1. Anderson Espinoza, RHP
Birthdate: 3/9/98 (18 years old)
Level(s) Played in 2016: low A
Stats in 2016: 108 1/3 IP, 4/49 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, 7.54 BB%, 21.55 K%
The primary focus of the major investigation into the misinformation that the Padres were giving teams in pre-trade medical reports, Espinoza was in limbo for about a week as the Red Sox chose not to pursue reversing the deal that sent him to San Diego in exchange for Drew Pomeranz.
Espinoza received plenty of attention as he had a big 2015 in his pro debut when he finished in low-A, really throwing well the entire season, touching triple digits with his fastball and flashing three plus pitches and plus control.
Espinoza’s fastball does reach upper 90s without effort and sits in the mid-90s. The issue with that fastball is that it is fairly flat in movement, and at 6’0 tall, Espinoza doesn’t generate a ton of plane on the ball.
His curve has incredibly tight spin, though he found the pitch would spin hard without great depth when he was more tired as he worked deeper into games this season.
The change is a sinking change that gets excellent weak contact, and he’s shown the ability to locate that pitch throughout the lower half of the zone.
Espinoza showed that perhaps some of the concerns about his size being a future issue could have some merit as he saw his fastball flatten, curve lose depth, and change also flatten out when he got deeper into games this season. With his small frame, many worry that his future will be as a reliever, but he compares quite favorably to Cardinals righty Carlos Martinez.
I could see Espinoza moving to high-A in 2017, and that’s a huge thing for a guy who’s still going to be a teenager for the entire 2017 season.
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