Top Prospects in Friday Night’s Minor League Playoffs

Nov 2, 2013; Surprise, AZ, USA; Baltimore Orioles pitcher

against the East during the Fall Stars Game at Surprise Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Portland Sea Dogs left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez was un-hittable in the month of August. After Boston acquired him from Baltimore at the trade deadline, the 21 year old went 3-1 and pitched to an 0.96 over six starts. He struck out 39 batters in 37 1/3 innings. He gave up but one home run.

And tonight, when he faces off against Steven Matz and the Binghamton Mets in game three of the Eastern League Championship Series, Rodriguez will go up against someone who was better. A 23 year old left-hander with an identical build – 6’2, 200 lb – and a similar 92-96 MPH fastball and above average change-up, Matz just edged out Rodriguez with an 0.90 ERA in the month of August.  Over five starts his SO/9 was a tick better, 9.6 to Rodriguez’s 9.4, and his Fielding Independent Pitching was 1.92, exactly half a run lower than Rodriguez’s.

Rodriguez entered the year as a top prospect – No.66 in the game, per Baseball America – and watched his stock drop as he struggled through July. Matz was a fringe prospect whose sparkling 2.27 ERA and 8.4 SO/9 have put him in top-100 consideration. After two of the best Augusts in all of professional baseball, each of them has placed themselves firmly in their organization’s long term plans. They face off tonight, 7:00 PM EST, at Hadlock Field.

Rodriguez and Matz aren’t be the only prospects set to take the field Friday Night, a host of them will play in Friday night’s Triple-A playoffs.

Interanational League Championship Series; Pawtucket Red Sox V Syracuse Chiefs

Pawtucket up 2-0

Rodriguez won’t be the most highly touted Red Sox hurler to pitch tonight, that distinction belongs to Pawtucket’s  Henry Owens. A lanky 6’6 left-hander with a 3/4 arm slot, Owens has shown himself incapable of Randy Johnson like strings of dominance. Over a seven start stretch with Portland earlier in the year, he threw 43 1/3 innings and allow just two earned runs, for an ERA of 0.41(!), while striking out 48 batters and hold opposing hitters to a .176 average. Owens, who ranks as the game’s 15th overall prospect, was called up to Triple-A on Augsut 4th and is 3-1 with a 4.03 ERA and a 10.4 SO/9 over six starts.

Owens will be charged with securing a three game sweep of the Syracuse Chiefs, who will serve up 23 year old center-fielder Michael Taylor as the principal form of resistance. Taylor, the Nationals top hitting prospect, has had a monster year between Double and Triple-A, hitting .304/.390/.526 with 23 home runs and 37 stolen bases in 110 games. He even earned a brief major league call-up in August. He’s 0-8 so far in the series, though, one of the primary reasons Syracuse has been held to just 3 runs over the first two games.

Pacific Coast League Semifinals: Omaha Storm Chasers V Memphis Redbirds

Series Tied 1-1

Keep an eye on right-field tonight, when either team is in the field. As they have in each of the first two contests, Memphis will send out Stephen Piscotty to man that corner and Omaha will Jorge Bonifacio. With the much anticipated promotion of 21 year old Oscar Taveras,  Piscotty has become St. Louis’s top prospect, their only representative on Baseball America’s top 50. Drafted out of college in the supplemental round of the 2013 draft, Piscotty has long been lauded for his ability, but he has proven himself to be a capable hitter all around. This season, he hit .288/.355/.406 with nine home runs and 32 doubles in 136 games, but his bat has been dormant in the series thus far. Whether or not it wakes up in the coming games could prove the difference in a tight matchup.

Bonifacio, 21, entered the season at #90 on BA’s list, but has been completely over-matched by Triple-A pitching, with a .611 OPS in the hitter-friendly PCL. He doubled in last night’s ball-game and went 2-2 with two runs scored the night before that. He proved too young for this level in 2014, but his talent is immense, his raw power plus, and he has the potential to make as big an impact as any nine-hole hitter in baseball.

Pacific League Semifinals: Las Vegas 51’s V Reno Aces

Series Tied 1:1

Met fans wanted Noah Syndergaard pitching in Citi Field by now. Instead he’ll be starting in game three of the Pacific Coast League semifinals, which is bad news for Reno. Syndergaard, 22, is the game’s 19th best prospect and since July 22nd, he has a 2.61 ERA and a 10.9 SO/9 over nine starts and 48 1/3 innings. His fastball regularly touches the upper nineties and both his curveball and change up are considered by some to be plus big league offerings. However, It remains to be seen how long he is actually on the mound tonight. New York put an innings cap on Syndergaard of around 130 innings, which he has already exceeded.

Nick Ahmed will lead the charge for Arizona. Per MLB.com, the slick-fielding shortstop rose from Arizona’s 17th ranked prospect before the season to it’s ninth ranked at mid-season off the strength of his best offensive campaign to date. The 24 year old hit .312/.373/.425 over 407 PCL at bats, and has not slowed in the playoffs, going 3-5 with a home run in Thursday night’s Reno victory. But A Triple-A championship may be all the glory he gets in Arizona. With Didi Gregorious and Chris Owings manning the middle infield in Phoenix, there is Nick Ahmed Odd Shortstop Out in Arizona” href=”https://calltothepen.com/2014/09/04/nick-ahmed-odd-shortstop-arizona/”>little room for another glove-first shortstop and Ahmed could wind up heading the way of his GM. 

International League Semifinals: Durham Bulls  V Columbus Clippers

Series Tied 1-1

As it often is with the Indians minor league system, the center of attention in Friday night’s non-NBA Bulls-Clippers matchup will be 21 year old shortstop Francisco Lindor. The games’ 6th best prospect, per BA, Lindor has always been precious in the field, but his bat has been on full display in this series. Lindor went 3-4 in the first game, and 2-5 in the second, leading the offensive charge for Columbus. Jose Ramirez is holding down the fort at shortstop at the major league for the time being, but once the playoffs are through, Lindor’s could be headed to Cleveland.

Durham won’t send out any players with Lindor’s prospect pedigree, but the Rays and their fans will undoubtedly be watching the progress of second baseman Nick Franklin. After coming over from Seattle in the blockbuster that sent David Price to Detroit, Franklin hit just .210/.288/.290 in 113 plate appearances for Durham. He saved some face with a 3-4 performance in thursday night’s contest, but Tampa will have to see more from him if they hope to get a fair bargain out of the Price deal.