MLB Dirt

Jim Callis, executive editor of BaseballAmerica, is always great about answering prospect questions on Twitter. The other day he was answering questions on prospect pitching duos. There are a lot of teams right now with some very good pairs of pitching prospects in the system, so I thought I would rank them.

In these rankings both of the pitchers for the team, should land in a vast majority of top 50 prospect lists, if not in the top 75. I will be counting them down starting with 10 but some duos that just missed the cut for me were Mike Montgomery and Jake Odorizzi (Royals), and Zach Lee and Allen Webster (Dodgers). Check out the rankings for 10-6 with scouting reports after the break. The top 5 rankings will be up later this afternoon.

10. Casey Kelly and Robbie Erlin, Padres:

These pair of pitchers, who have both been acquired via the trade over the last couple years, just beat out the Royals pair of Montgomery and Ordorizzi. What set the pair of Royals back was their rough 2011 seasons. Kelley projects as the better of the two Padres pitchers. He hasn’t quite lived up to projection but I believe that he still looks to be a front-line starter. He has a great feel for pitching, great command, and is very athletic. His command and mix of three potential above-average really make him a great pitching prospect. Robbie Erlin doesn’t have the most overpowering stuff but what the 21 year old lefty does have is very advanced command, deceptiveness, and above average secondary stuff. I think he projects as a good number 2 starting pitcher.

9. Manny Banuelos and Dellin Betances, Yankees:

Banuelos has really developed well and has become one of the best left-handed pitching prospects in baseball. He has great velocity for a lefty, sitting in the low 90s and touching 95, as well as great control of his fastball. His secondary pitches, a changeup and curveball, also flash plus potential at times.  Still only 20 years old, I think he could be up in the bigs at the end of this year and I think he will develop into a frontline starter. Betances is a big 6’8” righty and with him the command is the biggest question. I see him as a number 2 or 3 starter but there is a good chance he is moved to the pen. He has a sharp, power curveball to go with a good fastball, and a solid changeup. If his command and consistency don’t improve, I see a move to the pen.

8. Matt Harvey and Zack Wheeler, Mets:

The Mets have two very good right-handed pieces right now inHarveyand Wheeler and you could make an argument for either one to be the number one prospect in the system. Both project as frontline starters but I seeHarveylooks a little more polished.Harveyhas had great strike out numbers in large part due to his excellent fastball that sits in the mid 90s and has touched 97. He needs to work on consistency and control with his fastball though. His best secondary is his power curve which projects to be a plus pitch. Wheeler has a great build at 6’4” and a plus fastball to lead his arsenal. He has a good changeup and curveball to go with but they need to be improved and more consistent for him to reach his high ceiling.

7. Jarrod Parker and Brad Peacock, Athletics:

Both Parker and Peacock are very recent additions to the A’s system and both make the system much better. Parker projects to be an ace pitcher and he is very close to the bigs. He has a plus fastball with good command in it that sits in the mid 90s. Parker also has a good change that could develop into a plus pitch but his best pitch overall is his slider, a deadly strikeout pitch. Peacock was almost a surprise in the Nationals organization last year and he could develop into a good number two starter. The righty has a powerful fastball sitting in the mid 90s. He has a great knuckle-curve that projects to be a plus pitch and a good changeup as well. You could make a case for A.J. Cole as the second best pitcher but I am going with Peacock because he is closer to the bigs and a more finished product.

6. Julio Teheran and Arodys Vizcaino, Braves:

Julio Teheran has been on the prospect scene for some time now and we all know about him. The right-handed is an elite pitching prospect and one of the best in the game. I think he will be the ace soon inAtlanta. Vizcaino has a high ceiling but is still somewhat raw. He has the chance to be a frontline starter with his mid 90s fastball with some movement, a possible plus pitch in his changeup, and his best pitch; a plus plus curveball that has hard break and he commands it well. The biggest thing for him is health and durability. Randall Delgado is not far behind at all behind Vizcaino.

Check back in later this afternoon for the rest of the list.

Filed under: On the Farm - Prospects Tagged: | A.J. Cole, Allen Webster, Arodys Vizcaino, Atlanta Braves, Brad Peacock, Casey Kelly, Dellin Betances, Jake Odorizzi, Jarrod Parker, Julio Teheran, Manny Banuelos, Matt Harvey, Mike Montgomery, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Oakland Athletics, Randall Delgado, Robbie Erlin, San Diego Padres, Zach Lee, Zack Wheeler