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Good day everyone and welcome to the Minor League Ball Gameday discussion thread for Sunday, March 18th, 2018. Let’s talk some baseball.
****Texas Rangers rookie right-hander Yohander Mendez threw three solid innings against the Kansas City Royals yesterday, giving up one run on three hits and a walk while fanning four. I caught a couple of innings on MLB.TV and it looked to me like Mendez has significantly improved his breaking ball and command of his entire arsenal.
He’s thrown well this spring (12 innings, 3.00 ERA, 12/1 K/BB). It seems like he’s been around forever but Mendez is only 23 and may be a victim of some prospect fatigue when young pitchers are discussed.
****Much prospect news from St. Louis Cardinals camp has focused on the strong spring of Yairo Munoz, but the performance of right-hander Mike Mayers should not be overlooked: nine shutout innings, 10 strikeouts, zero walks.
Originally a decent-stuff potential fourth starter, Mayers has been clocked as high as 99 MPH since moving to the bullpen without any loss of command. Keep him in mind as pitching reinforcement.
****During our recent discussion of the Minor League Ball top 175 prospects for 2018 list, a reader mentioned San Diego Padres outfielder Franchy Cordero as a player who didn’t make the list who deserved close watching. Cordero is certainly having a fine spring, hitting .343/.465/.714 with seven walks and 13 strikeouts in 35 at-bats.
Cordero’s power/speed tools have never been in doubt but contact and plate discipline issues bit him when he reached the majors last year. While the perils of spring training competition and sample size apply, the numbers we have so far are consistent with those of a player making progress with his hitting approach.
UPCOMING STUFF
My next main projects are organization rankings, due later this week, and sleeper prospects, also coming later this week. I will also be posting all of my Shadow Twins draft lists, beginning with 1996 through 2001 posted yesterday.
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