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Prospect Profile: Joe Harvey

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(Matt Bufano/Pinstriped Prospects)

Background

Harvey, 27, grew up near Philadelphia and attended Kennedy-Kenrick Catholic School in Norristown, Pennsylvania. Prior to his senior year (2010), he was named to the Rawlings/Perfect Game Pre-Season Atlantic Region High School Senior second team. It was a nice honor, but by not being named to the first team, he wasn’t a draft prospect. So, it was off to the University of Pittsburgh.

After redshirting in his freshman year, Harvey joined the Panthers’ bullpen. He was mediocre in his sophomore and junior years, but blossomed as a senior. After struggling with his control (35 walks in 60 innings), Harvey took a step forward in his senior season. Preceding his senior year, though, was a trip to the Cape Cod League, where Harvey threw six innings of one run ball. Though not enough exposure to make anyone really notice, it was a precursor for his final college season.

Everything came together for Harvey in his last year at Pitt. Rather than pitch exclusively in relief, Harvey got most of his work as a starter. In 15 games (12 starts), the righty tossed 71 innings with a 2.90 ERA. His biggest improvement was his control: he walked only 16 batters, good for a BB/9 just north of 2. This performance got him to the very back end of Baseball America’s top 500 draft prospects in 2014. The Yankees popped him in the 19th round of the 2014 draft.

Pro Career

Harvey signed for $60,000 and reported to rookie ball for a two-game tuneup before heading to Staten Island to finish his first pro season. From day one with the Yankees, Harvey was no longer a starter. His organizational debut was excellent (20.2 IP, 19 Ks, 5 BBs, 1.74 ERA). It was a solid beginning in advance of what was supposed to be his first full season in 2015. Unfortunately, Tommy John surgery changed things. After a couple of months in Charleston to start 2015, his season was over.

Upon return, Harvey excelled. After a few rehab appearances in the GCL, he finished 2016 in Staten Island and recorded his highest strikeout rate (29.1%) of his young career. In 2017, he got off to a late start for reasons that are unclear (injury or extended spring training, most likely). Once back into game action, he dominated, this time with High-A Tampa. Around a short DL stint midseason, he recorded a microscopic 1.05 ERA and 29.3% strikeout rate. That winter, he was eligible for the Rule 5 Draft but the Yankees didn’t protect him. Despite the strong performance, Harvey was an afterthought at the time as a former 19th rounder with a recent Tommy John surgery, so there wasn’t much concern he’d be taken.

No team selected Harvey in the Rule 5 Draft, as expected. He started 2018 with Double-A Trenton, but was promptly bumped up to Triple-A in late April for good. The righty became a key cog in Scranton’s bullpen and completed his first full professional season without interruption. In 59.1 innings last year, Harvey pitched to a 1.67 ERA while punching out 29.1% of hitters. In the Triple-A playoffs, he held opponents scoreless in four appearances. The Yankees added Harvey to the 40-man roster just a couple of weeks after season’s end. It was a somewhat surprising addition, but it’s hard to argue against his performance.

Scouting Report

Harvey has three pitches in his arsenal, though one stands out above the rest. His mid-90s fastball has a high spin rate that the Yankees adore. His curveball is a work in progress and has been a focal point of his offseason, as he told Pinstriped Prospects:

Mike also noted that Harvey throws “something resembling a changeup”.

Like so many relievers, control is not one of Harvey’s strengths. His career minor league walk rate of 10.7% won’t fly in the majors unless he’s the next Dellin Betances. The odds of him being the next Betances are slim, to say the least.

Harvey is a well built 6’2″ and 220 pounds. He has a little bit of a Tommy Kahnle look on the mound, who’s of similar stature (6’1″, 235 lbs). From a stuff perspective, he reminds me of Chad Green. That’s a lofty and certainly unfair comp, but their repertoires are quite similar. Both have high spin rates on their mid-90s heaters and have questionable breaking pitches.

2019 Outlook

Projection systems don’t think much of Harvey at this point. PECOTA pegs him for a 5.26 ERA while Steamer is a bit more optimistic at 4.60. These poor forecasts aren’t a big deal though. Barring a plethora of injuries, Harvey isn’t going to have much of a role on this year’s big league squad given the Yankees’ current bullpen. Plus, Harvey will have to compete with other 40-man relievers likely destined for Scranton, such as Stephen Tarpley and Ben Heller.

In all likelihood, Harvey will ride the Scranton shuttle back and forth a handful of times this season, rotating with the Hellers and Tarpleys of the world as needed. He should see some time during expanded rosters in September, too. Otherwise, he should be one of the RailRiders’ go-to late inning relievers.

My Take

Harvey doesn’t excite me. Despite his minor league track record, it seems like hard throwing right-handed relievers are a dime-a-dozen nowadays. If he had a wipeout slider or curve, it’d be a different story. He’s undoubtedly a nice depth arm that can be plucked from Triple-A as needed, but I would be surprised if he amounts to much more than a middle innings guy. Maybe he can ride his fastball to success in the way Green has, but that remains to be seen.

Prospect Profile: Brandon Wagner

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(Presswire)

Brandon Wagner | IF

Background
Wagner, 23, is a local kid who grew up in Somerville, New Jersey, and attended Immaculata High School. Baseball America (subs. req’d) did not rank him among the top 500 prospects for the 2013 draft, but the Phillies did select Wagner in the 39th round (1,171st overall). He did not sign out of high school and instead headed to Howard College in Texas, a two-year school.

As a freshman with the Hawks, Wagner put up a strong .314/.488/.490 batting line with four homers and more walks (47) than strikeouts (40) in 48 games. Despite that, Baseball America (subs. req’d) did not rank Wagner among their top 500 prospects for the 2014 draft, and he was not selected. He returned to Howard for his sophomore year and hit .435/.571/.891 with 22 homers and again more walks (46) than strikeouts (43) in 58 games. That earned him conference MVP honors.

Baseball America (subs. req’d) ranked Wagner as the 438th best prospect in the 2015 draft class. The Yankees selected him in the sixth round (183rd overall) and signed him to a straight slot $256,000 bonus. At age 19, Wagner was one of the youngest college players in his draft class.

Pro Career
Wagner was sent directly to the short season Staten Island Yankees for his pro debut in 2015. He hit .228/.347/.364 (116 wRC+) with four homers, a 25.4% strikeout rate, and a 14.5% walk rate in 52 games. The Yankees held Wagner back in Extended Spring Training to begin 2016 and eventually assigned him to the rookie Gulf Coast League and rookie Appalachian League. He hit .267/.369/.471 (144 wRC+) with eight homers and good strikeout (21.1%) and walk (12.8%) rates in 54 total games that year.

The Yankees assigned Wagner to Low-A Charleston in 2017, his first full season ball assignment, and he responded with a .277/.380/.392 (128 wRC+) batting line and seven homers in 110 games. His walk rate (13.0%) was very good. His strikeout rate (26.4%) was a tad high. Wagner moved up to High-A Tampa last season and had a breakout year, a breakout year that saw him get promoted to Double-A Trenton in the second half. The numbers:

G PA AVG/OBP/SLG wRC+ HR XBH K% BB%
High-A Tampa 87 359 .270/.376/.510 150 20 33 27.0% 12.0%
Double-A Trenton 37 159 .262/.390/.346 116 1 9 23.9% 17.0%
Total 124 518 .267/.380/.461 143 21 42 26.1% 13.5%

After hitting 19 home runs in 216 pro games from 2015-17, Wagner swatted 20 homers in 87 games with High-A Tampa alone last year. Double-A wasn’t as kind, but, you know, it happens. The Yankees had Wagner participate in Instructional League following last season.

Scouting Report
Built solidly at 6-foot-0 and 200 lbs., Wagner is a classic left-handed hitting corner infield masher. His calling card is above-average power to all fields, though, like everyone else, he does the most damage when he speeds up his bat and pulls the ball. Wagner started to really tap into his power last season following some offseason adjustments that turned him into a launch angle guy. His year-to-year ground ball rates:

  • 2015: 51.4%
  • 2016: 46.4%
  • 2017: 45.5%
  • 2018: 35.6%

Wagner’s plate discipline is excellent and bordering on passive. There are times he’ll let hittable pitches go by. And despite having some length to his swing, Wagner doesn’t swing-and-miss a whole lot. His 9.4% swing-and-miss rate last season is better than average and, among the 253 minor leaguers with at least 500 plate appearances last year, only five combined a lower swing-and-miss rate and a higher ISO than Wagner’s marks (9.4% and .194, respectively).

Defensively, Wagner was drafted as a third baseman and he split his pro debut with Staten Island between second and third. He’s been primarily a first baseman since then, however, playing 228 games at first from 2016-18 and only 32 elsewhere. Wagner’s a good athlete and his hands are fine, but he lacks the range for second and the quickness for third. I suspect we might see him play some left field next year in an effort to increase his versatility. Wagner is a good runner who isn’t a liability on the bases, though he’s never been much of a stolen base threat.

2019 Outlook
Wagner is ticketed for a return to Double-A Trenton this season following his 37-game cameo at the level last year, in which he did little besides walk. Trenton is a brutal ballpark for left-handed hitters — the breeze comes in off the Delaware River beyond the right field wall and knocks fly balls down, especially at night — so don’t be surprised if his early season power numbers are down. A midseason promotion to Triple-A Scranton could be in the cards, though the RailRiders may have as many as three true first basemen on the roster in Greg Bird, Mike Ford, and Ryan McBroom. I suspect the Yankees will make room in Triple-A should Wagner really force the issue.

My Take
I’m not the biggest Wagner fan. The swing is a little too long for my liking and I worry upper level pitchers will give him trouble. Wagner strikes me as a potential National League bench bat. A lefty pinch-hitter who can put a mistake in the seats, play some first base and maybe left field, and also fill in at third base in a pinch. American League teams can use a guy like that too, sure. It’s just that the so-called Senior Circuit offers more pinch-hitting opportunities. Wagner went unselected in the Rule 5 Draft in December and I’m not sure he can be anything more than an up-and-down guy for a contending team. If the Yankees get a chance to cash him in as a trade chip, they should pounce.

Prospect Profile: Josh Stowers

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(Everett AquaSox)

Josh Stowers | OF

Background
Stowers, 22 next month, grew up outside Chicago in Westchester, Illinois. He hit .352/.463/.508 with two home runs as a senior at Mount Caramel High School and Baseball America (subs. req’d) ranked him as the 490th best prospect in the 2015 draft class. Despite that, Stowers went undrafted out of high school and instead followed through on his commitment to the University of Louisville. (Stowers, by the way, rhymes with “lowers,” not “flowers.”)

Louisville has become a baseball powerhouse, so only the very best of the best get to play as freshmen. Stowers appeared in 20 games and received only 15 plate appearances as a first year player, going 3-for-13 (.231) with two steals. A summer ball stint with the Madison Mallards of the Northwoods League went much better. Stowers hit .311/.373/.400 with three homers in 39 games that summer.

As a sophomore Stowers moved into an everyday role with the Cardinals and put up a .313/.422/.507 batting line with six homers and 22 steals in 65 games. That includes going 4-for-11 (.364) with a double in three College World Series games before Louisville was eliminated. Stowers suited up for the Chatham Anglers of the Cape Cod League that summer and struggled, hitting .250/.337/.345 with two homers and 12 steals in 24 games.

Stowers barely played as a freshman and hit near the bottom of the lineup as a sophomore. As a junior he moved to the top of the order and hit .336/.477/.559 with nine homers, 36 steals, and more walks (52) than strikeouts (37). Baseball America (subs. req’d) and MLB.com ranked Stowers as the 124th and 146th best prospect in the 2018 draft class, respectively. Keith Law (subs. req’d) did not rank him among his top 100 draft prospects.

The Mariners selected Stowers with their second round pick, the 54th overall selection, in last June’s draft and signed him to a slightly below-slot $1.1M bonus. (Slot money for the 54th overall pick was $1.2878M.) The Yankees acquired Stowers from Seattle in the three-team Sonny Gray trade with the Reds on January 21st, 2019.

Pro Debut
After signing, the Mariners sent Stowers to their short season affiliate in the Northwest League. (Their equivalent to Short Season Staten Island.) Stowers hit .260/.380/.410 (126 wRC+) with five homers, 20 steals, 15.2% walks, and 23.4% strikeouts in 58 games in his pro debut. Baseball America (subs. req’d) named him the 12th best prospect in the league after the season.

Scouting Report
With a thick lower half and a 6-foot-1, 200-pound frame, Stowers doesn’t look like the prototypical center fielder. He is a well-above-average runner (his speed is his best tool) and his speed serves him well defensively, but his reads and routes need to improve to remain in center long-term. Stowers has a below-average arm, so if he can’t hack it in center field, left field is the only other option. His arm won’t cut it in right.

Offensively, Stowers has the rare pretty right-handed swing. It’s direct to the ball and allows him to spray line drives from pole to pole, but he doesn’t generate much loft, so Stowers only projects to have average power down the road. His plate discipline is razor sharp and he steals bases efficiently and in bulk. The long-term upside here is a good batting average with a high on-base percentage and lots of steals, but something short of 20 homers.

By all accounts Stowers is coachable and a hard worker. The risk here is that he’ll become a ‘tweener, meaning he won’t be good enough defensively to remain in center field or offer the type of offense expected from a corner. The questionable center field defense/okay power potential profile is a tough one, especially for a hitter on the light side of the platoon.

2019 Outlook
Stowers is definitely ready for full season ball after three years at a major college program, two summers in top collegiate leagues, and a strong pro debut in short season ball. I think it’s more likely he’ll start the season with Low-A Charleston and get promoted to High-A Tampa at midseason than start the season in Tampa. If he does start the year in Tampa, Stowers would presumably join Estevan Florial and Pablo Olivares in a fun little outfield unit.

My Take
Everything I know about Stowers is in this post and he hasn’t been in the system long enough for me to form an opinion about him. Consider my take TBD. Because he’s fast and a good athlete, I think Stowers stands a pretty good chance to remain in center field, or at least I think he has a better chance to improve his defense and remain in center than add power. Stowers and Shed Long, the prospect the Yankees acquired from the Reds for Gray then flipped to the Mariners for Stowers, will forever be connected. Comparing the two is unfair — they are at very different points of their careers — but inevitable. My preference would’ve been keeping the upper level infielder. Stowers is a quality prospect in his own right though.

Prospect Profile: Garrett Whitlock

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(@TampaTarpons)

Garrett Whitlock | RHP

Background
Whitlock, 22, grew up outside Atlanta in Snellville, Georgia. He played four years of baseball at Providence Christian Academy and posted a 0.62 ERA as a senior. Despite that, Baseball America (subs. req’d) did rank him among the top 500 prospects for the 2015 draft, and he went undrafted out of high school. Whitlock followed through on his commitment to the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

As a freshman with the Blazers in 2016, Whitlock worked almost exclusively in relief, throwing 51 innings with a 3.00 ERA and a 46/21 K/BB. He made one start and 24 relief appearances. Whitlock headed to the Cape Cod League for summer ball and struck out eight in six shutout innings for the Chatham Anglers. Given his limited workload, it should be no surprise Whitlock did not make Jim Callis’ top ten Cape Cod League prospects that year.

Whitlock moved into the rotation as a sophomore in 2017 and in fact he drew UAB’s Opening Day start. He got off to an excellent start to the season before suffering a back strain that sent him to the sidelines for a while, and pushed him into a relief role when he returned. His effectiveness waned and Whitlock finished the spring with a 4.03 ERA and 44/24 K/BB in 60 innings. Not the breakout year he was hoping to put together.

Because he turned 21 within 45 days of the draft, Whitlock was draft-eligible as a sophomore in 2017, and Baseball America (subs. req’d) ranked him the 331st best prospect in the draft class. The Yankees selected him in the 18th round (542nd overall) and paid him an above-slot $247,500 bonus*. Whitlock had leverage because, as a draft-eligible sophomore, he could return to school for his junior year and reenter the draft in 2018.

* Every dollar over $125,000 given to a player drafted after the tenth round counts against the bonus pool, so Whitlock came with a $122,500 bonus pool charge.

Pro Career
Whitlock signed on draft signing deadline day, so he didn’t get many innings under his belt during his pro debut in 2017. He allowed seven runs in 14.1 rookie ball innings split between the Gulf Coast League and Appalachian League. On the bright side, Whitlock struck out 22 and walked zero in those 14.1 innings. Not much to his pro debut.

The Yankees sent Whitlock to Low-A Charleston to begin last season and he carved up South Atlantic League hitters, throwing 40 innings with a 1.13 ERA (2.27 FIP) and strong strikeout (29.7%), walk (4.7%), and ground ball (62.0%) rates. A promotion to High-A Tampa followed. Whitlock had a 2.44 ERA (3.11 FIP) in 70 innings with Tampa. His strikeout (25.1%), walk (9.2%), and grounder (50.5%) rates were solid.

A two-appearance cameo with Double-A Trenton was uneven (10.2 IP, 10 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 7 BB, 4 K) — Whitlock actually jumped from Low-A to Double-A for a spot start in April — and Whitlock finished his first full pro season with a 1.86 ERA (3.01 FIP) in 120.2 total innings. The strikeout (24.9%), walk (8.4%), and ground ball (53.0%) numbers were good. His 1.86 ERA was fourth lowest among the 510 pitchers to throw at least 100 innings in the minors in 2018.

Scouting Report
The Yankees bet an 18th round pick and a $247,500 bonus on Whitlock returning to form as he got further away from the back injury and that’s exactly what happened. This past season the right-hander showed the same low-to-mid-90s sinking two-seam fastball he had as a freshman and on the Cape, and the Yankees also had him start throwing four-seam fastballs up in the zone to change eye levels.

Whitlock boasts two solid secondary pitches in his power slider and changeup. The Yankees have helped him gain consistency with his slider, which sometimes looked like a slider and sometimes looked like a curveball in college. Now it is a slider, definitively. The changeup is a quality pitch as well and allows him to neutralize left-handed batters. Whitlock is a true-four pitch pitcher with a four-seamer, a sinker, a slider, and a changeup.

There is a little funk in Whitlock’s delivery and it allows him to hide the ball well, so he has four distinct pitches and deception. Not bad. Throwing strikes has never been much of a problem for Whitlock. His command — the ability to pitch at the knees and to the corners of the plate — must improve across the board, however. That’s not unusual for a pitching prospect with one full season under his belt though.

On the durability front, Whitlock has had no injury problems aside from his poorly timed back strain during his sophomore season at UAB — he might’ve been a top five rounds pick with a healthy back that spring — and he has plenty of size (6-foot-5 and 190 lbs.). Enough that you could see him adding velocity should he add a little more muscle.

2019 Outlook
After ripping through two levels of Single-A ball last season, Whitlock is all but certain to begin the 2019 season with Double-A Trenton. I have to think the Yankees are hoping he can pitch his way up to Triple-A Scranton at some point as well. Half a season in Trenton and half a season in Scranton would be ideal. I’d bet against Whitlock making his MLB debut this year — he doesn’t have to be added to the 40-man roster for Rule 5 Draft purposes until the 2020-21 offseason — but don’t be surprised if the Yankees bring him to Spring Training as a non-roster invitee.

My Take
I really like Whitlock. The Yankees have become quite good at developing mid-to-late round arms (Chance Adams, Cody Carroll, Jordan Montgomery, Josh Rogers, Caleb Smith, Taylor Widener, etc.) into big league pieces or trade chips, and Whitlock appears to belong in that mix. He has a deep enough arsenal and good enough control to start, which is quite valuable even if he’s only a back-end guy. In relief, he could really be something. Part of me wonders whether Whitlock is more trade chip than big league option because he’s not a huge velocity guy and the Yankees usually steer clear of middling velocity righties. Either way, what a get in the 18th round.

Prospect Profile: Deivi Garcia

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(@MiLB)

Deivi Garcia | RHP

Background
The 19-year-old Garcia grew up in Bonoa, Dominican Republic, which has produced its fair share of big leaguers, most notably Juan Cruz, Carlos Marmol, Adalberto Mejia, and Joel Peralta. Neither MLB.com nor Baseball America (subs. req’d) ranked Garcia as one of the top 30 prospects for the 2015-16 international signing period.

The Yankees were in the penalty phase for their 2014-15 international spending spree at the time, meaning their signing bonuses were capped at $300,000. Garcia received a $200,000 bonus. As best I can tell, that is the third largest bonus the Yankees handed out during the 2015-16 signing period, behind shortstop Jesus Bastidas ($300,000) and righty Luis Medina ($280,000).

Pro Career
Like most international signees, Garcia made his pro debut in the Dominican Summer League. He made 12 starts and threw 48.1 innings with a 2.61 ERA (3.22 FIP) for the DSL2 squad in 2016. (The Yankees had two DSL affiliates, DSL1 and DSL2, up until two years ago. Now they have one.) Garcia posted a 31.6% strikeout rate and a 16.6% walk rate in those 48.1 innings.

The Yankees had Garcia begin the 2017 season back in the DSL, but, after three starts, they brought him to the United States. Garcia made four appearances and threw 16.2 innings in the rookie Gulf Coast League before being moved up to rookie Pulaski, where he made six starts and threw 28 innings. He pitched well at all three levels and finished with a 3.30 ERA (3.44 FIP) and strong strikeout (36.6%) and walk (8.8%) rates in 60 total innings in 2017.

Garcia started last season in Extended Spring Training and finished it in Double-A. He made his official game season debut in a June 5th spot start for High-A Tampa. Garcia was then moved down to Low-A Charleston, where he made eight starts, before moving back up to High-A Tampa. He made four starts with Tampa and closed the season with a spot start with Double-A Trenton. His level-by-level numbers:

G IP ERA FIP K% BB% GB% HR/9 Whiff%
Low-A Charleston 8 40.2 3.76 3.15 37.1% 5.9% 25.9% 1.11 16.1%
High-A Tampa 5 28.1 1.26 1.96 32.1% 7.3% 35.9% 0.00 12.0%
Double-A Trenton 1 5 0.00 1.73 41.2% 11.8% 37.5% 0.00 14.3%
Total 14 74 2.55 2.60 35.5% 6.8% 30.6% 0.61 14.5%

Nine-hundred-and-two pitchers threw at least 70 innings in the minors in 2018. Among those 902 pitchers, Garcia had the fifth highest strikeout rate (35.5%) and the fourth highest K-BB% rate (28.7%). Both marks were the best among teenagers. (The next best rates among teenagers were 31.2 K% and 26.9 K-BB% by separate pitchers.)

Scouting Report
Two things immediately stand out about Garcia. The first is his size. He’s listed at 5-foot-10 and 163 lbs., and that’s after bulking up from his listed 145 lbs. when he signed. Garcia is quite diminutive, and his low ground ball rate indicates he’s had trouble generating downward plane on his fastball because of his size. That’s a physical limitation thing. Not a “it’ll get better with experience” thing.

The second thing that stands out is his raw stuff. Garcia’s arsenal is headlined by a hammer curveball in the upper-70s/low-80s. Both the curveball and his low-to-mid-90s fastball generate very high spin rates, with reports indicating the curveball has been clocked at north of 3,000 rpm. That’s elite curveball spin even for big leaguers. Garcia made real strides with his changeup last season and it’s now a third reliable pitch.

There is still some effort in Garcia’s delivery but not as much as there was two years ago. As a result, he’s improved his strike-throwing ability, though there are still times he can’t harness his stuff and the ball winds up all over the place. Garcia does need to improve his command overall. He can get the ball over the plate, for the most part. Pitching to the edges rather than the middle of the plate is the next development goal.

Fairly or unfairly, Garcia’s durability and his ability to start will always be in question because of his size. Only 13 right-handers standing no taller than 5-foot-10 have accumulated at least +10 WAR over the last 50 years. Garcia has been completely healthy as a pro to date, and hey, he is still only 19, so a growth spurt could still be coming. (If it does, it stands to reason he’ll add velocity.) Right now, his size is a potential obstacle to long-term MLB success. That’s what history suggests.

2019 Outlook
I know Garcia made that one Double-A spot start last season — he would’ve started Game Five of Trenton’s first round postseason series had they not been swept in the best-of-five series — but he’s almost certainly going to return to High-A Tampa to begin 2019. For starters, he made only five starts at that level last year. Five dominant starts, but still only five starts. Garcia still has things to learn at that level. Almost no one masters it that quickly, especially not a teenager.

And secondly, Garcia is still only 19. He won’t turn 20 until mid-May. Only two 19-year-old pitchers (Padres lefty Adrian Morejon and Braves lefty Ian Anderson) were on High Class-A Opening Day rosters last year, so Garcia very well might be the youngest pitcher in the Florida State League when the regular season begins. Keeping him in Tampa at least until the weather warms up in Trenton strikes me as the obvious move. I expect Garcia to return to Double-A at some point this summer and, if he continues pitching this well, a late season cameo with Triple-A Scranton could be in the cards.

My Take
Big Garcia fan. His size does make me skeptical about his ability to start long-term — Garcia would buck a lot of history if he’s able to do it — but, if he has to settle for a bullpen role, his fastball/curveball combination figures to make him a true high-leverage option for the late-innings. Either way, his newfound strike-throwing ability is awfully exciting. I didn’t think his control would improve that quickly. If Garcia can remain a starter, great. If he has to move to the bullpen, so be it. There’s no shame in that nowadays. (Part of me can’t help but wonder if he’s trade bait because the Yankees may be worried about his size.)

Prospect Profile: Tanner Myatt

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(Robert M Pimpsner/Pinstriped Prospects)

Tanner Myatt | RHP

Background
Myatt, 20, grew up in Spring Lake, North Carolina, near Fayetteville and Fort Bragg. He attended Overhills High School and pitched to a 2.75 ERA with 63 strikeouts and 18 walks in 43.1 innings as a senior, and also hit .312/.365/.395 in 52 plate appearances. Baseball America (subs. req’d) did not rank Myatt as one of the top 500 prospects for the 2016 draft and he went unselected out of high school.

After going undrafted Myatt headed to Florence-Darling Technical College in South Carolina. He put up a 3.76 ERA with 34 strikeouts and 16 walks in 26.1 innings as a freshman. Myatt again went undrafted in 2017 — he wasn’t among Baseball America’s (subs. req’d) top 500 draft prospects — and, as a sophomore, he threw 30 innings with a 1.89 ERA and 39 strikeouts against 20 walks. He made four starts and ten relief appearances.

Baseball America (subs. req’d) did not rank Myatt among their top 500 prospects for the 2018 draft, though they did rank him the 16th best prospect in South Carolina (subs. req’d). The Yankees selected Myatt with their 11th round pick (337th overall) last summer, making him the highest draft pick in Florence-Darling history. Myatt leveraged a transfer commitment to the College of Charleston into a $147,500 bonus. Every dollar over $125,000 given to a player taken after the tenth round counts against the draft pool, so Myatt counted as $22,500 against the pool.

“We were extremely excited to be able to select Tanner in the 11th round,” said scouting director Damon Oppenheimer after the draft. “He has a big arm and is an extremely uncomfortable at-bat for right-handed batters. We believe he has a high ceiling and look forward to having our player development staff help him reach it.”

Pro Debut
After signing Myatt was assigned to the rookie Gulf Coast League, where he had a 6.06 ERA (5.07 FIP) with 22 strikeouts and nine walks in 18.1 innings. That works out to 30.8% strikeout rate and a 10.8% walk rate. He made five starts and four relief appearances. Myatt closed out his regular season with one appearance for Short Season Staten Island, striking out two and walking two in two scoreless innings. He then participated in Instructional League after the season.

Scouting Report
Myatt is certainly a pitching prospect you can dream on. The kid stands 6-foot-7 and 220 lbs. and he came out of college with a fastball that averages 96-99 mph and touches 101 mph. According to Shaun Savarese, Myatt started training at a local pitching biomechanics lab (N.C. Biomechanical) during the summer between his sophomore and junior years of high school. I reckon that helped him develop his premium arm strength.

In addition to the velocity, Myatt’s fastball has explosive life through the strike zone, so it plays even better than the radar gun reading. Add in the fact he’s releasing the ball that much closer to the plate thanks to his height, and Myatt’s heater is a truly elite offering. He pairs it with a promising curveball and changeup, the former of which has flashed out-pitch potential. Myatt also threw a cutter in college but it seems it is no longer part of his repertoire.

Myatt has already made strides gaining consistency with his delivery since the draft, but he is young and incredibly tall, and it typically takes tall pitchers some time to develop solid mechanics and master control of those long limbs. The Yankees have plenty of experience with tall pitching prospects (Dellin Betances, Domingo Acevedo, Andrew Brackman, Freicer Perez, etc.), but everyone is different, and Myatt will develop at his own pace.

Because he’s so big and his delivery can fall out of whack, Myatt does have trouble throwing strikes, and that is his primary development goal going forward. That and improve his curveball and changeup. Firm up the delivery and learn how to get the ball over the plate consistently. Given the quality of his fastball and overall stuff, Myatt does not need to develop above-average command (it would be cool if he did). He’ll get swings and misses and weak contact simply by being around the strike zone.

2019 Outlook
I expect Myatt to begin this coming season in Extended Spring Training for three reasons. One, he’s a big dude who needs mechanical refinement, and ExST is the best place to do that. Two, Myatt doesn’t have much pitching experience. From 2015-18, he threw 153.2 total innings between high school, college, and pro ball (plus a handful more in Instructs). His career high is the 48.1 innings he threw between college and his pro debut last year. I can’t see the Yankees throwing him right into full season ball. And three, Myatt’s still pretty young. He doesn’t turn 21 until May. Given all that, ExST to start with an assignment to one of the short season leagues in June makes the most sense for Myatt in 2019.

My Take
I knew nothing about Myatt when he was drafted and I’ve very quickly fallen in love after doing some research. I’m a sucker for big power pitching prospects and he is right out of central casting. Myatt has a long way to go between where he is now and the big leagues, but the raw tools are very impressive, and you can’t teach his size and arm strength. I’m not sure Myatt will ever develop good enough control and command to start. In short relief bursts though? He could be a monster. Myatt’s is a classic high risk, high reward type with significant upside. I’m not sure you could do much better than this with an 11th round pick and a $147,500 bonus.

Prospect Profile: Mike King

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(Jason Farmer/Scranton Times-Tribune)

Mike King | RHP

Background
King, 23, grew up outside Providence in Warwick, Rhode Island. He had a decorated career at Bishop Hendricken High School, one that included two state championships and a Rhode Island Gatorade High School Player of the Year Award. King pitched to a 0.69 ERA as a junior and a 0.30 ERA as a senior, and threw two no-hitters. He was also a member of various All-Academic teams.

Despite his high school success Baseball America (subs. req’d) did not rank King among the top 500 prospects for the 2014 draft, and he went undrafted out of high school. He followed through on his commitment to Boston College and pitched primary out of the bullpen as a freshman, posting a 2.93 ERA with a 35/12 K/BB in 43 innings. He made three starts and 13 relief appearances.

As a sophomore, King emerged as a valuable swingman, pitching to a 3.03 ERA with a 52/12 K/BB in 62 innings spread across eight starts and six relief appearances. King spent the summer with the Hyannis Harbor Hawks of the Cape Cod League, throwing 22 innings with a 3.27 ERA and a 19/5 K/BB. Baseball America did not rank him as one of the top 30 prospects in the league, however.

King took over as the staff ace as a junior and set Boston College single-season records with 16 starts and 104 innings. He managed a 3.29 ERA and a 61/31 K/BB in those 104 innings. His career 3.14 ERA is second best in school history behind former big leaguer Chris Lambert (2.84 ERA). King also ranks tenth on the career innings list with 209.1. He is one of the most successful pitchers in Eagles history.

Baseball America (subs. req’d) ranked King as the 449th best prospect for the 2016 draft. The Marlins selected him in the 12th round (353rd overall) and signed him to a $100,000 bonus. That is $25,000 under slot for all picks after the tenth round. The Yankees acquired King, along with some international bonus money, from the Marlins last offseason for Garrett Cooper and Caleb Smith.

Pro Career
After such a big workload as a college junior, the Marlins took it easy on King following the 2016 draft, and had him throw only 30.2 innings in his pro debut. He posted a 4.11 ERA (2.76 FIP) with 24.4% strikeouts and 4.7% walks while pitching mostly in the short season NY-Penn League. The Marlins had King spend the entire 2017 season with their Low-A affiliate. He had a 3.14 ERA (3.97 FIP) with 17.8% strikeouts and 3.5% walks in 149 innings.

The Yankees moved King much more aggressively in 2018. He started the season with High-A Tampa and finished it with Triple-A Scranton. Here are his numbers at each level this past season:

G IP ERA FIP K% BB% GB% HR/9 Whiff%
High-A Tampa 7 40.1 1.79 2.46 27.4% 6.1% 59.8% 0.22 13.5%
Double-A Trenton 12 82 2.09 2.70 23.9% 4.1% 45.2% 0.44 9.9%
Triple-A Scranton 6 39 1.15 3.20 21.8% 4.2% 53.8% 0.69 7.7%
Total 25 161.1 1.79 2.76 24.4% 4.7% 50.8% 0.45 10.3%

King ranked sixth in the minors in innings pitched this past season and, among the 510 pitchers to throw at least 100 innings in the minors, he ranked second in ERA and 11th in FIP. His strikeout (97th), ground ball (74th), and swing-and-miss (112th) rates were much further down the rankings, however.

Scouting Report
King has the prototypical pitcher’s build at 6-foot-3 and 210 lbs., and while he’s a stats over scouting report prospect, the scouting report is quite good. He gets most of his outs with a sinking two-seam fastball that sits 91-93 mph and will occasionally touch 95 mph. King commands the pitch exceptionally well. He uses it to pound the bottom of the zone and he can throw it to both sides of the plate. He’s quite adept at throwing that two-seamer inside to lefties for the comeback called strike, like so:

King has three quality secondary pitches but none rate as a legitimate out pitch at the moment. His changeup has good fade and is probably his most reliable offspeed pitch. King also throws a slider that shows promise, and the Yankees helped him add an upper-80s cutter late in the season with Triple-A Scranton. It could be that he’ll wind up a two-seamer/changeup pitcher with several variations of a cutter/slider breaking ball to keep hitters honest.

Nothing King throws is straight and I’m looking forward to him reaching the big leagues so we can get some Statcast data. He strikes me as someone who could be a weak contact type that consistently outperforms his peripherals, similar to the current version of CC Sabathia. King has a good repeatable delivery and he can put the ball where he wants it, especially with the two-seamer. That command helps everything play up.

2019 Outlook
After the season he just had, climbing from High-A to Triple-A, King is a lock to be invited to big league Spring Training as a non-roster invitee next year. There’s a good chance he’ll make his MLB debut at some point next summer. King will be Rule 5 Draft eligible next offseason but I would be shocked if he’s not added to the 40-man roster and brought at some point next summer first. In all likelihood, King will go up and down a few times next season, presumably as a spot starter/emergency long man type.

My Take
There seem to be a very wide range of opinions on King and I lean toward “serviceable big leaguer” more than “impact starter.” I wish he had a putaway secondary pitch — I don’t think it’s a coincidence his swing-and-miss rate dropped considerably each time he was promoted this past season — but, if you’re only going to have one good pitch, a sinking two-seamer is a good one good pitch to have. King is about as safe a bet to have a big league career as you’ll find. I just think he’ll be more of a fifth starter/swingman type than a bona fide mid-rotation stalwart, and hey, teams need fifth starters and swingmen. It’s better to grow your own than pay a couple million for one in free agency.