Baseball America 20 Hottest Prospects of the Past Week

[dbminn]

How about a little good news... Baseball America lists both Josh Winder and Louie Varland(!) as part of their weekly "20 notable hot prospects". 

On Winder:

"With a solid four-pitch mix topped by a fastball that reaches the upper 90s, Winder is progressively asserting himself as one of the Twins most promising starting pitching prospects."

On Varland:

"While admittedly old for the level and playing in a pitcher-friendly league, Varland has nonetheless impressed in Fort Myers’ rotation this year."

Wander Javier has been as hot as any player on this week's list but I think he's fallen off the national radar (.296/.321/.741 during the past week).

[Major League Ready]

What does Varland have in his arsenal. 

[ashbury]

3 hours ago, Major League Ready said:

What does Varland have in his arsenal. 

From TD two years ago:

My approach on the mound is a heavy fastball approach. I like to challenge hitters up with my fastball before I use my slider or change up. Especially early in the game, hitters must prove they can hit my fastball before I will start pulling out the slider and change up. This has been my approach through college but now obviously this is better competition and I might have to adapt or adjust my approach.

OOTP this year has him with all the above plus a curveball too.  I have no idea how accurate their scouting data is when down to this level of detail, and they do not currently give his fastball credit for anything close to 100 MPH which gives me pause.  But they don't simply assign all pitch types to all players, so I assume the rating is based on something a scout has given them, and may reflect what the coaches have him working on in the minors.

 

[Major League Ready]

13 hours ago, ashbury said:

From TD two years ago:

My approach on the mound is a heavy fastball approach. I like to challenge hitters up with my fastball before I use my slider or change up. Especially early in the game, hitters must prove they can hit my fastball before I will start pulling out the slider and change up. This has been my approach through college but now obviously this is better competition and I might have to adapt or adjust my approach.

OOTP this year has him with all the above plus a curveball too.  I have no idea how accurate their scouting data is when down to this level of detail, and they do not currently give his fastball credit for anything close to 100 MPH which gives me pause.  But they don't simply assign all pitch types to all players, so I assume the rating is based on something a scout has given them, and may reflect what the coaches have him working on in the minors.

 

Thanks.  It's hard to figure out if he has legit stuff or is he overwhelming younger / less experienced hitters.  I would guess there will be a domino effect with promotions once another SP is promoted to either AAA or the MLB level.  It will be interesting to see what happens when he moves up.  It would be great to see a local guy make the big club and it's a bonus he was a 15th rounder.