- In the window of time that I have been tracking pitching prospects, no pitcher has escalated from under the radar as quickly as Josiah Gray. Another arm from a very small college (NAIA – LeMoyne College, NY), the infielder/reliever hybrid showcased his then unnoticed pitching skills during the Summer Cape Cod League. Scouts took notice and the 6′ 1″ 190 lb right-hander went from anonymous, to the Cincinnati Reds 2nd round pick in 2018. In 12 rookie starts at Greeneville, Gray posted a 2.58 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, and striking out 59 over 52.1 innings, and quickly vaulted as one of the top five pitchers in the Reds system. During the off-season the Reds, needing to compete in the strong NL Central, pulled-off a 7-player deal with the Dodgers that included Yasiel Puig. Gray was among those from the Reds that was shipped to the left coast. The 21-year old now finds himself buried in a pitching-rich environment, but once again spotlighted himself yesterday by retiring every batter he faced over 5 innings, with 5 strikeouts. The Dodgers will take their time nurturing Gray, who may develop into a mid-rotation type or late innings reliever. Gray tosses a plus low 90’s fastball with a near plus slider that may suit him best in high leverage situations out of the bullpen.
TOP AL UTR PITCHING PERFORMANCE
RHP Ryne Inman (LoA West Virginia – Seattle) 22 years old 6 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 8 K, 3.60 ERA, Win 1-0- Seattle made the move with their LoA affiliate from Clinton, Iowa to West Virginia for 2019, and unfortunately for Ryan Inman, he made the move too. The 6′ 5″ 215 lb righty is repeating LoA after a suboptimal 2018 campaign where he posted a 4-10 record and 4.57 ERA. Drafted from high school in the 15th round (2015), Inman is entering his age year 23 season and probably hoped for a shot at HiA Modesto in 2019, after this, his third LoA stint. It may still come, as last night he threw 6 innings of 2-hit shutout ball and striking out eight. It may be an uphill climb for Inman, as his progression through the system has not shown much improvement, stat-wise.
LoA Mentions – Starters RHP Jhon De Jesus (LoA Dayton – Cincinnati) 22 years old 5 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K
- De Jesus is back on track after missing the 2018 season. He hasn’t allowed an earned run over his first starts (10 IP).
- Bido gets win #2 and his second mention in his as many starts to start the season.
HiA Mentions – Starters RHP Garrett Schilling (HiA Lancaster – Colorado) 23 years old 6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 10 K, 5.06 ERA, Win 1-0 RHP Tony Dibrell (HiA St Lucie – New York Mets) 23 years old 5.2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 2.79 ERA LHP Edward Cabrera (HiA Jupiter – Miami) 20 years old 6 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 9 K, 3.48 ERA, Win 1-1 RHP Freddy Tarnok (HiA Florida – Atlanta) 20 years old 5 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 4.82 ERA LHP Nick Allgeyer (HiA Dunedin – Toronto) 23 years old 5 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 1.86 ERA, Win 1-1 RHP Elvin Rodriguez (HiA Lakeland – Detroit) 21 years old 6 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 4.82 ERA, Win 1-1 RHP Bryan Mata (HiA Salem – Toronto) 19 years old 5.1 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 8 K, 0,82 ERA LHP MacKenzie Gore (HiA Lake Elsinore – San Diego) 20 years old 5 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, 0.00 ERA, Win 2-0 RHP Brady Feigl (HiA Stockton – Oakland) 23 years old 6 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 9 K, 0.82 ERA, Win 1-0 RHP Austin Hutchison (HiA Modesto – Seattle) 24 years old 4 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 K, 1.00 ERA, Loss 0-1
National League – Relief LHP Tanner Lawson (LoA Rome – Atlanta) 22 years old 3 IP, 0 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 1.69 ERA American League – Relief RHP Tai Tiedemann (LoA Hickory – Texas) 23 years old 2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 10.13 ERA, Hold (1)
- Tiedemann back on track after his opening debacle (0.2 IP, 2 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 1 K)