FanGraphs was at the Futures Game in Arlington on Saturday. In all, 16 pitchers appeared in the seven-inning game. The following are some quick notes on all the pitchers who hit the rubber during the All-Star weekend event of the first prospect. Obviously one game isn’t enough by itself to move the needle significantly for any of these guys – they all have a large body of work that can better inform our analysis – but it’s helpful to see whose stuff is coming in when it comes in. environment like the Futures Game and let them eat in shorter bursts than they are used to.
The National League
Chase Dollander, Colorado Rockies: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 K
FB: 95-97 CB: 75-76 CH: 89-90
Dollander has faced five batters in his career, four of which have been strikeouts. Dollander sat in his normal fastball range (95-97 mph) but didn’t throw his slider. Instead, he opted to throw a few curveballs and a fadeaway changeup, both of which had difficulty landing. His fastball command was spotty, but the pitch flashed in the zone.
Noble Meyer, Miami Marlins: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
FB:91-95 CB: 78 SL: 82-84 CH: 84-86
Meyer’s fastball showed life with late tailing movement just before entering the zone, and he felt he was getting his second mix of strikes. Meyer showed both a short tilting version of his slide and a planet-dome with great depth, with the width of both. Meyer also mixed in a slurve-shaped curveball at 78 mph that he used to steal a strike in a 0-0 tie. The changeup featured a great lateral fade and mimicked his fastball arm when throwing it.
Brandon Sproat, New York Mets: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
FB: 97-99 SL: 84-86 CH: 90
Sproat’s fastball has fared well in this short burst, sitting in the upper 90s with above-average life. He flashed a couple of range-matching sliders before the pitch came to a late, slow finish. Sproat wasn’t very accurate with his pitches due to his long arm, and the unique situation probably boosted him more than usual, but his pure stuff was among the best in the Futures Game this year.
Thomas White, Miami Marlins: 0.2 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 1 K
FB: 94-95 CB: 79-82 CH: 85-87
The 19-year-old struggled with strikeouts on Saturday, walking three batters on the day. White sits 94-95 mph with a heater that plays best when he can get it up effectively. His slurve-shaped breaking ball was solid on it, but his feel for it was spotty. White was also remixed in a few mid-80s versions that were straight and lacked action.
Robby Snelling, San Diego Padres: 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
FB: 90-93
Snelling had a short four-pitch inning to end the inning started by Thomas White.
Rhett Lowder, Cincinnati Reds: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
FB: 93-95 SL: 84-86 CH: 87-88
Lowder gave up a double to Kyle Teel on a slider and worked around an error to throw a scoreless frame. He peppered the area with his mid-90s fastball and threw a few breaking balls and overs. He also worked a couple of upper-80s swings, landing a lower-arm pitch in one of them.
Quinn Mathews, St. Louis Cardinals: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
FB: 93-95 / CB: 76 / SL: 85-87 CH: 81
Mathews struck out two in his career inning and is in his glove position with his 93-95 mph fastball. He threw both of his breaking balls. His two-run slider showed some action late, and the one curveball he threw became a slow breaker from 1 to 7 when Max Clark lined a single to left field. Mathews threw only one changeup; the voice is often at the forefront of his arsenal.
Bubba Chandler, Pittsburgh Pirates: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
FB: 96-98 SL: 87-88 CH: 88-90
Chandler finished the game and was electric throughout. His 90s fastball had a lot of life to ride in the zone. Arguably the best pitch he threw was a 1-1 changeup to Teel that had a late fade in the zone and missed Teel’s stick. Chandler also made sure to show off his upper-80s slider, his last one being the sharpest he threw, a two-planer that Gavin Cross threw high in the second inning.
Did not pitch: Tink Hence, St. Louis Cardinals
The American League
Emiliano Teodo, Texas Rangers: 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
FB: 95-99 SL: 86-89 CH: 89
Teodo got the start at his parents’ home ballpark and was the only one to pitch two innings. Most of his slides were tight and short, while he flashed a few that had legal depth and two-plane conditions with real breaks. One changeup he threw had a dull and sinking action to match the arm action and speed; caused a swing and a miss from Bryce Eldridge. Teodo only needed 14 pitches to close out his two innings.
Caden Dana, Los Angeles Angels: 1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
FB: 91-95 SL: 83-87 CH: 86
Dana was really into it with her slide on Saturday. It was a four-quarter, two-run home run and was a one-inning home run. Cam Collier fielded a fastball close to the center cut in the middle bullpen, but that didn’t stop Dana from hitting the spot with it in all of his appearances. He also mixed with one changer, who choked him; it bounced before going to home plate.
Noah Schultz, Chicago White Sox: 0.1 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
FB: 95-97 SL: 80-82 CH: 90 CUT: 88
Schultz allowed a few hits and a walk, giving up three earned runs on the day. His fastball command was weak. His low 80s slider was a combination header, with compound teeth and a critical horizontal and vertical plane. He tried to throw a few changeups at 90 mph but choked them, resulting in some uncompetitive pitches. Schultz also attempted to string together several 88-mph shortstops. He strangled them, which reduced the act of sacrifice.
AJ Blubaugh, Houston Astros: 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
FB: 94 SL: 87
Blubaugh came in to complete the frame started by Schultz and had a quick t3-pitch outing, throwing two fastballs at 94 mph and a slider that hit him at 87 mph.
Luis Morales, Oakland Athletics: 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
FB: 96-99 CB: 81-85 CH: 88
Without throwing a full inning, Morales showed the best arm speed of the day in my eyes and showed what his stuff can do in short bursts. His hitter sat 96-99 mph with carries and missed a few bats in the zone, while his tweener-shaped breaking ball had solidity to it; he drew it down and away from the right hitters. Morales also threw an upper-80s changeup in the last batter he faced. He didn’t get a strike, but he had some late depth.
Ben Kudrna, Kansas City Royals: 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 K
FB: 95-96 SL: 86-87 CH: 86
Kudrna came in to end the inning for Morales and scored the first run he faced on four pitches. His fastball was 95-96 mph and his slider also had a few ticks of velocity (86-87) compared to normal, although it retained its typical two-plane design. Kudrna also threw a switchup single at 86 mph that was straight deep late; he buried it in the dust.
Fernando Perez, Toronto Blue Jays: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
FB: 91-93 CB: 75 SL: 82-84
Perez gave up a solo shot to Drake Baldwin on a 93 mph heater in the outer third of the plate, but he had a clean inning. He started off the next batter, Dylan Crews, with a get-me-over 75 mph curveball. His fastball sat in the low 90s and lacked above-average life, while his 82-84 mph slider lacked finish and sustained him many times.
Winston Santos, Texas Rangers: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
FB: 97-98 SL: 84-87 CH: 90
There was more effort in Saturday’s work than you usually see from Santos and it resulted in his fastball sitting in the high 90s. His hitter usually has a plus car, but it had more bounce in this outing due to the velo uptick. Santos broke a sharp two-plane slider with a tight plus, but the breaking ball backed up to him many times and often lacked depth. He showed a single changeup, with a splitter-type dive and clocked in at 90 mph.
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