2024 Canadian Rookie League Stars and Disappointments
Nov 16, 2020 18:29:30 GMT -5
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Post by Commissioner Erick on Nov 16, 2020 18:29:30 GMT -5
Some high-profile drafted pitchers passed through the league this year, with a few arms dominating the cooler Canadian temperatures, and some destined to repeat the level. Here are the leagues best, brightest, and most underwhelming.
1B: Eraj Serrano—Athletics
Serrano hit over .300 in the Canadian League for the fourth straight year, and led the league in average for the second straight season. He also had a monster power year with 18 home runs to give him a massive 1.134 OPS and 4.9 WAR.
Now 25, Serrano has spent every season of his career in Edmonton becoming a local legend. He doesn’t have a major league future so his 2025 becomes a question of whether Oakland wants to continue Serrano’s storied Rookie-League career or have him play somewhere in A-Ball.
RF: Chih-Hsiung Yao—Pirates
Yao had his second-consecutive strong season in rookie ball, last year in Bristol, this year in Lethbridge. He smashed 31 home runs, and drove in 79 despite one double (!!!). He had a 1.430 OPS and did it as a 20-year-old.
Shao projects to have major league power, but he doesn’t have the best bat-to-ball-skills. He has a big arm as well, but isn’t nimble enough to be an impact defender. Still, there’s at least an upper-minor leaguer there, and perhaps more if the bat comes around. That’s a good find out of Korea for Pittsburgh’s scouting department.
LF: David Daniels—Athletics
26-year-old D.J. Daniels led the league in Slugging Percentage as a player way too old for the level. The 26-year-old slashed .342/.436/.696 with 25 home runs and 78 RBIs in his eighth straight season in rookie ball. He was acquired as the sole player sent to Oakland for Rajai Davis and Daniel Coulombe in March 2017, and his career has not gone anywhere after the trade.
Daniels has a great glove and a bat that’s too good for Rookie Ball. He should be playing in an A-ball league somewhere and Oakland currently has him projected for High-A Stockton in the California League for next season.
2B: Willie Perez—Blue Jays
Perez signed for $3.6 million as an International Free Agent out of Chile in 2024 and his first season in East St. Paul was a success. Perez led the league with 30 doubles with a .268 average. It was enough production for Toronto to agree to send Perez to the Short-Season Northwest League for next year, when he’ll be 21.
Perez is big and tough, 6-2, 185 pounds, with a willingness to hang on at Second Base and turn the double play. He’s not fluid though and projects to put on weight, which may move him off the position. That’s not terrible though as he also projects to get stronger and mash the ball. OSA sees a major leaguer with a strong bat, no patience, but a lot of power. Bill Smith is more pessimistic, seeing the power as only gap power and the bat as less dynamic. He’ll need his power to play, so a lot will be determined by whether he puts on weight.
CF: Juan Acevedo—Athletics
Acevedo spent his second consecutive year in Edmonton this year and saw his batting average drop from .310 to .274. However, he was unleashed on the bases and stole a league-leading 32 bags a year after stealing just 10. In the Arizona Rookie League in 2022, Acevedo stole 47 bases in 50 tries, so he has serious wheels when he’s deployed that way.
Acevedo is also a terrific Center Fielder, making him a valuable player in the low minors. However, he doesn’t have a good bat and has virtually no power. Neither Bill Schmidt nor OSA sees a player who will have even a high-minors future. Acevedo will be 25 next year and may be fine in Short-Season A ball, but may top out as a backup in a full season league.
SS: Lupe Cardenas—Pirates
A 2020 scouting discovery, The Dominican Cardenas is a fantastic defender and led Canada in Zone Rating. He played Shortstop exclusively this year, but can play the outfield as well, giving him major versatility. Cardenas also hit .270 with nine home runs in a fantastic campaign.
Unfortunately for Cardenas, his value is nearly entirely tied up in his glove. He has good speed, but doesn’t steal bases. He has decent strength, but only to the gap. He has a good eye, but can’t swing the bat. OSA sees the bat as such a weak link, they don’t project him playing full season ball. With the glove and the patience, Bill Schmidt sees a low-A player, but barely. Either way, he hit enough last year, and has counts any pitcher as a fan, so he may warrant a trip to Short-A.
P: Juan Ramos—Marlins
Ramos produced a 1.57 ERA to lead the CRL as a 23-year old. He also had a league-leading 0.71 WHIP and a 1.92 FIP. His strength was an amazing sense of control as the 2019 20th rounder walked just four batters in 69 innings, while striking out 88. With good home run prevention and an ability to control the running game, teams couldn’t score on him.
Ramos had spent most of 2023 in A-ball struggling badly, and had a negative WAR in a brief stint in Short-A. Ramos also spent time in Sault Saint Marie in 2022 and produced a negative WAR. This is all background to give context that it wasn’t a terrible idea to have Ramos spend so much time in Rookie Ball as a 23-year-old. There isn’t much of a future for him though, but with two good pitches and sharp command, perhaps he can find his way back in A-Ball as a reliever.
P: Jeff Potter—Orioles
A 2022 draft pick, Potter struggled in the Gulf Coast League before leading Canada in saves this past year. He worked to a 1.93 ERA, closed 25 games, and had a strong 0.93 WHIP. Potter also whiffed 56 opponents in 42 innings.
If Potter’s changeup develops, he could be a Triple-A starter, but that’s not likely to happen. As a reliever, OSA thinks he could someday be a fringe major leaguer, though, Bill Schmidt never sees him out of the minors. While young at age 20, it may be the right time to either see what he could do as a starter or promote him to a Short-Season-A-Ball bullpen.
P: Marcos Reyes—Tigers
Detroit’s 2023 First Rounder, Reyes pitched like a player with some pedigree as he led the league in WAR. Reyes used three strong pitches and good stamina to work 94 innings with a 1.74 ERA. He didn’t allow a single home run and struck out 108 to only 18 walks.
Control is an issue for Reyes, but he’s a hard worker so he may eventually overcome it. Both Bill Schmidt and OSA see a player with at least a Triple-A future, though a lot rides on the control. If it comes around, he may be a mid-rotation arm. If not, he’ll have to stuff to be a highly volatile arm with a lot of dominant games with double-digit strikeouts competing with disastrous blowups in the second inning.
P: Kevin Barham—Athletics
A 13th-rounder way back in 2017, Barham finally escaped the Arizona league in 2023. He’s become an innings eater and led the league in innings last year with 112.1 frames pitched. He was effective too, with a 2.08 ERA and a 0.90 WHIP.
Barham should be pitching in A-ball, as he’s had exactly 3.0 WAR in two different Rookie Leagues in two of the past three seasons. He doesn’t have a bright future, but he can provide depth in full-season ball. Instead, he’s providing strong work for a Rookie League team with players too-old for the level who can’t even make the playoffs.
P: Joe Vitale—Athletics
A more recent comer to the PBA, the bearded Vitale was selected in the Second Round of the 2022 draft out of Texas Tech. A power pitcher, Vitale used his 100-mph fastball to strike out 128 batters to lead the league. This is a year after he worked to a 1.82 ERA in Edmonton.
With 7.1 WAR the last two years, there’s no reason for Vitale to be in central Canada as Vitale’s heater is too good for the level. He’s a fringe major leaguer according to scouts, and as a 24-year-old next year, would likely be best served working in Double-A, let alone the rookie league.
P: David Robinson—Padres
San Diego’s Fourth Rounder in 2023, Robinson was tied for the league-lead in Wins with a 10-2 campaign and a 3.25 ERA this past year after a replacement-level rookie year. Robinson allowed only four home runs in 91.1 innings, with 25 walks and 75 strikeouts.
Robinson’s a three-pitch pitcher, but only one is an off-speed offering, which may temper his strikeout numbers. Scouts seem him as a Triple-A starter as his Fastball is straight, and his changeup is too firm. He might have a better chance of cutting it as a relief arm. Only 19, the Padres can go either way in giving him one more year in Rookie Ball or promoting him to Short-A.
1B: Jared Liddell—Nationals
Washington’s first round pick this year, a disappointing three-homer, eight-walk, 85-strikeout campaign left the First Baseman with a .560 OPS and -1.0 WAR. The year was so disappointing, the First Baseman now looks both blind and stoned.
Despite the brutal year, there are some mitigating factors. For starters, The Ice Box in Hudson Bay is a brutal place to hit for power. Also, Liddell was an 18-year-old High School graduate playing pro ball for the first time. OSA sees a behemoth slugger, while Bill Schmidt sees a future Double-A backup, but both scouts see Liddell repeating Rookie Ball next year.
RF: Barrett Suggs—Phillies
Philadelphia’s First Rounder in 2023, Suggs has not had a campaign with positive WAR yet. He hit just .181, struck out the fourth most times in the league, and had just a .257 Slugging Percentage. This is on the wheels of a -1.8 WAR season in just 30 games the year prior in Short-A, and a negative WAR campaign in the Gulf Coast League also that year.
Suggs is also a lefty slugger in a park that more than halves left-handed power output, so his struggles to drive the ball over Steamwheelers Park’s 366-foot deep, 13-foot tall Right-Field Wall are understandable. However, the batting average and lack of doubles are very concerning. Bill Schmidt sees the patience and doubles power and sees a player that should probably be in A-ball, but the production isn’t there. Ultimately, he sees Suggs’ lack of skills outside his patience as a skillset that leaves him in Triple-A. OSA sees a much more balanced hitter, though one with a refined approach and gap power already. Suggs needs to start developing his power though, and he may not be able to do that in Canada.
P: John Belanger—Indians
A third-round pick in 2023, Belanger made 16 starts for Blainville last season and went 1-8 with a 4.79 ERA. He only struck out 54 and walked 43 in 73.1 innings. With an elevated BABIP came an elevated WHIP of 1.81 in a wholly disappointing season after barely pitching in 2023.
Belanger doesn’t get much movement on his pitches, a fate that damned him to a high BABIP last year, but could damn him to an elevated home run mark once he starts pitching in warmer locations. OSA sees a Triple-A caliber arm, while Bill Schmidt sees a Double-A arm. He’ll likely need another year in Blainville to get some momentum to try to become more than an upper-minors depth piece.
P: Shane Stoebner—Nationals
A third-rounder out of The University of Texas, Stoebner struggled north of the border, going 0-4 with a 5.79 ERA in his first professional season. This despite pitching in a pretty good pitchers park up in The Ice Box. Stoebner worked more than 5 innings only once, leading people to see his ultimate destination as the bullpen.
Stoebner is a five-pitch pitcher, so he’s not an arm that will play up in the pen. He’ll need to be better at putting players away if he wants to work his way up the ladder at all. OSA sees a junk-oriented mid-rotation lefty, while Bill Schmidt sees a back-end major leaguer. There’s something there, and he did grade out as having 0.7 WAR as a result of a depressed home run rate. If he can figure out how to give the Nationals more length in Short-Season-A-Ball, it’ll get him back on their future radar.
1B: Eraj Serrano—Athletics
Serrano hit over .300 in the Canadian League for the fourth straight year, and led the league in average for the second straight season. He also had a monster power year with 18 home runs to give him a massive 1.134 OPS and 4.9 WAR.
Now 25, Serrano has spent every season of his career in Edmonton becoming a local legend. He doesn’t have a major league future so his 2025 becomes a question of whether Oakland wants to continue Serrano’s storied Rookie-League career or have him play somewhere in A-Ball.
RF: Chih-Hsiung Yao—Pirates
Yao had his second-consecutive strong season in rookie ball, last year in Bristol, this year in Lethbridge. He smashed 31 home runs, and drove in 79 despite one double (!!!). He had a 1.430 OPS and did it as a 20-year-old.
Shao projects to have major league power, but he doesn’t have the best bat-to-ball-skills. He has a big arm as well, but isn’t nimble enough to be an impact defender. Still, there’s at least an upper-minor leaguer there, and perhaps more if the bat comes around. That’s a good find out of Korea for Pittsburgh’s scouting department.
LF: David Daniels—Athletics
26-year-old D.J. Daniels led the league in Slugging Percentage as a player way too old for the level. The 26-year-old slashed .342/.436/.696 with 25 home runs and 78 RBIs in his eighth straight season in rookie ball. He was acquired as the sole player sent to Oakland for Rajai Davis and Daniel Coulombe in March 2017, and his career has not gone anywhere after the trade.
Daniels has a great glove and a bat that’s too good for Rookie Ball. He should be playing in an A-ball league somewhere and Oakland currently has him projected for High-A Stockton in the California League for next season.
2B: Willie Perez—Blue Jays
Perez signed for $3.6 million as an International Free Agent out of Chile in 2024 and his first season in East St. Paul was a success. Perez led the league with 30 doubles with a .268 average. It was enough production for Toronto to agree to send Perez to the Short-Season Northwest League for next year, when he’ll be 21.
Perez is big and tough, 6-2, 185 pounds, with a willingness to hang on at Second Base and turn the double play. He’s not fluid though and projects to put on weight, which may move him off the position. That’s not terrible though as he also projects to get stronger and mash the ball. OSA sees a major leaguer with a strong bat, no patience, but a lot of power. Bill Smith is more pessimistic, seeing the power as only gap power and the bat as less dynamic. He’ll need his power to play, so a lot will be determined by whether he puts on weight.
CF: Juan Acevedo—Athletics
Acevedo spent his second consecutive year in Edmonton this year and saw his batting average drop from .310 to .274. However, he was unleashed on the bases and stole a league-leading 32 bags a year after stealing just 10. In the Arizona Rookie League in 2022, Acevedo stole 47 bases in 50 tries, so he has serious wheels when he’s deployed that way.
Acevedo is also a terrific Center Fielder, making him a valuable player in the low minors. However, he doesn’t have a good bat and has virtually no power. Neither Bill Schmidt nor OSA sees a player who will have even a high-minors future. Acevedo will be 25 next year and may be fine in Short-Season A ball, but may top out as a backup in a full season league.
SS: Lupe Cardenas—Pirates
A 2020 scouting discovery, The Dominican Cardenas is a fantastic defender and led Canada in Zone Rating. He played Shortstop exclusively this year, but can play the outfield as well, giving him major versatility. Cardenas also hit .270 with nine home runs in a fantastic campaign.
Unfortunately for Cardenas, his value is nearly entirely tied up in his glove. He has good speed, but doesn’t steal bases. He has decent strength, but only to the gap. He has a good eye, but can’t swing the bat. OSA sees the bat as such a weak link, they don’t project him playing full season ball. With the glove and the patience, Bill Schmidt sees a low-A player, but barely. Either way, he hit enough last year, and has counts any pitcher as a fan, so he may warrant a trip to Short-A.
P: Juan Ramos—Marlins
Ramos produced a 1.57 ERA to lead the CRL as a 23-year old. He also had a league-leading 0.71 WHIP and a 1.92 FIP. His strength was an amazing sense of control as the 2019 20th rounder walked just four batters in 69 innings, while striking out 88. With good home run prevention and an ability to control the running game, teams couldn’t score on him.
Ramos had spent most of 2023 in A-ball struggling badly, and had a negative WAR in a brief stint in Short-A. Ramos also spent time in Sault Saint Marie in 2022 and produced a negative WAR. This is all background to give context that it wasn’t a terrible idea to have Ramos spend so much time in Rookie Ball as a 23-year-old. There isn’t much of a future for him though, but with two good pitches and sharp command, perhaps he can find his way back in A-Ball as a reliever.
P: Jeff Potter—Orioles
A 2022 draft pick, Potter struggled in the Gulf Coast League before leading Canada in saves this past year. He worked to a 1.93 ERA, closed 25 games, and had a strong 0.93 WHIP. Potter also whiffed 56 opponents in 42 innings.
If Potter’s changeup develops, he could be a Triple-A starter, but that’s not likely to happen. As a reliever, OSA thinks he could someday be a fringe major leaguer, though, Bill Schmidt never sees him out of the minors. While young at age 20, it may be the right time to either see what he could do as a starter or promote him to a Short-Season-A-Ball bullpen.
P: Marcos Reyes—Tigers
Detroit’s 2023 First Rounder, Reyes pitched like a player with some pedigree as he led the league in WAR. Reyes used three strong pitches and good stamina to work 94 innings with a 1.74 ERA. He didn’t allow a single home run and struck out 108 to only 18 walks.
Control is an issue for Reyes, but he’s a hard worker so he may eventually overcome it. Both Bill Schmidt and OSA see a player with at least a Triple-A future, though a lot rides on the control. If it comes around, he may be a mid-rotation arm. If not, he’ll have to stuff to be a highly volatile arm with a lot of dominant games with double-digit strikeouts competing with disastrous blowups in the second inning.
P: Kevin Barham—Athletics
A 13th-rounder way back in 2017, Barham finally escaped the Arizona league in 2023. He’s become an innings eater and led the league in innings last year with 112.1 frames pitched. He was effective too, with a 2.08 ERA and a 0.90 WHIP.
Barham should be pitching in A-ball, as he’s had exactly 3.0 WAR in two different Rookie Leagues in two of the past three seasons. He doesn’t have a bright future, but he can provide depth in full-season ball. Instead, he’s providing strong work for a Rookie League team with players too-old for the level who can’t even make the playoffs.
P: Joe Vitale—Athletics
A more recent comer to the PBA, the bearded Vitale was selected in the Second Round of the 2022 draft out of Texas Tech. A power pitcher, Vitale used his 100-mph fastball to strike out 128 batters to lead the league. This is a year after he worked to a 1.82 ERA in Edmonton.
With 7.1 WAR the last two years, there’s no reason for Vitale to be in central Canada as Vitale’s heater is too good for the level. He’s a fringe major leaguer according to scouts, and as a 24-year-old next year, would likely be best served working in Double-A, let alone the rookie league.
P: David Robinson—Padres
San Diego’s Fourth Rounder in 2023, Robinson was tied for the league-lead in Wins with a 10-2 campaign and a 3.25 ERA this past year after a replacement-level rookie year. Robinson allowed only four home runs in 91.1 innings, with 25 walks and 75 strikeouts.
Robinson’s a three-pitch pitcher, but only one is an off-speed offering, which may temper his strikeout numbers. Scouts seem him as a Triple-A starter as his Fastball is straight, and his changeup is too firm. He might have a better chance of cutting it as a relief arm. Only 19, the Padres can go either way in giving him one more year in Rookie Ball or promoting him to Short-A.
1B: Jared Liddell—Nationals
Washington’s first round pick this year, a disappointing three-homer, eight-walk, 85-strikeout campaign left the First Baseman with a .560 OPS and -1.0 WAR. The year was so disappointing, the First Baseman now looks both blind and stoned.
Despite the brutal year, there are some mitigating factors. For starters, The Ice Box in Hudson Bay is a brutal place to hit for power. Also, Liddell was an 18-year-old High School graduate playing pro ball for the first time. OSA sees a behemoth slugger, while Bill Schmidt sees a future Double-A backup, but both scouts see Liddell repeating Rookie Ball next year.
RF: Barrett Suggs—Phillies
Philadelphia’s First Rounder in 2023, Suggs has not had a campaign with positive WAR yet. He hit just .181, struck out the fourth most times in the league, and had just a .257 Slugging Percentage. This is on the wheels of a -1.8 WAR season in just 30 games the year prior in Short-A, and a negative WAR campaign in the Gulf Coast League also that year.
Suggs is also a lefty slugger in a park that more than halves left-handed power output, so his struggles to drive the ball over Steamwheelers Park’s 366-foot deep, 13-foot tall Right-Field Wall are understandable. However, the batting average and lack of doubles are very concerning. Bill Schmidt sees the patience and doubles power and sees a player that should probably be in A-ball, but the production isn’t there. Ultimately, he sees Suggs’ lack of skills outside his patience as a skillset that leaves him in Triple-A. OSA sees a much more balanced hitter, though one with a refined approach and gap power already. Suggs needs to start developing his power though, and he may not be able to do that in Canada.
P: John Belanger—Indians
A third-round pick in 2023, Belanger made 16 starts for Blainville last season and went 1-8 with a 4.79 ERA. He only struck out 54 and walked 43 in 73.1 innings. With an elevated BABIP came an elevated WHIP of 1.81 in a wholly disappointing season after barely pitching in 2023.
Belanger doesn’t get much movement on his pitches, a fate that damned him to a high BABIP last year, but could damn him to an elevated home run mark once he starts pitching in warmer locations. OSA sees a Triple-A caliber arm, while Bill Schmidt sees a Double-A arm. He’ll likely need another year in Blainville to get some momentum to try to become more than an upper-minors depth piece.
P: Shane Stoebner—Nationals
A third-rounder out of The University of Texas, Stoebner struggled north of the border, going 0-4 with a 5.79 ERA in his first professional season. This despite pitching in a pretty good pitchers park up in The Ice Box. Stoebner worked more than 5 innings only once, leading people to see his ultimate destination as the bullpen.
Stoebner is a five-pitch pitcher, so he’s not an arm that will play up in the pen. He’ll need to be better at putting players away if he wants to work his way up the ladder at all. OSA sees a junk-oriented mid-rotation lefty, while Bill Schmidt sees a back-end major leaguer. There’s something there, and he did grade out as having 0.7 WAR as a result of a depressed home run rate. If he can figure out how to give the Nationals more length in Short-Season-A-Ball, it’ll get him back on their future radar.