So, this week we take a peek at the South Atlantic League, or Sally League as it is known, finishing our postseason tour through the top prospects of the minor leagues.
While the Sally’s full season Class-A counterpart, The Midwest League (covered last Monday here) has at least the same hitting as the Sally, Sally pitchers in general were a lot better than their Midwest colleagues. For example, both leagues had just two hitters batting over .300 last year, but in 2017 there were seven Sally hurlers with an ERA under three, while just a pair of Midwesterners could boast such a feat.
So, the Sally does boast a lot of interesting youngsters, some highlighted below. The parenthetic number reflects the player’s rank on our Top 250 Prospect List, available here.
James Nelson (20, 3B, Marlins): Nelson, who just turned 20 in October, was a 15th round selection out of Cisco Junior College in Georgia. For his first full pro season, Nelson hit .309-7-59 over 395 at-bats with 31 doubles and an .810 OPS. Nelson banged an OBP of .354, but the 26 walks to 106 strikeouts is of some concern so watch with the jump to High-A. (#96)
Estevan Florial (20, OF, Yankees): A native of Haiti signed in 2015, Florial figured out something following his .227-8-30 2016 at a couple of levels. Last year, Florial played 91 games in Charleston, hitting .297-11-43, then jumped to the FSL where he finished with a .303-2-14 line over 19 more games. The flychaser whiffed 148 times, but did walk 50 for a good .372 OBP. (#97)
Lorenzo Cedrola (20, OF, Red Sox): The lanky Venezuelan, who turns 20 next week, had a solid enough first full season, hitting .285-4-34 over 92 games with 19 swipes. Cedrola did struggle around the zone, however, with the promotion. Having walked 11 times in both 2016 and 2017, Cedrola struck out just 28 times in ’16, but that total jumped to 48 last year, resulting in a drop of 28 points in OBP to .322. (#203)
Christian Pache (20, OF, Braves): A couple of teams have some good stuff going on in the Sally League, and the Braves are one. Pache is a fun-looking prospect, following a 32-steal .281-0-42 season with 60 runs, 19 doubles, and eight triples. The native-born Dominican has an acceptable 52 walks to 128 strikeouts (.340 OBP) in the minors. (#117)
Alex Wells (21, P, Reds): A Southpaw from New South Wales (and brother of Latchan), Wells turned in a solid 140 inning season in 2017, going 11-5, 2.38 with 113 punchouts and just 10 walks. His 0.91 WHIP was exactly the same as that number in 2016 over 62 innings at Aberdeen. (#46)
Joey Wentz (20, P, Braves): A collective bargaining pick in 2016, Wentz did well enough, notching an 8-3, 2.60 mark over 131.2 frames, but his 152 strikeouts speak volumes coupled with just 99 hits allowed to go with a 1.10 WHIP. I am thinking the lefty goes as far as AA in 2017. (#20)
Nick Fanti (21, P, Phillies): A 31st-round selection in 2015, Fanti went 9-2, 2.54 over 120.3 frames with 121 strikeouts and a wicked 0.96 WHIP, with just 28 walks and 87 hits allowed. Fanti has a minor league WHIP of 0.95 over 189.6 total innings thus far as a pro. (#37)
Alejandro Requena (21, P, Phillies): Another product of Venezuela, Requena was originally signed by the Rockies but swapped last year to the Phils as part of the Pat Neshek deal. As a result, the hurler moved from Ashville to Lakewood, remaining within the Sally and going 9-4, 2.74 in his second full season with 104 strikeouts over 128 innings (1.05 WHIP). (#95)
Remember to tune into the Tout Wars Hour on the FNTSY network, hosted by me, with Justin Mason and featuring Lord Z every Thursday night at 9 PM ET.
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