ESPN's top 100 prospects: Quero at 43

[jsnpritchett]

...O'Hoppe at 62, Neto at 84:

https://www.espn.com/mlb/insider/insider/story/_/id/35490487

43. Edgar Quero, C, Los Angeles Angels

Age: 19 | Bats: Switch | Throws: Right

Type: Offense-first catcher

Quero was a nice sleeper pick at this time last year, then he had a huge 2022 season, particularly at the plate: He hit .312/.435/.530 with 17 homers, 12 stolen bases, 14% walks and 18% strikeouts as a teenage catcher at Low-A. It's pretty universal now to project Quero as an above-average offensive threat with power, patience and contact skills, but reviews on his defense differ. To wit, two clubs that evaluate players in similar ways gave me wildly different feedback: One said he's probably not a catcher and to move him off the top 100, while another said he belonged in the top 30 spots.

I tend to be more positive, especially with younger players, on issues like this because if a few teams really believe a prospect can stick at a position, there is a good chance he will. Since he's a bottom-of-the-scale runner, Quero would become a first baseman if he can't catch, so his progress behind the plate (his arm is average, receiving is a bit behind that) will be important to monitor over the next couple seasons.

62. Logan O'Hoppe, C, Los Angeles Angels

Age: 22 | Bats: Right | Throws: Right

Type: League-average offensive threat who can stick behind the plate

GM Dave Dombrowski did what he does, (trading prospects for big league help) when he shipped O'Hoppe to the Angels for Brandon Marsh at the trade deadline. O'Hoppe delivered what many (including myself) thought would be a breakout 2022 season, hitting .275/.392/.496 with 15 homers in 75 games in Double-A for the Phillies before the trade.

There probably isn't a plus tool here, but an average defensive catcher with solid-average offensive numbers is in the top 10-15 of the position and O'Hoppe might be that by the end of 2023.

84. Zach Neto, SS, Los Angeles Angels

Age: 22 | Bats: Right | Throws: Right

Type: Smaller-framed shortstop with sure bat and glove, sneaky power

Neto popped up in the 2021 fall as a potential late first-round pick and followed up with an excellent spring at Campbell en route to going No. 13 overall in last summer's draft. He's a lanky 6-footer with plus speed, a plus arm, an above-average glove at shortstop and plus feel for the bat head.

Neto has a busy, max-effort swing that most scouts think he'll have to dial down when facing 95-plus mph on a regular basis, which would cut into his deceptively good exit velos and overall power production given his size. A 10-15 homer likelihood eats into his overall upside, but he may be plus at everything else on the field and has lots of pro scouting support for his ranking after an excellent 30-game stint in Double-A after signing.

[Chuck]

Thanks for posting, @jsnpritchett. But damn, seems like this guy is just looking at minor league numbers to assemble his rankings rather than actual scouting. 

[jsnpritchett]

3 minutes ago, Chuckster70 said:

Thanks for posting, @jsnpritchett. But damn, seems like this guy is just looking at minor league numbers to assemble his rankings rather than actual scouting. 

https://www.espnfrontrow.com/2020/04/9-things-to-know-about-mlb-insider-kiley-mcdaniel-part-i/

"I’ve worked for four MLB teams and have spent 15 years working around the majors. I worked for the Yankees, Orioles, Pirates, and Braves, in that order. Most recently with Atlanta (where I still live), I was an assistant director of Baseball Operations and the West Coast crosschecker, so I have experience in every department of baseball as a scout and executive along with covering them as a writer."

I travel a lot to see games during the season, mostly to games below the Major League level. I’m obviously not traveling right now, but most spring weekends before the draft, I’ll be at a mix of college and high school games. Atlanta is a great location for direct flights all over the country (love those SkyMiles) and almost half of the first round is drivable within a few hours at some point throughout the season."

[Revad]

19 minutes ago, jsnpritchett said:

To wit, two clubs that evaluate players in similar ways gave me wildly different feedback: One said he's probably not a catcher and to move him off the top 100, while another said he belonged in the top 30 spots.

So it’s a range of outcomes.  The good news is these three players are quite likely going to make the majors and each could turn out to be in the lineup on a regular basis.

[Inside Pitch]

1 hour ago, Chuckster70 said:

Thanks for posting, @jsnpritchett. But damn, seems like this guy is just looking at minor league numbers to assemble his rankings rather than actual scouting. 

I think Quero may be getting slightly underrated because he doesn't have the typical catcher's body, as in he's kind of slightly built -- not unlike how Jason Kendall was..  As far as the numbers go..  A 19 year old in his first season of full season ball (he was signed at age 18), walking 73 times is no joke.  His 17 HRs while playing in a home park with a HR index of 75 is likewise nothing to gloss over.  I want to see him do it above Low A (Catcher attrition rates kick in hard at AA), but the kid has a clue how to hit and he's a bit of an outlier in a system full of guys who struggle to make contact.

Being ranked 43rd overall is likely optimistic, but I'd rather people  be high on him than the alternative.

 

[Blarg]

I really wish the Angels hadn't demoted the 66ers to A ball from High A. The talent at A ball is pretty raw so there is less attraction to me to go to the games and I missed out on seeing Quero play much.

I would love to be close to a AA franchise and see that talent at the jumping off point to the majors. There is no way I'm moving to sweaty Madison, Alabama, to be a Trash Panda season ticket holder but I do plan to visit that stadium one day. 

It will be interesting to see if Quero continues on as a catcher. A tandem of him and O'Hoppe, if they reach the majors as true multi skilled catchers, would really push the franchise forward. It would be the first time since Mathis/Napoli that position was locked down with home grown talent. 

[jsnpritchett]

9 minutes ago, Blarg said:

I really wish the Angels hadn't demoted the 66ers to A ball from High A. The talent at A ball is pretty raw so there is less attraction to me to go to the games and I missed out on seeing Quero play much.

I would love to be close to a AA franchise and see that talent at the jumping off point to the majors. There is no way I'm moving to sweaty Madison, Alabama, to be a Trash Panda season ticket holder but I do plan to visit that stadium one day. 

It will be interesting to see if Quero continues on as a catcher. A tandem of him and O'Hoppe, if they reach the majors as true multi skilled catchers, would really push the franchise forward. It would be the first time since Mathis/Napoli that position was locked down with home grown talent. 

Two things: 1) the Angels didn't have anything to do with the 66ers getting "demoted." It was part of the reorganization of all of MILB, led by MLB. The whole California League was made low A.

2) Can you really call O'Hoppe "home grown"? The Angels didn't draft him and after they traded for him, he was in the majors after 29 games in their minor league system. (Note: I'm not taking anything away from O'Hoppe: I just don't think he counts as home grown.)

[Chuck]

41 minutes ago, jsnpritchett said:

Two things: 1) the Angels didn't have anything to do with the 66ers getting "demoted." It was part of the reorganization of all of MILB, led by MLB. The whole California League was made low A.

2) Can you really call O'Hoppe "home grown"? The Angels didn't draft him and after they traded for him, he was in the majors after 29 games in their minor league system. (Note: I'm not taking anything away from O'Hoppe: I just don't think he counts as home grown.)

That's a good question. Same thing applies for Patrick Sandoval. 

So really the question is, if they're in the organization for a certain amount of time after they've been acquired does that count as homegrown since they've spent say 2-3 years of coaching up the player?

[Blarg]

58 minutes ago, jsnpritchett said:

Two things: 1) the Angels didn't have anything to do with the 66ers getting "demoted." It was part of the reorganization of all of MILB, led by MLB. The whole California League was made low A.

2) Can you really call O'Hoppe "home grown"? The Angels didn't draft him and after they traded for him, he was in the majors after 29 games in their minor league system. (Note: I'm not taking anything away from O'Hoppe: I just don't think he counts as home grown.)

1) Okay. Still don't like it.

2) I'll call him anything I want since he's in our organization before hitting the majors.

3) Come on, Jason, try not to be that guy that pulls the, Point of Order... 

 

[Dtwncbad]

It is a fair observation that OHoppe himself was not drafted and initially developed by the Angels.

But at the same time I care about the team producing “homegrown” players primarily because I want the result to be an inexpensive controllable impact player.

So yes you can’t give the Angels credit for drafting him and initially developing him, but I have give the team credit for drafting and initially developing the player that was good enough to get OHoppe.

Is OHoppe “homegrown”?  The best answer is no.

Is OHoppe not being homegrown an indication the Angels are not good at producing homegrown talent?  No.  They drafted and developed Marsh and swapped him for OHoppe. That’s a wash.

[Docwaukee]

Quero, arguably, had one of the best offensive seasons in minor league baseball.  Especially when you take his age into account.  

His 150 wRC+ was 9th best among all minor leaguers with 400 AB or more.  

It wasn't just some really good season by someone age for level appropriate.  And while there's always more to consider than just numbers, his stand out so far and above others there's just no way to discount it because it was in A ball.  

His raw numbers are going to take a serious hit this year in A+ because of that park and it wouldn't surprise me if he's in AA earlier that you'd think he would or should be.  

And I really hate that we have so many extreme parks in our system.  I'm sure the Angels have the data they need to support their decisions, but it kinda sucks for us prospect hounds trying to find your way around whether certain performances are legit or not.  

[Chuck]

18 minutes ago, Docwaukee said:

Quero, arguably, had one of the best offensive seasons in minor league baseball.  Especially when you take his age into account.  

His 150 wRC+ was 9th best among all minor leaguers with 400 AB or more.  

It wasn't just some really good season by someone age for level appropriate.  And while there's always more to consider than just numbers, his stand out so far and above others there's just no way to discount it because it was in A ball.  

His raw numbers are going to take a serious hit this year in A+ because of that park and it wouldn't surprise me if he's in AA earlier that you'd think he would or should be.  

And I really hate that we have so many extreme parks in our system.  I'm sure the Angels have the data they need to support their decisions, but it kinda sucks for us prospect hounds trying to find your way around whether certain performances are legit or not.  

@Docwaukee Quero like Jeremiah Jackson may skip straight to Double-A. 

[Chuck]

 

[jsnpritchett]

10 minutes ago, Chuckster70 said:

 

Are you going to criticize this list for being numbers-driven?

[jsnpritchett]

2 hours ago, Chuckster70 said:

That's a good question. Same thing applies for Patrick Sandoval. 

So really the question is, if they're in the organization for a certain amount of time after they've been acquired does that count as homegrown since they've spent say 2-3 years of coaching up the player?

I'm sure everyone has their own definition, but to me, the purest use of the term is someone who makes his major league debut for the team that drafted him or signed him as an amateur free agent.

 

[Chuck]

1 minute ago, jsnpritchett said:

Are you going to criticize this list for being numbers-driven?

Ha, not this one!  

Thank you for clarification of the writer who put ESPN's list together.  Just thought it was odd that he had Quero so low and ahead of O'Hoppe and Neto. 

[Chuck]

Just now, jsnpritchett said:

I'm sure everyone has their own definition, but to me, the purest use of the term is someone who makes his major league debut for the team that drafted him or signed him as an amateur free agent.

 

I get that, but what if a player is traded after just one year of Low-A ball and they spent the following 2-4 years in the minors? 

Think that's up for debate as to who's homegrown player that is, but to me it's whichever minor league system they've spent more time in getting coached up. 

[jsnpritchett]

4 minutes ago, Chuckster70 said:

I get that, but what if a player is traded after just one year of Low-A ball and they spent the following 2-4 years in the minors? 

Think that's up for debate as to who's homegrown player that is, but to me it's whichever minor league system they've spent more time in getting coached up. 

Yeah, I get it.  I'm not sure what I'd personally call the type of person you're talking about, but it wouldn't be homegrown. Maybe "developed"? Idk. 

It's all semantics, anyway.  Like I said, I don't mean to take anything away from O'Hoppe. As much as I hated to lose my fellow Georgian Marsh, I'm excited about O'Hoppe's potential. 

[Hubs]

3 hours ago, Chuckster70 said:

That's a good question. Same thing applies for Patrick Sandoval. 

So really the question is, if they're in the organization for a certain amount of time after they've been acquired does that count as homegrown since they've spent say 2-3 years of coaching up the player?

I would say if they play in our minor leagues before they play in the majors, they are from our system.

[BTH]

3 hours ago, Chuckster70 said:

@Docwaukee Quero like Jeremiah Jackson may skip straight to Double-A. 

Unless you’re privy to some inside info, I’m not sure that’d be the case.

It’d make sense for him to make that jump from an offensive perspective, but not from a defensive perspective.

I do wonder if Werner Blakely might skip HiA, but even he has defensive questions— so maybe not.

[Taylor]

6 hours ago, jsnpritchett said:

Two things: 1) the Angels didn't have anything to do with the 66ers getting "demoted." It was part of the reorganization of all of MILB, led by MLB. The whole California League was made low A.

2) Can you really call O'Hoppe "home grown"? The Angels didn't draft him and after they traded for him, he was in the majors after 29 games in their minor league system. (Note: I'm not taking anything away from O'Hoppe: I just don't think he counts as home grown.)

Blarg should stay in his lane (providing treatment tips for physical ailments).

[Chuck]

4 hours ago, Trendon said:

Unless you’re privy to some inside info, I’m not sure that’d be the case.

It’d make sense for him to make that jump from an offensive perspective, but not from a defensive perspective.

I do wonder if Werner Blakely might skip HiA, but even he has defensive questions— so maybe not.

The only info I'm privy to @Trendon was that when I made two trips to Madison, AL to cover the Trash Pandas this past summer/fall I was told that they want their top prospects there and we should be accustomed to seeing more aggressive promotions going forward from our top minor leaguers. This is from the top down, from Perry and his colleagues in scouting and player development. 

[Warfarin]

5 hours ago, Trendon said:

Unless you’re privy to some inside info, I’m not sure that’d be the case.

It’d make sense for him to make that jump from an offensive perspective, but not from a defensive perspective.

I do wonder if Werner Blakely might skip HiA, but even he has defensive questions— so maybe not.

 

24 minutes ago, Chuckster70 said:

The only info I'm privy to @Trendon was that when I made two trips to Madison, AL to cover the Trash Pandas this past summer/fall I was told that they want their top prospects there and we should be accustomed to seeing more aggressive promotions going forward from our top minor leaguers. This is from the top down, from Perry and his colleagues in scouting and player development. 

While I am not surprised by quick promotions, as the Angels seem to be very aggressive on that front, I'd be a bit surprised to see a catcher aggressively promoted.  Especially in Quero's case, where there are some questions about his defense, I would think they'd take a bit more time in helping cultivate his defensive skills.

[BTH]

1 hour ago, Chuckster70 said:

The only info I'm privy to @Trendon was that when I made two trips to Madison, AL to cover the Trash Pandas this past summer/fall I was told that they want their top prospects there and we should be accustomed to seeing more aggressive promotions going forward from our top minor leaguers. This is from the top down, from Perry and his colleagues in scouting and player development. 

As long as it's not stunting the player's development, I'm all for them pushing guys past High-A and into AA.

While having never been to either place myself, there seems to be a huge gap between Tri-City and Rocket City in both the environment and facilities. Rocket City has a new, state-of-the-art stadium and a passionate fanbase while Tri-City has an outdated stadium with much less fanfare.

[BTH]

58 minutes ago, Warfarin said:

While I am not surprised by quick promotions, as the Angels seem to be very aggressive on that front, I'd be a bit surprised to see a catcher aggressively promoted.  Especially in Quero's case, where there are some questions about his defense, I would think they'd take a bit more time in helping cultivate his defensive skills.

Same, but I certainly wouldn't be shocked if Quero starts next season in AA.

Of all the levels for a player to skip, I think High-A makes a lot of sense since Rookie and Low-A allow young players to get used to pro ball while AA offers a major test for whether the player can be a major leaguer.