Many of our authors make a habit of speaking to scouts and other talent evaluators in order to bring you the best baseball information available. Not all of the tidbits gleaned from those conversations make it into our articles, but we don't want them to go to waste. Instead, we'll be collecting them in a regular feature called "What Scouts Are Saying," which will be open to participation from the entire BP staff.
Mets RHP Jacob deGrom: I had completely written off Jacob DeGrom in the minors, and I know a few others that did too. We didn’t see this coming, but he’s absolutely filthy now. He wasn’t near this level of talent in the minors, but it’s a good story on why it’s sometimes juvenile to write off a player early.
Astros 1B A.J. Reed: A.J. Reed should've been promoted weeks ago, he had absolutely nothing left to learn at High-A. He'll pummel anything over the plate in a hitter's count, and he gets himself into a lot of 'em. He'll hit, you watch.
Giants RHP Kyle Crick: As a starter Kyle Crick had no command at all and the curveball backed up all the time. I saw him this past week as a reliever and still has very little command, but the fastball was better and the curveball was more consistent. His elbow lift makes him late all the time though.
Marlins LHP Jarlin Garcia: I haven’t seen much of this Jarlin Garcia guy, but that fastball/slider combination is nasty. He’s going to dominate lefties.
Angels LHP Sean Newcomb: Why is this guy [Sean Newcomb] in A-ball? He’s 22 and was a college arm with that stuff? He’s way too good for that level.
Cubs RHP C.J. Edwards: C.J. Edwards is so much better now that he’s in the bullpen and can just air it out. He was never really built to be a starter with that body and no change-up. This is just a better fit and it’s a really good role for him. He’s going to succeed out there.
Dodgers RHP Juan Gonzalez: Juan Gonzalez is a late-bloomer candidate, but he’s come on strong and has a chance to help the Dodgers this year. That slider is a weapon. You can see how much trouble hitters are having picking it up when they’re striking out on balls that bounce.
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