Arizona Days Two and Three

Sunday

2020 4th-round lefty Dylan MacLean is back from elbow surgery. MacLean threw a 76-78 breaker that I considered a slurve with more “urve” than “sl,” but the gentleman on the Trackman feed called it a sweeper. It was fairly effective. The fastball was in the 89-91 range, a couple of ticks under where he’d reached in 2022. We’ll see how that develops.

Mitch Bratt dominated the KC opposition, getting both calls and swings in his favor on a variety of pitches. Bratt reached AA last year but was pitching the high-A game, which is no knock on him but in the world of intersquads does mean that several opposing hitters probably hadn’t even reached that level yet. Bratt had some struggles last year in AA but pitched better than his 5.70 ERA. He doesn’t throw especially hard but has better command than most his age. I didn’t get any speed readings Sunday. A return to Frisco is likely.

Righty Adonis Villavicencio signed in January 2022 at the very advanced age of 21, so he’s now a 24-year-old with only 23 innings of full-season ball. With his 95-96 fastball and 88 slider, he’ll have ample opportunity for more. Except for early last summer at the complex (18.1 IP, 3 BB, 21 K), his control has been lacking.

Fellow Venezuelan righty Jose Gonzalez is a few months younger but signed three years prior. He too didn’t have any impact in full-season ball until last year, but his was in the form of 87 innings with just 20 walks and 107 strikeouts. Gonzalez has a broad mix including a low-90s fastball but relies most heavily on a slider that drew several hapless swings on Sunday. I expect he’ll be assigned to high-A Spartanburg.

I saw Joey Danielson. Not the one who received credit for David Davalillo’s three-K inning in the Spring Breakout game, but the actual Joey. Last year’s 17th-rounder spent four years at North Dakota State and allowed 66 runners in 39 innings in 2024. The scant information available indicated a low-90s fastball and low-80s slider. That’s the history, but the Danielson of March 2025 had a fastball that ranged 94-97, a 90 MPH slider, and an 87 splitter. The opposition didn’t trouble him. Although he didn’t appear in the Breakout and was perhaps there only as a just-in-case, he was notably the only pitcher from last year’s draft on the roster.

2024 11th-round lefty Dylan Pence offered a low-90s fastball and 84ish slider, in line with his output as UNC’s closer. In college, Pence riding fastball missed a ton of bats despite so-so speed. He also throws a changeup, but I don’t recall seeing one.

Tuesday

I reluctantly had to choose between my one chance to see Brock Porter (in Peoria) and a better overall mix in Surprise. I hesitated but chose Surprise. Peoria’s squads contained many I’ll soon see in Round Rock, plus the two games there weren’t on adjacent fields, so observing both would be nearly impossible.

The posted AA lineup included Sebastian Walcott, Malcolm Moore, Dylan Dreiling and others worth a serious look, but the at-bats every inning were devoted mostly to Nick Ahmed, Leody Taveras, Josh Smith and Tucker Barnhart. For my purposes, that qualifies as a disappointment. I had the privilege to watch Josh Smith bat from about 30 feet away, and I’m thinking “the list says Cam Cauley and Anthony Gutierrez, where are they?” In any case, Smith homered, and a small gathering of actual fans (not degenerates like me) cheered boisterously.

Among those in the written lineup who did participate on the offensive side, 1B Abi Ortiz homered and doubled, DH Malcolm Moore singled once, and OF Dylan Dreiling grounded out and took a third strike.

The so-called AA staff consisted of a crowd of MLB relievers and aspirants: Shawn Armstrong, Hoby Milner, Dane Dunning, Marc Church, Jesse Chavez, JT Chargois, Joe Barlow, and Codi Heuer. I only saw Church and Heuer at length. The former retired his side almost instantly, generating two strikeouts on a slider and (I think) a change. I wouldn’t say I’ve been the “low man” on Church, but I’ve been more cautious than most because I’ve seen him in person frequently and worried about his fastball, which has dazzled in terms of pure stuff but often betrayed him in location. It improved toward the end of 2024, and I’m hopeful he can spend a large chunk (if not all) of the season in Arlington.

As for Heuer, two of his four “A” appearances before he was sent to minor league camp were wipeouts, but I can see the appeal. Heuer fired a 96-98 fastball with 18”-19” inches of vertical break, an 85-87 slider and what appears to be a splitter at 89-90. I find no record of him throwing one before, but the speed, slo-mo RPM (under 1400) and location (dirt) feel splittery to me. His delivery lacks deception, though; the ball is offered high for all to see throughout. He struck out batters with a fastball and slider. Heuer pitched in the Majors in 2020-2022 but missed the last two seasons with Tommy John and a subsequent fractured elbow.

Righty Ismael Agreda served as the low-A opener and completed his inning with annoying haste. The fastball was around 97. I don’t think I saw a slider. Last March, I remember him blowing his heater past everyone but having next to no ability to land his slider. He’s great fun to watch, but control has been a serious issue. He’s spent the last two seasons at the complex, but as a 21-year-old beginning his fifth pro year, I’d guess he gets a sink-or-swim full-season assignment.

Lefty Mason Molina, acquired from Milwaukee in a waiver-induced trade for Grant Anderson, was exactly as advertised, dealing a 90-92 fastball with ample ride to miss bats plus a slider and change hovering around 83. He proceeded through three innings quickly.

Righty Nick Lockhart pitched a strong low-A inning. My recollection was a low-90s fastball, but on Tuesday he offered a 94-96 sinker, 82-83 slider and I believe a change at 89. Lockhart didn’t pitch in 2024 because of an elbow injury. Now 24, he was Texas’s 11th-round pick in 2019 and has spent most of his career at the A levels.

2023 13th-round righty William Privette throws a fastball that is virtually a cutter: 91-93 with only 1”-3” of horizontal break most of the time. He added a 79-81 slider that isn’t quite sweepy but at least budges sideways more than the fastball. Privette didn’t pitch much or well in 2024, walking eight of 16 batters. I didn’t keep good track of results, but I don’t recall him exhibiting control that problematic on Tuesday.

Lefty Larson Kindreich has a professional K rate of 31% (including 32% at AA Frisco) but has walked or plunked almost one of every five batters. The tolerability level for lack of control has risen in recent years, as a good many pitchers can shrug off those free passes with a combination of strikeouts and low average on balls in play, but that level has not risen to Kindreich’s BB/HBP rate of 19%. I expect he’ll return to Frisco to hone that control.

I wish I had more to say about OF Yeremi Cabrera, OF Paulino Santana, 1B Pablo Guerrero and MIF Curley Martha. They haven’t done anything wrong that I recall, but they just haven’t stood out in the two days I’ve seen them. That’s the nature of baseball. I’ll probably see them tomorrow, too.

3B Rafe Perich, last year’s seventh-rounder out of Lehigh, has been solid, ignoring the wilder entries of young hurlers for walks, lining a single, and I heard about (but didn’t see) a triple. Perich drew eight walks in 33 trips to the plate for low-A Down East late last year. If I showed you a picture of him and said “guess the position,” you’d say third base or right field. He just looks the part.

Corbin

Never thought I’d be writing about Patrick Corbin in 2025, but such are the times. I dug through his game logs, splits and Statcast data looking for a silver lining, and… let’s see. He had a 1.56 ERA in his six wins and 8.03 ERA in 13 losses last year, so if he only pitches to win, he’ll be fine. But seriously, what he offers, probably all he offers, is innings and a reduction in the bullpen’s burden. Bad as he’s been, he’s more likely to finish five frames in April than Leiter or Rocker. He reached five in 25 of 32 starts last year. Much of that was Washington’s perverse resolve to send him out there start after start knowing full well what would transpire, but he will gut through those innings if you let him.