Notes from the Field: July 18, 2017

Wilson Karaman
Keibert Ruiz, C, Los Angeles Dodgers (High-A Rancho Cucamonga)

Some thickness to the frame, broad shoulders, projectable strength, present strength in quads and glutes; nose-down kind of player, first-look impression of self-confidence, maturity for age; plays low, pretty quiet on the setup, gets to his spots; very strong glove hand, handles southern border frames well, highly advanced receiving and presentation; didn't have cause to get down on too many balls, but flashed agility when he had to, fluid out of the crouch, very quick pouncing on a bunt, excellent body control whirling and firing; no pops, arm strength showed somewhere around average; switch-hitter, wide open setup from left side, tight hands with waggle and pre-trigger barrel flair, early rhythm, back elbow and hands work, early bat speed, quality hand-eye, ingredients for sound contact ability, flashed some plane in hitters' counts; closer to square on right side, bat path stayed flatter; patient approach, will stay passive in hitting counts, work deep; 4.46 DP dig from left side, not…not a fast runner.

Jalen Miller, MI, San Francisco Giants (High-A San Jose)
Compact frame, moderate athleticism, lacks for present strength, body's still immature; slashing, short swing, arms swing, very limited leverage or plane; will pull off outer third, struggled to handle fringe-average velo in zone, vulnerable to chasing elevated velo, fringy bat speed, raw pitch recognition; 4.56 on a dog, foot speed looked to play average out of the box; solid lateral agility, quickness once he commits; struggled of multiple balls to his left, slow reads and reactions, jabby to the ball, raw feel for hops and game speed.

Sven Schueller, RHP, Los Angeles Dodgers (High-A Rancho Cucamonga)
Stretch only, hunched over, quick, stabby leg kick, closed off, stays low into deep arm swing, off-center drive, inverted and closed off landing, hard turn with shoulders and hips, whips ball around body from low three-quarter slot, will wander down to true sidearm right-on-right; stays reasonably balanced, fluid deceleration, clean finish; FB 92-94, outsized velo, tough pick-up right-right, heavy pitch, moderate switch-back action, bores down with late movement, can ride it above zone; fringe command, struggled to hit timing to slot, corral movement; SL 80-82, flashes some bite, long sweep with late vertical action, below-average command, struggled to start in-zone; potential right-right situational utility

Will Siskel
Curtis Taylor, RHP, Arizona Diamondbacks (Low-A Kane County)
Turns 22 later this month; large frame (6-foot-6, 215 pounds); short arm path, low-three-quarters slow, spine tilt; funk to delivery adds deception, but arm slot could cause platoon issues; deliberate pace from the windup (2.52), quicker from stretch (1.26); fastball is the main attraction, 91-95 (t96), heavy pitch with late wiggle and some run, sat 93-95 most of the game, retained velo through fifth, left high and outside when he failed to finish delivery; release point wandered, source of poor fastball command; top secondary is an inconsistent slider (79-84 (t85)), flashed two shapes, one a sweeping offering that exploded low in the zone, the other a more ineffective slurve; below-average change (84) that looked like backed up sliders; Taylor is a low-leverage relief prospect with a dynamic fastball, command refinement needed.

Griffin Jax, RHP, Minnesota Twins (Low-A Cedar Rapids)
Fluid mechanics; extension; high-three-quarters slot; starts with his glove covering face below eyes; lean SP body build; front foot closed from stretch; gets some downhill; FB: 91-94 w/ downhill life and running action; tries to (and can) run fastball in on right-handed batters’ hands; touching 94 in 7th inning; potential 55 FB, with reports of him touching higher, so 6 future projection within reach considering life on pitch too; CH: 84-85 w/dive and some fade; poor control of change, on top of it and also left up and vulnerable throughout start, can bury it, pull string on it; SL: 83-85, biting, tilt-heavy slider when right; spiked SL on a few occasions and gets on top of it, left hanging; encouraging pitch in on LH batters’ hands; Jax battled inconsistencies throughout the start, but the stuff is there for a backend SP profile; unique story with Air Force background/current commitment; does need reps to harness secondaries and overall control profile; with reps, the sound, fluid mechanics should resolve current control/command issues.

Steve Givarz
Andrew Vasquez, LHP, Minnesota Twins (High-A Ft. Myers)
Seen in a 2 1/3 IP relief app on 7/6. large frame with a mature body, lacks remaining projection. Pitches from the stretch-only, free and easy arm action, below-average arm speed, three-quarters slot, lacks extension, no torque, all arm, could utilize body better. FB 87-89, lacks movement, primarily used up in the zone, got swing and misses up in zone, effectively wild. CB 79-80, slurvy offering, would pitch off breaking ball at times, chase offering with 2 strikes, not sharp but effective. No CH thrown. 1.25-1.33 to the plate in slide-step, effective reliever down here, lacks a quality offering at the big-league level, ORG reliever depth.

Jeff Hendrix, OF, New York Yankees (High-A Tampa)
Seen in three games from 6/21-6/23, two in CF, one in RF. Strong, muscular build, physically maxed out. Hits from a tall stance with a slight crouch, average bat speed, good hands, contact-oriented but not slap-and-dash like Katoh, has more strength and loft, can put a charge on balls, works all fields, but power is to pull-side, works counts, can hang in v. LHP. Below-average raw power, has strength and bat speed with some loft to take a ball out to RF, plays well-below average in game due to approach and hit utility. Average runner, 4.22 H-1B. Average arm strength, not a weapon, but good enough to play in all three spots, hits cutoff men accurately. Good 1st step with range to cover the OF, clean routes, takes efficient routes to the ball, average defender in CF, above-average corner outfielder. See as a strong OF defender in the upper levels.