Who to Watch: Pacific Coast League

With action underway (if not postponed) throughout the minor leagues, we bring you guide to the players you should be watching throughout the minor league seasons. Throughout the week the Prospect Team will bring you a league or three per day, with every team covered, and every Top 10 prospect noted. We'll also provide reports on guys who couldn't crack the Top 10s, but are well worth your time anyway. Other pieces in this series:

The Midwest League
The South Atlantic League
The California League
The Florida State League
The Carolina League
The Eastern League
The Southern League
The International League

PCL American Northern

Colorado Springs Sky Sox – Milwaukee Brewers

#1 SS Orlando Arcia
#3 RHP Jorge Lopez

Keep an eye on:

OF Michael Reed
Discipline at the plate isn’t exactly a ton of fun to watch, but Reed’s selectivity and ability to recognize pitches are at another level. That’s certainly his best tool, but it’s not his only, as he has above-average speed and should hold his own in center field. It isn’t as sexy as the profiles above, but Reed is a high-floor player who has the ability to either be an everyday center fielder (best case) or solid fourth outfielder (realistic worst case).

Iowa Cubs – Chicago Cubs

#2 C Willson Contreras
#7 CF Albert Almora
#10 RHP Carl Edwards, Jr.

Keep an eye on:

RHP Pierce Johnson
Johnson has had his fair share of issues in his three-plus years in the Chicago system, including both health and command, but there have also been flashes of brilliance. Both his 92-95 mph fastball and power curveball can miss bats, and he’ll also show an average cutter and change. It’s unlikely he’s a starter, but he could be a very valuable multi-inning reliever—maybe even one who pitches in high-leverage situations.

1B Dan Vogelbach
There are certainly things to like about Vogelbach: He controls the strike zone as well as any hitter in the system, and there’s plus raw power in his left-handed bat. There’s just that small fact that he’s a 20 runner who can’t really throw or field, so that makes things tricky, especially since he’s in the National League.

Oklahoma City Dodgers – Los Angeles Dodgers

#1 LHP Julio Urias
#10 RHP Jharel Cotton

Keep an eye on:

2B/LF Micah Johnson
Frankie Montas may have been the big “get” in the three-team deal this winter, but Johnson has a great chance of contributing to the big-league roster. He’s a plus-plus runner who can make an impact on the bases, and his short, quick stroke should give him the ability to get on base/compensate for a lack of power. He’s not a great defender at second base, so don’t be surprised to see the Dodgers give him a chance to play all over the outfield.

Omaha Storm Chasers – Kansas City Royals

#6 RHP Miguel Almonte

Keep an eye on:

3B/1B Chelsor Cuthbert
The world needs backup corner infielders, too. Cuthbert has a chance for average or slightly better hit and power tools, and his solid hand-eye coordination means there isn’t much swing-and-miss here. He’s also a competent defender at both third and first, so if either Eric Hosmer or Mike Moustaskas go down, Cuthbert could get the call.

PCL American Southern

Memphis Redbirds – St. Louis Cardinals

#4 LHP Marco Gonzalez (Tommy John Surgery)
#5 LHP Tim Cooney
#9 CF Charlie Tilson

Keep an eye on:

3B Patrick Wisdom
Consistency has not been Wisdom’s friend since the Cardinals took him with the 52nd pick in 2012 out of St. Mary’s, but it doesn’t have anything to do with his tools. There’s plus raw power in his right-handed bat, and he has a cannon of an arm with enough quickness to handle the hot corner. If he can make more consistent contact, there’s still a chance he could be a regular. Time is running out for him to be that guy, however.

Nashvile Sounds – Oakland Athletics

Keep an eye on:

#2 LHP Sean Manaea
#4 1B Matt Olson
#9 INF Chad Pinder
#10 3B Renato Nunez

Keep an eye on:

1B Rangel Ravelo
Ravelo is not your typing first-base prospect, doing it more with the hit tool than power. He works counts into his favor, and he will spray line drives to every part of the field. Asking for more than 10-12 homers a season is asking for too much, so he really profiles best as a platoon partner with a power hitting lefty.

LHP Dillon Overton
Overton has lost much of his velocity since he was a second-round pick out of Oklahoma, but he’s become a more complete pitcher in the process. He shows two above-average secondary pitches in his curveball and change, and he also can throw those pitches for strikes; rarely beating himself with walks.

New Orleans Zephyrs – Miami Marlins

#4 RHP Kendry Flores

Keep an eye on:

RHP Kyle Barraclough
It’s never a good sign when you’re asking people to keep an eye on middle-relievers, but, here we are. That said, the stuff is legit. He throws a 95-97 mph fastball with plenty of life, and he complements that pitch with a hard slider with good tilt. The command comes and goes, but it doesn’t have to be more than fringe-average for him to become a solid middle-innings part of a bullpen.

Round Rock Express – Texas Rangers

Keep an eye on:

#2 3B Joey Gallo

Keep an eye on:

3B/OF Patrick Kivlehan
Kivlehan was acquired in the deal that saw Leonys Martin end up in Seattle, and even if there’s almost zero chance he becomes a regular, he’s definitely a name to keep an eye on. He has above-average power potential from the right side, and he’s shown himself to be competent at every position on the diamond but shortstop and catcher. If he hit tool can get to 45, he has a chance to be a super-utility player.

PCL Pacific Northern

Fresno – Houston

#2 1B A.J. Reed
#7 3B Colin Moran
#8 RHP Michael Feliz

Keep an eye on:

2B Tony Kemp
Kemp is a diminutive second basemen who steals bases, makes a lot of hard contact, and hits for more pop than you’d expect given his frame: Astros fans, stop me if you’ve heard this before. Seriously though, Kemp’s bat will never remind anyone of Jose Altuve, but the 24-year-old takes a good approach, can draw a walk, and plays solid defense at the keystone. He has a big-league future, and the Astros are working him in at center this season to increase his versatility.

SS Nolan Fontana
A strong defender up the middle with a discerning eye at the plate, Fontana is in the wrong organization. He doesn’t have the most potent stick in the minors, but in an organization less loaded up the middle, he probably would have cracked a big league roster by now. At short, he has average range and an average arm, but both play up thanks to his clean footwork and quick release. It’s a tweener profile, but Fontana has a reputation as a baseball rat, and he’s the type of player who gets the most out his skills.

RHP Jandel Gustave
Gustave sits in the mid-to-high-90s with his fastball out of the pen, but the pitch is straight and he hasn’t developed a quality secondary offering to pair it with just yet. If he ever turns his slider from a show-me offering into a bat-misser though, he’ll pitch meaningful innings for Houston.

Reno – Arizona

#1 RHP Braden Shipley

#2 RHP Archie Bradley

Keep an eye on:

RHP Tyler Wagner
Wagner doesn’t have elite stuff, but he pounds the zone with a sinking fastball that sits in the low-90s, and that’s a pitch that could play very well in the desert. He complements his heater with a barrel-missing slider and an average changeup. Ultimately, Wagner will go as far as his command takes him.

SS Jack Reinheimer
A fifth-rounder in 2013, Reinheimer has quietly risen to Triple-A in less than two years. He has a limited ceiling: He makes plenty of contact, but his compact swing is geared to hit line drives to the opposite field, and he strikes out more than you would guess someone with his skills would. He draws a fair amount of walks though, and at short he’s an average defender and a graceful player with clean fielding and throwing mechanics. He’s just about ready for utility work, and if the muscle he’s added since draft day translates into better-than-expected offensive production, he could be a little more.

OF Peter O’Brien
O’Brien has long been a divisive prospect. He has 70 raw power and throughout his career, he’s made just enough contact to dream on. At this point though, the problems in his game—a long swing, too many whiffs, and poor plate discipline—are apparent. He has limited defensive value, so if he’s going to develop into more than an up-and-down guy, he needs to learn how to work a walk. Neither of those is particularly likely, but if you need a silver lining, he’s a good bet to lead the PCL in homers.

Sacramento – San Francisco

No Players in Top Ten.

Keep an eye on:

OF Jarrett Parker
Most 27-year-olds running a strikeout rate north of 30 percent aren’t interesting, but Parker swatted 29 homers across two levels last year, including six in an impressive big-league cameo (three in one game) last September. It’s probably nothing, but a dearth of high-upside outfielders at the upper levels all but ensures that Parker gets another shot with the Giants at some point in 2016.

RHP Clayton Blackburn
On his best days, Blackburn combines a low-90s fastball with an average changeup and slider. He keeps the ball down and stays out of trouble spots, which may be enough to mask his lack of an out-pitch, especially pitching in San Francisco.

LHP Ty Blach
Blach has a little more velocity in his arm than your average Triple-A southpaw, and he pairs his low-90s heater with a tumbling changeup thrown with good arm speed. He also uses a curve and a slider, neither one of which has been deemed sufficient enough to wield against big-league hitters yet.

Tacoma – Seattle

No Players in Top Ten.

Keep an eye on:

CF Boog Powell
A plus runner, Powell handles center field adeptly, running clean routes and tracking balls well off the bat. He’s small and doesn’t have a lot of power, but he takes plenty of walks and is capable of dropping a bunt for a hit. Whether he’s a fourth outfielder or a future regular will come down to how often he can make hard contact.

RHP Adrian Sampson
Adam McInturff recently covered Sampson in some depth. He pitches off his fastball, a sinking, low-90s offering (topping out at 94 in his first start of the year) with some tail. He also has an average, 10-4 slider and a changeup that features remarkably similar action to his fastball. He can throw all three for strikes, and while his command isn’t anything to write home about, right now it’s Sampson—and not James Paxton—who looks most ready for a big-league spot start.

C Mike Zunino
Technically he’s not a prospect anymore, but he’s had such an odd developmental odyssee that he might as well be. Over the last two years, big-league pitchers ruthlessly exploited his inability to consistently barrel premium velocity anywhere in the strike zone while also taking advantage of his inability to lay off breaking pitches in the dirt. Zunino is trying to overhaul his swing and his approach, and while that’s a tall order for a player of his age, he has the makeup and physical tools to at least improve upon his numbers from last season. If nothing else, he’s arguably the most interesting name on a roster that largely lacks upside.

PCL Pacific Southern

Albuquerque – Colorado

#2 RHP Jeff Hoffman

Keep an eye on:

RF Jordan Patterson
Patterson is an impressive athlete. At 6-foot-4, 215 pounds, he has an ideal body shape for a corner outfielder, and his long levers generate plus raw power. The knocks on his game have been over-aggressiveness and poor pitch recognition, but he had nothing but good at-bats last weekend in Tacoma, when he worked counts, laid off questionable offerings, and attacked pitches he could handle. If he can develop that part of his game, he should have success at the next level.

RHP Carlos Estevez
Estevez reaches 97 with his fastball, and pairs it with a tight mid-80s slider. His delivery has gone backwards—a bigger, right-handed version of Alex Wood’s motion gives you a fair mental picture—and he’s a reliever only at this point, but he could be a very good one.

RHP Shane Carle
Carle has a good arm, and he can sustain a 91-94 fastball throughout a game. He has four pitches, but none of them move much, and it’s fair to wonder whether the tall righty’s future lies in the bullpen.

El Paso – San Diego

#1 CF Manuel Margot
#3 RF Hunter Renfroe
#10 RHP Tayron Guerrero

Keep an eye on:

RHP Justin Hancock
Hancock’s arsenal—a low-90s, sinking fastball, average changeup, and fringy slider—is essentially a starter-kit for a no. 4 starter. He works with a low-maintenance delivery, and at 6-foot-4, he gets plenty of plane on his pitches. Worse skillsets have survived Petco Park.

C Austin Hedges
Like Zunino, Hedges isn’t technically a prospect anymore. Beyond the top ten guys though, El Paso’s roster is mostly a big-league taxi squad, and Hedges is one of the few players on the roster under 25. He had a rough big-league debut at the plate—he hit .168/.215/.248 with 38 strikeouts and eight walks—but his glove work and throwing arm behind the plate are incredible; he need only hit so much to have big league value, and it will interesting to monitor his progress this summer.

RHP Leonel Campos
Campos doesn’t have good enough command to project him as much more than an up and down guy, but as a former professional soccer player, he’s a fun follow with an interesting developmental history. His fastball reaches the upper 90s and his best sliders are plus offerings with sharp bite.

Las Vegas – New York (NL)

#4 SS Gavin Cecchini
#6 OF Brandon Nimmo

Keep an eye on:

SS Matt Reynolds
Reynolds is a bit of a tweener. His glove is steady enough to play short, but his range is average for the position, and he probably won’t hit enough to hold down a regular job as a big leaguer. He’s capable of playing three infield positions though, and after a solid Triple-A campaign last year, he’ll make his big league debut later this summer.

RHP Gabriel Ynoa
Ynoa reaches the mid 90s with his fastball, but the 23-year-old hasn’t found an effective breaking ball to complement the pitch with yet. He’s using both a curve and a slider presently, but both are fringy, and he’ll have to try develop them in the unforgiving confines of Cashman Field. The good news is that he flashes an above-average changeup and his live arm will surely allow him to have a career as a reliever even if he doesn’t cut it as a starter.

Salt Lake – Los Angeles (AL)

#5 3B Kyle Kubitza
#9 RHP Nate Smith

Keep an eye on:

3B Kaleb Cowart
The Angels have less minor league talent than any other organization, and their Triple-A roster reflects that. The Bees only have a handful of players born in the 90s, none of whom projects as more than a reserve at the highest level. If you’re going to keep an eye on a player though, Cowart is a plus defender at third with a strong arm and intriguing raw power. He’s rarely tapped into that power during games, largely due to an aggressive approach and poor pitch recognition, but if we’re looking for someone to take an unexpected leap forward, it might as well be the young athlete with a couple tools.