his command as a starter but his arsenal would play up in a bullpen role.
Best of the Rest
Connor Joe, OF, Pittsburgh Pirates (Surprise Saguaros) 2-3, 2B, HR. Joe carries a strong frame but his game power is minimal due to a linear swing. Not much upside here.
Brian Anderson, 3B, Miami Marlins (Mesa Solar Sox) 3-4, 2B, HR. Good night for an otherwise pedestrian player. Minimal upside with the bat and he’s looking like a 1B more and more these days.
Champ Stuart, OF, New York Mets (Scottsdale Scorpions) 2-3, 2B. His loudest tool is 80-grade speed but he hasn’t shown enough skills with the bat for his speed to be a factor in games yet.
Isan DIaz, SS, Milwaukee Brewers (Salt River Rafters) 2-4, 2B. Probably going to have to put a moratorium on including Diaz in these, I’ve written about him a ton. Abridged version? Great strike zone command, swing and miss concerns, above average game power, plus hit tool, definitely moving to second.
John Curtiss, RHP, Minnesota Twins (Surprise Saguaros) 1 IP, 0 H, 0 RA, 0 BB, 2 SO. Curtiss sits in the mid-90s and he can ramp it up to 98 out of the pen and he misses a ton of bats but command has been an issue for the righty as he tries to find a role in the bullpen.
Fight another day
Drew Jackson, SS, Seattle Mariners (Peoria Javelinas) 0-2, BB, SO. Rough fall league for Jackson whose insane rookie league production fell off over a rough year in High-A. Jackson is a premium defender at short so he will get a long shot at figuring out the bat.
Paul DeJong, SS, St. Louis Cardinals (Glendale Desert Dogs) 0-4, 3 SO. Tought night for Dejong, the strikeout rates did crawl up in 2016.
Nick Gordon, SS, Minnesota Twins (Surprise Saguaros) 0-4, 2 SO. Gordon’s posted a really strong season in the AFL so far, everyone has off nights.
Thank you for reading
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shame about Conner Joe, former 1st rd comp pick I believe, who it seems may struggle to get to AA someday.