Don’t forget about our Low-A friends in Virgina
Lynchburg is the entry point for young players stepping up their level of professional competition and, therefore, always worth monitoring. Who are some prospects we should be paying attention to as the Hillcats’ Low-A season opens up tomorrow?
Projected Lineup:
C: Robert Lopez LHH
1B: Luis Merejo RHH
2B: Garrett Howe LHH
3B: Yanki Baptiste SH
SS: Welbyn Francisca SH
CF: Tommy Hawke LHH
LF: Ryan Cesarini LHH
RF: Jose Pirela LHH
Bench:
Bennett Thompson RHH C
Carlos Gutierrez LHH OF
Christopher Espinola LHH OF
Yaikel Mijares SH IF
Jeffrey Mercedes SH IF
Alberto Mendez LHH IF
Analysis: The clear highlight here is Welbyn Francisca, who is a top 5-10 prospect for the Guardians’ depending on the list. His defense is worth watching as well as his ability to lift and impact the ball, his 15.6/11.7 K/BB% already makes it seem like he’s got the plate discipline piece well in hand. Lopez has a 96 wRC+ in the minors so far, and Thompson is a 2024 draft pick for Cleveland at the catcher position here. Merejo is a very interesting hitting prospect with a 131 wRC+ so far in his professional career at the tender age, still, of only 18. Being limited to first base narrows his path to being a big leaguer, but if you’ve got the bat, you’ll find a way. Howe is the kind of player who becomes a decent utility guy in the bigs fairly ofren, Hawke and Pirela figure to be platoon-outfielders if everything goes right for them. I am especially interested in following Baptiste who strikes out WAY too much (40%) but absolutely demolishes baseballs, putting up a .340 ISO so far as a 19 year old in summer league play. If he can learn to cut that whiff rate, you could be hearing noise from him very soon. Cesarini, at age 22, is a bit old for the level, but he had very interesting college numbers and put up a 157 wRC+ in 13 games at Lynchburg last year. He has an advanced approach at the plate, so if he can continue to impact the ball at a high rate as he has, there could be something interesting here.
Projected Starting Rotation:
Braylon Doughty RHP
Rafe Schlesinger LHP
Sean Matson RHP
Cam Walty RHP
Jacob Zibin RHP
Jervis Alfaro RHP
Analysis: The names particularly to watch here are Doughty, Schlesinger, Walty and Zibin, draft picks from 2023-2024, each with a varying level of hype. If the Guardians are going to prove their pitching factory is intact and productive, they are going to need a couple of these four guys to show something this season. Doughty, Schlesinger and Zibin have good velocity and top-end starter ceiling (though I suspect Schlesinger ends up as a reliever, if he makes the bigs), and Walty relies on command and deception. Alfaro doesn’t strike out many folks, but has limited hard contact, and Sean Matson was a very good starter at Harvard. So, he’s smart. Smart is good.
Bullpen:
Jogly Garcia RHP
Luis Flores LHP
Sean Heppner RHP
Melkis Hernandez LHP
Donovan Zsak LHP
Xavier Martinez RHP
Izaak Martinez LHP
Logan McGuire RHP
Conner Whittaker RHP
Julio Zapata RHP
Analysis: This is mostly a group of players who strike out like 11 guys per nine and walk eight guys per nine, which is typical of a Low-A bullpen. Whittaker and McGuire are more control types. If I had to pick one name to watch, I’d go with Luis Flores who seems to have the best stuff from the limited analysis I can find. Heppner is a fun pick from the University of British Columbia, so, obviously, the next Cade Smith.
It’s fun to follow the Hillcats because so little is known about many players who are on their roster each year. So, you never know who may emerge as a prospect with real potential and who may turn out not to be a professional baseball player. We will find out together, but easy to root for these 18-22 year olds, pursuing their dreams.