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Matt Grace DOB: 12/14/88 Ht. 6’3″ Wt. 190 Bats: L Career Stats |
Perhaps his shift to the bullpen came a year too late, but Grace put in a solid 2014 season with a combined line of 1.17/2.97/1.10 split between AA and AAA. He was added to the 40-man in Nov. 2014 and appears poised to make the trip back and forth between AAA and MLB in 2015, unless he can win a job in ST a la Aaron Barrett last year. Grace is now a SI/SL guy who works both sides of the plate and induces grounders from both LHBs and RHBs. |
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Bryan Harper DOB: 12/29/89 Ht. 6’5″ Wt. 205 Bats: L Career Stats |
Harper is probably best known for his mustache and being Bryce’s older brother. But he can pitch some, too. The problem has been control — 5.3 BB/9IP in college, 6.2IP in his first three pro seasons. Last year, it was down to 3.8 overall, but 4.7 in his 12-game stint at Harrisburg. That’s where he’ll probably start 2015. |
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Matt Spann DOB: 2/17/91 Ht. 6’6″ Wt. 185 Bats: L Career Stats |
Spann began 2014 in Hagerstown and worked in long relief in April before moving up to Potomac. He started in his tenth appearance and made 18 overall, finishing the regular season strong (2-0, 1.23 in Aug.). Spann looks to be heavier than his listed 185 but despite his 6-6 frame, he’s a ‘tweener — not a hard thrower, not a soft tosser. He tends to induce a lot of contact, as he doesn’t walk or strikeout a lot of batters. |
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Hector Silvestre DOB: 12/14/92 Ht. 6’3″ Wt. 180 Bats: L Career Stats |
One of the stalwarts of the 2013 G-Nats, Silvestre overcame a mid- season slump (2-4, 6.54 in June) in Hagerstown to earn a callup to Potomac in late July, where he won twice in the P-Nats playoff run. Silvestre works with a low-to-mid-90s FB and complements it with a workaday change. The challenge, scouts say, is the lack of a cons- istent third pitch. His challenge for his return to Potomac in 2015 is to develop that, as it’s currently somewhere between a SL and a SLV. |
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Jake Walsh DOB: 1/1/91 Ht. 6’3″ Wt. 195 Bats: L Career Stats |
In 2014, life was good for Jake Walsh as he went 4-2 with 12 saves with a pitcher’s line of 1.56/2.59/0.83 between Low-A and High-A. It’s doubtful that Walsh went to any parties until four, but his 12-6 curveball can make batters look like they did. Also throws a splitter and a low-90s fastball. He’ll probably return to Potomac, but if he continues to dominate, the 24-y.o. could see Harrisburg by May. |
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Justin Thomas DOB: 10/21/90 Ht. 6’2″ Wt. 195 Bats: L Career Stats |
A four-level pitcher in 2013 (though just one outing at High-A), Thomas spent all of 2014 in Hagerstown, producing the kind of nos. you’d expect from an old-for-the-level pitcher (2.78/3.01/1.08). He can, however, go multiple innings (30 of 34 outings) and puts up the kind of peripherals (1.4 BB, 8.1 K, 0.4 HR) that you’d like to see (if you’re not distracted by his Lannan-esque eyelashes). |
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Yorlin Reynoso DOB: 11/20/95 Ht. 6’2″ Wt. 200 Bats: L Career Stats |
If you’re guessing that a lot of these guys wouldn’t be listed if they weren’t lefties… well, you’re not wrong. Reynoso was the No. 3 pitcher on the GCL Nationals when you scout by boxscore with a very small sample size of 24IP over which he produced a line of 3.38/3.97/1.75. But he did this as an 18-y.o. in just his second professional season and (because he had to) stranded almost 75% of his baserunners and did not give up a HR. |