Baseball Prospectus "Top Tools"

[markos]

The BP Prospect Staff has selected a player with the "Top Tool" in various scouting categories, as well as listing 2-6 other prospects that were also considered. Though no Twin prospect won any of these categories, several of them were mentioned in the "Others Considered" discussions. These articles are behind the BP paywall, so those with subscriptions can find them here: http://www.baseballprospectus.com/news/index.php?column=225

 

The last two articles focused on pitching, and 3 Twins pitching prospects were mentioned. Though the discussion is very brief, it is fun (and frankly a new experience) to see Twins pitchers praised for their elite stuff.

 

Fastball - Alex Meyer

"Gray, Giolito, and Meyer can all pump mid-90s gas while regularly touching 97-98 mph throughout their starts"

Slider - Kohl Stewart

"Stewart has some projection remaining in his slider, but he routinely fires better-than-plus present sliders, featuring his own mid-80s velocity and slightly less sharp break than Stroman. Stewart could still refine the pitch further and has a chance to top this list in the future."

Changeup - Lewis Thorpe

"Numerous pitchers enter the discussion when looking for potential plus-plus changeups, including young international signings like Miguel Almonte and Lewis Thorpe, both of whom have a chance to dominate hitters with the pitch."

[Willihammer]

Was the AFL an anomaly? The game I saw Meyer sat 92-94 only touching 96-97 occasionally.

[gil4]

Was the AFL an anomaly? The game I saw Meyer sat 92-94 only touching 96-97 occasionally.

 

I know there used to be some variations betweeen types of radar guns. Is that still an issue? How did the other pitchers compare to their norms?

 

Maybe he just had a bad day. It doesn't take much of a change in mechanics or health to lose 2 mph.

[Jim Crikket]

FWIW, I was told by someone with BA last year that there not only are differences between the models of guns, but even between some newer versions of the same model, compared to older ones. There are also differences of a tick or two depending on the degree to which the gun is elevated above ground level.

 

Meyer throws hard and gets pretty good movement. That's about all I'm interested in knowing until we see whether it means he also misses bats this summer

[nicksaviking]

It's also only March. These guys often need some repetition to build back up the arm strength after a few months of only modest baseball activity.