In our weekly recap segment, I give you a list of prospect-related news from around baseball internet. Many, if not all, of these links will be from the past week. But sometimes I miss something and rather than exclude it forever, I include it in the news recap for the week I find it.
Nick Burdi
Burdi, named our #33 Pirates prospect last month, has had issues with injuries (Tommy John, nerve pain) since being drafted. Well, it’s only spring training, but the earliest of indicators are that Burdi looks good:
If anybody was worried about Nick Burdi’s velocity coming back after his bout with neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome last season: It’s Feb. 26, and he’s touching 100 mph. Whole bunch of 98s and 99s as he struck out two in the fourth inning just now.
— Adam Berry (@adamdberry) February 26, 2020
Cavan Biggio, Emergency Centerfielder
Adding outfield experience can only elevate Biggio’s stock heading into 2020.
Cavan Biggio is getting some time in CF today for the #BlueJays, which has been the plan all spring to prepare him for some unlikely and just-in-case scenarios.
And, for the 100th time, Charlie Montoyo made it clear that Biggio is his second baseman. Nothing’s changed there.
— Keegan Matheson (@KeeganMatheson) February 29, 2020
Kody Hoese
David Laurila at Fangraphs shares parts of his converation with Kody Hoese (our #7 Dodgers prospect this January) and Aaron Bates, a Dodgers hitting tutor. My favorite quote from Bates:
“He creates a ton of leverage in his swing with his bigger frame…He doesn’t have a lot of wasted movement at the plate, which allows him to wait longer and recognize pitches. Kody can really drive the ball to the opposite field. He showed an advanced approach in the limited at bats he got last season.”
Dave Dunning
Our #6 White Sox prospect is working himself back from Tommy John surgery, and had his first live batting practice.
Dunning: "I feel like it’s that hump I just got over, facing live hitters again. Getting back in action again. It’s exciting for me because I know that games are coming soon." https://t.co/69rPRYYlEM
— Chuck Garfien (@ChuckGarfien) February 28, 2020
Brock Burke
Our #12 Rangers prospect Brock Burke will unfortunately miss the entire 2020 season. From MLBTradeRumors:
will undergo arthroscopic surgery to repair fraying and a partial tear in the labrum of his left shoulder this week. He’s not expected to pitch again until 2021.
Brandon Marsh, our 2020 Preseason #2 Angels prospect, is set to miss at least the first few weeks with a Grade 2 strained left elbow.
Dom Thompson-Williams
Williams recently came in at #15 on our Mariners top 50 list. But he’ll be spending this season recovering from surgery to repair a ruptured achilles.
Kasey Kalich
Another top 50 prospect (this time #18 on the Braves list), another injury. Kalich will spend the beginning of 2020–until May or June– recovering from a broken scaphoid.
Kyle Muller, Best Shape of His Life
From The Athletic:
Muller still is listed at 225 on some rosters and 250 in the Braves‘ media guide, but that’s dated info. He said he’s up to about 270 now. He still appears to be in terrific shape and moves well for someone so massive
Brent Honeywell Jr.
Brent recently appeared on our Rays top 50 list, coming in at #11 largely due to health. He still has a ways to go before pitching this season, but at least that is a possibility which was not the case the past two seasons. He took the first step by throwing a 15-pitch bullpen sessions. Marc Topkin, with the Tampa Bay Times, has a brief interview.
Griffin Canning
On the opposite front, there’s concern in Angels’ camp about Griffin Canning. From Rhett Bollinger at MLB:
The MRI results were essentially inconclusive, as Canning will undergo further testing and consult with team doctors on Saturday. It’s unknown whether Canning has a tear in his UCL that would require Tommy John surgery, but there’s hope he could avoid surgery with treatment.
Yusniel Diaz
Diaz has been battling a sore shoulder, but hopefully will be playing in games soon enough.
Who Has the Best Fastball?
Jonathan Mayo presents a list of 30 prospects, one from each team, who have the best fastball. It covers the gamut from well-known prospects (Kopech, Puk) to much lesser-known (Cederlind, Aybar).
Spring Training Velocities
Speaking of fastballs, Jeff Zimmerman is maintaining a Google Sheet with spring training velocities.
Some notable prospect entries:
| Josh Staumont | 100 mph average velocity |
| Tarik Skubal | 95-96 mph average velocity |
| Dylan Cease | 96-98 mph top velocity |
New Prospect Lists
Eric Longenhagen released his Phillies prospect list. Definitely suggest comparing to @tonybps1 Top 50 list on our site. Some players in slightly different order, but also a few noticeable differences. For example, Eric did not include Connor Seabold on his list; whereas Tony placed Mauricio Llovera much lower than Eric (37 vs. 11)
Eric has also released his Pirates prospect list. Just like the Phillies list, some differences throughout; but, the top 5 is fairly comparable. Click over to see the full list–and ours is right here if you want to compare–but here is the top 5 comparison:
| Fangraphs (Eric Longenhagen) | Prospects1500 (Kyle Brown) |
| 1. Ke’Bryan Hayes | 1. Mitch Keller |
| 2. Oneil Cruz | 2. Oneil Cruz |
| 3. Mitch Keller | 3. Ke’Bryan Hayes |
| 4. Travis Swaggerty (#7 on Kyle’s list) | 4. Quinn Priester (#7 on Eric’s list) |
| 5. Tahnaj Thomas | 5. Tahnaj Thomas |
Prospects Changing Teams
All quiet on the player movement front. Outside of non-roster invitations to spring training, prospects are right where we left them last week. Even the rumors are few and far between. Only the whispering of Wil Myers to the Red Sox, along with prospects moving from San Diego to Boston.
Our #37 Dodgers prospect Yadier Alvarez is currently in DFA limbo, so there may be some movement in next week’s installement.
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