I had a number of notes on topical prospects with no massive piece to place them in, so I’m together with them right here in an appetizer-sampler article.
How Is Jackson Merrill Taking to Middle Discipline?
Properly, let’s observe. Right here’s each fly ball hit Merrill’s method in April, minus the mind-numbingly routine performs and liners he had no likelihood to catch:
It’s not Gold Glove-caliber protection or something, nevertheless it’s fairly good contemplating Merrill hadn’t performed the place in a aggressive setting till this yr. As I labored on the offseason Prime 100, I used to be resigned to Merrill taking part in a nook place, partly due to the Padres’ depth at shortstop and partly as a result of I used to be left feeling lukewarm about Merrill’s protection at brief late last year. There are nonetheless scouts and orgs who suppose he can transition again to shortstop long-term, and I now be ok with the best way issues are trending in heart. Merrill is far more worthwhile as a viable up-the-middle defender than if he had been going to play left area or first base (which appeared in play previous to the Juan Soto/Trent Grisham commerce) and I believe this deserves elevation into the FV tier above the place I had him in the course of the winter. He doesn’t have the power-hitting ceiling of a James Wood or a Samuel Basallo, however his hit instrument is extra secure than that of Jordan Lawlar and Dylan Crews, so I’ve slid him in entrance of these two on the 100.
Can Spencer Arrighetti Be An Efficient Band-aid in Houston?
In the event you’re like me, two nights in the past you had been split-screening Jackson Holliday’s debut alongside Spencer Arrighetti’s, which didn’t go effectively for him and the Astros. Houston’s many beginning pitcher accidents necessitated Arrighetti’s call-up. Final listing cycle, I 40’d him and wrote him up as a single-inning reliever. Arrighetti had a nomadic newbie profession, going from TCU to Navarro Junior School (TX) earlier than ending up at Louisiana. His velocity climbed all through the 2021 and 2022 seasons, with Arrighetti throwing 4 ticks more durable than he did in school by the tip of that span. That velo spike was sustained (however plateaued) in 2023 even because the Astros took the piggyback starter leash off of and Arrighetti persistently labored 5 innings or extra. This yr, he’s added a cutter to his fastball/sweeper combine.
Arrighetti’s fastball tails and rides in on the fingers of right-handed hitters, whereas his sweeper breaks within the precise wrong way. His breaking ball command is best than his fastball command, which is a giant cause why I had him evaluated as a reliever. Contemplating how free and whippy his supply is, and that this stage of velocity is comparatively new for him, it’s believable Arrighetti might sharpen his command sufficient to extra comfortably mission as a starter. His fastball performs up due to large extension (look how far down the mound he’s at launch within the video under), and he may not even want exact command of that pitch to bully hitters within the zone with it due to the best way it jumps on them. Actually what Arrighetti has wanted is a extra dependable solution to thwart left-handed hitters, and whereas the brand new cutter positively provides opposing hitters one thing else to parse, I’m unsure it’s going to be a panacea towards lefties. Arrighetti additionally has a changeup that he barely makes use of, and the best way he tends to method lefties is by altering the form of his slower breaking ball to make it extra vertical, like a curveball.
As we’ve seen with 30-year-old Ronel Blanco and his model new changeup, Houston can train an previous canine new tips, and it’s believable Arrighetti will discover one more gear with massive league instruction. It’s cheap to think about Arrighetti on the starter/swingman line, particularly on a contender with a wholesome pitching employees. Guys I’ve had in that bucket currently who appear to be figuring out as starters embrace Clarke Schmidt, Kutter Crawford, Javier Assad, Reese Olson, and Cristopher Sánchez. If you have a look at the long reliever population at the big league level, it’s full of men whose careers embrace a whole lot of shuttling forwards and backwards. The necessity for beginning pitching depth is so persistent and dire that I’m extra inclined to tip the scales for pitchers like Arrighetti into the beginning pitcher bucket. As a result of he’s optionable, Arrighetti is extra prone to be forwards and backwards from Sugar Land because the veteran components of Houston’s rotation get wholesome.
Luis Gil’s Modifications
Gil made his massive league debut in 2021, however a poorly-timed Tommy John value him the higher a part of two seasons. He returned from surgical procedure for simply two A-ball outings on the finish of 2023 and entered 2024 with only one possibility yr remaining (on account of an injuyry exemption). That made it appear extra seemingly he’d make the large league roster, however nearly definitely in a reduction capability as a result of he hasn’t been capable of develop his strike-throwing (traditionally an issue for Gil) or construct a starter-level innings rely as a result of harm. As an alternative Gil had a monster camp and gained the final Yankees rotation spot. He’s made two begins and is ready to make his third on Saturday towards Cleveland.
Gil’s mechanics and launch level look the identical as they had been in 2022, however he’s reshaped his physique and has begun to emphasise a changeup that he was barely throwing previous to the surgical procedure. His utilization of that pitch has practically quadrupled in comparison with his earlier massive league pattern; to date, it has been Gil’s secondary pitch of selection. Is it a separator for his profile? Not at this stage. It isn’t as if Gil has discovered a nasty and persistently ending changeup instantly. His slider continues to be higher seeking to the attention and has particular velocity. It’s conceivable the Yankees need Gil to deploy his changeup extra not as a result of they suppose it’s his greatest shot at getting outs proper now, however as a result of they want him to develop it. Changeups are usually considered a “really feel” pitch, which take time to develop hitter-tricking arm velocity for and command of. Gil has walked seven batters in his first 9 innings and his really feel for location has wavered later in his begins. None of that is shocking on condition that he didn’t pitch for 2 years, which is why I projected him into the bullpen on my move on the Yankees system. There’s nonetheless a monster, upper-90s, uphill fastball right here. That alone goes to make Gil an excellent and (importantly) secure reliever. He instructions that pitch up on the belt stage fairly persistently early in begins, which ought to carry to the bullpen.
Beginning him, nonetheless inefficient he could also be initially, provides Gil and the Yankees a chance to see if issues click on for him as a starter, and if not, effectively then Gil has had many extra innings and reps to refine his secondary stuff than he would have had if he had simply been ‘penned this yr, which raises his ceiling as a reliever if one in all his secondaries improves. I nonetheless suppose it’s almost certainly that he results in the bullpen, and possibly in some unspecified time in the future this season, however the Yankees have had a sound course of right here as they attempt to meet the wants of their main league roster whereas growing Gil on the similar time.
