Baseball America's Top 20 Pioneer League Prospects

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11. Yorman Rodriguez, of, Billings (Reds)
18. Mariekson Gregorius, ss, Billings (Reds)

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Brief summaries on Yorman and Gregorius:

Yorman - most intriging prospect in Pioneer League based on tools and ceiling. Great bat speed, two of his three homers were to opposite field. Needs to work on pitch-recognition skills. Very skinny with plenty of room to fill out. He stood out defensively - great combination of speed, instincts, and arm in CF.

Gregorius - despite being the worst team in the league, Billings featured two of the best up-the-middle prospects in Yorman and Gregorius. Held his own in FSL. Described as wiry strong and in need of physical maturation. Displayed solid knowledge of the strikezone, has a spray-hitting approach, runs a 4.06 to first base. Power isn't part of his game. Has the athleticism, soft hands, and arm strength to remain at SS. BA refers to him as a natural leader.

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From the chat:


Dave (foothills of the Berkshires): Prior to his 4-for-42 finish, 16/17 year old Yorman Rodriguez was hitting .298 with a SLG around .500, combined with excellent CF defense. In other words, for most of his time in the league, he hit quite well -- counter to the predictions that he'd struggle with the stick. How does this not translate into a top 10 ranking?

Matthew Eddy: The pitch recognition issues for Rodriguez are concerning, but it was general depth of the league that kept him out of the 10. A reasonable case can be made for any of these guys to rank a few spots higher or lower than they do, especially as you go further down the list. But in Rodriguez's case . . . we ought to look past the performance for two reasons. The Pioneer League is an extreme hitter's league, and second, Rodriguez played pretty much all year at 16. I can tell you that he had his fair share of supporters, and if it all comes together he can be a special player.


Brandon (Charleston, WV): How close was Brian Pearl to making the top 20?

Matthew Eddy: The Reds' 9th-rounder this year, Pearl elicited mixed opinions. But unless a Rookie-ball reliever receives unanimous support and has a truly special arm, it's next to impossible for them to crack these lists. So much can go wrong, and if a pitcher already is limited to the pen, then he's got no fallback option. As an amateur, Pearl flashed mid-90s velocity at times and reportedly (at least once) threw a slider that touched 90 mph. In the context of the Pioneer League, though, he ranged from 88-92 with a fringy breaking ball. So while he was considered for the 20, nobody stuck their neck out to make a case for him.


Brandon (Charleston, WV): Do you have a scouting report on Daniel Corcino? He was 18 for most of the season and struckout 30 batters in 25.2 innings with Billings.

Matthew Eddy: I do, in fact. Signed out of the Dominican in January '08, Corcino made his U.S. debut this year, jumping from the GCL to Billings. As a 5-foot-11 righthander he would seem to fit best as a reliever long-term, but one observer put a 60 on his fastball, citing its sinking, tailing action at 88-93 mph. His breaking ball features tight rotation and has plus potential, and his change is firm but has life.

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This question from the chat may answer some of the questions posters had about Yorman Rodriguez's scouting report in the GCL.

Brad (MO): How heavily is the Pioneer league scouted compared to advanced leagues and the AZl and GCL ? Does the lack of amateur talent in the area and geographic isolation effect the quality of scouting reports you get?

Matthew Eddy: An interesting question. From what I gather, organizations send their amateur scouts to check in on the short-season leagues once the draft is over. Generally, the more veteran scouts get first priority, and they strongly prefer assignments to the traveling Rookie and short-season leagues, e.g. Pioneer, Appy, N.Y.-Penn and Northwest, to the complex-based AZL and GCL.

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I'm Brandon from Charleston. I'm glad they answered my question about Corcino as I was very curious about him. You know who he sounds like? Johnny Cueto. A short righthander with a good fastball, a potential plus breaking ball, and a changeup. Maybe Mario Soto can work with Corcino on the changeup like he did with Cueto...