The Stevedore Apprentice Program

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The Stevedore Apprentice Program
Written by Stevedores_Fan_Bob, Special to The Record


This is an in-depth look at the Canton Longshoremen organization’s top 25 prospects. This series is a joint effort of the The (Canton) Record and StevedoresFan.com, the preeminent fan blog of your Canton Longshoremen. The rankings are the result of votes taken by an anonymous panel with members of the local and national press, scouts inside and outside of the organization, and performance analysts inside and outside the organization. The narrative description of each prospect and the projections and risks (for the top ten only) were provided by the StevedoresFan.com staff.

#1 2B Héctor Prado – Sometimes a bat is so good, that the lack of a true fielding position is overlooked. That is the case with the Longshoremen’s top prospect. Aggressively pushed to AAA at the green age of 22 in 2016, Prado’s 299/346/384 line in 849 AAA at bats was compiled at ages when most professionals were trying to make it out of the low minors, and don’t hint at a power potential that scouts inside and outside the Canton organization swear that Prado has in spades. The former third round draft pick’s chances of making the Longshoremen’s major league roster in 2018 took a blow when winter league ball was cancelled, as plans were to get him extra work at 2B.

ETA – Late 2018 or opening Day 2019.

Upside – Position-less slugger who could challenge for batting titles.

Risks to projection – Power never develops, making Prado a tweener at 1B/DH, and fielding at PEBA level is too horrific to contemplate innings at 2B or 3B.

#2 RF Peyton Bishop – The former #7 overall pick took some time to work his way up through the organization’s system, but a 269/397/365 stretch run in AAA Allentown has the line-drive machine a short drive from the big leagues. A skilled basestealer, if Bishop can translate his on-base skills to the majors, he might be a top 5 lead-off man.

ETA – Opening Day 2018

Upside – A potential .400 OBP, 30 SB table-setter.

Risks to projection – Bishop’s high draft status (and the dearth of outfielders in the system who can sniff replacement level offense) causes the Longshoremen to rush him ahead of his time, and his spotty defensive performances lead to sub-par outfield defense.

#3 CL Pat Miller - The prototypical college closer has made a meteoric rise through the Canton system, culminating in a 34 save 2018 that saw him named the organization’s minor league pitcher of the year. A slider-cutter specialist, Miller could be an above-average reliever in Canton right now.

ETA – September call-up 2018

Upside – All-Star Closer

Risks to projection - TINSTAAPP.



#4 C Yeijiro Kojima – Catching prospects are notoriously difficult to project, given the physical demands that the position requires. Kojima hit .280 with 11 HR and 74 RBI in 429 AAA at bats in 2018. Kojima struggled for full seasons at both AA and AAA before recording excellent offensive seasons when repeating the circuit.

ETA – Opening day starting catcher, 2018 or 2019.

Upside – League-average catcher, which is nothing to sneeze at.

Risks to projection - TINSTAACP. OK, we just made that up, but it counts as much, if not more, than TINSTAAPP.

#5 RF/SP Juan Márquez – OK, OK, we admit that this ranking is probably too high for a guy who has never played above rookie ball, and while his hitting line was a perfectly acceptable 266/416/339, for a college graduate, it’s not exactly earth-shattering in short-season ball. But, c’mon, he’s a two-way player! And his pitching may not have been successful (7.50 ERA, 0-3 record in 10 starts) but the peripherals were pretty impressive (30 IP, 8 BB, 25 K), especially for someone who hadn’t pitched since high school. It doesn’t hurt that scouts love the 21 year old’s power potential; he hit 38 college HRs and rung up a college slugging percentage of .627. A decent athlete, Marquez projects to be an average (at worst) corner outfielder who could develop that bat to play there.

ETA - Opening Day 2020? 2021?

Upside – 30+ HR power, adequate corner outfield defense, plus an ability to provide a few mop-up innings of relief when the major league bullpen needs a blow.

Risks to projection – It’s a long way from Akutan Island to Canton.

#6 SP Jim Hayden – Hayden is the third first round starting pitcher to be selected by the Longshoremen in the last two drafts. Of the three, the Longshoremen front office is rumored to like him the least, but he turned in the most successful professional debut of the three, with a nine start rookie league campaign that saw him go 3-2 with a 3.25 ERA, walking only 18 and striking out 59 in 52 and two-thirds innings. Hayden is a hard-thrower (95-97 mph) with a major-league ready splitter and a cutter that needs a bit more work. Peripherals aside, the organization has him working on honing a control that can disappear at times.

ETA - 2020.

Upside – Mid-rotation starter with the stuff to appear in an All-Star game someday.

Risks to projection – Control and mastery of a third pitch.

#7 C Chris Ridsdale – Picked up in a Rule 5 aftermath trade, Ridsdale is yet another catching “prospect”. Interestingly, his development path represents a 180-degree change from the Longshoremen’s typical aggressive promotion path. Ridsdale hit 308/378/408 at AA Toronto last season, his second at the level. His offensive profile is also very un-Longshoremen like, as his plate discipline is just so-so, while his ability to make contact is a plus. He is the odd (for the Longshoremen, at least) low walk/low strikeout player. His defense is a question mark, and probably the only thing separating him from a spring training invite and a role in the reality show catcher sweepstakes for the Canton starting job. Of course, in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king, so who knows?

ETA - September 2018 call-up or 2019.

Upside - League-average offense at the catcher position.

Risks to projection – The front office’s visceral hatred of empty batting averages. Oh, and TINSTAACP.

#8 SS Terry Rasmussen – Hmmm, have we seen this guy before? Of late, Longshoremen brass have been comparing Rasmussen to the franchise’s all-time leader in home runs (130) and games played at SS (780), Steve Fergus. There are similarities, to be sure: above-average defensive SS, pop, high strikeout totals. There are also differences, however, and those tend to favor Rasmussen – Rasmussen would be a left-handed hitter in a park (Svab Memorial Stadium) that is theoretically favorable to lefty hitters, and has exhibited more power in the minors (22 and 23 HR seasons) than the righty Fergus ever did (top minor homer total of 17). With Carlos Rodriguez out for the season’s first month, Rasmussen will likely have the first month of the season to showcase his abilities.

ETA – Opening Day 2018.

Upside – 20 HR SS who could sniff an All-Leather Award.

Risks to projection – He may prove to strike out too much to hold down a major league job, even for the K-happy Longshoremen organization.

#9 LF Domingo Bravo – Injuries and crowded minor league outfields have kept the former 4th round pick under the prospect radar until last season’s 347/449/484 part-time performance in A-ball put him squarely on the prospect radar screen. A plus-plus defender in left field, Bravo is an example of the time it sometimes takes a high school draftee to develop. After three seasons in short-A and an abbreviated season in full season A-ball, Bravo is finally ready to try the high minors on for size at the still-precocious age of 22.

ETA – 2020.

Upside – 300/375/450 left fielder with legitimate All-Leather potential.

Risks to projection – Longshoremen fans sincerely hope that Peyton Bishop will hold down the left spot in Canton for a long time, and Bravo has never seemed comfortable in center or right. Bravo will likely be asked to put up a 500 AB season for the first time in his career in 2018.

#10 SP António Murillo – One of the black marks on the Longshoremen organization during the 2017 season was Murillo’s August injury and subsequent Tommy John surgery. After a rocky introduction to professional baseball, Murillo seemed to have found himself with 18 AAA starts that saw him strike out 104 batters in 111-plus innings against just 22 walks. He was 8-5 with a 3.40 ERA when he tore a ligament in his elbow. He will miss most, if not all of the 2018 season.

ETA – September 2019 / Opening Day 2020

Upside – Number two starter.

Risks to projection – Tommy John recovery.

#11 SS John Barker – A surprise second round pick, Barker was a make-up/personality pick rather than a toolsy/scouty pick. His first two seasons as a professional have done nothing to disappoint: 256/361/339 and an All-Leather award as a short-season A-ball shortstop in 2016, and a combined 269/382/377 line split between short-season A ball and full-season A-ball in 2017 with even better shortstop defense than he exhibited in 2016. The organization loves Barker’s game, and expects him to be a fast riser.

#12 LF Gunner Slagle – Scouts hate him, but the Longshoremen were impressed enough with their former 10th round draft pick’s 52 home runs in his last 750 minor league at bats to risk a waiver pick on him. A plus-plus fielder in the corner outfield who doesn’t embarrass himself in center field, Slagle may have found the right organization to get him to the majors. The Longshoremen have been goofing around with Kenny Michael for three years, after all.

#13 RF Mike Bean – If Kenny Michael, Rich O’Neill, Takanori Suzuki, and Bob Skinner look nervous at spring training this year, Mike Bean will be one of the reasons. Bean has hit, and hit, and hit, and organization sources believe that he is fully developed. Some in the organization believe him to be more ready than Peyton Bishop, and a more complete player at this point in their careers.

#14 MR Emerson Rose – In an alternate universe, Emerson Rose would be someone’s fifth starter. In the PEBAverse, however, four hundred plus innings at AAA have left him nothing to prove, and his performance at the PEBA level was atrocious last season. Spring training may be his last chance to prove that he belongs on a major league roster.

#15 2B Eugene Baker – A utility player if everything breaks right, Baker seemingly put it all together last season, hitting 353/390/441 at Allentown after flirting with respectability for three previous seasons in the organization. A spring-training invite this season will likely be a fleeting look at the majors for the powerless middle infielder who isn’t great with the glove, but youneverknow.

#16 MR Eric Lambright – Minor league closers are never particularly exciting when they don’t crack 90 on a radar gun. Despite losing his job at the back of the bullpen to the far more talented Pat Miller in 2018, Lambright’s 54 AAA saves and 2.32 ERA in parts of three seasons in Allentown should not be ignored. He could easily hold down a role near the bottom of the Longshoremen bullpen in 2018 or 2019.

#17 LF Ryan Smith – A poor man’s Gunner Slagle, Smith has managed to find his way on base often enough to survive the trip up the organizational ladder. With no power and a suspect glove, however, Smith is no more than 4th/5th outfielder material for an outfielder-poor organization, and with five outfielders ahead of him on the prospect list, that organization is not the Canton organization.

#18 SP Lionello Macciocchi – A projection pick with great stuff (fastball/slider/changeup) but no idea where it’s going, the Argentine Michigan grad struck out 75 batters in 43-plus innings in short season action last season. Whether he can harness the stuff to get more advanced hitters out will be the question that Macciocchi has to answer in 2018.

#19 SP Su-shun Yu – Another fireballer with great stuff and limited control, the Taiwanese fireballer has not had the success that Macciocchi has had, but at the tender age of 18, the organization is likely to have much more patience. Unlike Macciocchi on the other side of the equation, he has not yet developed a serviceable third pitch. Without that, his upside will only ever be a reliever. He is probably ticketed for a return trip to A-ball.

#20 UT Joe Oliver – A fan favorite, Joe Oliver has played five different positions in the field in his three seasons as a professional. Last season, his first above short season ball, he added a power repertoire, hitting 16 home runs in just 368 at bats. He will likely get his first taste of the high minors to test whether the 2017 power surge was real.

#21 SS Jesús Lemus – Lemus lost playing time to John Barker down the stretch last season, masking what had been a breakout season for the fourth year pro (341/407/384 in 164 at bats as short-A Akutan Island).

#22 CL Guillermo Mejía – A fastball that touches 101 mph was enough to get the 22-year old lefty a spring training invite this season. Iffy control and bouts with gopher ball-itis probably mean a return trip to Allentown for this fireballer who will one day get the chance to sink or swim in a major league bullpen.

#23 1B Nelson Díaz – Scouts aren’t wild about Díaz, and fantasy players are even less sanguine about a tweener first baseman who is (A) not a power hitter (16, 15, and 15 home runs in his last three minor leagues seasons, and (B) trapped on the organizational first base depth chart behind Vapor Lock, Raymond White, and Rich Wheeler. Still, a 337/406/560 season in AA Youngstown, even at age 26, deserves mention.

#24 RF Pedro Figueroa – It seems like Canton prospect mavens have been hearing for years about Pedro Figueroa’s power potential. Thirteen home runs split between A and AA in 2017 isn’t great, but it’s better than the three partial seasons he played at High-A Middle Bass. Four hundred-plus at bats would go a long way toward the organization figuring out whether Figueroa is worth keeping.

#25 SP Ángel Vargo – Everyone loves Ángel Vargo – teammates, managers, coaches, scouts, and. . . opposing hitters. Aside from 16 superficially solid starts in short-A ball after being drafted in 2015, Vargo has been mediocre at best and downright bad at times. Still, a guy who has a reputation as a bright, funny, hard-working gamer will get every benefit of the doubt when moving up the organizational ladder. If he could only break a pane of glass with his fastball. . .