All posts by Wayne Cavadi

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The Atlanta Braves Sean Newcomb struggling with command in Mississippi

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When the Atlanta Braves began their overhaul, they were left void of a top-tier pitching prospect on the upper levels, one seemingly on the cusp of major league greatness. They addressed that issue this past offseason, sending fan favorite — and arguably the best defensive shortstop in the game — Andrelton Simmons to the west coast for Sean Newcomb, the Angels promising left-hander who was regarded as one of the best in the game.

His first year in the Braves organization has not looked that way.

Keep reading for more on the Braves top pitching prospect.

Basbeall, MLB

The Toronto Blue Jays best prospect may just be SRF

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The Toronto Blue Jays’ top pitching prospect is known simply by three letters. SRF. Just one year after a disastrous Florida State League debut, Sean Reid-Foley is back in Dunedin. This time, however, he is hotter than the Sunshine State’s summer, as one of the best pitchers in the league.

Keep reading for more on the Blue Jays top prospect.

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Thoughts on the Atlanta Braves trade for Travis Demeritte

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The Atlanta Braves brass are at it again. This time they shipped 31-year old journeyman pitcher Lucas Harrell and 27-year old lefty reliever Dario Alvarez, who has spent the bulk of his career in he minor leagues, to the Texas Rangers for the exciting big bat of second baseman Travis Demeritte.

Red on for thoughts on the Braves latest trade.

Basbeall, MLB

Positive takeaways from the Soroka vs. Keller showdown in Rome

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I live in Atlanta, Georgia. Being a minor league writer is very tough because there isn’t a team less than an hour away from me. There’s a lot of travel involved when I don’t want to watch a prospect on MiLB.TV and in person.

That being said, when I drive to a game — especially one that is featuring two of the more highly touted pitching prospects in Low-A ball — I have high expectations.

I went to Rome Monday night, excited to see the Rome Braves Mike Soroka and West Virginia Power’s Mitch Keller duke it out. Instead I watched a game that 13 combined runs were scored.

Read more about the marquee matchup I watched Monday night.

Basbeall, MLB

The Atlanta Braves Austin Riley getting into the swing of things [Interview]

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ROME, GA — The Atlanta Braves went into full rebuild mode last season. John Hart took the helm and began a new era of Braves baseball, getting a lot of big money stars off the books in exchange for a bevy of elite, young prospects. They also made a big haul in the first round of the 2015 MLB Draft.

Onward for my exclusive interview with Braves prospect Austin Riley

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The Texas Rangers Ronald Guzman coming of age in Frisco

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The 2011 and 2012 seasons were big ones for the development of the future Texas Rangers. In 2011, Texas opened up the bank on the international free agent market, spending $8 million on two teenagers named Nomar Mazara and Ronald Guzman. The following season, they snagged big names like Joey Gallo, Lewis Brinson, and Nick Williams in the MLB Draft.

While four of those names have become baseball’s top prospects in the game, Guzman has idled away in A-ball, seemingly searching for the skill set and maturity that the Rangers saw in him five years ago.

Until now.

Keep reading to see how Guzman is quickly becoming a star.

Basbeall, MLB

Keep an eye on the Cleveland Indians Mike Clevinger

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There is a lot to like about Mike Clevinger. He looks a lot like Jacob deGrom when he takes the mound, his long hair flying through the air as he hurls the ball to the plate. He loves the spotlight, as evidenced by last season’s Governor’s Cup performance. When you meet him, he has a care-free attitude, always laughing with a smile on his face, seemingly the happiest 25-year old to be wearing a baseball uniform.

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He’s also happens to be an outstanding pitcher.

Keep reading for more on the Indians exciting pitching prospect.

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The New York Yankees welcome Gleyber Torres to the Bronx

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Aroldis Chapman has been on the move quite a bit the past few months. Just 31.1 innings and 20 saves after sending Rookie Davis, Eric Jagielo, Tony Renda and Caleb Cotham to Cincinnati for the fastest throwing pitcher in the land, the New York Yankees turned him into an arguably bigger haul.

My thoughts on the Chapman deal.

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Moniak, Sensel, Ray and Collins start their careers off with a bang

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It’s been a bit over a month since the MLB Draft. The top ten picks were nearly an even split between bats and arms, with six pitchers going in the first ten picks and four bats rounding it all out.

Let’s take a peak at how those bats are doing since signing.

1-1 Mickey Moniak, Philadelphia Phillies ($6.1-million signing bonus)

While Zack Collins was my personal favorite bat in the draft, Moniak was hands down my favorite all around player. I felt the Phillies were wise going for a bat — either Corey Ray, Kyle Lewis or Moniak — with this year’s pitching options, and thus far it seems that they have chosen wisely.

Moniak went hitless in his June 25th Gulf Coast Phillies debut, but has been hitting ever since. Heading into Sunday he is slashing .315/.378/.397 with one double, triple and home run while swiping three of six stolen base attempts. He has struck out a bit, posting a 14-to-4 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 77 plate appearances, but that is hardly alarming at 18 years of age. He saw a seven game hitting streak come to an end yesterday, in which he went 11-for-29 (a .379 batting average).

1-2 Nick Senzel, Cincinnati Reds ($6.2-million signing bonus)

Senzel was the easiest pick in Mock Drafts. He filled a glaring need for the Reds and was arguably the most major league ready bat in the top picks. He has shown it thus far in his brief debut.

Surprisingly, Senzel didn’t hit all that well in the Pioneer League. He hit .152 in ten Rookie League games, but did show great plate awareness striking out five times and walking six. Since jumping up to the Midwest League of Low-A ball, he has been on fire.

He is slashing .333/.435/.536 since his promotion. He went 6-for-14 in his first three games in Low-A and posted a big 4-for-5 night on July 18th in which he launched his first career home run. He is showing advanced plate presence at the next level as well, walking 13.8 percent of the time while striking out 17.5 percent of his plate appearances. After posting a rather unlucky .172 BABIP at the Rookie Level, he has been helped by a .373 BABIP in Dayton, but I think that is more indicative of the solid contact he makes as opposed to bad positioning in the field.

How are Corey Ray and Zack Collins performing? Head on over to my full article at Minor League Ball and find out by clicking on the link below:

Checking in on the MLB Draft Top 10 — the bats