AngelsWin.com Today: AngelsWin.com Top 30 Prospects: #11 Grayson Long

[AngelsWin.com]

Prospect: Grayson Long               Rank: 11

2015/16: 6                                            Position(s): Right Handed Pitcher

Level: Advanced A Ball                      Age: Entering Age 23 season in 2017.

Height: 6’5”                                        Weight: 230 lb.

   Present – Future

Fastball          55  55

Slider             50  55

Change          55  60

Mechanics    50  50

Command    55  60

Control         55  60

Overall         45  55

 

Floor: Swing Starter in AAA

Ceiling: A workhorse #3/4 starter in MLB

Likely Outcome: A workhorse #4/5 starter in MLB

Summary:  Long is one of those prospects that’s constantly overlooked when the rest of the world is too busy talking about how terrible the Angels farm system is.  The apparent lack of depth doesn’t apply to Grayson Long I guess.  Long is a big bodied strike thrower that pumps a 91-93 mph “heavy” fastball.  It’s a difficult pitch to square up because of it’s strong downhill action, though hitters do make consistent contact due to a relative lack of side to side movement.  It’s a straight, heavy fastball with a downward plane.  Low-ball hitters probably love it.  But for the average prospect in the lower ranks, it can give them fits and cause a lot of early count groundouts to the shortstop.

Long will also throw a good slider, which he gets over for strikes consistently.  His best pitch however, is his change up.  While he uses it to generate weak groundouts and popups, Long was able to generate a fair amount of swing and miss with it at the lower levels.  This likely won’t last as he reaches the upper minors, but it’s still a solid pitch.

After being drafted by the Angels in the 3rd round out of Texas A&M, the organization really limited his innings in Rookie Ball due to fatigue.  The Angels somewhat surprisingly opted to keep Long in A Ball after Spring Training this year, which was absolutely puzzling.  As expected, Long was completely and utterly dominant in Burlington.  Across eight starts, he carried a 1.58 ERA with 45 K’s in only 40 innings.  Then injury occurred, and Long was shut down for much of the rest of the season, save for a few rehab appearances and short-lived promotion to Inland Empire.

What to expect next season: Unfortunately, since Long was injured for a large chunk of the season in 2016, he lost what was essentially a half season to a full season worth of development.  I anticipate Grayson making a return trip to Inland Empire, at least for a couple months in 2017.  If things go well, we should see him spend a large chunk of the season in AA in 2017.

Estimated Time of Arrival: 2019, as a 25 year old. .

Grade as a prospect: C+

 

Grades are given from the 20-80 scouting scale.  20-being non-existent ability, 80-being the best I’ve ever seen.  MLB average is 50.

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[tdawg87]

This guy reminds me a touch of Shoemaker, and I hope he follows a similar path to the majors. 

[SlappyUtilityMIF]

1 hour ago, tdawg87 said:

This guy reminds me a touch of Shoemaker, and I hope he follows a similar path to the majors. 

Agreed. Not flashy, But, more of a grind it out workhorse attitude! I would love to have 5-8 of those guys!

[Second Base]

1 hour ago, tdawg87 said:

This guy reminds me a touch of Shoemaker, and I hope he follows a similar path to the majors. 

As pitcher, Shoemaker's defining traits are his splitter, and his rise from ubdrafted FA to mid rotation starter.  That doesn't really match Long as much in my mind. 

I see Long more resembling John Lackey, minus a tick on his fastball and explosive temperament.

[Chuck]

16 minutes ago, Scotty@AW said:

As pitcher, Shoemaker's defining traits are his splitter, and his rise from ubdrafted FA to mid rotation starter.  That doesn't really match Long as much in my mind. 

I see Long more resembling John Lackey, minus a tick on his fastball and explosive temperament.

and the uncanny resemblance to Mr. Ed.

[Chuck]

I wonder if Long with his size can add a few more MPH to his fastball? 

That said, Lackey usually worked in the low 90's, touching 94-95 occasionally. 

[Second Base]

1 hour ago, Chuckster70 said:

I wonder if Long with his size can add a few more MPH to his fastball? 

That said, Lackey usually worked in the low 90's, touching 94-95 occasionally. 

That's fair to wonder. I think if other teams believed he would, then he would've gone in the first round. He's pretty big and filled out already, I think working 92 should be where he stays. As far as I can tell, he's been at that velo for a few years now.

[SlappyUtilityMIF]

1 hour ago, Scotty@AW said:

As pitcher, Shoemaker's defining traits are his splitter, and his rise from ubdrafted FA to mid rotation starter.  That doesn't really match Long as much in my mind. 

I see Long more resembling John Lackey, minus a tick on his fastball and explosive temperament.

True Scotty,

But you have to get ahead in the count on a consistent basis to make a splitter that much more dominant. Hitters eventually, tend to lay off of it. When your scouting report states the above. However, if you adjust and throw it even in the count or first pitch you can catch the guessing hitter cheating.