Eck'sSneakyCheese said:
I have LV's Proxy:
Aaron Sanchez, P
#1 Prospect in the Jays organization with AFL experience so he qualifies.
MAK! YOU'RE UP!
Thanks for the proxy! Here's a brief writeup:
Sanchez was the last eligible member of the elite tier of pitching prospects, with true ace upside. Baseball America has him ranked as the #32 prospect, right in between Carlos Martinez and Kyle Crick. BP has him ranked at #31, right in between Andrew Heaney and Alex Meyer. MLB.com has him at #23, ahead of dudes like Gausman and Ventura.
He's got a mid-90s fastball with great movement that misses bats and induces a ton of grounders. He's also got a deadly power curve, giving him two potential plus-plus pitches (and a solid changeup). He's got everything scouts look for: a classic frame and an exceptionally easy delivery. The main downside is that his control hasn't been great thus far, but he's got time to improve it.
It's understandable that he's lasted this long, because he's farther from the majors than most of the prospects in his area code. Since I've got six solid starters, I'm happy to grab a top prospect in Round 17 without expecting him to contribute anything this year. I think it's the best possible value pick: the Blue Jays could easily trade Sanchez for any set-up man or backup catcher in the league, and they'd most likely get slammed for doing it.
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Also, I really like the Joe Kelly pick. He throws an 98-MPH sinker, and it was pretty terrifying in the World Series. I believe in his RISP splits, and think he can maintain a weirdly low ERA because he bears down and sacrifices efficiency for strikeouts when he's got runners on. If I didn't have a similar player in Nelson, I might have taken him here.