4. Tyler Mahle, RHP
Birthday (age on opening day 2018): 9/29/1994 (23)
2017 teams/levels played for: AA Pensacola Blue Wahoos, AAA Louisville Bats, MLB Cincinnati Reds
2017 Stats: Minors: 24 GS, 144 1/3 IP, 2.06 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, 5.3% BB, 24.5% K; Majors: 4 GS, 20 IP, 2.70 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 12% BB, 15.2% K
Info: A 7th round selection out of high school in 2013 by the Cincinnati Reds, Mahle has worked his way up the system bit by bit. Then in 2017, he took a huge leap forward.
Even with a lean build to his frame, Mahle has added muscle to his build since being drafted, and he’s seen his stuff tick up at the top end
Many in the baseball community simply were noting Mahle’s breakout in AA in April before he tossed a perfect game for Pensacola, going deep in the game with his best velocity, with one gun even registering 99 MPH on his final pitch of the game!
Even with a lean build to his frame, Mahle has added muscle to his build since being drafted, and he’s seen his stuff tick up at the top end. He sits in the low-90s with his fastball, but he can find 96-97 consistently and found 98 multiple times on the season (though only that one game had a 99). He works with a slider that has shown much better break since adding muscle, and his change has seemingly added better arm deception with the better physical development. He does also throw a curve for strikes, but it is still a below-average pitch in consistency of break.
Mahle will need to get more consistent to reach his true ceiling of a good #3, but even now he should have a chance to open 2018 as a member of the Cincinnati Reds rotation and could be a solid #4 with his pitch mix and ability to locate.
3. Taylor Trammell, OF
Birthday (age on opening day 2018): 9/13/1997 (20)
2017 teams/levels played for: Dayton Dragons
2017 Stats: .281/.368/.450, 570 PA, 13 HR, 41 SB, 71/123 BB/K
Info: Trammell was raw coming out of high school in Georgia in 2016 due to being an elite football player as well as baseball player. The Cincinnati Reds gave Trammell a big signing bonus as the 35th overall selection to keep him from playing both sports at Georgia Tech.
Many assumed that due to being so raw, Trammell would take extra time to develop, and his draft season did show some raw-ness to his game. However, his 2017 didn’t look at all like a player who would need extra development time with impressive plate discipline, working deep counts, which did lead to a few more strikeouts than one would like, but even then, he struck out just 21.6% of the time in 2017, compared to 12.5% walk rate.
Trammell is absolutely tooled up, with his performance on the season not being at all surprising when he hit 24 doubles, 10 triples, and 13 home runs on the season along with 41 steals. He has above-average raw power that he’s already been able to access in game and could even add more along the way. His double-plus speed allows him to stretch out for plenty of extra bases.
Defensively, Trammell has the speed to work in enter, but his instincts are below-average currently. With a below-average arm, he will need to see some significant improvements in his reads in center or likely move to left field.
The Cincinnati Reds will start Trammell in high-A in 2018, but if he continues to show maturity beyond expectations, he could move up to AA by the end of the season.
Next: #1 and #2