A Day 2 Report From The Surprise Backfields
Welp, some days, you get the hammers, some days you get the nails. Is that right? No? Not sure what I’m doing here, but this is to say Day 2 was chock full of last year’s DSL kiddos and a handful of 2024 draft picks. The day started strangely enough when I was the only person in the restroom at the complex when I heard baseball spikes walking in. Not entirely uncommon as it’s the only loo in sight, but it got weird when I turned around and quite literally ran into Wyatt Langford. He was wildly out of place, in part because he’s one of the only players I can think of who NEVER fully participated in the minor league portion of a Spring Training, but also because his arms and back are twice the size of everyone else on the field. He and Evan Carter then proceeded to jog between the two minor league games to lead off every inning. As I mentioned yesterday, MLBers getting regular reps on the backfields is happening more and more these days, but in this case, the two MLBers were only slightly older than the minor leaguers. But it took one Wyatt piss rocket to remind the hapless Cincinnati Reds A-ball squad that they still had a ways to go to run with the big dogs. (side note: my man Full Count Carter was nowhere near as demonstrative as Langford. He drew a couple walks (of course he did), but I don’t recall him impacting a ball in the countless ABs he had and frankly, he just didn’t look comfortable in the box or out of it. Man seems a bit lost at the moment, if ya ask me.)
Anyways, here’s some vids:
I like this kid Jose Gonzalez. I only watched a bullpen session, but he had the tells of someone with some mojo. Intensely listening to the coaches and working on his craft, combined with generally smacking the ball into the catcher’s mitt with needle-like precision. He had some extraordinary numbers in A-ball last year and I think this fella’s gonna see the upper levels, at least.
I was also a bit intrigued by Texas’ 11th rounder last year, left-hander, Dalton Pence. He’s one of those young guns that in years past, we’d have just said “It’s not premium velocity, but it really jumps on guys.” Now, thanks to computers and other assorted wizbangs and doohickeys, we can be more specific. Dalton misses bats with his 91-93mph FB because he has mega-elite IVB. The numbers from Trackman consistenly hovered in the 19-20” range and I saw a couple as high as 23”. Spinning a decent SL helps too. I think this former UNC Tar Heel has a chance to have games where he carves up some A-ballers this summer.
On a day when many of the bold print names were mostly absent from the backfields, a large human named Jesus Mosquera stood out for a moment. Not sure why the big Venezuelan hasn’t pitched for the last couple years, but on Wednesday, he threw a sinker that touched 96 and spun a wicked ~84mph bender with 2900rpm that had more than one batter ducking out of the box on a called strike.
24 year old Victor Simeon threw a pack of 95-96mph FBs and what looked like a gyro SL. He misses bats, but sometimes misses the catcher too.
Josh Springer is a catcher, so you’re damn right I watched him yesterday. Seemed in control behind the plate and has a strong enough arm for the position, so we’ll see. Looking around and I gotta say, the catcher ranks are liiiiiight. I mean, it’s kinda just the Malcolm Moore show at this point, so I’m really rooting for one of these other guys to take a big ol’ step forward this summer.
I got to see Chandler Pollard again. Still very athletic. Still waiting for him to sting the ball. Still hoping.
I know some folks who dig lanky righty Kolton Curtis. Here’s some footage of his #length and delivery. Just 20 years old, very projectable, and a high-quality mustache. We see you, Kolton Curtis, we see you.
There’s a couple more videos on my YouTube page, so feel free to pop over there if you wanna see Kleimer Lemos and Yeremi Cabrera in action. Also, as mentioned yesterday, I asked Rafe Perich how to pronounce his name and it rhymes with waif, which is defined as a “young person who looks thin or uncared for”, which he appears to be neither of those things.
Back out to the fields for my final day of the trip. Talk soon, go Rangers!
As Always, Enjoy Baseball!
Love Ya!
-Tepid
**Today’s bonus clip is Wyatt Langford with a harmless F4. But look at how much bigger his elbow and the surrounding muscles are than the kids in the clips above. He NEVER belonged amongst his peers. Lol.