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Breakout candidates for 2014


NorthSideSox72

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Every year, a number of prospects "break out". These are guys who aren't among the top handful of prospects in the system, maybe they are ranked lower or not showing up on rankings at all, but who by the end of the year are right there. This year, Micah Johnson and Brandon Webb would be among the more prolific examples, but also players who were complete unknowns but now look like prospects (i.e. Chris Bassitt).

 

Who are you thinking might fit that bill in 2014? Who do you think is going to pop up the lists?

 

Here are a few for me...

 

Joey DeMichele

Adam Lopez

Kyle Hansen

Braulio Ortiz

Jason Coats

Mike Recchia

Jeff McKenzie

Christian Stringer

 

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QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Oct 21, 2013 -> 10:24 AM)
Brandon Webb?! :P

 

haha, I said NEXT year, not THIS YEAR.

 

QUOTE (bbilek1 @ Oct 21, 2013 -> 10:33 AM)
Ortiz and Hansen are a couple guys a like as well. Ortiz's slider is one of the best pitches in our whole system. MLB bullpen worthy for sure.

 

Another guy I like for '14 is Jefferson Olacio. For anyone who doesn't know Olacio he is a lefty from the DR with the frame CC Sabatahia claims to have in 6' 7" - 270. (no way CC isn't 300+)

 

First half: 6.86 ERA with 28 BB in 59 IP (12 GS)

Second half: 2.78 ERA with 29 BB in 77.2 IP (13 GS)

 

Olacio probably has the biggest gap between floor and ceiling of anyone in the system. His mechanics were really messed up this year, in part because the guy was still changing physically in a huge way. He flashes brilliance, but can also be terrible. 3 years from now he could be so busted he's out of baseball, or mowing down hitters in the majors - I could see either one. The most likely scenario is closer to the former, but the latter is intriguing.

 

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I'd add Jake Cose and Myles Jaye to the list as well. Jaye really put things together in Kannapolis before struggling with a promotion to W-S but it looked like he was adjusting to the Carolina League by the end of the year.

 

Jake Cose is rather unheralded around here but IMO he had as impressive of a season last year as any of our other pitching prospects. He has a major league frame and possesses some pretty good movement on his pitches as demonstrated

. Another guy that split time between Kannapolis and W-S, struggled at first in the Carolina League but looked like started figuring things out by the end of the season. Edited by Bruce_Blixton
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Obviously I've been the captain on the Ortiz train for quite some time now (still believe he's definitely top 25 in this system). Love everything about his make-up, just needs to be more aggressive and believe in his stuff more. I won't say names like Danish, Mitchell, Engel, Beck etc. since they're more known (as well as Jaye) on top 25 lists, so I'll thrown an unknown reliever who might get Santos Rodriguez-like consideration for the top 25 list. (before next year's June draft of course which probably bumps alot of people off, although still maybe sneaks in..) Andre Wheeler. Brad Goldberg was getting more the headlines as the season was winding down, but IMO, Wheeler is the better prospect. He got a mechanical tweak in Bristol, and he was just dominant (especially with his control which was the biggest knock on him.. sounds familiar) after turning pro. I can see him shooting up the minors next year, with AA being his biggest test. Being a LHP also doesn't hurt his chances in the future.

 

Another guy who is unknown, but a bit more polished hitter right now than the big signings overseas (Otano, Cruz, etc.) from the DSL is Antonio Rodriguez. Sox are very high on this kid, and he did finish out the year very strong for DSL. Obviously still a ways away, but he could sneak in if he hits Bristol (which he got a taste of last year) and plays solid. Just exceptional tools he possesses which alone makes him intriguing to follow. I might one of the rare ones actually playing attention to the DSL guys though, so it's probably more of a stretch.

 

Just trying to fit the criteria of this thread.

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This might be a stretch, but I'd like to go with Chris Beck. There have been some big question marks about his production vs peripherals, so I think he is a good candidate to really put it into overdrive and grab some starts in MLB at the end of the year.

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QUOTE (SoxAce @ Oct 22, 2013 -> 12:51 AM)
Obviously I've been the captain on the Ortiz train for quite some time now (still believe he's definitely top 25 in this system). Love everything about his make-up, just needs to be more aggressive and believe in his stuff more. I won't say names like Danish, Mitchell, Engel, Beck etc. since they're more known (as well as Jaye) on top 25 lists, so I'll thrown an unknown reliever who might get Santos Rodriguez-like consideration for the top 25 list. (before next year's June draft of course which probably bumps alot of people off, although still maybe sneaks in..) Andre Wheeler. Brad Goldberg was getting more the headlines as the season was winding down, but IMO, Wheeler is the better prospect. He got a mechanical tweak in Bristol, and he was just dominant (especially with his control which was the biggest knock on him.. sounds familiar) after turning pro. I can see him shooting up the minors next year, with AA being his biggest test. Being a LHP also doesn't hurt his chances in the future.

 

Another guy who is unknown, but a bit more polished hitter right now than the big signings overseas (Otano, Cruz, etc.) from the DSL is Antonio Rodriguez. Sox are very high on this kid, and he did finish out the year very strong for DSL. Obviously still a ways away, but he could sneak in if he hits Bristol (which he got a taste of last year) and plays solid. Just exceptional tools he possesses which alone makes him intriguing to follow. I might one of the rare ones actually playing attention to the DSL guys though, so it's probably more of a stretch.

 

Just trying to fit the criteria of this thread.

 

You say the Sox are very high on Antonio Rodriguez... can you elaborate? What have they said?

 

 

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