Wednesday, I brought up a few names that would be fun to keep on your radar as the Single-A season progresses. Those names were position players, outfielders namely, so today, in lieu of my weekly High-A recaps, we’ll take a look at young arms beginning the ascent to a major league stadium near you.
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Single-A has a lot of high-end draft picks toeing the rubber. 2014 first round picks like Sean Newcomb of the Angels organization , Kodi Medeiros (Brewers) and Tyler Kolek (Marlins) are all pitching in Single-A as of this post. Newcomb leads the Midwest league in strikeouts with 52, but he also has 20 walks. Medeiros and Kolek are having similar control struggles; Medeiros has 15 walks in 28 2/3 and Kolek has 15 in 31 1/3 innings.
These high ranking prospects—Kolek is GotC’s No. 36 prospect and Newcomb is MLB.com’s No. 66—should learn to control their high-90s heat and overpower hitters even more than they already are. That being said, you’ll probably hear those names a lot, so I’ll try to highlight pitchers who will fly under the radar a little bit more.
Keep in mind, most of these players are recent draft picks and have a very small body of work from which to form conclusions and a lot could change once the calendar pages turn. For some notably pitching performances in Single-A, we once again begin in the Midwest League…
Next: Midwest League
Apr 20, 2014; Kansas City, MO, USA; A general view of a Minnesota Twins player
Stephen Gonsalves of the Twins’ organization was drafted in the fourth round out of high school in 2013. He has yet to pitch more than 70 innings in any one season, but every season has ended with positive results; three earned runs and 39 strikeouts in 28 1/3 innings in 2013; a 3.02 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 3.33 K/BB ratio in 2014; and an impressive 1.41 ERA/0.81 WHIP/6.14 K/BB line in 32 innings in 2015. Thursday, he pitched four innings and gave up two runs in a game that was suspended due to rain.
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The Chicago Cubs are enjoying immediate returns from two double-digit-round picks from the 2014 draft in Jeremy Null and Ryan Williams—Williams was a 10th round pick while Null was taken in the 15th. Entering play Friday, Null leads the league in ERA (0.74) while Williams is a close second (0.85). Both are also in the top four in WHIP; Williams leads with 0.76 while Null is fourth with a 0.87 mark.
Nulls success can be attributed to his asinine 30/1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Yes, he has walked one batter in 36 2/3 innings. In 2014 while a junior at Western Carolina, that ratio was 3.21 K/BB. That ratio will be impossible to maintain, so keep an eye on him throughout the summer. If he continues to stifle offenses even if he hands out a few free passes, the Cubs may have hit in an unlikely round.
Williams, who interestingly played at East Carolina, has been only slightly less accurate: he has issued two walks and struck out only 32 batters. Plus, he’s holding opposing offenses to a paltry .199 AVG and .260 batting average on balls in play. In his most recent start Saturday, Williams threw six scoreless innings and struck out seven. Again, it will be interesting to watch his numbers once he starts to face offenses a third or fourth time.
Honorable mention: Rays’ Brent Honeywell has a career 0.71 WHIP and .155 opponent’s average, and has a 1.66 ERA in seven starts in 2015.
Next: South Atlantic League
Now we turn to the South Atlantic League…
Collin Wiles, drafted in the compensation A round in 2012 out of high school by the Texas Rangers, is off to a hot start in 2015. In his most recent start Sunday, he went five innings and gave up one run. He’s only allowed four runs in 33 1/3 innings. Luck is most likely playing a role, as his .235 BABIP is well below his career average. At this point, he leads the league in ERA (1.08) and is sixth in WHIP (1.02). Keep an eye on some emerging control issues, as he’s increased his walk total in each of his last four starts.
In 2012, the Chicago White Sox drafted Jordan Guerrero in the 15th round out of high school. He only pitched a combined 112 1/3 innings from 2012-14, posting a 4.09 ERA. He missed most of 2013 with a shoulder injury and was used mostly as a reliever in 2014, but that hasn’t stopped him from putting up performances like the one he had Sunday: six scoreless innings, eight Ks and only three hits. That start pushed his ERA to 1.37 and his K/BB to 5.00. Now that he appears healthy, Guerrero will be a name to check throughout the season.
Austin Coley is incredibly intriguing, mostly because of the team that drafted him. The Pittsburgh Pirates snatched him in the eighth round in 2014, and his 5-2/3.11 ERA/0.98 WHIP line is early evidence they nailed the pick once again.
Consider the pitchers the Pirates have drafted over the past five years: Jameson Taillon (2010), Nick Kingham (2010), Gerrit Cole (2011), Tyler Glasnow (2011) and Mark Appel (2012) to name a few. Cole is a budding ace and Glasnow is a future one. Taillon would be in the major if it weren’t for Tommy John surgery costing him last season, and even though the Pirates couldn’t sign Appel, he’s on his way to becoming a quality starter in the Astros organization.
Also of note is the fact that Coley’s K/BB ratio is an absurd 12.33 (37 Ks and only three walks). The fact that he’s pitching for the Pirates should be a boon for Coley’s major league hopes.