Cuban outfielder Jorge Soler made his pro debut on Thursday night with the Chicago Cubs' club in the rookie-level Arizona League, the lowest level of organized baseball, with teams largely populated by teenaged prospects, rehabbers, and a handful of older organizational players. Already 20, he's old to be in this league, but given how long it has been since he faced live pitching, it's a reasonable place for him to start.
Soler, who signed a nine-year, $30 million dollar deal with the Cubs in June, only DH'd and had three at-bats before he was pulled for a pinch hitter -- you know, don't want to overtax the guy or anything -- and did at least get a chance to show how explosive his hands are at the plate. He loads his hands high and deep, but accelerates quickly enough to catch up to above-average stuff, even meeting a few balls out in front of the plate (perhaps because his timing is still off). He's balanced through the swing and should be able to generate power from his lower half. He grounded out twice but didn't run hard either time, although his strides are long and easy and he should be an above-average runner when he decides to show it. (His third at-bat was a hard lineout to the pitcher.) He's in very good shape and his body looks loose and athletic. This wasn't an ideal look since he didn't play the field and hasn't faced live pitching in ages, but at least some of the tools were on display -- and yes, I will go back in a week or so to try to see him in the field.
• The Los Angeles Dodgers' big Cuban free agent signing, Yasiel Puig, had a brief workout for the media last week in Glendale, hitting in the cages, first off a tee and then off a BP pitcher. He's stronger than Soler and looks a little older (he's 21), lacking Soler's explosive hands but also a little behind Soler in getting into game shape, looking maybe 5-10 pounds above his ideal playing weight (but far from out of shape). It's still unclear when he'll be cleared to play in a game.
• Shifting to Triple-A for a moment, Arizona Diamondbacks prospect Tyler Skaggs threw in Tucson on Wednesday night in a game slightly marred by a line drive he took off his leg from the second batter he faced. The lefty was 90-94, mostly 92-93, and was aggressive about coming inside with it, especially to right-handed batters. He showed an above-average curveball at 74-79 with good two-plane break but trouble throwing it for strikes (and getting the calls when he did throw it for strikes). His changeup was inconsistent at 79-81, some clearly plus with a little fade, some easier to pick up as he slowed his arm a little. Skaggs was victimized by bad defense by his Reno teammates in the first, as he picked off the runner who lined the ball off his hip, only to see the first baseman throw the ball away, and then got a bases-loaded flyout to deep left that left fielder A.J. Pollock misplayed into a bases-clearing double. If the leg was an issue, I'll give Skaggs a pass on the fringy command he showed, but I think it's fair to say that finishing the summer in Triple-A will give him time to work on refining the changeup and working on getting ahead more with the fastball.
• Tucson reliever Brad Boxberger (San Diego Padres) was 91-94 in that game, sitting more at the high end of that range, with a deceptive 79-81 mph changeup on which he seemed to be dropping his arm slightly. It's a rough delivery with a lot of sling to it and little from his lower half, but the two pitches together would probably work in a big league pen right now.
• Padres infielder Jedd Gyorko played third base on Wednesday for Tucson -- he's also played a lot of second this year -- and was fine defensively, good enough to stay there, although I still find it hard to see him having the lateral agility to ever be average defensively at second. His swing is very short and compact, with no stride and minimal load, so while he should make a lot of contact, it's hard to see power here, which will make profiling at third base tough.
• D-backs centerfielder Adam Eaton (Reno) gets his hands a little deep when he loads them but his path to the ball is very direct, so he should make a lot of contact and could hit .300 or better in the big leagues. I spoke to two scouts who have Reno as part of their coverage this year, and both felt that Eaton has improved enough with the glove to be a solid-average defensive centerfielder in the majors, which would make him a potential above-average regular (perhaps worth 3 wins above replacement) because of his bat.
• Returning to the AZL, here are some quick notes on other prospects I've run into so far. The Cincinnati Reds have lefty Amir Garrett, also a forward for the St. John's basketball team, in their AZL rotation; he was 91-94 with some late life with good rotation on a hard-breaking curveball at 75-76. He didn't hold his velocity well, tiring in the second inning (a reflection of his split commitment to two sports), and while his arm is very quick he doesn't use his lower half well and looks like a future reliever if that's not cleaned up. Third baseman Tanner Rahier, a favorite of mine from the draft this spring, saw six pitches in the game I saw, swung at all of them, and didn't get any results for his troubles. I do still like how his hands work, but he's not showing any plate discipline this summer (even beyond this one look), which is going to severely hamper his development as a hitter.
• Cleveland Indians: Starter Mitch Brown made his debut that night, sitting at 91-93 and working down in the zone with good deception as the ball appears very late out of his hands. He throws both a slider and a curveball, getting more feel for the slider after a couple backed up on him in the first, with one at 84 very hard with good tilt. He told me after his outing that he hadn't thrown in a game in seven weeks, so for his first time back on a mound it was promising. Shortstop Dorssys Paulino, who received a $1.1 million bonus last year, has a really sound, line drive-oriented swing, simple with good follow-through, and is an above-average runner with enough arm strength for the left side of the infield.
• Texas Rangers: This lineup is loaded with big-bonus prospects, with third baseman Joey Gallo standing out so far for his huge raw power -- although his swing is very long and I saw him swing through a number of pitches in the strike zone, which is why I argued in a chat this week that he isn't ready for full-season ball right now. Lewis Brinson has an extremely projectable, athletic frame, with plus speed and pretty good pop because his wrists are quick, although his pitch recognition was not good. Nomar Mazara, who received a record $5 million bonus last year as a 16-year-old, has very good bat speed as well but looked a little overmatched by changing speeds. Ronald Guzman's bat was extremely slow and his swing was long.
• Los Angeles Angels: Their AZL team is very thin; shortstop Jose Rondon is the best prospect, with strong hands and a very balanced swing.
Right-hander Arjenis Fernandez is 89-91 with a slurvy curveball but a solid-average changeup that could be a plus pitch in time.
• Seattle Mariners: Second-rounder Joe Decarlo has one of the slowest bats I've seen (considering just major prospects) so far out here, and his body doesn't offer any projection. Outfielder Isaiah Yates, a 17th-round pick this year who won't turn 18 until the end of August, has the best pure swing in the lineup but also looked a little overmatched, although his at-bats were solid. Second baseman Tim Lopes also has a good swing but stands so far in the bucket I'm not sure his performance so far is going to last as he moves up unless he gets himself more on line in the box.
• Oakland Athletics: Daniel Robertson won't stay at shortstop but he can really hit, with a very direct swing and enough rotation that I could see average or better power (although the two-homer performance I saw was probably an outlier). Third baseman Renato Nunez looks better than he did in instructional league last year, with a better approach and slightly quicker bat. Addison Russell and B.J. Boyd didn't play the night I saw the A's, so I'll go back to get both guys.
• Arizona Diamondbacks: Stryker Trahan, their 2012 first-rounder, took some great at-bats, but more importantly, received very well, catching and freezing everything near the zone, blocking balls in the dirt but failing to keep them in front of him, as they'd roll to the side but didn't get past him. That's already progress, enough that I feel good about his future behind the dish. Eleventh-rounder Ben Eckels showed four pitches and worked from 88-93 with all three secondary pitches at least flashing above-average, although his fastball command was poor and by his fourth inning he completely ran out of steam. Second-rounder Jose Munoz has bat speed but expands the zone too easily; he's athletic enough for short but has a long way to go to stay there. The prospect here everyone's talking about, Andrew Velazquez, sprained his ankle running out an inside-the-park home run and hasn't played since.
• Milwaukee Brewers: This is the least talented team I've seen out here, although they were hurt by the fast (and merited) promotion of Tyrone Taylor. Clint Coulter has a very quick bat but right now isn't driving the ball, just swinging for contact. Jose Pena has some trouble picking up breaking balls, especially down and out of the zone, but he's got very quick wrists and the ball really comes off his bat well when he squares one up, with the potential to hit for both average and power.