Ethan Pecko was the only pitcher age 23 or younger in AAA last season who had >12 k/9 and <4bb/9 (min 15 ip). I’m really surprised he didn’t get a ST invite and there hasn’t been more hype around him.
https://www.mlb.com/astros/news/ast...discusses-farm-system?t=mlb-pipeline-coverage One of the least informative interviews I’ve ever read. Basically: “Is the farm system better than advertised?” “Yes, we think so.” “Will the farm get better after the next draft?” “Yes, we think so.” “How does Xavier Neyens look?” “He’s adjusting. We’ll see.” “What do you want to improve?” “New ideas.” “Like, what new ideas?” “Nothing specific.” I sure hope MacTaggert didn’t spend too much time writing that.
Alvarez’s swing looked quicker there than other clips I’ve seen. He obviously has great bat control and swing path, but other clips I felt like his bat looked slow, but not on that clip. I also thought Kyle Tucker’s swing looked slow and that ended up being fine.
List of young hitters I think legitimately have enough power to hit 30+ HR at peak of everything goes right: Zach Dezenzo Shay Whitcomb Cam Smith Will Bush Luis Baez Caden Powell Ethan Frey Anthony Huezo Justin Thomas Nick Monistere Tyler Whitaker Xavier Neyens Nehomar Ochoa Jase Mitchell Kevin Alvarez Eduardo Perez Most of those guys wil strike out too much to ever reach the majors much less hit that many HR, but there is a lot of power in Houston’s system right now. If you lowered the bar to 25 HR there’s probably another 5-10 guys you could add (like Joseph Sullivan).
Couple thoughts on Neyens before he even gets going: His body looks nearly peaked out. He’s freaking juiced, and he probably has 70 grade raw power right now. But that kid is not going to play SS. He will be a 3B and might only be able to play there thru his 20s. Even though he’s physically mature and from scouting notes he already has a mature approach, he probably will struggle if he gets assigned to full season ball, because he needed some work to round out his offensive game. If he gets to Fayetteville this year and posts a k rate under 25%, he should probably be rated as one of the 50 best prospects in baseball. But it won’t shock me if he stays in the complex until mid-summer.
I have Neyens beginning the season in the FCL or on the bench in A ball. I think the FCL offers a more valuable experience for him.
