Notes from the Field: July 12, 2016

Carlos Ramirez, RHP, Toronto Blue Jays (High-A Dunedin)
An outfielder turned pitcher, Ramirez has a big arm and has taken well to the mound thus far. With a 6-foot-5, 205-pound body, Ramirez pitches from the stretch with a compact arm action, fair arm speed, and a three-quarters slot. His fastball comes in at 93-95 with some sink. His slider was his go-to secondary with good depth and moderate tilt at 85-87. He is still raw but has an intriguing arm and hasn't pitched for that long. —Steve Givarz

Blake Butler, INF, Cincinnati Reds (High-A Dayton)
Drafted in the 15th round out of the College of Charleston last season, Butler got an aggressive assignment, going straight to Daytona after being in AZL last season. Butler has played all over the infield this year, with the majority of his action coming at second base. He hits from a slightly crouched, even stance, crow-armed with his hands at shoulder level. The bat speed is below-average but he has some feel for the barrel as he has good hands with a line-drive stroke. The power is below-average right now but could improve down the road if he fills out his frame. Defensively he doesn't have a ton of side-to-side range but does a good job of anticipating balls and making some plays. While he has an interesting profile as a utility infielder down the road, he lacks an overall carrying tool to sustain success. —Steve Givarz

Heath Quinn, OF, San Francisco Giants (Short-Season Salem-Keizer)
A 2016 third-round pick, Quinn was born, raised, and even played his college ball in Birmingham, AL. A product of Samford College, he led the Southern Conference in home runs (which included 11th overall pick, Kyle Lewis) with 21 long balls. He only played two games in the Arizona League (AZL) before being promoted to short season Salem-Keizer. Physically, he's fairly impressive; with a very strong lower-half and a frame with room to fill out. He has average speed on the base paths, but was slowed down by overly wide turns around third base on two plays at the plate—scoring once, and getting hosed on the next. He looked locked in in the on-deck circle and the batter's box, and it translated to impressive discipline at the plate. Shaking his head at pitches just off the corner, and taking advantage of hitter's counts, Quinn stepped up to the plate with a plan. His arm was only really tested once, as he charged a base hit with the bases loaded and came up firing to home. He had fluid motions approaching the ground ball and a quick release, but his arm strength is average at best. He hit the catcher in the chest a couple feet up the third base line from about 175 feet out, but the throw took a relatively arching trajectory, rather than the ideal one-hop on a line.

He stands square, with his feet parallel to home plate, and uses a moderate leg kick for timing. His swing is short, throwing his hands at the ball, creating mild leverage and generating above-average bat speed. He lined a 2-0 fastball over the shortstop's head, slightly missing getting all of the pitch. Given he turned 21 less than a month ago, there's a lot to like about Quinn. He has the power projection desired of a corner outfield prospect but how far he goes will likely hinge on the development of his hit tool. It'll be interesting to see how he handles more advanced pitching as he progresses through San Francisco's system, but the possibility of developing into a major-league regular is certainly not out of the question. —Matt Pullman

Cody Thomas, OF, Los Angeles Dodgers (Complex Level AZL)
The most impressive prospect on the field other than Yadier Alvarez, Thomas's 6-foot-5 frame screams 'athlete'. The one-time Oklahoma Sooners quarterback only made the switch to baseball full-time in 2016. After a promising junior season on the diamond, the Dodgers drafted Thomas in the 13th round of this year's amateur draft.

Thomas jumped on the first pitch of the game, a fastball over the heart of the plate, and hit a long, loud line drive over the center fielder's head, reaching third easily despite a clean relay from the outfield. In his fourth at-bat of the game, Thomas jumped on another first pitch fastball, this time driving it over the 378 sign in left-center; displaying easy opposite-field power with his natural left-handed stroke.

Even when he made an out, Thomas still turned heads. He hit a routine groundball to the shortstop and actually beat the throw despite being called out. He came within half a step of beating out a hard hit groundball right at the first baseman, and drove in a run on a sharp line drive sac fly caught by a diving centerfielder. Runs extremely hard, much faster than you'd expect for someone his size.

Thomas stands tall at the plate, and utilizes a moderate leg kick as his timing mechanism. He holds his hands about shoulder-high, starts with his bat nearly parallel to the ground over his shoulder, but once he starts his load he has minimal bat-wrap. He generates plus torque, showing the pitcher his numbers, aggressively creating separation. Does well to clear his hips and throw his hands at the ball, finishing with a slight uppercut. Thomas shows good balance, and has a quick first-step out of the batter's box. I can't say enough about his athleticism and how hard he runs. He is definitely a high-motor guy. —Matt Pullman

Angel Perdomo, LHP, Toronto Blue Jays (Low-A Lansing)
Perdomo's physique is immediately striking. At 6-foot-6 with long levers, gradual gait, a high waist, and large hands, Perdomo resembles a small forward more than a starting pitcher. The arm action—from a high-three-quarters slot—is long, with mild crossfire and balance concerns, but the lefty manages to corral his impossibly large frame. That ability takes some athleticism, and so does the ability to make a heavy 90-93 fastball seam easy. Perdomo can cut the pitch, as there's some natural life, but its heaviness stands out. His velocity, however, did not hold up into the start, tailing down to a still solid and effective 89-91 in the fifth inning. Perdomo's main secondary in this viewing was his slider, which has varying shapes and velocity. The slider was at its most effective in the low 80s, as he has the ability to spin it with more tilt at this level. At 86 mph, the pitch retained its horizontal movement, though with less tilt, acting more like a cutter with above average horizontal movement. Perdomo complements the FB/SL combo with a changeup, which was firm at 85mph. He seldom used the change in this outing. I think there is some projection with the pitch given the hand/finger size, but the pitch was a non-factor versus South Bend. The FB/SL was good enough for Perdomo in this outing.

While the two-pitch combo—combined with balance issues Perdomo will continue to face given his extreme length—does not bode well for his profile as a starter, he did display some starter characteristics: impressive composure in jams, calmly pointing to the sky after each half inning (a routine), and a generally relaxed demeanor on the mound. He was by no means passive, often attacking with the fastball. The ceiling is that of a back-end starter, but there might be too many mechanical issues to iron out, and lack of a third pitch for Perdomo to fully realize that role. Out of the bullpen, I'd expect the FB to gain velo given the ease with which he currently operates. Should he develop as a pen arm, I'd put a 6/6 on the FB/SL combo from the left side. He'll need to further harness the aforementioned better version of the slider and gain consistency with it. Perdomo will be around for a long time, whether in the majors or the minors. —Will Siskel

Jacob Dorris, RHP, Houston Astros (High-A Lancaster)
The Astros seem to like them some sidewindin' right-handers, and they plucked Dorris off the scrap heap as an undrafted free agent out of Texas A&M last year. His frame is slight, but he generates solid arm speed with a short, whippy sidearm action. He'll struggle to repeat it and spin out not infrequently, but when his timing is right he shows some command in the zone. The fastball sits 84-86, topping to 87, which is solid velocity for the arm slot, and it features standard heavy switch-back run. He isn't afraid to work it up in the zone, and there's enough giddyup to get over barrels. The highlight, though, is his slider, of which he'll show two variants. The first is a more typical side-armed frisbee at 71-74, with modest bite and a long break. But he'll also get under the pitch and throw it as a true riser in the 66-69 band. The latter variant is something of an optical illusion when he get it right, as it seems to stop and take a sharp and late left-handed turn. It's a really difficult pitch for right-handers to deal with, and he had some success with it against opposite-handed hitters as well. It's a straight situational profile, but there's some potential for a legitimate bullpen piece here, and that ain't bad at all for an undrafted kid. —Wilson Karaman

Wes Rogers, OF, Colorado Rockies (High-A Modesto)
Long, athletic player with wiry strength thoughout his frame and powerful legs. There isn't much of that lower half in his swing, however, and his long arms have a lot of trouble covering the inner third. He'll also oblige his share of fishing expeditions against right-on-right spin, leaving him vulnerable to traditional same-handed sequencing. He's got a beat to his approach and shows some command of the zone, though, to where he's got a shot to make enough contact and take enough walks to get his on-base numbers. He'll steal a bunch of bases if he does. There's some length to his start-up, as it takes a couple strides for the frame to sync up and get efficient, but his second gear is something else. The net is plus-plus straight-line speed, and while I'd expect the stolen-base efficiency to decline a tick or two as he moves up the ladder, the speed should have plenty of utility on the bases. He also uses it effectively to make up for a slower first step in center, and he can stick there with outstanding range (and the super power of a flying hat that majestically torperoes off his head whenever he reaches first gear and makes him more aerodynamic). The arm is much to light for right, and the reactions I've seen aren't ideal for left. —Wilson Karaman

Colin Moran, 3B, Houston Astros (Triple-A Fresno)
At the plate, Moran looked like who he's always been: a player with good plate discipline, a solid understanding of the strike zone, above average bat speed, a feel for contact, and an ability to put the ball in play to all fields. Defensively, he's slow-footed and has below-average range for the position. He fielded everything he could reach in my viewing, including a clean diving stab on a hard grounder a step and a dive to his left, and his above-average arm plays at the hot corner. His footwork can get choppy if he has to move more than a step or two however, and his feet got caught under him on one play where he had to range to his right, resulting in a high and errant throw across the diamond. Ultimately, it's a tweener profile. He doesn't have the bat to start at first base, and his glovework at third is such that he'll have to get on base at a well above-average clip to have much value. There's a lot of pressure on him to make hard contact consistently, and it's not a profile that often thrives at the highest level. —Brendan Gawlowski