With pitchers and catchers reporting for Spring Training 2016, it’s time to take another look at some prospects in the Baltimore organization. If you follow the system, these names are everyday names that you’ve heard of. After spending extensive time reviewing the players below, I’ll give a brief overview of the player and their outlook for the 2016 season and forward. Last time out, we reviewed Ryan Mountcastle, Jon Keller, Lazaro Leyva and others. You can check out previous write-ups here.
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Ariel Miranda – LHP
Signed by the Baltimore Orioles as an international free agent in 2015, Ariel Miranda finished the season in Bowie (AA) after making 6 appearances in the GCL and Frederick(A+), respectively. Miranda, 27, features a fastball (90-92 mph – 94 mph), a slider (75-77 mph), a straight change-up (78-81 mph) and a split-finger (79-82 mph).
His fastball has natural movement away from left handed hitters and can jam right-handed hitters. Out of his secondary pitches, his split-finger is the best of the bunch, generating a lot of downward movement and whiffs. His straight change-up can be firm at times, causing the pitch to sit up in the zone. The slider is an average pitch that can sometimes become too loopy and almost act as a slurve.
Miranda has a repeatable delivery that is fluent, but will sometimes rush from the set position. He does a good job replicating arm speed on his secondary pitches.
Going Forward:
The first few times viewing Miranda, he didn’t blow away a lot of hitters and gave up a lot of fly-balls. However, as he adjusted to facing hitters (especially at Double-A) – he did a better job keeping the ball down in the zone and generating ground balls. He needs to work on his slider and straight-change, as both pitches are average right now, as he will need a third to stick in the rotation. He’ll begin the 2016 season with Bowie.
Austin Wynns – C
Wynns, 25, was drafted in the 10th round of the 2013 MLB Draft. He’s a career .257/.315/.328 hitter and spent a bulk of the 2015 season in Frederick. The offensive numbers don’t jump out at you, but Wynns is a great asset behind the plate.
He understands hitters and knows how to call games. He’s not just putting down fingers as a catcher, as he’s constantly making decisions for the next pitch. His defense and arm are average and can get the job done, but you can tell he’s a leader when plays are happening in the field.
Going Forward:
He won’t be a guy who hits 20 home runs, but his value is with the pitching staff and defensively. He knows the game and pitchers love having him behind the plate. He won’t be an every day starter, but will remain in the organization and play at higher levels. He’ll likely begin the season at Frederick or Bowie.
John Means – LHP
Drafted out of West Virginia University in the 11th round of the 2014 MLB Draft, John Means finished the 2015 season with Frederick. He logged 138 innings with 99 strikeouts and 36 walks.
Means has a solid frame. He offers a fastball (88-91 mph), a curveball (75-78 mph) and a change-up (79-82 mph). The fastball doesn’t have a lot of velocity and is flat at times, but he has command of the pitch. He struggled to go inside to lefties with the pitch due to velocity and movement. The curveball is a 12-6 pitch with mild two-plane break. His change-up was below average and lacked command, leaving the ball up a lot.
Although he’s big and tall, his delivery was easy going and repeatable. He has a 3/4 arm slot and does an average job at replicating arm speed, although his body did slow up a few times during his change-up delivery.
Going Forward:
Means had a rough time of it once promoted to Frederick. The velocity decreased from the first time I saw in Delmarva(A). He does have average control of his pitches, but sometimes doesn’t use them in hitter’s counts. He doesn’t generate a lot of swinging misses, but is tries on working both sides of the plate against hitters. His secondary pitches need improvement if he’s going to work out of the rotation. Means will start the season with Frederick.
Glynn Davis – OF
An undrafted free agent, Glynn Davis has stolen 22 bases each season since 2014 while splitting time between Single-A and Double-A. Across 5 MiLB seasons, he has 125 stolen bases and a .340 on-base percentage.
Davis, 24, uses a slightly open stance with moving parts in the upper half. With his stance slightly open, he is susceptible to off-speed pitches, resulting in bad swings at times on breaking balls. He’s not a power hitter and doesn’t need to be thanks to his speed.
His overall speed is his biggest tool, as it allows him to steal bases and play an above-average centerfield. In the field, he’s average on route running and has a average arm in center.
Going Forward:
Davis needs to use his speed if he wants to continue to move through the system. With plus-speed, he needs to take walks and work on being a gap-to-gap hitter – while also focusing on keeping the ball out of the air. If he can get on base, he can be a top of the order hitter. He won’t hit for average, but will stick around thanks to speed and defense. He’ll likely repeat the season in Bowie.
Reggie Yinger has spent the parts of five seasons as a Player Development Coordinator for the Baltimore Orioles. He has extensive experience in computer programming and baseball.