Monday Morning Ten Pack: September 15, 2014

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Dalton Pompey, OF, Blue Jays (MLB)
Pompey has been a nice surprise this year. Not so much in regards to identifying the raw tools and what they indicate for his overall potential, but in how quickly things have clicked for a player who was just finishing up his first full-season campaign a year ago. The rise has been rapid for the 21-year-old, culminating in a call-up to The Show after stepping through three levels during the season. I didn’t expect such an ascent from Pompey when catching him in Double-A directly following his promotion. The tools stuck out, but there was still a raw look to his overall game that led me to believe it’d take time for him to find his footing in the Eastern League. He's a good example of a prospect riding the developmental wave, confidence helping sustain his success. Whether Pompey breaks camp with the Jays or returns to Triple-A next year for more seasoning remains to be seen, but this year has gone a long way toward establishing him within Toronto’s system. –Chris Mellen

Orlando Arcia, SS, Brewers (High-A Brevard County)
After logging significant evaluative time with Arcia during his 2013 tour through the Midwest League, I developed a fondness for the defensively inclined six-spotter. While the then-present profile did not scream "impact," the glove, feel for contact, and peek-a-boo pop served as a solid foundation for projecting a major-league contributor. Entering 2014, my expectations were tempered because Arcia would be playing most of the season as a 19-year-old in the Florida State League with a nascent approach at the plate.

While the production fell shy of what most would consider a "breakout year," Arcia’s summer exceeded my expectations by a fair margin. After a brief adjustment period early in the season, Arcia regularly logged quality at-bats while continuing to flash the leather and arm that will make him a quality major-league shortstop in the coming years. The bat-to-ball skills have always been impressive, but he has started to pair that natural ability with a more developed approach, helping him seek out his pitches and more frequently produce hard contact to the gaps. In 12 months, Arcia has grown from an interesting name to a "need-to-know" and there is still more room for growth. A 2015 assignment to Double-A Huntsville will pose yet another challenge for the relative tenderfoot, though this time around you won’t find my name among those questioning whether he will hold his own. –Nick J. Faleris

Andrew Velazquez, SS, Diamondbacks (Low-A South Bend)
While attending a game specifically to see starting pitcher Braden Shipley, it was this 19-year-old who caught my eye. He wasn't on my radar heading into the game, so I took a deeper dive after the game to get a fuller story. While he was repeating Low-A, that concern was minor, as it's atypical for prep products (much less a seventh-rounder) to skip short-season ball in the first full year out of the draft. Immediately, Velazquez's instinctive feel for the game jumped out.

He has an advanced approach at the plate, looking comfortable against pitchers several years his senior. His takes are quiet, the swing is short and quick, and he showed good actions in the field. He lacks over-the-fence power, grading out at 35. Still, pair his approach with impressive hand-eye coordination and you have the makings of a potential solid-average hit tool. Velazquez isn't a dynamic offensive talent, but he has the ability to affect the game at the dish. His steals total (50) suggests impact speed, and while he is a plus runner, he has Midwest League batteries and their inability to control the running game to thank for his league-leading total rather than pure "burner" speed. A precocious player, his instincts should allow him to approach 20 steals at his peak. He's not a lock to stick at shortstop on an everyday basis, though he can handle the position at present and has an average arm.

Velazquez put himself firmly on the prospect map with his record-breaking 74-game on-base streak. Given his tender age and aggressive placement, it may be easy to use the numbers and extrapolate a lofty future. Sorry to be the wet blanket, but his realistic role is likely as a utility player (role 45) and the OFP is 50, a second-division starter. It's not sexy, but that's a nice prospect, especially in the seventh round. While the polished nature of his tools is a plus, they lack projection and won't play at an impact level. –Jordan Gorosh

Steven Moya, OF, Tigers (MLB)
I may be the high man among the BP crew when evaluating Steven Moya, and I have admittedly been bullish on him since I first saw him on the back fields in Lakeland as a teenager, but even my optimism could not have predicted the breakout he accomplished in 2014. Thanks to Tommy John surgery, followed by problems with his non-throwing shoulder, Moya entered 2014 having played just 59 games at Low-A in 2012 and 93 games at High-A in 2013. With that inexperience and the known holes in his game, Moya was a prime candidate to be slaughtered by advanced arms at Double-A. He certainly had his hiccups early in the season, but as he adjusted and continued his development, Moya began destroying the competition and finished the year with an eye-popping 33 doubles, 35 home runs, and even a .276 average despite massive questions surrounding his hit tool. The road to major-league glory will still have bumps as Moya completes his developmental arc, and while Tucker Blair and I differ on his ultimate projection, Moya’s breakout season has cemented him as a player to watch in 2015. –Mark Anderson

Keury Mella, RHP, San Francisco Giants (Low-A Augusta)
Mella first came on the prospect scene last season, producing buzz with the electricity of his arsenal paired with fine results in the AZL. He placed seventh on a pitching-heavy Giants prospect list this offseason due to the glowing reports out of Arizona, and while he was certainly on my radar going into the season, I never would have imagined I’d be so enamored with the young Dominican’s potential after one viewing in mid-June. The stuff is very real, including a potential double-plus fastball that touched 97 and sat in the mid-90s with vicious sink and arm-side run and a changeup that flashed legitimate swing-and-miss potential in the low-80s. The hard curveball was inconsistent in this outing, but the necessary ingredients were there for an above-average future pitch. Perhaps the most impressive aspect of his game was the way he attacked the zone, flashing the ability to pound the corners with his heavy fastball and elevate to get whiffs in the upper 90s, pitching off his fastball with an ease not usually associated with young hurlers in the SAL. A midseason rotator-cuff injury did nothing to quell preexisting concerns about his mechanics, including a big crossfire and a high back elbow, but Mella pitched well in his August return to the Northwest League. Assuming the injury was a bump and not a detriment in the long run, Mella has the stuff and command profile to be a legitimate force in a major-league rotation. While there is considerable downside and risk due to the aforementioned injury concerns, Mella’s upside rivals that of any pitcher I saw this season. –Ethan Purser

Aaron Judge, OF, Yankees (High-A Tampa)
Judge is big. Tall hitters typically come with holes in their swing, usually on the inner half of the plate, thanks to the difficulty of keeping a swing short with long arms. This is magnified by the desire of hitters this size to show off their often prodigious power. This is actually not the case with Judge, who takes his at-bats with the approach of a much smaller man. He looks to go back up the middle, driving the ball from gap to gap rather than trying to pull everything out of the park. Because of his size and strength, he's going to run into his fair share of home runs, but he doesn't sell out for them the way most power hitters do. He'll always have some issues on the inner half simply because of the physics of long arms and short swings, but he did as good a job of protecting the inner half as any hitter his size I've seen. As a former first-round pick, I expected Judge to be good before I saw him, but he was good in a much different way than I expected. –Jeff Moore

Michael Mader, LHP, Marlins (Short-season Batavia)
I thought the talent in the New York-Penn League was underwhelming this season, but Michael Mader was the one pitcher who surprised me in a positive manner. As a JUCO signing, Mader is younger than your typical college prospect, which only heightened the intrigue once I began to watch him pitch. A lefty who can touch 94 mph with arm-side run will always pique my interest. However, it was the deceptive nature of his delivery that really caught my eye. Hitters had a difficult time picking up his pitches, as he turns his body slightly and the ball whips from his arm. The delivery is smooth and I think he can work as a starter down the road. The fastball is a quality offering, which pairs well with his potentially average changeup and slider. Mader may not be a top prospect, but he's a lefty with three average to above-average offerings and a feel for pitching. That mold is rarely found in the NYP. Mader is one to watch down the road, and it would not surprise me to see him excel in full-season ball next year. –Tucker Blair

Braden Shipley, RHP, Diamondbacks (Double-A Mobile)
The Diamondbacks weren’t shy with Shipley, as he jumped two levels in his first full year as a pitcher. Shipley works with a good fastball that touches 95 and a surprisingly good changeup, given how recently he’s converted from shortstop. The curve is still a work in progress; it’s generally more of a show-me pitch than a swing-and-miss offering. Heading into my look at him, I thought I would see a raw product. Instead, I saw an athletic pitcher with a good delivery and polish. The next challenge will be harnessing the stuff and showing both control and command. Free passes have been an issue, especially in his short time in Double-A. For now, however, Shipley’s 2014 can be marked as a success. –Mauricio Rubio

Tony Kemp, 2B, Astros (Double-A Corpus Christi)
The Lancaster Jethawks started the season with as much talent as anyone in the minors, including Carlos Correa, Lance McCullers, Mark Appel, and Teoscar Hernandez, but the most impressive player I saw all season was Kemp. He started the season on a tear, batting .336/.433/.468 while playing surprisingly good defense. He was an outfielder at Vanderbilt and made the transition to second base full-time in his first year between short-season Tri City and Low-A Quad Cities. You couldn't help but enjoy the way he plays the game, with speed, grace, and plus athleticism. Above all else, Kemp is a ballplayer, and he'll do whatever it takes to help his team win, whether that be a sacrifice bunt or going first to third on a single to left field. He inevitably got the call to Double-A midyear and didn't skip a beat, batting .292/.381./425 in 59 games. He'll get a shot to make the big club next spring training, as the Astros view him as a super utility player with the ability to play second base and all three outfield positions. Kemp probably won't be a star, but he could carve out a nice long career in the majors. –Chris Rodriguez

Carlos Asuaje, 2B, Red Sox (High-A Salem)
After an unassuming stint in the New York-Penn League in 2013, I wasn’t really sure what to make of Asuaje heading into this season. I caught the former 11th-round pick during spring training and he opened my eyes a bit with the charge he put into the ball. Still, I wasn’t expecting the season he put together across two levels. Asuaje was a bit on the advanced side for the level of competition he faced this season, but the 22-year-old did exactly what you’d expect a player to do in that situation: hit and hit well. A placement in Double-A, which will likely come next season, will be where the rubber meets the road. Did Asuaje take advantage of lesser competition or is he a diamond in the rough? Time, as always, will tell. The bat speed is merely average and he’s on the small side, but sometimes we end up focusing too much on what’s out of a player’s control and lose sight of what they do well. –Chris Mellen