rico43
<B>Director of Minor League Reports</B>
A Padres blog has broken down Braves pickups with a nod towards it being a great haul by ATL.
Here is LINK, but here also are a few hilites!
Fried:
The 6’4/185 lefty was half of what may have been the best 1-2 punch in high school baseball history, with Nationals top prospect RHP Lucas Giolito at Harvard Westlake High School in 2012. Unfortunately, Giolito’s senior season ended prematurely by Tommy John surgery and Fried himself also had the surgery performed on him this past August. Scouts were concerned going into the 2012 draft spring about the unusually high volume of pitches with limited down time on the high school’s pitching program, but these sorts of injuries are always due to a number of factors and some bad luck. Fried was taken #7 overall in the 2012 draft.
Fried was shut down early in 2014 as a precaution, his subsequent MRI was clean, he went on a long rehab program and when he went back to the mound, his elbow popped a few starts into his return. He’s due back on the mound sometime around fall instructional league in 2015.
Mallex:
Smith was a 5th rounder in 2012 out of a Florida junior college and he has an easy tool to buy into: 80 speed. He has instincts to use that speed on the bases, and his 88 regular season stolen bases bear that out. Smith is a little rougher defensively in center field, but that kind of closing speed means only small improvements are necessary to be above average with the glove.
Jace:
Peterson was an under-slot bonus sandwich round pick in the 2011 draft out of McNeese State, but he had limited baseball experience as he also played cornerback on the football team. He may not even have a 55 tool, but Peterson makes the most out of what he has. His average or so speed plays up on the bases and in the field; he came up as a shortstop, but fits better at second base and third base, where his defensive tools profile.
Peterson doesn’t have huge bat speed, power or even the prettiest mechanics, but he has a good approach at the plate, works counts in his favor and gears his in-game swing for contact over power, with a good approach versus lefties.
Dustin:
Peterson is the younger brother of Mariners top prospect D.J. Peterson; D.J. went 12th overall in the 2013 draft out of New Mexico while Dustin went 50th overall to the Padres out of an Arizona high school in the same draft.
He’s a fringy to average runner with a below average arm, so the defensive value will never be huge but Peterson has above average raw power and bat speed as his carrying tools. He has an advanced feel for the bat head, so the tools are here for an everyday player,
Here is LINK, but here also are a few hilites!
Fried:
The 6’4/185 lefty was half of what may have been the best 1-2 punch in high school baseball history, with Nationals top prospect RHP Lucas Giolito at Harvard Westlake High School in 2012. Unfortunately, Giolito’s senior season ended prematurely by Tommy John surgery and Fried himself also had the surgery performed on him this past August. Scouts were concerned going into the 2012 draft spring about the unusually high volume of pitches with limited down time on the high school’s pitching program, but these sorts of injuries are always due to a number of factors and some bad luck. Fried was taken #7 overall in the 2012 draft.
Fried was shut down early in 2014 as a precaution, his subsequent MRI was clean, he went on a long rehab program and when he went back to the mound, his elbow popped a few starts into his return. He’s due back on the mound sometime around fall instructional league in 2015.
Mallex:
Smith was a 5th rounder in 2012 out of a Florida junior college and he has an easy tool to buy into: 80 speed. He has instincts to use that speed on the bases, and his 88 regular season stolen bases bear that out. Smith is a little rougher defensively in center field, but that kind of closing speed means only small improvements are necessary to be above average with the glove.
Jace:
Peterson was an under-slot bonus sandwich round pick in the 2011 draft out of McNeese State, but he had limited baseball experience as he also played cornerback on the football team. He may not even have a 55 tool, but Peterson makes the most out of what he has. His average or so speed plays up on the bases and in the field; he came up as a shortstop, but fits better at second base and third base, where his defensive tools profile.
Peterson doesn’t have huge bat speed, power or even the prettiest mechanics, but he has a good approach at the plate, works counts in his favor and gears his in-game swing for contact over power, with a good approach versus lefties.
Dustin:
Peterson is the younger brother of Mariners top prospect D.J. Peterson; D.J. went 12th overall in the 2013 draft out of New Mexico while Dustin went 50th overall to the Padres out of an Arizona high school in the same draft.
He’s a fringy to average runner with a below average arm, so the defensive value will never be huge but Peterson has above average raw power and bat speed as his carrying tools. He has an advanced feel for the bat head, so the tools are here for an everyday player,
