Name: Daniel Corcino
DOB: 8/26/90
Organization: Reds
Position: Pitcher
Notable 2011 Stats: 3.42 ERA, 2.80 FIP, 10 HRA, 34 BB, 156 K, and 41% GB% in 139 1/3 IP with Dayton (A)
Why He’s This High: Corcino had a huge age-20 season for Low-A Dayton, striking out nearly five times as many batters as he walked and establishing himself as the top pitching prospect in a bat-heavy Cincinnati system.
Corcino’s 2010 performance generated some buzz, but it was in 2011 that he refined his command and started to project as a front-to-middle-of-the-rotation starter. Like current Reds ace Johnny Cueto, he’s a small guy with a big arm, running his fastball up to 95 mph and boasting a plus breaking pitch. His changeup made strides during the 2011 season and projects to be at least average as well. Corcino has the makings of good mechanics, and his three-quarters arm action gives his fastball good life, an imperative when you’re throwing on such a low plane.
Why He’s This Low: Corcino still has some work to do. He tends to overthrow his fastball, which results in a slew of negatives–he compromises his mechanics and his movement and command of the pitch, while also making it easier to tell when his offspeed stuff is coming. The mere fact that he has useful offspeed offerings was enough to flummox Low-A batters, but upper-minors players will start making him pay if he doesn’t repeat his delivery.
Obviously, one has to be concerned about Corcino’s size, and while his basic delivery is sound, it’s rather scary to see somebody listed at 5’11” and 165 lbs. spin off the mound on those overthrown heaters. Even with his normal, sound mechanics, it’s anyone’s guess as to how well he’ll hold up over 180-200-inning seasons. Even small issues in the upper minors could tempt the organization to move him to the bullpen, where he wouldn’t be forced into huge workloads, but would obviously compromise his value.
Conclusions: Corcino’s a little short (no pun intended) on attributes that allow him to project as a true ace. Still, he’s performed very well, and he’s not some finesse pitcher taking advantage of raw bats.
The righthander turned 21 in August, so he wasn’t all that young for Low-A, and he’s squarely behind a lot of the teenage Low-A aces in my rankings. While he does have three decently-developed pitches at this young stage, he’s obviously not very projectable, and if anything he’ll lose velocity as he smoothes out his mechanical inconsistencies. That leaves him as a guy with potentially three above-average pitches, but no true knockout offering–a good #3/iffy #2 starter, basically.
Furthermore, there’s the issue of his size, which could create injury problems or push him to the bullpen at the slightest whim–look what happened to Neftali Feliz, who was a far superior pitching prospect himself.
Overall, there’s a lot to like about Corcino, and the worries with him are relatively minor, but between his distance from the majors, lack of projectability, and absence of truly huge present skills, the #75 ranking sounds about right.
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