Notable Quotables — Thoughts on the Top 100: 51–60
By jseiner24
By Jake Seiner / MiLB.com
The Minor League season has come and gone, and sadly, that means Notable Quotables will be heading into hibernation until the games start up against next spring. We’ll still have plenty of regular content, both here on the blog and over at MiLB.com, but to celebrate the end of the 2013 season and the temporary end of this column, we’re going to bring you a “Best Of” from this summer featuring each of MLB.com’s Top 100 prospects.
Below, you’ll find prospects 51–60 (also see: 61–70, 71–80, 81–90, 91–100). And over the coming weeks, we’ll bring you more thoughts and reflections from and about the best prospects in the game.
A quick note: Though we managed to feature just about every Top 100 prospect this season, there are a few who evaded our eyes/tape recorders for one reason or another. In that case, rather than leave you hanging, we’re going to drop in one fun fact or statistical quirk of note that hopefully reveals a little something about the player.
51. Clint Frazier, OF, Cleveland Indians –
Despite striking out in 31.1 percent of his at-bats, Frazier managed to hit .297 with five homers and an .868 OPS in the Arizona League. The 2013 first-rounder finished among the league’s top five in home runs, OPS and isolated power (.209).
52. Henry Owens, LHP, Boston Red Sox –
Portland manager Kevin Boles on Owens after his Double-A debut:
“If you look at Henry out on the mound, he knows what he’s doing. … He has an advanced approach. It’s just from one outing, but it looks like a very advanced approach to pitching at such a young age.
“He seems like a very bright kid. … His game makeup, from what we saw, was above-average tonight. He wants the ball. There’s no fear of contact. He attacks the zone, and he had a lot of pluses going for him.”
53. Roberto Osuna, RHP, Toronto Blue Jays –
Lansing manager John Tamargo on Osuno in April:
“His stuff is outstanding and he’s just got to get his first full season pitching in. This is a pretty big step for him to go five months, to prepare every five days for five months. … He’s looked very well all season so far. He has great composure for an 18-year-old kid and a really good arm. He always enjoys coming to the ballpark, doing his job.
“Right now he’s a strike thrower and those things are getting better daily, from start to start. We expect him to keep improving.”
54. Matt Barnes, RHP, Boston Red Sox –
Barnes on the process of pitching with and without his best stuff:
“When you have your stuff, you’re working to keep it. When you don’t have your stuff, you’re working to find it. You’re always working on something.”
55. David Dahl, OF, Colorado Rockies –
Dahl played in just 10 games this year after first being demoted to extended spring training due to behavioral issues and then suffering a torn hamstring that ended his season in early May.
56. Jorge Alfaro, C, Texas Rangers –
Alfaro’s 16 home runs were second among all catchers in the South Atlantic League, with Alfaro also among the youngest backstops on the circuit. Alfaro’s .364 weighted On-Base Average helped him create runs at a clip 28 percent higher than an average SAL hitter, per FanGraphs.
57. Zach Lee, RHP, Los Angeles Dodgers –
Lee on his improvements as a pitcher:
“My stuff is better [than last year] and my location is better. … Everything is becoming a lot sharper. The hitters will tell you how good your stuff is when they take a lot of quality pitches. It’s one of the biggest indicators, how they take pitches and how they swing at pitches and how they approach you.
“A lot of guys are starting to respect my fastball and how I locate it. Hitters are trying to hunt for it. When I have my off-speed early, I can get ahead with my fastball and then go off-speed later in counts.”
58. Mike Olt, 3B, Chicago Cubs –
Olt on his philosophy and preparation as a third baseman:
“I definitely know before the game starts who’s a speed guy, a slap guy, who’s looking to make plays like that, so I study a little bit. I can kind of read them and hopefully get them a little bit fooled [to] think that I’m not paying attention.
“I’m constantly moving in and out, trying to [assess] different situations. I think third base is all reaction and reading.”
59. Justin Nicolino, LHP, Miami Marlins –
Nicolino on pitching without his best stuff:
“You can’t force anything when you know you don’t have anything and everything’s not working for you. … You can’t force it. The moment you’re forcing fastballs in there or even offspeed pitches, you leave stuff up and get hurt. I went out and had the mind-set, ‘Hey, you don’t have your best stuff, but go out and work your [butt] off,’ and I was lucky to do that.”
60. Lance McCullers, RHP, Houston Astros –
McCullers (117 strikeouts), along with Quad Cities teammate Vincent Velasquez (123 strikeouts), ranked fourth and second, respectively, in the Midwest League in strikeouts despite throwing 30–40 fewer innings than most of their competitors on the leaderboard. The duo also tied for the league lead in strikeouts per nine innings, with each punching out 10.06 per nine.
