One of the most exciting things about scouting players is monitoring their progress as they continue to move through their respective systems. In Sally Stock Watch, we’ll be taking a look at how prospects Mike has scouted are currently performing and reflect on what has previously been written on Scouting The Sally about those players.

**Clicking the player links will take you to the original reports**

Adam Milligan, OF, Atlanta Braves – Milligan garnered a bit of attention in 2009 when he posted gaudy offensive numbers between the “Appy” and “Sally” leagues causing Baseball America to promptly include him in their Braves top-10 prospects. The legend of Milligan grew even more when prospect followers learned the Braves drafted him three consecutive times before finally landing the young power hitter. Mike scouted him in 2009 and rained all over Braves fans parade after seeing him in Savannah:

 In striking out half of his at bats in the series, Milligan showed a propensity to swing-and-miss; often badly. His swing had a tendency to become long and he struggled to catch up to average fastballs up in the zone due to a failure to generate bat speed. When he did make contact, the ball jumped off of his bat as he skied three or four balls to the warning track after failing to square up on mistakes. He was unable to muster anything positive off of pitches which were not “dead red”. While his strikeout percentage (21.8%) was not terrible, his walk rate (5.8%) left plenty to be desired. How Milligan posted a .403 BABIP is beyond me, but once that number regresses to the mean, his top ten prospect status in the Braves organization may very well be rescinded.

Milligan missed most of 2010 with a bum shoulder that required surgery and was hurt when he did play which may explain his ugly offensive numbers. He started 2011 with the Braves new affiliate in Lynchburg. And after knocking some rust off in April, posted very impressive offensive numbers: .902 OPS, .266 ISO, and .381 wOBA. however, with the good, also came some bad as he struck out in 29.5% of his plate appearances while walking just 6.5% of the time (an improvement from 2009!). Unfortunately, his season ended early again, this time because of a knee injury. His final game of 2011 was July 15th in the midst of a 10-game hot streak which saw Milligan post a .368/.385/.632 triple slash line.

Even though Mike didn’t like his swing in 2009 – and he was injured when I saw Lynchburg this season – he still posted strong power numbers in 2011 (any time a guy has more than 50% extra base hits I get giddy). His K-rate is a little scary, but his walk totals improved as the season progressed. He was also a little old for A-ball, but That is not damning because of the injuries.

However, he really needed to stay healthy and move up a level to make up for lost time. At this point, Milligan’s injury history is officially considered frightening now that he has been shelved in three of his four professional seasons including multiple knee injuries.

Milligan must have talent to be targeted in the draft by the Braves three times, but injuries are stunting his progress. Without more data, we can’t tell what kind of progress he has really made. 2012 will be a big season for him as he should open the season in double-A, which should be a real test of his hitting ability against more advanced arms.

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Scouts were out in force Wednesday in Rome to watch Carlos Perez and Edward Salcedo in anticipation of the Atlanta Braves wanting to add at the trade deadline. After a few innings behind the plate watching Perez, more than a handful of the twenty plus scouts in attendance gravitated down the right field line.

Why? For a good open side view of both Perez and Salcedo of course! Now one could argue Lipka is a right-handed hitter too and might be on the menu as well, but I doubt it based on what I witnessed. In Rome, the buzz was for Perez and Salcedo – ESPECIALLY Salcedo.

Recently, I had the opportunity to sit with a veteran scout who had seen the entire Braves system from top to bottom. Per his words,

Edward Salcedo is the only legitimate bat in the entire Braves system right now.

Now, the conversation shouldn’t be about whether this is an accurate statement or not since Braves fans will point to Christian Bethancourt, Tyler Pastornicky, and even Matt Lipka as other viable sticks. My interest in the quote is more along the lines of how big an impression Salcedo must have made to separate himself from other position prospects in the organization by that much. For a scout to throw that out there means the young third base prospect is significantly improved from the player I scouted in 2010 who was swinging over curveballs by two feet and lacked anything resembling confidence.

In my recent Scouting The Sally Top-25, Salcedo received an honorable mention with some helium. For me personally, I now see a prospect with a defensive home at third base and the raw offensive tools to grow into the position offensively. And while I have some minor hesitations about his signing later than most Latin American players and missing valuable development time as a member of the Braves organization, each time I put eyes on Salcedo, those concerns move further to the back of my mind.

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On opening day in Rome, I had my first opportunity to scout Carlos Perez as he faced the Hagerstown Suns and uber-prospect Bryce Harper. And while Perez wasn’t sharp, I was impressed with his aggressive style of pitching and the way he attacked opposing hitters. However, his raw stuff fell a little short for me considering Perez had been voted the Appy League’s top prospect in 2010.

Of course an easy, and valid explanation for Perez not living up to expectations is that it was opening day and pitchers simply aren’t in top form. Totally understandable, but Perez has made 14 starts since then and boasts an ERA in the low-5′s.

Last week in Gwinnett, I sat with a scout who saw the same Perez I did. 89-91 MPH fastball, decent offspeed stuff, but very little idea of where it was going. Recently, the scout returned to watch Perez a second time and saw an entirely different pitcher.

Instead of Perez touching 91 MPH, he was reported to be sitting on 93 MPH with sharpened offspeed pitches. If this is the case, I’m excited to hit Rome for a second look myself.

I also need to shoot a few more at bats of Braves third base prospect Edward Salcedo as I feel his days in Rome are numbered. With Christian Bethancourt receiving an aggressive promotion after a solid month of production, Salcedo is likely not far behind.

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Last night I full expected Braves prospect Julio Teheran to take the mound for the 9th and finish the game out after batting in the bottom of the 8th. Between innings, I headed down the first base line to record one more at bat of Nationals prospect Chris Marrero when another lanky, Hispanic pitcher took the mound for the Gwinnett Braves. After popping 95 multiple times on the stadium gun, I rushed back to my seat behind home plate to catch a few radar gun readings and figure out who was on the mound.

26-year old Juan Abreu turned out to be the guilty party throwing the 9th in a non-save situation. And while he was wild, his final sequence of the game was a real eye opener. On three consecutive fastballs, Abreu pumped 97 MPH, 98 MPH, 97 MPH before dropping a wicked slurve to end the game. For the record, Abreu is only the 2nd pitcher to surpass 96 MPH on my radar gun in the year plus I’ve had it. The other pitcher was Dodgers prospect Rubby De La Rosa.

At present, Abreu sports a 2.57 ERA and 45/16 K/BB ratio in 35 innings pitched. If he can calm his mechanics just a bit, the opportunity is there for him to become a contributing member of the Braves bullpen.

Before Abreu took the mound, a scout I was sitting with said,

“Watch. The Braves are going to put a hard throwing wild guy on the mound in the 9th. It’s what they do throughout the organization.”

Turns out he was spot on.

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Take one look at the Braves farm system the past few seasons and you’ll find an organization loaded with pitching prospects.  It’s just not the top flight prospects that get all the press like Tommy Hanson and Julio Teheran, it’s the guys the guys that seemingly comes out of no where and become prospects almost overnight.  Last year, it was Brandon Beachy and Craig Kimbrel. The year before, Kris Medlan.   This year, on a Mississippi staff featuring Randall Delgado, Brett Oberholtzer and JJ Hoover (Three pitchers that would have made most top 15 prospect lists before 2011 started), the pitcher to come out of no where is Paul Clemens.

I saw Paul Clemens pitch in relief for the Rome Braves during the 2009 season and was not very impressed.  I saw a pitcher with a flat, low 90′s fastball and decent breaking ball who couldn’t get anyone out. Being a 21 year old in the Sally with the inability to prevent hitters from reaching base, I easily wrote Paul Clemens off.

Until I read his name in the Braves starting lineup, I had forgotten who he was.  I surfed the internet from my seat at AT&T Field in Chattanooga and I didn’t find one mention to Paul Clemens in any top 20 prospect list I came across.  Then, I received a tweet from Mike, informing me that there was some buzz about this kid’s fastball. Surely, it wasn’t the same kid I saw in Rome.

Then, I saw the scouts.  I thought they were just leftovers from the big Rubby De La Rosa/Randall Delgado matchup the previous day, a matchup I had planned to attend but couldn’t (More on that later).  There were 10 to 12 scouts at the game.  Not to take away anything from the players on either team that evening, but I doubted any of the players in the lineup could possibly warrant that type of attention.  I mean, Tyler Pastornicky and Mycal Jones are decent prospects, but 10 to 12 scouts were there to see those two guys.  After his first inning of work, it was obvious that Paul Clemens was the man they came to see.  They did not leave disappointed.

Paul Clemens’ final line was 8 innings, 1 Run (earned), 4 hits, 1 Home run, 1 Walk, 8 Strikeouts and a 11:2 GB:FB ratio.  Here are my observations.

- Clemens featured both a four seem and two seem fastball.  The four seem fastball sat between 94 and 96 MPH on the stadium gun, touching 97 twice. From experience, the stadium gun is a mile or two hot. He relied heavily on both variations of his fastball the first time through the order. His two seem pitch was extraordinary.  It had great downward movement and sat on the stadium gun between 90 and 93.  He threw one bad two seem Fastball the entire game, a pitch that was hit out of the park by Dodgers farmhand Matt Wallach, son of former major league third baseman Tim.  After the second inning, this was his go to offering.  The Lookouts hitters could not elevate this offering.  He ran it in on righties and coupled it with his changeup to left handed hitters.

- Clemens’ Breaking pitch was inconsistent but I would consider the movement and break to be an average offering at this point.  It seemed to be more like a slurve than a true curveball or slider.  In the 7th, he started one hitter out with this pitch; however, needed to bring the two-seem Fastball after falling behind 3-1.

- Clemens’ change up was inconsistent at first, slowly winning me over as the game wore on, especially during sequences against Lookouts Right Fielder Kyle Russell.  From behind home plate, he should good arm action and decent sink.  A change up that Kyle Russell struck out on was as filthy of an offering I saw all evening; however, that may have been the only time I thought it was filthy.

- Clemens is a very good athlete.  He doesn’t embarrass himself with the bat, fields his position well and doesn’t run the bases like a pitcher.  He is built well and his lower half is very strong.

- Clemens pitches aggressively.  I mentioned Matt Wallach hitting a flat two seem fastball for a home run in my first observation.  In the next two at bats, Matt had to deal with waist high fastball in on his hands to start each at bat.  Clemens pounded the corners and changed eye level effectively the entire evening.  The only hitter he failed to control was the red hot Scott Van Slyke, son of former major league Outfielder Andy.

I’m glad I got to see this performance by Paul.  I had planned on going to the previous day’s doubleheader and catching the big pitching matchup I mentioned above and the one that Mike highlighted in a number of scouting service calls.  As you all may know,  Northwest Georgia, Southwest Alabama and Eastern Tennessee, were hit with a slew of Tornadoes.  I spent my day off on helping the cleanup efforts in Ringgold, Georgia instead of AT&T Field, less than a mile from where 8 people lost their lives a week earlier.  Words and photos cannot explain the devastation I saw.  Please keep this area, along with Birmingham and Tuscaloosa, in your thoughts and prayers.

I invite everyone to check out my photos of Clemens.  Also included are photos from Bryce Harper’s first professional game and the Tornado damage in Ringgold in other, assessable albums.

I have to apologize to Chris Blessing for not posting this sooner. I always enjoy his contributions to STS and know readers do too.

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With a funky name, and even funkier hitting mechanics, South African Braves farmhand Riaan Spanjer-Furstenburg burst onto the scene in 2009 as the Topps Appy League Player of the Year, posting a triple slash line of .359/.411/.543.

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Injuries and an overall lack of production brought RSF crashing to earth in 2010. However, when watching him play, I saw very good bat whip and hands leaving me believing he can hit a bit and that there’s some upside there.

Of course this has to be tempered by the fact RSF is a poor athlete and defensive first baseman. To have that profile and play first base, a prospect has to hit a TON and he does not do that.

With all of his quirks and ticks in the box, combined with above average bat speed and wrist snap, he’s an interesting player to watch hit. However, it’s hard to consider him a true prospect within the organization at this point in time.

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Seeing the growth of Atlanta Braves pitching prospect Julio Teheran from the 2009 to 2010 season was a learning experience for me as it illuminated just how quickly a truly elite prospect can improve. Teheran was extremely impressive in a late 2009 start, flashing a 94 MPH fastball and two breaking balls with potential. But 2010 brought a much improved pitcher through Savannah whose raw stuff had taken a giant step forward in less than a year’s time.

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• Well-proportioned pitcher; More mature physically from previous season
• Added size leaves Teheran looking more durable; Physique better able to support his velocity
• Mechanics look smoothed out from 2009; Stays taller in the back of his delivery to create better plane
• Arm whip still the best I’ve seen; Less effort is needed in his delivery to create it
• Attacks hitters relentlessly with his arsenal of pitches
• Perceived injury risk significantly reduced
• Fastball 92-94 MPH, touching 96
• “Electric” life on the pitch; Hard tail in on RHH; Excellent downward plane when on top of the pitch
• 76 MPH curveball; 11-5 break
• Sharp break when down in the zone; Threw the pitch earlier in the count than in his 2009 outing
• 78-81 MPH changeup; Pitch runs into RHH
• Improved arm speed from 2009; Left the pitch high too often

Quite simply, Julio Teheran is the best pitcher I’ve had the opportunity to scout in my two plus years running Scouting the Sally. With further refinement, he profiles as a frontline starter whose continued physical maturation leaves me more confident he will reach his considerable upside.

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As the Atlanta Braves second round pick in the 2010 draft, Todd Cunningham was pushed aggressively to Rome where the former college standout struggled to adjust to professional baseball.  In seeing him play a handful of times, Cunningham was definitely an enjoyable player to watch from a baseball standpoint.  However, reports of his not having a standout tool are accurate leaving both Cunningham’s projection and future position in limbo.

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Physical Projection: Cunningham is built like your prototypical two-hole hitter.  At 6’0″, 200 lbs., he is fully developed through the quads and forearms indicating little room for additional growth.  This is a bit disconcerting considering his lack of pop (.338 SLG) in the “Sally”.  Additionally, he’s not a speedster so his physical tools scream “tweener”.

As an athlete, he’s fluid and compact at the plate, but those attributes do not carry over into the field where he has shuffled around quite a bit in his short time with the Braves.  One thing to Cunningham’s favor is that he’s simply an excellent baseball player who has a high baseball IQ.  I’m confident Cunningham will maximize his tools, but just not sure the physical tools aren’t already close to maxed out at present.

Offense: A switch hitter, his OPS splits were nearly identical, but I preferred his swing from the left side.  Cunningham combines a strong understanding of the strike zone, quick hands, and a level swing plane which keeps his bat head in the strike zone longer than most.  He also has a knack for letting the ball travel deep into the strike zone which allows him to slice line drives down the left field line.  However, this approach severely limits his power leaving him with an up-the-middle offensive profile without the speed or defensive chops to project there.

From the right side, his swing doesn’t look nearly as natural to the point where I wonder if he winds up ditching the idea of hitting from the right side.  I normally love when hitters keep their hands inside the baseball, but in Cunningham’s case, it was exaggerated to the point of being awkward.

Defense: In all honesty, I did not see much of him on defense.  In the majority of the games I was in attendance for, Cunningham served as the designated hitter which is rather damning considering the level of play and draft position.  When he did play the outfield, nothing really stood out as a positive or negative.  He was more-or-less just there making the routine play.

From speaking to scouts, it seems as if Cunningham was drafted as a second base conversion project that backfired.  He was then moved to third base, which went poorly as well before settling into the outfield.  Maybe an offseason of reps on the infield will help, but it will be an uphill battle for him to profile as even an average infielder.

Speed: At present, Cunningham is an average runner.  He will swipe a handful of bases, but will be caught too many times to be considered any sort of threat.  He’s a sound fundamental baserunner and should be able to make the most out of whatever speed he does have.

When I normally discuss a prospect being a “wild card”, it’s due to undeveloped tools and considerable untapped potential.  In Cunningham’s case, I’d place that label on him because his prospect status is more tied into positional value than just about anybody I scouted other than maybe Giants farmhand Tommy Joseph or Yankees prospect J.R. Murphy.

If he can work his way into being at least a functional second baseman, his prospect status receives a considerable boost due to a 2B, 3B, OF profile.  Should he wind up a fringe centerfield prospect who plays better at a corner, then his prospect status is pretty much dead on arrival with a top end projection of a 4th outfielder. Keep a close eye on where Cunningham opens the 2011 season as it will be one of the more interesting stories of Braves minor league spring training.

Thumbnail from romenews-tribune.com

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In a year in which he seemed to finally string together a number of consecutive starts, 20-year old Brett DeVall of the Atlanta Braves turned in a relatively solid ninety innings of work before tiring late in the season.  From a velocity standpoint, DeVall’s arsenal did not differ much from my previous report back in February.  I also discussed the outing this pre-game bullpen is from in my “Sally Stock Watch” series. With no video of DeVall posted online, I’m sure Braves fans are interested in catching a glimpse of one of the more highly touted left-handers in the system.

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Atlanta Braves catching prospect Christian Bethancourt had arguably the most impressive tools in the South Atlantic League this season.  With a .253/.280/.332 line, the production has obviously not matched the skill set as Bethancourt struggled in his first taste of full season baseball.  At 18, Bethancourt is likely to repeat the “Sally” in 2011 to continue working on his offense and receiving skills.  However, Bethancourt’s arm is big league ready and could quickly become the stuff of legend.

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Physical Projection: Bethancourt has a lean upper and lower body with moderate development through his core.  And while he should fill out some through natural maturation, he doesn’t project to grow out of the position like many other 6’2″ catchers at the level.  Bethancourt’s athletic physique and fluid movements speak extremely well to his being able to remain behind the dish long term.

Beyond catching, Bethancourt’s athleticism permeates through the rest of his game as well.  While extremely rough around the edges, the bat speed, power potential, and foot speed are there to project significant offensive growth.  Of players I’ve seen this season, Bethancourt has the largest gap between tools and performance of any prospect I’ve seen.

Offense: Possessing excellent bat speed, Bethancourt is able to whip the bat head through the zone even though his mechanics seem to be in constant opposition of his natural ability.  With a bad step-in-the-bucket and a swing which is pull hand dominant, the present bat speed he has could become elite with a few mechanical tweaks.  Multiple scouts have gone out of their way to mention the power Bethancourt shows in batting practice.  And while it’s a long way from showing up in game action due to so-so pitch recognition, and his aforementioned mechanics, a significant spike in power can be expected at some point.

While his pitch selection is not particularly strong, Bethancourt’s strike out rate is very low for international players his age. He has also shown the ability to adjust to breaking pitches.  As “Sally” Mets pitchers recognized his stepping in the bucket, they began feeding him a steady dose of outside pitches.  From reading an update on his development from contributor Chris Blessing and catching Bethancourt in person in late August, he has definitely quieted his load some which is a definite positive.

Defense: Between innings, I clocked multiple throwing times in the 1.8′s from Bethancourt which is pretty unheard of.  His best time, 1.83 seconds, leaves me frustrated with the 20-80 scale because I can’t award bonus points.  If asked the single most impressive tool I’ve ever seen in minor league baseball, it would be a toss up between Bethancourt’s arm strength and Mike Stanton’s in game power.  It would not surprise me one bit if Bethancourt could touch triple digits from the mound and I’d rate his arm strength ahead of former teammates Julio Teheran and Arodys Vizcaino.

The rest of his defensive game is spotty at best as I’ve personally seen about ten balls scoot by him in game action.  Bethancourt seems especially susceptible on pitches to his backhand side as his glove simply looked lazy.  He also sticks balls awfully hard when trying to frame strikes.  As Bethancourt matures, his receiving will need to be smoothed out considerably and I’d rate his glove work as below average.

Currently, I suspect immaturity and work ethic are holding him back a bit and he’s relying solely on athletic ability.  At 18, Bethancourt is playing full season baseball as a big bonus international free agent when most American baseball players are seniors in high school.  I think it’s important to understand Bethancourt is still a teenager and may have some growing pains as he adjusts and matures.

Speed: I was shocked to pull a 65 running time (4.15 seconds) on the 20/80 scale off of video.  Even if this isn’t the norm and Bethancourt is a tenth of a second slower on average, it still leaves him with elite speed for the catching position.  He’s 8/11 in stolen base attempts this season and could probably swipe 15-20 per year if allowed.

While Christian Bethancourt is a boom or bust prospect behind the plate, his floor is higher than most “toolsheds” due to the possibility of his being moved to the mound should catching not work out.  In 2011, Bethancourt will likely spend at least half the season back in Rome to continue his development.  He is years away from Atlanta, but his ceiling is that of an All-Star catcher.  However, Bethancourt has, and will continue to draw mixed reviews from scouts and is ending the season as one of the most polarizing prospects in the league.

Photo from talkingchop.com

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