Early Grades for MLB's Top 10 September Call-Ups
No September call-up has enjoyed a bigger month than Javier Baez, who has been tearing it up at the plate and in the field.
While the Chicago Cubs infielder has been impressing with the bat and the glove, not all of the prominent prospects who have been promoted have made good use of their September auditions.
In the process of handing out early grades for the top call-ups, on-field performance was the most important factor taken into consideration. But since the sample sizes are so limited for nearly all the players, the feedback that they have received from their managers, coaches and teammates also weighs heavily into the equation.
10. Radhames Liz, RP, Pittsburgh Pirates
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At 31, Radhames Liz is the oldest player on this list.
But based on the way the righty has thrown the ball in his two September outings, it looks like Liz could have a part to play in the Pittsburgh Pirates pen in the final weeks of 2015 and beyond.
The Dominican, who spent much of the season in the minors, credited his Triple-A skipper for helping him succeed after a wobbly 11-game run with the Bucs early in the year. In 16 contests for the Indianapolis Indians, Liz had a 1.40 ERA and a 10.4 strikeout-per-nine ratio.
“(Triple-A manager Dean) Treanor was working with me a little bit on mechanics,” Liz said, via Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “I was opening up a little, front side, and I was getting off balance. It gives me better balance, better mechanics. It helps me keep my velocity high and more consistent."
The velocity has been high, indeed. On Sept. 1, Liz hit 99 mph on the radar gun, per Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. That heat has led to strong results in both of Liz's September appearances, as he's piled up five Ks in four innings while allowing just one earned run.
Grade: A-
9. Rob Refsnyder, 2B, New York Yankees
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Rob Refsnyder has had plenty of downtime since joining the New York Yankees.
So far, the second baseman, who had a four-game cameo earlier in the summer, has yet to play for the American League East club in his second stint in the Bronx. The future looks bright for the 24-year-old, but there's no guarantee that future will arrive this month.
"I have not said he's going to play this much or that much," Manager Joe Girardi said, via Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. "Stephen Drew is playing extremely well. Will I pick some spots to give him a day off here or there? Yeah, probably. We have a long stretch after this day off. We've got a tough schedule, 30 out of 31 days. But with the way he's playing, [Drew is] going to play."
As he bides his time, priority No. 1 for Refsnyder will be to improve his glove work.
"I've had a lot of good people helping me out," Refsnyder said, per Hoch. "Didi [Gregorius] has helped me out, Brendan [Ryan] has helped me out, Stephen [has helped as well]. It's a wealth of knowledge."
It's encouraging that Refsnyder is doing all he can to soak up as much knowledge as possible from his more experienced teammates, but it's impossible to dish out a grade until the prospect actually steps on the diamond.
Grade: Incomplete
8. Zach Davies, SP, Milwaukee Brewers
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Acquired from the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for Gerardo Parra at the deadline, Zach Davies is getting the chance to prove what he can do for his new club, the Milwaukee Brewers.
The 22-year-old's first audition didn't go to plan, as Davies failed to escape the fifth inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sept. 2, serving up four earned runs in 4.1 frames. But his second go-round went far smoother, as Davies limited the Miami Marlins to a single run on four hits in seven innings on Sept 7.
As his teammate Ryan Braun explained, the rookie is one fast worker.
"His pace is incredible," Braun told Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. "That's the type of guy you love to play defense behind. He works so quickly that as a hitter, you never have a chance to settle in. You see guys taking pitches because they're not prepared, or forcing swings because he works so quickly."
Davies' rapid-fire approach is a welcome addition in Milwaukee, where quality starting pitching has been awfully difficult to find. In 2015, the club's starters rank No. 27 in the bigs in ERA.
Grade: B+
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7. Miguel Castro, RP, Colorado Rockies
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Miguel Castro endured a forgettable debut with the Colorado Rockies on Sept. 1.
In 1.1 innings of work, Castro was tagged for four earned runs, as the Arizona Diamondbacks were just a single short of hitting for the cycle against him. The rookie, who took the loss, also handed out a walk to D-backs starter Patrick Corbin.
After the dud of an introduction, Castro, who joined the Rockies as part of the Troy Tulowitzki blockbuster, has strung together back-to-back scoreless outings.
But command remains an issue for him, as he has issued four walks in 3.1 innings of work. An inability to consistently stay in the strike zone was also a problem for the 20-year-old throughout the minor league campaign. While splitting the year between the Toronto Blue Jays and Rockies farm systems, Castro piled up 20 walks in 38.1 innings.
Grade: C-
6. Hector Olivera, 3B, Atlanta Braves
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It's been a crazy season for Hector Olivera.
Back in May, the Los Angeles Dodgers inked the Cuban to a $62.5 million deal. Then right before the deadline, the NL West club jettisoned Olivera to the Atlanta Braves in a 13-player mega-swap.
"This guy was not only traded in the middle of the season, but he came from a different country and is trying to get used to the language and all of that," Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said, via Mark Bowman of MLB.com. "It's going to take him a while. We have to be patient with him. But you saw what our scouts have seen, some power."
That patience is starting to pay off for the Braves. After a slow first week with the NL East squad, the third baseman has now posted multi-hit games in two of the past three contests and pushed his average up to .286.
With the Braves mired in an epic second-half funk, a big finish for Olivera would provide the club with a much-needed reason for optimism heading into 2016.
Grade: B
5. Javier Baez, INF, Chicago Cubs
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Javier Baez has been raking since returning to Wrigley Field at the beginning of the month.
In eight games for the Chicago Cubs, the 22-year-old checks in with a .320 average and an .890 OPS. But Baez, who has been playing all over the infield, hasn't just been standing out with his bat.
"He falls out of bed and can play defense," Manager Joe Maddon said, via Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune. "It’s incredible to watch how smooth he is and how comfortable he is at all these different positions. His arm, how smooth he is—he’s just different. I don’t know if we’ve had anyone quite that comfortable on the infield, especially at that age (22).’’
Based on the way he's been rolling along at the plate and thanks to his defensive versatility, Baez is building a compelling case to land a spot on the Cubs postseason roster.
For Baez, who spent all season stranded down on the farm, his strong showing this September represents an incredible turnaround for the former top prospect who had become the forgotten man in Chicago thanks to the team's flood of minor league talent.
Grade: A
4. Carl Edwards Jr., RP, Chicago Cubs
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Joe Maddon didn't waste any time putting Carl Edwards Jr. to work. The 24-year-old joined the Chicago Cubs on Sept. 7 and debuted the same night, pitching a scoreless frame against the St. Louis Cardinals.
As the Cubs skipper explained via Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times, he's been anxiously awaiting the arrival of the reliever.
“I’ve been asking about him all year, because he’s the kind of a kid that can be a very good major-league pitcher. The biggest thing is just how quickly he adapts emotionally to the whole thing.”
Edwards, who is in his first season pitching out of the pen, has taken to his new role in quick fashion. The righty, who MLB.com tabbed as the No. 61 prospect in the minors, posted a 2.77 ERA in 36 outings while splitting the season between Double-A and Triple-A. Now, he has the opportunity to pitch his way into the postseason mix.
“If it happens, it happens,” Maddon told Wittenmyer, when asked if Edwards would be used in high-leverage situations. “But he’s that kind of a talent that can be impactful now going into October."
Grade: A-
3. Dalton Pompey, CF, Toronto Blue Jays
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Dalton Pompey has one task: to cause a ruckus on the basepaths.
The 22-year-old, who MLB.com dubbed the No. 47 prospect in baseball, has the wheels to do just that. In 96 minor league contests, the center fielder ripped off 23 steals. However, he was also thrown out on 10 occasions. Since joining the surging Toronto Blue Jays as a call-up, Pompey is two-for-two in stolen base attempts.
Both of those steals came in a single pinch-running appearance back on Sept. 3.
“It was the perfect guy in the perfect situation,” First base coach Tim Leiper told John Lott of the National Post. “He’s in the game to get to second base."
Pompey could also be the perfect guy to snag a bench spot on the Blue Jays' postseason roster, as the flyer would be an ideal late-game weapon for skipper John Gibbons.
Grade: B+
2. Joey Gallo, 3B/OF, Texas Rangers
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Joey Gallo has spent most of September as a reserve for the Texas Rangers. As the 21-year-old admitted at the time of his promotion, that's an unfamiliar job description for the heralded prospect.
"It is going to be different," Gallo told T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com back on Sept. 1. "It is going to be weird. I have never been a bench player. It will be a different role, but it will be good. I can relax and just go out and play when I get there."
So far, Gallo, who MLB.com ranked as the No. 6 prospect in the bigs, has struggled to adapt to his part-time gig. The lefty masher has racked up eight strikeouts in 12 at-bats this month.
While he's been swinging and missing at an alarming rate, Gallo's incredible pop has also been on display. In the Rangers' 9-6 win over the Seattle Mariners on Sept. 8, Gallo crushed a solo shot into the seats beyond the right field wall at Safeco Field.
In the long run, Gallo is going to have to cut down on all those whiffs if he's ever going to live up to his high billing with the Rangers. But this month, he has the potential to make a big impact for Texas as a bench bat who can go yard on any given pitch. That's a valuable asset for manager Jeff Banister to call on, as the Rangers aim to track down the Houston Astros in the AL West.
Grade: D
1. Corey Seager, SS, Los Angeles Dodgers
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At just 21 years old, Corey Seager has been far from overwhelmed on the big league stage.
In his first seven contests for the Los Angeles Dodgers, MLB.com's No. 2 overall prospect clocks in with four doubles and a .360 average. For Seager, the fast start at the dish with the NL West front-runners is just more of the same, as he logged a .293 average while spending the 2015 season with the Dodgers' Double-A and Triple-A affiliates.
While Seager has been locked in with the bat, his glove work has left room for improvement. During the Dodgers' 6-4 win over the Los Angeles Angels on Sept. 8, the shortstop committed two errors in the space of just four plays. After Seager made those miscues, manager Don Mattingly brushed the forgettable sequence aside.
“Both physical,” Mattingly said, via Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles Times. “Nothing that really seemed to affect him.”
Seager's minor league track record indicates that he should be just fine in the field once he settles in. In 105 contests in 2015, Seager posted a .974 fielding percentage at short.
Grade: B+
Note: All stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com and MLB.com.
If you want to talk baseball, find me on Twitter @KarlBuscheck.
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