Quote from MrPadre19 on April 17, 2022, 3:52 pm

Randy anything on Alek Jacob?

I thought I had asked before but can’t find it….

Still hasn’t allowed a run in his minor league career(albeit short).

26 IP no earned runs and 42K’s with only 2 BB’s.

Besides an amazing start to his career for a 16th rounder…what’s this kid got?

 

Quote from LynchMob on April 17, 2022, 8:02 pm

Quote from MrPadre19 on April 17, 2022, 3:52 pm

Randy anything on Alek Jacob?

I thought I had asked before but can’t find it….

Still hasn’t allowed a run in his minor league career(albeit short).

26 IP no earned runs and 42K’s with only 2 BB’s.

Besides an amazing start to his career for a 16th rounder…what’s this kid got?

 

Holy Cow!

I found this in the Week in Review post ...

The bullpen fared much better and Fort Wayne saw excellent work from RHP Alek Jacob. The 23-year-old fired three shutout innings Friday, allowing just one hit and striking out five. The former Gonzaga Bulldog uses a three-quarter delivery to keep hitters off-balance. He worked as a starter in college but he has been outstanding as a reliever since turning pro. Jacob has begun his professional career without allowing a run in 22.2 innings, striking out 34 batters while walking just two.

And you can learn some facts on his B-R.com page ... https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=jacob-001ale&utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=&utm_medium=referral

4 years at Gonzaga ... so he's older than average player at Ft Wayne ... but that was an AWESOME Senior season after what looks like an injured Junior season (only 4 starts, 21 IP) ...

Very much worth keeping an eye on!

Quote from Personal Fable on April 17, 2022, 9:12 pm

LE has to be the oldest roster I've ever seen us field for A ball. Talk about a depleted farm.

Quote from Randy Manese on April 18, 2022, 12:38 am

With a few exceptions, many of the guys on the LE roster are 2nd year players out of high school or college that were drafted or signed last year; there are also a number of guys who have had their careers delayed because of injury and the pandemic.  Outside of Acosta, who should be at San Antonio, they do have a couple of guys that are just roster fillers at the ripe age of 24 and they are also giving a guy a chance to pitch again after not being in organized ball for many years - a real human interest story.   It seems to me 21 or 22 is not too old for Low A.

You are right, however, it is a depleted farm system but both Ft. Wayne and Lake Elsinore have some legitimate big league prospects that will move up to higher levels during the next few months.  Also, we should have some really good international free agent signees playing in the Dominican or in the Arizona Complex league plus we can look forward to  a mid-round 1st draft choice plus a Comp A pick before the 2nd round.

Quote from Randy Manese on April 18, 2022, 1:28 am

Regarding Jacob, to me it is more a side-arm delivery than a three-quarters and with no runners on base, he also has a pause with his left leg before letting the ball go.  His effectiveness is from spin and movement, including a late break, on his slider, sinker and change-up because he doesn't have great velocity.  He also does a good job of disguising the slider/sinker with pretty much the same arm angle/release point.  In the 2.1 innings I watched Sunday, velocity ranged from 69 to 86 but batters could not make solid contact (even though they got 2 hits) and got a ton of ground balls.  As long as he keeps around the strike zone and doesn't hang his pitches, he should continue to be successful - at least in this level of the minor leagues.  We'll see how effective his stuff is as he moves up.

Quote from Personal Fable on April 18, 2022, 12:03 pm

Quote from Randy Manese on April 18, 2022, 12:38 am

It seems to me 21 or 22 is not too old for Low A.

It's starting out behind the prospect track.

Low A - 18-20

A+ - 20-21

AA - 21-22

AAA/MLB - 22-24

While there is time for those college players to fast promote. The fact that they aren't top draft picks makes the likelihood of that low. So yes, old.

Quote from Randy Manese on April 19, 2022, 3:34 pm

An inside-the-park HR by catcher Brandon Valenzuela (Ft. Wayne) who doesn't have great speed but enough to circle the bases!  So far, Valenzuela is picking up where he left off last year as a solid option at C behind Campusano in the Padres' system.

Quote from LynchMob on April 19, 2022, 6:47 pm

ICYMI ... as did I ...

https://www.mlb.com/news/where-padres-prospects-are-starting-the-season

Quote from Randy Manese on April 19, 2022, 7:12 pm

Mears scortched the ball at 116 mph to double off the wall and then hit a HR with a 113 mph exit velocity.  Looks better at the plate but still a lot of swing and miss, particularly with slow stuff off the plate.  I hope he continues to improve.