2019 Mid-Season Top 40 Sally League Players

Hey guys, Sunday, June 16th, marked the end of the 1st half in the Sally league.  Officially 70 games down and 70 games to go. Time for the annual Sally mid-season top 25. The league is deep this year though and when I got to the end there was still a lot of talent on the board. So I kept going, I stopped at 40 and there were still a dozen names I was considering.

1) Jarred Kelenic–  http://notesfromthesally.com/2019/06/05/a-sally-wrap-up-piece-for-jarred-kelenic-cf-mariners/

2) Ronny Mauricio –http://notesfromthesally.com/2019/06/07/my-1st-look-at-ronny-mauricio-ss-columbia-fireflies/

3) Julio Rodriguez–   http://notesfromthesally.com/2019/04/07/my-1st-look-at-julio-rodriguez-rf-west-virginia-power/

4) Grayson Rodriguez–  http://notesfromthesally.com/2019/05/04/scouting-grayson-rodriguez-rhp-delmarva-shorebirds/

5) Cole Winn–   http://notesfromthesally.com/2019/05/23/scouting-cole-winn-rhp-hickory-crawdads-rangers/

The top 3 are very close, Kelenic making the swing adjustment and getting to his power (.277 ISO) so quickly, sealed the top spot for him.  But all 3 young hitters could be special.  As can the two young arms.  Click the links for much more.

6) Triston Casas–  http://notesfromthesally.com/2019/04/08/my-1st-look-at-triston-casas-1b-greenville-drive/

7) Luis Garcia–   http://notesfromthesally.com/2019/04/27/my-1st-look-at-luis-garcia-ss-lakewood-blueclaws/

8) Alec Bohm–   http://notesfromthesally.com/2019/04/29/my-1st-look-at-alec-bohm-1b-3b-lakewood-blueclaws/

9) Sherten Apostel–   http://notesfromthesally.com/2019/05/01/my-1st-look-at-sherten-apostel-3b-1b-hickory-crawdads/

10) Ryan Rollison-   http://notesfromthesally.com/2019/04/06/scouting-ryan-rolison-lhp-asheville-tourists/

11) Logan Gilbert–   http://notesfromthesally.com/2019/04/05/scouting-logan-gilbert-rhp-west-virginia-power/

12) Drew Rom– 

13) Roansy Contreras–   http://notesfromthesally.com/2019/04/12/scouting-roansy-contreras-rhp-charleston-riverdogs/

In this tier you have 3 corner infielders with .370/40 upside and a young SS that can pick it and despite the early results has excellent offensive upside.  Casas had a fairly extreme crouch in April and that’s still his two-strike swing but he’s much more upright in general.  He’s got the best raw power at the level and now is better able to tap into it.  I sat on Lakewood for a 4 game series.  And while I liked both a lot, I preferred Garcia to Bohm.  Apostel struggled for the 1st six weeks or so.  Everything off of his bat was to his pull side and had crazy top spin and no carry.  But for the last month he’s been letting the ball travel and using the big part of the yard.  He’s had some of the best exit velo’s at the level during this stretch and his line drives have a ton of carry.

Also in the tier are the relatively safe #3 SP’s.  Drew Rom is a polished LHP in the Orioles system.  He features 4 pitches, Fastball, slider, knuckle curve and change.

14) Sam Huff- 

15) Mark Vientos– (last yr’s write up):  https://notesfromthesally.com/2018/06/25/my-1st-look-at-mark-vientos-3b-kingsport-mets/

16) Mason Martin– 

17) Shervyen Newton– (Last yr’s write up) http://notesfromthesally.com/2018/08/07/thoughts-on-kingsport-mets-middle-infielders-shervyen-newton-and-luis-santana/

18) Luis Medina–   http://notesfromthesally.com/2019/04/12/scouting-luis-medina-rhp-charleston-riverdogs/

19) Francisco Morales–   http://notesfromthesally.com/2019/05/03/scouting-high-ceiling-philly-arms-francisco-morales-and-dominic-pipkin/

20) Gregory Santos–   http://notesfromthesally.com/2019/04/06/scouting-gregory-santos-rhp-augusta-greenjackets/

21) Victor Vodnik–   http://notesfromthesally.com/2019/04/23/scouting-two-more-braves-arms-of-interest-trey-riley-and-victor-vodnik/

22) Dominic Pipkin–   http://notesfromthesally.com/2019/05/03/scouting-high-ceiling-philly-arms-francisco-morales-and-dominic-pipkin/

Sam Huff, I wanted to include him in the tier above.  Potential for 55 hit and 55 or better game power but I decided to be a bit more conservative due to his aggressiveness and pull heavy approach.  Defensively he’s a good receiver with a strong arm….  Mark Vientos I was a tier higher on him after getting some looks in Kingsport last year.  I still like him quite a bit but a little down after a recent look.  In every AB he took middle, middle fastball’s early in the count, twice falling behind 0-2 without taking the bat off of his shoulder and then he expanded, chasing spin.  That’s not being selective, that’s taking pitches for the sake of taking pitches. Would love to see more grip and rip.  I still love the compact swing and all fields power though.  I was 55-60, now more 50-60…..  Mason Martin is having a big statistical season, led by the .213 ISO and 18 HR.  He’s got 60 raw and a swing  with lift. His home park boosts left hand power but he’s been significantly better on the road, which is interesting.   I was considering putting him with the .370-40 corner infielders but need to see him again.  In my looks last year, I thought he was a little passive and he’s still striking out a ton.  Shervyen Newton is still in the same tier I had him in last yr, for now, but he’s struggling mightily.  I’ve been in the 50-60 camp with a strong OBP for him.  I’m getting a four game look at him this weekend and that may change.

Also in this tier are the high upside power arms. I almost didn’t include Vodnik here because I haven’t seen him stretched out yet but he belongs because he is being stretched out and the loud arsenal.

23) Grant Lavigne–   http://notesfromthesally.com/2019/04/16/my-1st-look-at-grant-lavigne-1b-asheville-tourists/

24) Josh Stowers–   http://notesfromthesally.com/2019/05/11/my-1st-look-at-josh-stowers-of-charleston-riverdogs/

25) Jonathan Ornelas–   http://notesfromthesally.com/2019/05/20/thoughts-on-middle-infielders-jonathan-ornelas-and-terrin-vavra/

26) Ji-Hwan Bae–   http://notesfromthesally.com/2019/06/01/thoughts-on-pirates-infielders-ji-hwan-bae-and-rodolfo-castro/

27) Justin Dean–   http://notesfromthesally.com/2019/06/15/outfielders-of-interest/

28) Terrin Vavra–   http://notesfromthesally.com/2019/05/20/thoughts-on-middle-infielders-jonathan-ornelas-and-terrin-vavra/

29) Adam Hall–   http://notesfromthesally.com/2019/05/31/infielders-of-interest/

30) Michael Gigliotti– 

31) Lenyn Sosa– 

32) Rafael Marchan–   http://notesfromthesally.com/2019/05/31/infielders-of-interest/

33) Chris Seise–   http://notesfromthesally.com/2019/04/28/my-1st-look-at-chris-seise-ss-hickory-crawdads/

34) Brandon Howlett–   http://notesfromthesally.com/2019/05/31/infielders-of-interest/

35) Bryce Bush–   http://notesfromthesally.com/2019/06/15/outfielders-of-interest/

36) Jeison Guzman–   http://notesfromthesally.com/2019/05/31/infielders-of-interest/

37) Alex Scherff–   http://notesfromthesally.com/2019/04/05/scouting-alex-scherff-rhp-greenville-drive/

38) Austin Cox–   http://notesfromthesally.com/2019/05/24/scouting-royals-starters-jonathan-bowlan-and-austin-cox/

39) Konnor Pilkington– 

40) Ofelky Peralta– 

Many of my favorite young hitters at the level are in this group.  You can order these anyway you see fit.  Lavigne is potentially a swing change away from the .370-40.  But need to see it before moving him up.   Stowers can hit but if he;s not a CF that’s going to add pressure to the bat.  Was considering Ornelas for the tier above, explosive hands but he’s got that weird load and hasn’t hit in a month. Bae may be low, but I just had one look.  That could be a correction for the end of season list.  Dean can fly but already 22 and cloudy power projection.  Vavra, quick hands polished hitter but isn’t hitting a lick outside of Asheville.  Hall has strong hands but minimal load.  Gigliotti, plus speed and CF defense.  Some bat speed too but some noticeable bat lag.    Sosa I need to see again. He may move up on the end list.  Marchan, quick hands,  an aggressive hitter though.  Seise, strong hands, long swing and probably outgrows SS.  Howlett, strong hands, long swing, on the raw side. Bush potential for double plus raw.  But a little stiff.  Already moving down the defensive spectrum. Guzman has the loudest tools in the tier, he’s swinging at everything right now though and beating the ball into the ground a ton.

Ofelky features a mid to upper 90’s fastball, a tight slider and solid change.  Already 22 though and pitchability still has a ways to come.

If you don’t see your guy give me a shout below or on Twitter thanks. It’s  possible I forgot him, more likely I haven’t seen him yet.

This article was originally posted on my blog, Notes from the Sally.