Luke Skywalker’s first words when he first sees The Millennium Falcon in A New Hope are “What a piece of junk.” That is how I felt, for some reason, when looking through the prospects swapped over the past week or so for big names like Giancarlo Stanton, Marcel Ozuna, Evan Longoria, and Stephen Piscotty.
Of course, we all know the Falcon is the fastest ship in the galaxy, able to complete the Kessel Run in 14 parsecs, even though we also know a parsec is a unit of distance and not a measure of time. But, the truth is that Han Solo’s ship really was faster and more maneuverable than any other like craft, baling Luke, Han, Leia, Lando, Rae, Fin, and Chewy out more than a few times per episode from IV on.
Is there hope within the likes of these spoils? Well, if you saw Rogue 1, you know there is always hope.
As part of the Giancarlo Stanton deal, Miami did land a legit player in Starlin Castro, still just 27 and signed through 2019, with a .282-14-70 mean over 162 games
Jorge Guzman (21, RHP, Marlins): 5-3, 2.30 over 66.6 at the New York Penn League sounds good, but the next step would be full-season A ball, meaning a ways to go for a kid who will be 22 next season. Guzman is 11-11, 3.67 with 171 whiffs over 162 IP and a 1.28 WHIP. Good numbers, but at his age Guzman should be successful. Let’s see how he does at AA?
Jose Devers (18, SS, Marlins): Pretty young with just 53 games played, Devers has a .245-1-16 line, though 16 steals over just 184 at-bats. Raw, and maybe five years off.
The Fish got a more interesting haul for Marcell Ozuna, but again, how immediately useful?
Sandy Alcantara (22, RHP, Marlins): Maybe the closest to Major League ready of any trade spoils, Alcantara has a 17-29, 3.95 line over 369 IP with 365 strikeouts and a 1.34 WHIP. He was 0-0, 4.32 over 8.3 St. Louis innings and he might be in the Miami rotation, but will get clobbered.
Zac Gallen (22, RHP, Marlins): 10-8, 2.86 over 157.3 IP with 136 strikeouts and a 1.14 WHIP, Gallen was a #3 pick in 2016. He put in 20.2 frames at AAA (1-1, 3.48) and is just about ready. Gallen is one of two players on today’s list to make my Top 250 Prospect List at #89.
Magneuris Sierra (21, OF, Marlins): .292-11-77 over 442 gameswith 98 swipes, Sierra went 60 at-bats with the Cards going .317-0-5. A .339 minor league OBP shows 120 walks to 328 whiffs, so Sierra has some upside and will likely get a slot in the outfield, at least going into spring. I think he will struggle.
Daniel Castano (23, LHP, Marlins): A tall Southpaw picked in the 19th round from Baylor in 2016, Castano is 11-8, 3.82 over 139 minor league frames with 115 whiffs, though 150 hits and a .275 opposing batting average against, and his highest level is again the New York Penn League. Nineteen-year-olds hitting 22-year-olds at that clip and level does not bode well.
Max Schrock (23, 2B, Cards): The Keystone man went to St. Louis as part of the Stephen Piscotty swap and might be the most advanced on the list here. Schrock, who hit .321-7-46 with 78 walks to 100 whiffs (.372 OBP) at AA, ranked #222 on my Prospect List and could well have new Busch time in 2018.
Yairo Munoz (22, SS, Cards): Played as high as AAA, hitting .289-7-42 with 10 steals, but has just 101 walks with 315 strikeouts and a .308 OBP. Munoz probably does not have enough offensive skills to offset. Might be a utility player.
Wilkel Hernandez (18, RHP, Tigers): One of a pair migrating to Detroit as part of the Ian Kinsler deal, the kid has a 6-1, 2.28 line over 59.3 innings with 58 whiffs at Rookie Ball. Interesting, but again years away.
Troy Montgomery (23, OF, Tigers): #8 pick from Ohio State in 2016, Montgomery hit .271-8-38 with 15 swipes over 100 pro games last year, finishing at AA. He should start there and actually could have some upside on a team still a little vague with respect to Flychasers.
Christian Arroyo (22, SS, Rays): First of Tampa’s Evan Longoria trove, Arroyo was a #1 pick in 2013 and has a decent .300-28-208 over 368 minor league games. But Arroyo struggled (.192-3-14) over 34 games at ATT, and as lean as the San Francisco roster might be, Arroyo had nowhere to play.
Matt Krook (23, LHP, Rays): He’s 5-13, 5.25 with a 1.64 WHIP over 132 innings, with 146 whiffs but 101 walks. He’s not going anywhere till those walks improve.
Stephen Woods (22, RHP, Rays): Not unlike Krook, though on the surface his 7-9, 3.04 ERA over 145 innings look great, but they’re belied by 86 walks and a 1.46 WHIP. Better, but still a work in progress.
Sam Wolff (26, RHP, Giants): Part of the Matt Moore exchange, Wolff is 21-13, 3.25 over 243.6 innings with 223 strikeouts and eight saves, though with 12 blown. 94.6 innings at AA the past two years mean the Giants might be able to get some use out of Wolff, but he is old for a potential rookie.
Israel Cruz (20, RHP, Giants): Cruz has 150 innings with 127 strikeouts with 65 walks, good for a 1.37 WHIP to go with a 6-7 record and 4.02 ERA, Another youngster, years away, with vague skills makes it really hard to envision any big league success for five years, if then.
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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