Quote:
Originally Posted by BigRedChief
The best pitching prospect that we have ever had since Gibson. Period.
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If he ever discovers his fastball command, he's Matt Harvey.
Huge HUGE qualifier, obviously, but that's how good the guy can be. Personally, I don't care for the reports that he's touching 101 on occasion because that tells me that he's overloading his shoulder to add 2-3 mph of velocity, but if it's the kind of thing he's only doing 2 or 3 times/game, I can live with it.
Too many guys go out there in the minors and start shoulder loading on every pitch. It adds velocity but it will absolutely wreck their arms. If I see Reyes cruising at 99, I'll worry quite a bit about his long-term health because he was sitting at 95-97 a year ago. Sure, sometimes maturation adds a little, but that's a rare bird for a guy that was already built like a 27 yr old (as Reyes was). If he's finding extra velocity, that tells me he's scapula loading to get it and it doesn't speak well to his long-term prognosis.
If the kid is cruising at 96 and can get his walk rate down near the 3.5/9 range, he'll be a monster. Obviously 3.5 isn't a premier walk rate by any means, but with his stuff, it will be good enough to be a dynamite pitcher. At 3.5, he can be Sonny Gray.
This article from the pre-season in 2014 brought him from someone I had a passing awareness of to someone I've really been watching closely:
http://www.fangraphs.com/fantasy/ale...ever-heard-of/
He's the only true impact prospect in our system, IMO. Kaminsky can be a fine #2 starter someday and I like Flaherty a ton, but he's so far away who really knows. Marco's a 3. Sierra is far away and even if you do think he can be an impact guy, it would require he develop either .400 OBP ability, 25 HR pop or 30 SB skill and right now he possesses none of those things (BABIP fueled OBP last season notwithstanding). Edmundo Sosa is probably never going to hit well enough to be more than a 2-3 WAR player, that's assuming he continues to develop steadily for another 4 years.
That's why you can't trade him, IMO. When you end up with a system full of JAGs, you're only ever 2 seasons away from being a .500 ballclub.