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Went to the game last night. Some observations.
Jose Alvarez - Gboro doesn't have a radar reading anymore, so I can't give a velocity report. I would guess he was sitting low 90s. A few times he surprised some hitters with the FB, and got them to swing behind the ball. He throws a slider that seemed average. He couldn't throw it for a strike, so hitters just stayed away. His changeup however, appeared to flash plus potential. He was pretty inconsistent with it, but he made a hitters look really dumb. When he was on, he was throwing it for strikes and out of the zone when he needed to. He cruised for awhile, but started to get hit around as the order came through on the second and third time. I think back-end rotation is his upside, and he could definitely get there.
Kyle Skipworth - Actually looked really good behind the plate. Alvarez changeup was hard to handle as it dropped off the table pretty often. He did a good job of trapping the ball throughout the night. His arm looked very very strong, but inaccurate. Left most of his throws to 2nd up around Pasek's head. He was also very impressive from the plate. I saw Skipworth a lot last year, and he really has improved a ton. His first AB, he flew a line driver about 395 feet to dead center, and was caught on the track. In that AB he got down to 0-2, but fouled off a few maybe pitches, then took 2 balls before the liner. Struck out in 6 pitches in his 2nd AB. Crushed an oppo field homer in his 3rd AB. It was big for the other side of the field. The kid has some real power. Cracked a hard grounder down the left field line for a double in his last AB. Overall, I was the most impressed with him than I ever have been.
Sequoyah Stonecipher - It's only his second game back up in Gboro, but he was also seriously impressive. He went 3 for 4 with 3 singles and a walk. He had a great approach to all his at bats (I don't think he took less than 5 pitches). 2 of his singles could easily have been extra bases (he was blocked at second by Rand Smith once, and the other was hit hard right at the left fielder). He hit nothing but hard line drives. He can also move. I was surprised to see how quickly he moved around the bases. Didn't pay much attention to him in the field. Justin Bass covers so much room in CF, he pretty much takes care of the gaps.
Kyle Jensen - Big powerful free swinger. His HR was real big, and his double was a hard liner as well. His swing is very max effort, and when you see him you understand why he strikes out so much. He needs to shorten up his swing, but he was on it tonight. All his balls except one pop-up were hit very well.
Michael Pasek - He looked fantastic in the field. He was smooth and effortless when moving laterally and made 2 great throws from behind 2nd over to first. Him and Torres are both plus defenders, and swallowed up the few groundballs Alvarez allowed. He also had a good night at the plate, hitting a ball in the gap for a double, then leaking a hard grounder through the infield. He also walked and showed an advanced approach. He doesn't make enough hard contact, but he's also only 20. I could see him but a utility guy on someone's bench in the future.
Jose Torres - Also looked excellent tonight. He battled a 9 pitch AB to get a walk, then hit a liner that dropped in RF, and followed with a very hard hit liner down the left field line. He is also very quick. Like Pasek, he looked like a pro in the field.
Jose Alvarez - Gboro doesn't have a radar reading anymore, so I can't give a velocity report. I would guess he was sitting low 90s. A few times he surprised some hitters with the FB, and got them to swing behind the ball. He throws a slider that seemed average. He couldn't throw it for a strike, so hitters just stayed away. His changeup however, appeared to flash plus potential. He was pretty inconsistent with it, but he made a hitters look really dumb. When he was on, he was throwing it for strikes and out of the zone when he needed to. He cruised for awhile, but started to get hit around as the order came through on the second and third time. I think back-end rotation is his upside, and he could definitely get there.
Kyle Skipworth - Actually looked really good behind the plate. Alvarez changeup was hard to handle as it dropped off the table pretty often. He did a good job of trapping the ball throughout the night. His arm looked very very strong, but inaccurate. Left most of his throws to 2nd up around Pasek's head. He was also very impressive from the plate. I saw Skipworth a lot last year, and he really has improved a ton. His first AB, he flew a line driver about 395 feet to dead center, and was caught on the track. In that AB he got down to 0-2, but fouled off a few maybe pitches, then took 2 balls before the liner. Struck out in 6 pitches in his 2nd AB. Crushed an oppo field homer in his 3rd AB. It was big for the other side of the field. The kid has some real power. Cracked a hard grounder down the left field line for a double in his last AB. Overall, I was the most impressed with him than I ever have been.
Sequoyah Stonecipher - It's only his second game back up in Gboro, but he was also seriously impressive. He went 3 for 4 with 3 singles and a walk. He had a great approach to all his at bats (I don't think he took less than 5 pitches). 2 of his singles could easily have been extra bases (he was blocked at second by Rand Smith once, and the other was hit hard right at the left fielder). He hit nothing but hard line drives. He can also move. I was surprised to see how quickly he moved around the bases. Didn't pay much attention to him in the field. Justin Bass covers so much room in CF, he pretty much takes care of the gaps.
Kyle Jensen - Big powerful free swinger. His HR was real big, and his double was a hard liner as well. His swing is very max effort, and when you see him you understand why he strikes out so much. He needs to shorten up his swing, but he was on it tonight. All his balls except one pop-up were hit very well.
Michael Pasek - He looked fantastic in the field. He was smooth and effortless when moving laterally and made 2 great throws from behind 2nd over to first. Him and Torres are both plus defenders, and swallowed up the few groundballs Alvarez allowed. He also had a good night at the plate, hitting a ball in the gap for a double, then leaking a hard grounder through the infield. He also walked and showed an advanced approach. He doesn't make enough hard contact, but he's also only 20. I could see him but a utility guy on someone's bench in the future.
Jose Torres - Also looked excellent tonight. He battled a 9 pitch AB to get a walk, then hit a liner that dropped in RF, and followed with a very hard hit liner down the left field line. He is also very quick. Like Pasek, he looked like a pro in the field.