I know it's early but McKenzie looking good.
@tpaquette_IID: AZL #Indians 1 Royals 0.
W: @T_eazy24 4IP 1H 0ER 0BB 4SO
SV: @PingHsueh 2IP 0H 0ER 2BB 2SO, @Mediina23 1-4 R HR RBI, @skywaka22 1-3 BB
@tpaquette_IID: AZL #Indians RHP Triston McKenzie @T_eazy24 over his first 4 career starts:
- 12.0(IP) 4H 1R 1ER 3BB 17SO 0.75 ERA (12.75 SO/9)
Bradley only had a walk and a hit in 15 inning game tonight but his hit was yet another homer. Allen had 2 hits and 2 runs.
@tpaquette_IID: @LCCaptains 1B Bobby Bradley @b_bradley_44 over his last 27 games:
35-106 23R 6(2B) 1(3B) 13HR 41RBI 15BB .330 AVG .407 OBP #Indians
Re: Minor Matters
4982The only guys with more homers than Bradley in the minors are a couple fellows named Adam who aren't really rated as especially big prospects and some folks in the California League where homers fly out of parks in the high desert without necessarily being hit very well.
Adam Duvall in AAA has 30. He's a 26 year 1B/3b recently traded by the Giants to the Reds.
Adam Walker in AA has 28. He's an age-appropriate 23 who plays LF for Twins organization
Here's an example of how Cal League distorts stats. Cody Bellinger is only 19 and a level ahead of Bradley so he could be a serious prospect. He has 28 homers this year. In his previous 428 minor league at bats he had 7.
But I guess my point was suipposed to be that lots of homers in the minors does not automatically translate into major prospect status. Which of course we all knew anyway.
Adam Duvall in AAA has 30. He's a 26 year 1B/3b recently traded by the Giants to the Reds.
Adam Walker in AA has 28. He's an age-appropriate 23 who plays LF for Twins organization
Here's an example of how Cal League distorts stats. Cody Bellinger is only 19 and a level ahead of Bradley so he could be a serious prospect. He has 28 homers this year. In his previous 428 minor league at bats he had 7.
But I guess my point was suipposed to be that lots of homers in the minors does not automatically translate into major prospect status. Which of course we all knew anyway.
Re: Minor Matters
4983I like that McKenzie debut. If the three kid pitchers this year produce two success stories that will be quite a boost. Of course all three are years away.
Re: Minor Matters
4984Sheffield is 5'10". Short pitchers are rare at the Major League level.
His bust for underage drinking and breaking into somebody's house may be just youthful indiscretions or signs of being a punk.
Not a fan.
His bust for underage drinking and breaking into somebody's house may be just youthful indiscretions or signs of being a punk.
Not a fan.
Re: Minor Matters
4985He would match up well with Chisenhall.
As for short lefthanders are you as old as I am to remember Bobby Shantz?
As for short lefthanders are you as old as I am to remember Bobby Shantz?
Re: Minor Matters
4986Chisenhall was busted for burglary and looked how nicely he has matured. [And you beat me to the punch on that one by like ten seconds]
Agree about the little lefty issue. But the reports insist he has a much bigger arm than the classic Jason Jacome little lefty. We'll see. This year's crew are big guys.
Agree about the little lefty issue. But the reports insist he has a much bigger arm than the classic Jason Jacome little lefty. We'll see. This year's crew are big guys.
Re: Minor Matters
4987http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/justus-s ... ng-report/
From late last year
Justus Sheffield, LHP, Cleveland Indians (Rookie level AZL Indians)
Sheffield jumped on the scouting radar when he hit 94 mph in October before his junior high school season in relief of his older brother (and current Vanderbilt pitcher) Jordan in front of dozens of scouts. Justus is listed at 5’10/196, so height isn’t on his side, but he has suitable bulk to start if his stuff and command are enough to overcome his lack of plane.
Sheffield looked like a first rounder entering his senior year in high school and then he struggled for most of the season, with some teams not scouting him down the stretch. This was due to inconsistency (velo dipped into the 80’s at times and command came and went) and the assumption he would go to Vanderbilt to play with Jordan. Teams that stuck around saw Sheffield regularly hitting 95 mph late and the Indians grabbed him at the end of the first round in June. Sheffield could be a quick mover: he’s flashed three above average pitches and command at times and projects as a 3rd/4th starter if it all comes together.
(The above video was from one of Sheffield’s worst outings of his high school senior spring and his delivery is normally lower effort than that.)
Fastball: 50/55, Curveball: 50/55, Changeup: 50/55, Command: 45/50+, FV: 50 –Kiley
Hands down, the most talented Rookie Ball club out here in Arizona was the Indians’ affiliate, which featured half a dozen or so prospects who warrant some degree of excitement. The most notable of those is Justus Sheffield, a 5-foot-11 or thereabouts left -handed pitcher from Tullahoma High School in Tennessee. Sheffield was the 31st overall selection in the 2014 draft and it cost a cool $1.6 million, just a hair beneath slot value, to coax him away from his commitment to Vanderbilt. That sum was a bit less than I anticipated Sheffield would get as Vanderbilt, both a great academic institution and nurturing baseball environment, is a notoriously difficult school from which to pry commits. With that assumption in hand, I got nitpicky (hey, it was tough to find fault with Cleveland’s draft) and wondered if the projection-deficient Sheffield would be worth big time amateur money if he wasn’t going to allow you to dream on big time professional upside. The show he put on here in Arizona has altered my tone.
Sheffield’s aforementioned lack of projection is born of his body type. Unlike most high-end high school draft picks, Sheffield isn’t built like a broad-shouldered, skinny-limbed human coat hanger. The kids who look like David Byrne in a suit are the kids who you envision adding mass and, hopefully, velocity. Sheffield does not have such physical projection. At 5-foot-11, 180lbs, Sheffield is squat, thick in the thighs and ass, and already has a bit of a barreled torso. He’s thickened up since the showcase circuits from last summer and has no positive projection left, meaning I can’t see him adding weight in a way that will benefit his craft.
Despite his body type, Sheffield is actually very athletic and has an efficient, repeatable delivery. He makes good use of his lower half, generates torque with rotation in the hips and has a quick arm, all of this resulting in what looks like a near maximum velocity output for his frame without compromising his ability to throw strikes. Everything heads toward the plate, resulting in present fringe-average control and command with the ability to grow into plus.
Stuff-wise, Sheffield’s fastball will sit in the low 90s, mostly 92-93 and touch 95mph when he wants or needs it to. In this month’s AZL Championship game, Sheffield entered the game out of the bullpen and struggled to find his release point and therefore, the strike zone. He allowed a walk and a single to start off the inning and both advanced after a fielder’s choice. With runners on second and third of a one run game, Sheffield reached back and painted the outside corner at the knees several times with running 95mph fastballs as he struck out the remaining two hitters of the inning. While I don’t believe Sheffield will pitch at that velocity with consistency, it’s nice to know he has it in the tank when he needs it.
Most high school pitchers will never throw harder than they do as amateurs, due in large part to the increased frequency and quantity of innings that pro ball inflicts on the arm. As such, it’s not uncommon for me to project young arms to lose half a grade or so on their fastballs as they enter pro ball. In this case, Sheffield’s delivery is so efficient and clean that I’m inclined to hold firm on where the fastball is right now. He may not have the physical projection scouts look for to add velocity or at least counterweight that wear and tear, but things are so picturesque that I think the fastball plays as an above-average to plus offering at maturity.
For an 18 year old, Sheffield’s repertoire is quite deep. He backs the fastball with a presently fringe-average sweeping curveball in the mid-70s that projects to above average, as well as a present 45 changeup in the low 80s that I also consider a future 55 weapon. Sheffield’s arm speed on the change has improved significantly from where it was as an amateur and he’s shown a feel for getting arm side run and tumble on the pitch. He’ll also show a grade 40, low 80s slider that moves late but is a bit short, more cutter-like than slidey without a good cutter’s velocity. Given Sheffield’s apparent body and arm control, it’s possible this pitch develops into something useful that can induce weak contact early in counts, but right now it’s well behind the other offerings and I can’t ever see it missing a ton of bats. It has fringe average projection.
Three above-average pitches and plus control/command sure sounds like a very solid #3 starter to me, and I think that’s Sheffield’s ceiling (up from pre-draft looks and reports when I would’ve told you he was a #4) but a word of caution before we go. The environment in which Sheffield was pitching here in the Valley of the Sun is a tricky one. There’s no way of truly knowing whether the velo surge we saw from him out here is going to stick or if it was just an aberration brought on by some external factors (such as Sheffield’s period of rest since signing before coming here) or just random variation. If it doesn’t hold he’s still a nice prospect. If it does, he has a chance to be quite special.
Longenhagen’s Grades: Fastball: 55/55, Curveball: 50/55, Changeup: 45/55, Command: 45/55+, FV: 55
From late last year
Justus Sheffield, LHP, Cleveland Indians (Rookie level AZL Indians)
Sheffield jumped on the scouting radar when he hit 94 mph in October before his junior high school season in relief of his older brother (and current Vanderbilt pitcher) Jordan in front of dozens of scouts. Justus is listed at 5’10/196, so height isn’t on his side, but he has suitable bulk to start if his stuff and command are enough to overcome his lack of plane.
Sheffield looked like a first rounder entering his senior year in high school and then he struggled for most of the season, with some teams not scouting him down the stretch. This was due to inconsistency (velo dipped into the 80’s at times and command came and went) and the assumption he would go to Vanderbilt to play with Jordan. Teams that stuck around saw Sheffield regularly hitting 95 mph late and the Indians grabbed him at the end of the first round in June. Sheffield could be a quick mover: he’s flashed three above average pitches and command at times and projects as a 3rd/4th starter if it all comes together.
(The above video was from one of Sheffield’s worst outings of his high school senior spring and his delivery is normally lower effort than that.)
Fastball: 50/55, Curveball: 50/55, Changeup: 50/55, Command: 45/50+, FV: 50 –Kiley
Hands down, the most talented Rookie Ball club out here in Arizona was the Indians’ affiliate, which featured half a dozen or so prospects who warrant some degree of excitement. The most notable of those is Justus Sheffield, a 5-foot-11 or thereabouts left -handed pitcher from Tullahoma High School in Tennessee. Sheffield was the 31st overall selection in the 2014 draft and it cost a cool $1.6 million, just a hair beneath slot value, to coax him away from his commitment to Vanderbilt. That sum was a bit less than I anticipated Sheffield would get as Vanderbilt, both a great academic institution and nurturing baseball environment, is a notoriously difficult school from which to pry commits. With that assumption in hand, I got nitpicky (hey, it was tough to find fault with Cleveland’s draft) and wondered if the projection-deficient Sheffield would be worth big time amateur money if he wasn’t going to allow you to dream on big time professional upside. The show he put on here in Arizona has altered my tone.
Sheffield’s aforementioned lack of projection is born of his body type. Unlike most high-end high school draft picks, Sheffield isn’t built like a broad-shouldered, skinny-limbed human coat hanger. The kids who look like David Byrne in a suit are the kids who you envision adding mass and, hopefully, velocity. Sheffield does not have such physical projection. At 5-foot-11, 180lbs, Sheffield is squat, thick in the thighs and ass, and already has a bit of a barreled torso. He’s thickened up since the showcase circuits from last summer and has no positive projection left, meaning I can’t see him adding weight in a way that will benefit his craft.
Despite his body type, Sheffield is actually very athletic and has an efficient, repeatable delivery. He makes good use of his lower half, generates torque with rotation in the hips and has a quick arm, all of this resulting in what looks like a near maximum velocity output for his frame without compromising his ability to throw strikes. Everything heads toward the plate, resulting in present fringe-average control and command with the ability to grow into plus.
Stuff-wise, Sheffield’s fastball will sit in the low 90s, mostly 92-93 and touch 95mph when he wants or needs it to. In this month’s AZL Championship game, Sheffield entered the game out of the bullpen and struggled to find his release point and therefore, the strike zone. He allowed a walk and a single to start off the inning and both advanced after a fielder’s choice. With runners on second and third of a one run game, Sheffield reached back and painted the outside corner at the knees several times with running 95mph fastballs as he struck out the remaining two hitters of the inning. While I don’t believe Sheffield will pitch at that velocity with consistency, it’s nice to know he has it in the tank when he needs it.
Most high school pitchers will never throw harder than they do as amateurs, due in large part to the increased frequency and quantity of innings that pro ball inflicts on the arm. As such, it’s not uncommon for me to project young arms to lose half a grade or so on their fastballs as they enter pro ball. In this case, Sheffield’s delivery is so efficient and clean that I’m inclined to hold firm on where the fastball is right now. He may not have the physical projection scouts look for to add velocity or at least counterweight that wear and tear, but things are so picturesque that I think the fastball plays as an above-average to plus offering at maturity.
For an 18 year old, Sheffield’s repertoire is quite deep. He backs the fastball with a presently fringe-average sweeping curveball in the mid-70s that projects to above average, as well as a present 45 changeup in the low 80s that I also consider a future 55 weapon. Sheffield’s arm speed on the change has improved significantly from where it was as an amateur and he’s shown a feel for getting arm side run and tumble on the pitch. He’ll also show a grade 40, low 80s slider that moves late but is a bit short, more cutter-like than slidey without a good cutter’s velocity. Given Sheffield’s apparent body and arm control, it’s possible this pitch develops into something useful that can induce weak contact early in counts, but right now it’s well behind the other offerings and I can’t ever see it missing a ton of bats. It has fringe average projection.
Three above-average pitches and plus control/command sure sounds like a very solid #3 starter to me, and I think that’s Sheffield’s ceiling (up from pre-draft looks and reports when I would’ve told you he was a #4) but a word of caution before we go. The environment in which Sheffield was pitching here in the Valley of the Sun is a tricky one. There’s no way of truly knowing whether the velo surge we saw from him out here is going to stick or if it was just an aberration brought on by some external factors (such as Sheffield’s period of rest since signing before coming here) or just random variation. If it doesn’t hold he’s still a nice prospect. If it does, he has a chance to be quite special.
Longenhagen’s Grades: Fastball: 55/55, Curveball: 50/55, Changeup: 45/55, Command: 45/55+, FV: 55
Re: Minor Matters
4988http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?pl ... position=P
Justus Sheffield
0 0+10 285
Birthdate: 5/13/1996 (19 y, 3 m, 12 d) Bats/Throws: L/L Height/Weight: 5-10/196 Position: P
Drafted: 2014 June Amateur Draft - Round: 1, Pick: 31, Overall: 31, Team: Cleveland Indians
Contract: Add New Contract
Reported: 9/15/2014 Risk: 4 ETA: 2019 Team Rank: NA Positional Rank: NA Overall Rank: NA
Fastball Curveball Changeup Command Future Value
50 / 55 50 / 55 50 / 55 45 / 50+ 50
RotoWire News: Sheffield, 19, has a 4.22 ERA and 99:24 K:BB through 85.1 innings for Low-A Lake County. (7/25/2015)
3/26/2015 - Evaluating the Prospects: Cleveland Indians by Kiley McDaniel (FanGraphs) 23
9/19/2014 - Justus Sheffield Finds Himself After A Tough Sprin» by Eric Longenhagen (FanGraphs) 8
Season Stats
Game Log
Heatmaps
Batting
Pitching
Standard
Advanced
DashboardCustomize
Regular Season
Season Team W L SV G GS IP K/9 BB/9 HR/9 BABIP LOB% GB% HR/FB ERA FIP xFIP WAR
2014 Indians (R) 3 1 0 8 4 20.2 12.63 3.92 0.00 .436 52.9 % 4.79 2.67
2015 Indians (A) 8 4 0 24 24 115.2 9.57 2.72 0.62 .357 69.3 % 3.66 3.14
Justus Sheffield
0 0+10 285
Birthdate: 5/13/1996 (19 y, 3 m, 12 d) Bats/Throws: L/L Height/Weight: 5-10/196 Position: P
Drafted: 2014 June Amateur Draft - Round: 1, Pick: 31, Overall: 31, Team: Cleveland Indians
Contract: Add New Contract
Reported: 9/15/2014 Risk: 4 ETA: 2019 Team Rank: NA Positional Rank: NA Overall Rank: NA
Fastball Curveball Changeup Command Future Value
50 / 55 50 / 55 50 / 55 45 / 50+ 50
RotoWire News: Sheffield, 19, has a 4.22 ERA and 99:24 K:BB through 85.1 innings for Low-A Lake County. (7/25/2015)
3/26/2015 - Evaluating the Prospects: Cleveland Indians by Kiley McDaniel (FanGraphs) 23
9/19/2014 - Justus Sheffield Finds Himself After A Tough Sprin» by Eric Longenhagen (FanGraphs) 8
Season Stats
Game Log
Heatmaps
Batting
Pitching
Standard
Advanced
DashboardCustomize
Regular Season
Season Team W L SV G GS IP K/9 BB/9 HR/9 BABIP LOB% GB% HR/FB ERA FIP xFIP WAR
2014 Indians (R) 3 1 0 8 4 20.2 12.63 3.92 0.00 .436 52.9 % 4.79 2.67
2015 Indians (A) 8 4 0 24 24 115.2 9.57 2.72 0.62 .357 69.3 % 3.66 3.14
Re: Minor Matters
4989Those are very positive scouting reports for sure, and he's not really done anything yet to detract from them. He has numerous tests ahead of him, of course.
"Sheffield’s delivery is so efficient and clean that I’m inclined to hold firm on where the fastball is right now. He may not have the physical projection scouts look for to add velocity or at least counterweight that wear and tear, but things are so picturesque that I think the fastball plays as an above-average to plus offering at maturity."
"Sheffield’s delivery is so efficient and clean that I’m inclined to hold firm on where the fastball is right now. He may not have the physical projection scouts look for to add velocity or at least counterweight that wear and tear, but things are so picturesque that I think the fastball plays as an above-average to plus offering at maturity."
Re: Minor Matters
4990@tpaquette_IID: AZL #Indians RHP Christian Meister over his last 7 appearances:
17.0(IP) 13H 1R 1ER 2BB 16SO 0.53 ERA
@tpaquette_IID: AZL #Indians LHP Juan Hillman with his best appearance of the season tonight vs the Mariners.
- 4.0(IP) 1H 0R 0ER 0BB 2SO @RealJuanHillman
I wish the news was as good for Merritt but he got his butt handed to him tonight.
17.0(IP) 13H 1R 1ER 2BB 16SO 0.53 ERA
@tpaquette_IID: AZL #Indians LHP Juan Hillman with his best appearance of the season tonight vs the Mariners.
- 4.0(IP) 1H 0R 0ER 0BB 2SO @RealJuanHillman
I wish the news was as good for Merritt but he got his butt handed to him tonight.
Re: Minor Matters
4991Merritt follows former Akron teammates Plutko and Morimando with tough starts this week. Only Clevinger of their Big 4 has had a good outing this week.
Here are all of Tuesday's games;
http://www.milb.com/scoreboard/index.js ... d=20150825
Some notes:
Aguillar singled and drew 3 walks;
Bryson Myles hit for the cycle at Akron. A 26 year old OF who has slowly moved one step at a time up the system
Ronny Rodriguez singled and doubled; Zimmer singled and walked and stole 2, that makes 40 for the season. NRod 0-5 3K.
Greg Allen singled and caught stealing for the 14th time. Bradley singled and walked and then it rained.
G. Mejia 0-3 2ith 3K, hitting 091 for the Scrappers.
Wakamastu doubled.
Pitching:
Armstrong got one out, walked two got the save.
Merritt 6-10-5-5-1-2.
Lugo for Lynchburg: 7--6--2--2--1--6 for August: 31--24--8--8--5--24 2.30
Polanco for Lake County: 6--5--1--1--2--8
Jared Robinson for MHV: 6--2--0--0--2--2 2.51 doesn't strike many out
Here are all of Tuesday's games;
http://www.milb.com/scoreboard/index.js ... d=20150825
Some notes:
Aguillar singled and drew 3 walks;
Bryson Myles hit for the cycle at Akron. A 26 year old OF who has slowly moved one step at a time up the system
Ronny Rodriguez singled and doubled; Zimmer singled and walked and stole 2, that makes 40 for the season. NRod 0-5 3K.
Greg Allen singled and caught stealing for the 14th time. Bradley singled and walked and then it rained.
G. Mejia 0-3 2ith 3K, hitting 091 for the Scrappers.
Wakamastu doubled.
Pitching:
Armstrong got one out, walked two got the save.
Merritt 6-10-5-5-1-2.
Lugo for Lynchburg: 7--6--2--2--1--6 for August: 31--24--8--8--5--24 2.30
Polanco for Lake County: 6--5--1--1--2--8
Jared Robinson for MHV: 6--2--0--0--2--2 2.51 doesn't strike many out
Re: Minor Matters
4992Meister has an unusual background. 29th round draft pick:
Christian Meister was announced as a pitcher with no school. He started out at Green River Community College and worked out of the pen. I don’t have numbers but the reports on him were extremely positive. He then ended up training at Driveline this year which is kind of like a pitching school. They work on research base training to thrower harder and safer. It’s a really cool idea. The Indians have been known to be on the forefront when it comes to outside the box thinking with arms so Meister is a guy I am sure would intrigue them. He is a big kid at 6’3” and 210 pounds. He is older turning 22 this October
Christian Meister was announced as a pitcher with no school. He started out at Green River Community College and worked out of the pen. I don’t have numbers but the reports on him were extremely positive. He then ended up training at Driveline this year which is kind of like a pitching school. They work on research base training to thrower harder and safer. It’s a really cool idea. The Indians have been known to be on the forefront when it comes to outside the box thinking with arms so Meister is a guy I am sure would intrigue them. He is a big kid at 6’3” and 210 pounds. He is older turning 22 this October
Re: Minor Matters
4993By the way Bobby Shantz who had a pretty good career was a lefty who stood 5'6" and weighed all of 142 pounds. About my wife's size and weight. But her knuckler is easy to hit.
Re: Minor Matters
4994Players from 50-60 years ago were indeed smaller. Eddie LeBaron 5'7" was a QB in the NFL
Almost impossible for a smurf to make it in today's pro sports.
Almost impossible for a smurf to make it in today's pro sports.
Re: Minor Matters
4995Nellie 2-4 with a homer tonight.
Bradley 2-3, Allen 1-3, both with a walk.
Jeff Johnson extends his scoreless streak to 22 2/3 innings.
Bradley 2-3, Allen 1-3, both with a walk.
Jeff Johnson extends his scoreless streak to 22 2/3 innings.