10 Observations: There's a lot of talent down in Bradenton
10 Observations: There's a lot of talent down in Bradenton
A lot of interesting players in the lower levels just getting their pro careers started
Nola Jeffy—Braxton Ashcraft was someone I was interested in seeing how his season unfolded, and Wednesday’s start was a huge step in the right direction. For much of the beginning of the season, his stuff—command in particular—wasn’t looking as sharp as it had in 2023. He faced off against a very tough Somerset Patriots squad and was on top of his game.
It was his third straight start throwing 70 or more pitches and completing five or more innings. He threw five scoreless innings against the Patriots on 80 pitches. It won’t show in the box score with only a 59% strike rate of the 80 pitches, but his command looked about the best it had all season. He was landing his breaking pitches far better than his previous starts. He ended the game with five strikeouts to two walks and two hits. If there was a leapfrog start for Ashcraft, I think it could be this one against the Eastern League’s top offense.
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Nola Jeffy — Pairing with Ashcraft on Wednesday was 2022 11th-round draft pick Dominic Perachi. He threw four scoreless innings with four strikeouts, two walks, and a hit allowed. Got a save on the evening as well. He’s not someone who is going to wow anyone, but I have been impressed with some of the outings I’ve watched lately. He’s been used primarily as a long reliever out of the bullpen, generally throwing three or more innings, with only one start in Altoona during a doubleheader.
The stuff isn’t going to jump off the page, but his low 90s (the only reading I’ve been able to hear so far was 91 MPH in Altoona) generates more swing and miss than you’d expect. He’s someone I’d love to get some more metrics on cause he appears similar to some of the more recent draft picks and other acquisitions with fastballs that play up in the zone even at 90-91.
He got beat up a bit in his Double-A debut, while also a bit in his one Curve start, though that one is a little deceiving cause the Altoona defense has left a lot to be desired (as well as the ump appeared to have a VERY tight zone), but Perachi has shown some intrigue. It appears he may have a solid slider in development as well. To go with a very loopy curveball, he loves dropping in on unsuspecting hitters.
Murphy—One of the best pitches I saw while I was in Florida was the splitter from Hung-Leng Chang. That thing really just falls off the table. There were some instances where the hitter didn’t even seem close.
He’s had a really strong start to the season, and the splitter has been one of the big reasons why.
Murphy—Some didn’t like Garret Forrester's move to go behind the plate, but it’s been slowly growing on me. He’s looked better and has impressed me so far behind the plate.
Has even made some nice throws there, and the bat profile probably fits better there than it does behind the plate.
Murphy—Keiner Delgado has been incredible this week. One thing I will be watching is whether he’s been caught up when someone effectively pulls the strings on him. Want to see the adjustments he makes against non-fastballs going forward.
He’s not a big guy, but he has a very solid base, and that’s where the pop is coming from.
Murphy—A more solid Alejandro Kirk. That’s the vibe I keep getting from Axiel Plaz seeing him play. I think I read someone saying that the hesitation is the lack of projection, and I can see that. He’s not tall, but he is built. I sat near him during a Bradenton game, and he is solid.
The Pirates haven’t had him behind the plate much so far this season, and I wonder if he’s headed for first down the road.
Murphy—Carlson Reed is a little bit more consistent with his fastball command from really taking off. Could be a mechanics thing, which is also why the velocity hasn’t been the most impressive at times.
The breaking ball and change-up were even better in person than on TV. Commanding the fastball and getting into favorable counts really leveraged those pitches that held him up at times.
Murphy—Jhonson Pena might be one of the fastest people I’ve seen on a baseball field. He hit a triple on Saturday at the complex, and it was the easiest I’ve seen someone collect three bags in quite some time.
WTM mentioned him in our ‘Best Tools’ series, and I’d have to agree. He also drove the ball harder than I expected from someone of his skill set and frame. The triple had an exit velocity of 93 mph, and he had another batted ball of 90+ mph.
Murphy—Given how things have gone recently with the hitting prospects in the system, it seems dangerous to buy into prospects before they hit the upper levels, but the Marauders do have a very interesting core right now.
Eddy Rodriguez, Esmerlyn Valdez, Omar Alfonzo, and even Solomon Maguire all showed very solid bat-to-ball skills and a degree of power that could play moving forward.
If there was a key play throughout their six-game sweep of St. Lucie, these four were generally involved.
It was a fun group to watch over the week, which was infused even more with the addition of Delgado.
Buyers beware, but it is intriguing nonetheless.
Nola Jeffy—We recently discussed the drastic changes in some of Sammy Siani's numbers during his third tour through Greensboro, so I thought we'd discuss another Junior.
Maikol Escotto only turns 22 at the beginning of June, and he's having a great start to the year. He played in three games against the Bowling Green Hot Rods and finished the week 6-for-11 with a double, home run, and four RBI. Most importantly, he had only one strikeout.
He's played rather sparingly and has been used so far at 1B, 2B, 3B, DH, and even an inning on the mound. After his big week, his OPS sits just North of 1.000 at 1.083 OPS. Not including Sunday’s game, he's carrying his highest walk-rate since complex league (11.8%) and his lowest k-rate (23.8%) since 2022 with Bradenton.
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Great list, fellas.
Cherington was at Ashcrafts start. Sat right behind home plate. Added pressure didn't seem to affect him.