BaseballAmerica's New-York Penn League top 20 prospects list is out, and two Rays made the cut: Righty Alex Colome at #2, and left-hander Kyle Lobstein at #10. The list and a small write-up is free, but the scouting reports are insider-only. Here's a little taste:
#2 RHP Alex Colome
[He] attacks hitters with a lively 92-94 mph fastball that touches 95-96, even deep into outings. He complements it with a 78-80 mph curveball with sharp, late 11-to-5 break. He's working on a changeup to use against lefthanders, and it has excellent movement at times, but he has a tendency to throw it too hard and still is developing feel for the pitch.
#10 LHP Kyle Lobstein
Lobstein's size, clean arm action and textbook delivery suggest projection, but some scouts think his mechanics are too manufactured and that he'll never have better than an average fastball. He's always around the plate with three pitches, and his 78-79 mph downer curveball is a solid-average offering. His changeup could develop into an average pitch.
The only other Renegade who really had a chance to make the list was Jason McEachern, who might've had a better shot had he not started in Princeton.
They cannot even get their facts straight when analyzing the league. Anthony Hewitt (#11) was a first rounder who played in the league. Unfortunately he played like a 25th rounder.
ReplyDeleteThey had several college senior sign guys on the list from the Yankees because they "dominated" the league. Bortnick was top 10 in the league in at least four of the major offensive categories including average, OBP, slg pct, and OPS. He was fourth the league in stolen bases and had one of the best fielding percentages and range factors of any shortstop in the league. See baseball reference.com for range factor.
I guess the knock on Bortnick is that he is 22 years old. Of course that did not matter for Warren, or Medchill, or Kipnis etc.
Moreover, if you look at their Princeton League rankings, they listed Mycal Jones a SS who is in fact older than Bortnick, played in a lower league, and did not put up near the numbers as Bortnick. I guess since Jones was a fourth rounder of the Braves, that by default makes him a better player.
Not to justify their rankings, but part of contradictions might be due to different writers with different standards. Matt Eddy did the Appy list and Aaron Fitt did the NY-P list.
ReplyDeleteBA tends to rely more on scouts impressions than stats. Also Bortnick was a 16th rounder, which Fitt may have felt outweighed his significant edge in stats, esp given the small sample size.
And you can't really compare one list to the other, if one league was weaker, obviously the #5 in the weak league should be a lesser prospect than the #5 in the stronger league.
Again, not agreeing with or justifying the BA lists, just pointing out some possible explanations. I still would put Lobstein (and McEachern) ahead of Colome, but not by much.
Doug,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments about BA.
I Have seen all three pitchers (Lob, McE, Col)play and they are all outstanding prospects. I would rate Lobstein and McEachern equal. Colome I would rate ahead of the other two. He already has major league stuff in my opinion whereas the other two you have to project them to develop it. FWIW...
I agree with Doug regarding BA relying on scouts impessions. Scouts look for the true projectable players, their upside and downside and don't concern themselves with hype and the draft.
ReplyDeleteI disagree, Doug, regarding Lobstein, McEachern and Colome. Colome projects much better than the other two, with two plus pitches and growth potential in size and velocity. Lobstein gets some edge throwing from the left side. But the projection tank is near empty for both. What you see now is what you get. The future for all three gets much clearer at the end of next season.