Briceno, De Vries & More - AFL Prospect Notes Oct 26 2024
Oct 27, 2024
Author: 3-1Count.com
Yesterday was doubleheader day at American Family Fields. Which is the Spring Training home of the Milwaukee Brewers. I won’t put it on my list of all around favorite parks but the field is well cared for and we had a great day for baseball! You also get a fun taste of Brewer royalty on the walk up as you pass commemorative markers for Bob Uecker, Hank Aaron, Paul Molitor, Robin Yount, and Rollie Fingers.
With two games scheduled I had to really focus on which players to grab video of and that’s the list I will dig into below:
I thought I had missed a chance to see Drake Baldwin ATL play due to his Team USA commitment. But as it turns out he was right there in the lineup yesterday, batting 2nd and catching. I had watched a good bit of video of Baldwin prior to the 2022 draft and keyed in on him as a target in my FYPD’s.
Baldwin’s performance since going #96 overall in 2022 has only elevated his stock. And yesterday he was 2 for 2 with 2 walks and a RS. Bringing his AFL average up to .372. The swing is good and it’s built to do damage. Baldwin is ready to see action in Atlanta as soon as the team needs him. In the meantime, I’ll keep hoping he doesn’t end up getting dealt this offseason as the Atlanta Braves address other teams needs.
We’ve already talked about Josue Briceno DET. And for great reason. He is THAT GUY this year. The one who is just carving up AFL pitching like they were putting it on a tee for him. What did yesterday bring? More of the same. Briceno cranked an opposite field home run with less effort than I put into turning a page. This puts him on top of the league in home runs by himself.
A couple more things to point out with Briceno. Pitchers are being careful with him, even in the AFL. He’s getting less to work with at the plate. The other thing is that Detroit Tiger fans are loving Briceno’s breakout. It’s the most engaged, outspoken group on X when I post there.
I had a good look at Chase DeLauter CLE during last years AFL. He looks very similar this year, healthier I think. He’s moving better and the swing is still pretty unique while also effective. I caught him clipping a nice double in the video below. In it you can get a feel for the truncated swing as well as that he looks to be running fairly freely.
Leodalis De Vries SD is a switch hitting prodigy from the Dominican Republic. He just turned 18 this month and had only 360 professional plate appearances coming into the AFL. Sources I checked all have De Vries listed at 6-0 183lb. It can be hard to judge but I think what I saw is more 5-10 to 5-11 and more 190lb+. Not that it really matters but he is still young enough that projecting his future physicality is a factor.
De Vries was 0 for 3 on the day with a BB, K, and a RS. Certainly not a stat line that grabs your attention. Yet De Vries sure had mine. Despite being late on heat De Vries worked his at bats including an 8 pitch walk (video below). We were able to see De Vries swing from both sides of the plate and I felt the RH swing looked more fluid for him. That could be situational, really would need to see a lot more of him to come to any solid take though.
Fangraphs has De Vries as the Padres #2 prospect and #52 overall in MLB. This comes with a 50 FV, which is all extremely high praise given age and context. I need to see more of De Vries and sure hope I do on this trip. This is an exciting young player and I have a better understanding of the hype now having seen him play in person.
Drew Gilbert NYM was notoriously confident at Tennessee and despite having a disappointing 2024 it’s obvious he still plays with gallons of passion. I have video of Gilbert ripping a single with a swing oriented for damage. But I actually like the video of him hustling a grounder out to avoid a double play more. Doing this n the Fall League and after a long season. That is just not always the case. Most of these guys are really tired at this point of the year and it can show up on plays like this. But not for Gilbert. One other thing I want to mention is that he made a strong throw from deep RF to home plate. I don’t have video but that arm strength should allow him to play RF at the big league level if needed.
Robert Hassell III WAS was 0-5 and I don’t have much to add beyond my previous notes. I do feel like he has let several at bats get away from him. It may just be fatigue from a long season. Also, I was able to catch a different angle of his swing that shows some of the mechanics mentioned the last time we discussed Hassell III.
Yesterday was my first look at Alejandro Osuna TEX and to be fair, this is a player that has just eluded me in general. As in not on my radar this year. At all. And it’s pretty clear that was an oversight. One that has now been rectified.
Osuna raked at High A and AA this season, doing so at 21yo. There’s a power / speed blend here without sacrificing average. He is at the plate looking to do damage and squared up several baseballs in yesterdays game. Check out the helicopter finish…hard to pull that off, but it does look good!
Tommy Troy ARI came out of Stanford with a ton of hype and a storied NCAA career. A huge senior season earned Troy the 12th overall pick in the 2023 draft. From there it’s been a bumpy road of injuries and underperformance.
What I saw yesterday is a player that is built similar to a college running back. Troy is powerful and moves really, really well. I think he is still capable of being an impact player and am anxious to see what a fully healthy 2025 will look like for him. Troy was 2 for 3 with 2 walks on the day. This bumped his AFL average up to .291.
Brock Wilken MLW was the #18 pick in the 2023 draft and is currently carrying a 45+ FV at Fangraphs. That Future Value is largely built on 70 grade raw power. Which we know is there from his days at Wake Forest and even from this year at AA, despite his .199 batting average for the season.
It was only a few at bats yesterday, but what I saw left me feeling like Wilken was overmatched and I also wondered if he is 100% healthy. This last part may be a bad take, it’s just that he didn’t seem to be moving very well. Regardless, the Brewers have a great deal invested in Wilken and if he clicks at all this is a guy capable of doing real damage.
Jett Williams NYM may have physically been the smallest guy on the field today but he sure doesn’t play like it. Williams has presence, the swing is tight, and his game is speed oriented. 2024 was mostly a lost year due to injury but Williams did have a strong showing in 6 AAA games late in the season. Still not 21yo, he will almost certainly open next year at AAA if not back at AA. I don’t think we’ve seen what Williams is fully capable of yet. He was 2 for 4 yesterday and I caught one of those hits in the video below.
One last thing I wanted to mention is that we see some great defense in the AFL. I share it when I can but it’s not that often that I catch a highlight reel play. The reason is that I usually only shoot video of a handful of players each game. So there’s a bit of luck involved when I do capture some great D.
It happened yesterday with Josue Briceno up to bat with runners on, his team losing, and down to their last out. Briceno hit a line drive that looked to clear the infield until Austin Deming HOU made a great diving play with full extension to grab it. Check the video out and also notice how well Deming was positioned to make this play. He’s the 3B but here he was shifted almost to SS with Briceno up. Deming had hit a HR earlier in the game and then sealed the win with this great play!
Today I head back to Camelback Ranch for Peoria vs Glendale. My hope is to see Colt Emerson SEA, Ethan Salas SD, and more of Leo De Vries SD with Peoria. And for Glendale Zyhir Hope LAD, Colson Montgomery CWS, and maybe Christian Encarnacion-Strand CIN will be in the lineup. Related note, I saw that today’s AFL game is set to be broadcast on MLB.com in case you’re interested in checking it out. Look for the sunburnt guy in the stands, that’s me.
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