Monday, July 13, 2015

Out In Front: Takeaways from the 2015 Futures Game


The 2015 Futures Game is now over and I didn't really slept really well before waking up at 3 a.m. to watch the Futures Game in MLB.com live stream because I am so excited maybe or I just don't watch to miss it because it's 3 in the morning. I managed to watch the game until Mella's pitching but I wanted to watch the game until Sean Newcomb but my body is failing me and he wants to rest. It ended up as a commanding victory for the Team USA 10-1.

The Giants have two players that's representing the team for the game and they are Tyler Beede and Keury Mella. I'll write up what I saw on Beede and Mella for the first time live. I will write here also the other performances by the other players that I like.


Tyler Beede

The Young Beedah is slated to pitch 3rd no matter what inning it will be and since Lucas Giolito pitched an inning, he pitched in the 4th inning. I managed to record tidbits of his appearance to get good look of his mechanics because my internet is starting to fail a bit. I hate the camera view from Cincinnati because it's like coming from LF and it doesn't allow a really good view of his pitches especially the movement but here's what I see. 

The mechanics are clearly way different from his college days and his now much, much easier to tame and repeat unlike his Vanderbilt mechanics that's high octane and quick tempo. The glove over the head portion is gone and was replaced by just a simple step to the side, the leg kick is more quiet but is powerful enough to transfer his weight to his back side, he is a bit taller in his drive, he stays behind and lands closed, driving almost towards the batters box of the right handed hitter but he throws his pitches more forward towards the plate unlike last year. It's now calmer and slower in terms of pace, his head and his eyes are especially not leaving the catcher's mitt while retaining the power of his drop-and-drive delivery and his clean finish. Unlike the pretty dangerous delivery in his Vandy days, this mechanics is a work of art. I give a lot of credit to Dick Tidrow and all of the Giants staff for fixing and I'm not sure if cleaning up is the right word. I think reboot and transformation is the right word for the massive rework on Beede's mechanics.

I really thank that Beede's not just there pumping his fastest fastball on the mound. Instead, I saw a glimpse of what he can really be in the future. After all, it's the Futures Game, right? His sinker at (89-91 MPH tops 92) doesn't really have the prime time command that he has when I'm listening every start to the radio broadcasts. But what I really see is the crazy run and the sink that he can really generate, on one pitch that he threw catcher Kyle Schwarber sets up down and away and the pitch just runs and runs and runs to the inside portion. The true standout pitch that really takes me away is the slutter (sounds weird but it kind of works). It behaves like a Matt Cain-esque slider but it got good velocity at 88-89 MPH, causing the leadoff hitter to swing foolishly. It got plus cutting action in it and could really be a plus pitch to compliment his above-average to plus sinker. I have seen the changeup (around 80 MPH) and it got the movement and the arm speed and a 9-12 MPH separation but he hung one that was fouled off. A true above-average pitch for me. The curveball (around 78-80 MPH) is pretty average because it lacks some of the sharp break that I saw him pitch in Vandy. He hung some curveballs that I think got just 7-10 inches of break in it. What I found that's crazy is that Ray Black threw a slider that got more break than Beede's curveball at pretty much the same velocity. I just hate that camera view. 

I think we'll not see much improvement in terms of velocity because of his slower delivery generating less energy but the movement is there, he hit the catcher's mitt almost 70% of the time and the curveball needs some better break to be a good pitch for him. Future's bright for the Young Beedah. 

Updated Grades: SNK 60 | CUT 60+ | CH 55+ | CB 50 | CMD 50+

Keury Mella

Mella (pronounced as Ke-yu-ri May-ah by Joe Ritzo) was scheduled to pitch 6th and pitched in the 6th inning. The mechanics is still the red flag for me. Just look at his right arm at foot plant shown below. 


He got the pronounced inverted W that will always make his arm to be late and the stresses that he puts on his shoulder and elbow is really immense. A possible patient of James Andrews in the future and possibly the easiest guy to predict that. I talked about his delivery in my previous scouting report and that hasn't change from what I have seen. Throws extremely across the body, the inverted W, the high release point, the sheer deception that he creates. Come check that one out. In terms of deception though, he's not really deceiving the top shelf hitters that the Futures Game offers, with 3 hard hit balls allowed.

From the stuff standpoint, the raw potential to believe in his stuff is there. I saw his fastball run up to 96 MPH and is at a happy place at 94 MPH with the run and the sink that I love from him. His command probably wants to go home early because the command was lost after the leadoff hitter and is just all over the place. I think he's throwing his 100% at that time and he's overthrowing a bit. I love the curveball that I saw from him at 76 MPH that got the late break that I expect on an above-average curveball. His changeup registers at 84 MPH got a pretty underwhelming fade and movement that I expect from him. The overall command is just not there and was pulled out after allowing 2 singles and 11 pitches.

The bottom line, this is not the best performance that I saw from him. Probably some jitters. He could be better than what his performance has shown but I think he can be a good trade chip for us to get someone on the trade market soon. The grades that I wrote about him in my previous scouting report about him will not change.


Other Noticeable Performances until Mella's outing:

- Lucas Giolito pitched 2 innings and the plus-plus stuff is in the building, flashing 94-96 MPH on his FB that topped at 98 and shown the plus curveball and the good changeup. The command's got above-average potential. The problem I saw on him is that his delivery is arm-centric and the slow-slow-fast that I mentioned on Coonrod is also evident on him so that's probably why he had the TJ pre-draft.

- Kyle Schwarber's bat is legit. Plus hitting tool, plus power, above-average eye. He hits balls hard. He's not really a liability defensively with the 1.97 pop-time he flashed in the first inning and he can frame well and got the leadership ability to make him an average catcher. I'm not really seeing him doing that everyday and could play in the OF once every 2 days.

- Aaron Judge is a beast of a human being at 6'7" 275 with the Giancarlo Stanton stance and mechanics with the good eye and the short stroke to boot. He got that Dave Winfield feel in him. I'm excited for him.

- JP Crawford got an open stance at the box and he got that Anthony Rizzo approach where at one time, he didn't really moved at the batter's box at all. No loading, just pure wrists and strong body. Got good eye as well when he's out in front of a pitch but adjusted and hit the ball up the middle for the base hit. Great feel for his body, great athleticism, great glove. Philly got something good in the future.

- Michael Conforto can hit, and actually got a good zip on his throwing arm. Average defender though. If the Mets think they need some offense right now, they need to call him up.

- Best name of the Futures Game belongs to Balbino Fuenmayor without a doubt and he got some really good power to boot as well.


I haven't mentioned a lot of names here because I only wanted to focus on Beede and Mella but I don't want to forget prospects that I like. I hope you enjoyed the Futures Game as much as I do and I hope you enjoyed reading my post. 

38 comments:

  1. Beede-His game should take a big step forward when he starts to attack the zone his 94-97 mph 4 seam FB,and curveball.The 2 seam FB and cutter look solid.We'll see how the change up develops.

    Muella-The delivery and arsenal.Looks like late inning reliever of long relief for Muella.

    Giolito-He should be in the WAS rotation next year.Nice pick by the Nationals.

    Schwarber-He should be on the big league club.Good young hitter.

    Zimmer-He's having a really good year in high A ball.I think they said he has 30 SB.


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    1. I love Bradley Zimmer. IMO, the best collection of five tools in the outfield in that draft. I'm surprised the Giants didn't pick the guy who played at UCSF and I know there's still Touki, Newcomb, Beedah and ZImmer at that time but I have no regrets that the Giants picked Beede based on his results this season.

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    2. Another guy I forgot was Berrios from MIN.He looks good too.He should be up soon.

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    3. I love Berrios too. 3-pitch mix with all 55 potential. Not much of a downhill plane on his fastball that can allow fly balls but he's a Buehrle-esque worker and can be a mid-rotation starter.

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  2. Trade:If Detroit continues to slide.We should trade from our surplus of bullpen arms to try and get Cespedes.They need relievers very badly.Especially if they want to compete in that division.Long shot.More likely we get someone like Para.And,on the starting pitching front.We'll just call up Stratton.Peace Wenzie.

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    1. Cricky, Broadway, and a minor league hitter of some sorts, Austin Slater maybe for Cespedes? Or is it too much? I'm pretty good at experimenting trades in the NBA, but I'm still a newbie in terms of MLB. Your thoughts on it?

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    2. Crick might be hard to trade right now.

      Muella,Okert,and Slater or Cole
      Muella,Broadway and Slater or Cole
      Law,Okert, and Slater or Cole


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    3. Mella, Broadway and Slater sounds good for me. I'm cool with that.

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    4. I'd rather the Giants went with Papelbon (wrapped up through 2017) of Philly or Chapman in Cincinnati (would be a rental).

      But the biggest problem is that relievers are, from what I've read about this year's market, a seller's market and are going to cost a lot.

      So who do we trade? Okert? Stratton? Williamson? Thomlinson? Crick? Mella? Susac? Half our bullpen since they're sucking...?

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    5. I'm okay with Papelbon too. He got the postseason experience, he still got good stuff even though he experienced velocity loss. The problem I have with him is his fat contract. I know we are not conservative on shelling out money at guys and Papelbon's performing well this season but even though he's proven that he's a consistent closer in the past years, I would not give that kind of money unless it's the prime Mariano Rivera.

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  3. In my opinion, that is far too much future potential to bring in a rental who cannot be given a qualifying offer.

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  4. By the way, Wrenzie, great blog. You do excellent work and I enjoy reading.

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    1. Thanks a lot for reading Mr. Roger! I am not sure if that's far too much value. We got Beltran who's above-average for the number 6 prospect in baseball in 2011. Mella is not that guy who's going to boom significantly enough to earn that praise and I could remove Slater and just retain the two pitchers that I mentioned.

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    2. Well, some would disagree regarding Beltran (I was for the trade though). Some thought it was too much value to give up.

      For Cespedes, I wouldn't give up so much for him. Look at his stats for 2013-14 and his BABIP for 2015. If he regresses to prior two years, that's an awful lot to give up for him, as he'll be only slightly better than Blanco or Aoki, offensively, per OPS. He has had good luck this season at a number of road stadiums, but his home batting line is basically what he did in 2013-14, again, suggesting that 2013-14 is his real talent level, not 2012.

      Plus, where are you going to play him? Pence is locked in RF. Aoki has earned LF. Are you playing Cespedes in CF? His defensive stats there are pretty bad, and then if he does regress to BABIP or 2013-14, you have mid-700's hitter playing poor defense in CF.

      On top of that, the Tigers probably will want a premium because Cespedes is relatively young, unlike Beltran, so there is the possibility of signing long-term. I view signing Cespedes to be similar to the risks of signing Sandoval, because he has more bad than good in recent years. Someone will be paying big money for probably mid-700's OPS plus good LF defense, which I guess might work out, but that's a huge risk, to me.

      And for that you give up Mella, Broadway, and Slater? I would be OK with giving up Broadway in a trade, Slater probably, depends on what we get, but for Mella, I would be wanting more of a sure thing, like David Price, instead, he is someone I would put at the level of Beltran, not Cespedes.

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    3. In my view Cespedes and Pence are similar players.Similar tools and similar style of play.

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    4. I think Cespedes is a pull-happy guy but with the can of corn of outfield space that the AT&T possesses, I am not really sure how his game power will translate in the NL. Can we slide in Aoki to CF? He played there before when he's still in Milwaukee.

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    5. We could platoon Blanco and Pagan in CF.Use Aoki off the bench.Not that any of this is going to happen.That being said.I think Trading for Cespedes would be a great move.

      Miller has 2 2B and 2 SB so far tonight
      Santos pitched 2 innings 1 BB 4 K
      Arroyo not in line up.Probably day off.

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    6. The Cespedes sounds good and I think it's on okay move. I'll not bench Aoki because he's been an above-average player this year. Miller's 2 SB so far this game is steals of 3rd base. It's impressive. Santos pitched well in his rehab duties. Joe Ritzo said that it's Arroyo's first day off since June 18.

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  5. Great rundown of our two prospects Wrenzie!

    FYI, there is a nice video interview of Young Beedah (I like calling him that too) on the Giants website, ICYMI: http://m.giants.mlb.com/news/article/136352976/tyler-beede-escapes-jam-in-futures-game

    Short, but he confirms some stuff and it's just nice to see him interviewed, I'm just impressed by his poise and maturity, which will pay dividends down the line.

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    1. Thanks a lot for reading and the interview link Mr. ogc! I watched that and I really, really love his maturity, honesty and his humility and the way he handles the media is nothing short of spectacular. It will carry really well and will be a good player to follow if a kid is a Giants fan and wants to idolize a pitcher someday. Well, every player that we have is likeable.

      "You obviously need to focus on keeping the ball down playing there," Beede said. "I think I did a decent job of that."
      -Not just decent but really good in my opinion even though he hung a changeup and a curveball. The 2B that he allowed is a great pitch down and away.

      My video of the Young Beedah is broken but luckily, I found this gold of a video on YouTube courtesy of Ian Ward where it's complete (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEmykdCBaeI). The video quality is not the best but I can still see the ball and his delivery which is fine in my tastes.

      I actually dreamt early on once I slept again about his mechanics which is pretty weird. It's just so beautiful. Stuff-wise, I can compare him to Tim Hudson. Not the 2015 Hudson but the Braves Huddy that is always reliable and an anchor of the pitching staff.

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    2. Hey, if Beede has a career anything like Huddy, the Giants will be set for a decade with Bumgarner and Beede atop the rotation, reliability and health, as well as performance, are great anchors for a pitching staff. That would be a hell of a comp if that comes true, Hudson has managed to keep his ERA in the low 3's his whole career, that's masterful.

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    3. We can only dream of that until Beede really proves himself on the Majors but I think it's a hell of a comp as well! I think Beede can have more Ks than what Huddy has in his career but I think he'll be better than Heston, in my opinion.

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  6. GarcĂ­a- 4 for 5 2 HR (12) 4 RBI 2 R

    In a couple of years.We'll have another solid back up catcher.

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  7. Coonrod- 6 IP 5 K 0 BB 8 H 3 R

    Looks ready for the late season call up to SJ.He's been solid all year.

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    1. Only one of those runs was earned.
      Lowered ERA 2.69
      Has 78 K in 74 1/3 IP

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    2. Coonrod is good. The stuff is tremendous given that he's a former closer. Changeup needs some refinement. He's so solid. I expect him to be promoted.

      Aramis though. He sorts of getting to a short burst of greatness and he's been performing really well in the past 4 weeks. Maybe a callup is closing in fast but I would not be surprised if he enjoys this moment in the more "pitcher-friendly" that's the SAL.

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    3. If you have the Bleacher Report App.You can see Garcia's 2nd HR on MLB Prospects section.Or it might be on Milb.com.

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    4. I'm watching the clip of Aramis' 2 HR game that you tipped on me. Thanks a lot!

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    5. I watched the HRs of Aramis and the big thing that I saw is that his bat speed is quicker than I have first seen. He's on a nice groove in his last few weeks.

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    6. That ball was ripped.If he continues to hit like this.He'll move up into my to 5 prospects.Peace Wrenzie.

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    7. I love Aramis from the bottom of my heart as well Mr. David and I think catchers with the 6th tool (leadership) goes a long way even when careers don't pan out just as planned (a pretty good example would be Eli Whiteside). But for me, I need to see more from him if he can sustain this kind of a hot streak until the end of the season. He is certainly rising up in my personal ranks. Peace, man.

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    8. Mccovey Chronicles has video of the 1st HR.That ball was torched.Also,video of him throwing out a runner at second trying to steal.David Lee has some comments about Garcia's game too.

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    9. Yeah. I timed his throw and it was 2.09 pop time for him at that time, which is pretty average (50) from his 1.90 pop time that David Lee saw before from him. Pretty inconsistent but he nabbed the runner anyway. His defense is what's standing out for me. Based on videos, his pitch framing is pretty good and I understand if pitch framing is mostly the pitcher's fault and not the catcher's fault but I give credit on catchers who have soft hands and Aramis got a pretty good one. Stat wise, Aramis is better in his fielding % at .989, he caught 35.96% of players who tried to steal on him which is just above-average (ML avg is 31%), better range factor of 9.58 and allowed 9 passed balls in more than 2X the games that he played last year. Good stuff. Really good stuff from him. I'm buying the improvements in his defense and offense.

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  8. SJ rotation could be good next year.Bickford,Coonrod,Suarez,and maybe Santos.Position players look good too.Garcia,Fargas,Jebavy,Duggar,Shaw.

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  9. Ray Black pitched 3 1/3 3H 3R 2BB 9K
    He threw 74 pitches,45 for strikes.If he wasn't so wild.He could of pitched 5 plus.It looks like we're turning him into a starter.I like that idea.If he can start to fill the zone.He can be a fast mover.Turning Coonrod into a starter has been successful so far.Maybe the same can be done with Black.

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    1. Yeah. Nice stuff from Black. Might be a starter but my heart still wants him to be a reliever. A 2-inning shutdown type of guy. I don't want his plus stuff to be spoiled for a long inning and an evidence is that in the 4th inning, two of the hitters tee'd off on him then he suddenly lose the command. I want him to be just seen by the lineup just one time in the order. That's just me.

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    2. It would be nice to have a guy that can pitch a couple of innings like Betances.Either way.It will be nice to have that arm anywhere on our staff.

      Webb-5IP 2R 3H 2BB 3K Both runs were unearned.
      Gomez-2 for 4 .359 avg I would like to see this guy in Augusta backing up Garcia,and playing 3B.We can move Arenado to 1B.Ewing is really struggling.
      Vizcaino-2 for 4 .381 I don't know much about Vizcaino Jr. He's off to a great start.
      Shaw-2 for 4 HR (3) .291 avg
      Jebavy-1 for 4 HR (3) Game winner
      Marshall-2IP 2BB 2K

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  10. What the hell I can't reply because I can't click the reply button Mr. David. Must be some kind of a glitch. I'll just put it here. Anyway, I said my point on Gomez on my newest blog post and I think I'll let him enjoy S-K then push him towards SJ next season, backing up Garcia. Let's see how this thing goes. Viz Jr. is not really a known goods at Draft day but bloodlines is there and he's off to a great start. He might also move quickly and he's kind of having that Austin Slater/Hunter Cole feel in him.

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