Baseball America – July 02, 2019

19

MAIN: Tigers

righthander

Casey Mize

threw a

no-hitter in

his Double-A

debut and

overall had a

0.92 ERA and

0.69 WHIP

through 13

starts.

SIDE:

Cardinals

third base-

man Nolan

Gorman (top)

and Rays out-

fielder Jesus

Sanchez are

two lefthand-

ed sluggers

on the rise.

MID

SEA

SON

TOP

No. Player Pos Team

26. Ian Anderson RHP Braves


27. Nolan Gorman 3B Cardinals


28. Cristian Pache OF Braves


29. Keibert Ruiz C Dodgers


30. Alec Bohm 3B Phillies


31. Francisco Mejia C Padres


32. D.L. Hall LHP Orioles


33. Ke’Bryan Hayes 3B Pirates


34. Jonathan India 3B Reds


35. Brusdar Graterol RHP Twins


36. Dustin May RHP Dodgers


37. Drew Waters OF Braves


38. Adrian Morejon LHP Padres


39. Matthew Liberatore LHP Rays


40. Jordan Groshans SS Blue Jays


41. Luis Patiño RHP Padres


42. Nico Hoerner SS Cubs


43. Jesus Sanchez OF Rays


44. Taylor Trammell OF Reds


45. Ronaldo Hernandez C Rays


46. Brady Singer RHP Royals


47. Sean Murphy C Athletics


48. Hans Crouse RHP Rangers


49. Dylan Carlson OF Cardinals


50. Will Smith C Dodgers

THE LIST

Cont.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 21

“His fastball is elite, his slider is above-aver-
age and his changeup is a good pitch too... The
ingredients are there for some potential to be a
front-of-the-rotation guy.”
A second scout, who saw Pearson both in
instructional league and again this season with
Double-A New Hampshire, came into the year
with questions about whether Pearson would
be able to turn his prodigious stuff into quality
strikes.
“That’s why I put a 60 (on the 20-80 scouting
scale) on him instructs,” the scout said. “It was
like, ‘Yeah, his stuff is huge, but will he throw
strikes?’... It’s still average command, but he’s
throwing good strikes.”
With quality strikes and an arsenal of plus
pitches, Pearson has easily made his case as the
most talented pitcher yet to make his big league
debut.
“He’s probably the best pitcher in the minor
leagues right now,” the scout said. “I mean, who’s
better than him in the minor leagues right now?
Pure stuff-wise, I have a hard time believing that
anyone is better than Nate Pearson.”

CASEY MIZE

PROJECTED SCOUTING GRADES

Fastball: 70

Splitter: 70

Cutter: 60

Slider: 55

Control: 60

The No. 1 overall pick out of Auburn in 2018,

Mize opened his first full year in the Florida State

League, where he destroyed everything in his

path. Promoted to the Eastern League, he would,

in theory, face a tougher test.

Not every theory pans out.

Mize opened his tenure with Double-A Erie by

throwing a no-hitter against Altoona on just 98

pitches. In nine starts with the SeaWolves, Mize

has gone 6-0, 1.21 with 50 strikeouts against 11

walks. That stretch also included a 20-inning

scoreless streak that spanned three starts from

May 20 through May 31.

Unfortunately, Mize left his start on June 13

CONTINUED ON PAGE 20

TOP 100 PROSPECTS