Breaking Down the World Roster for the 2012 MLB Futures Game: Part 1, The Pitchers

The MLB Futures Game is a very exciting event as part of All-Star weekend as we get to see some of baseball’s top prospects play on a national stage. The top prospects from all 30 MLB teams are divided into US and World rosters who will play in the Futures Game for bragging rights, but the most enjoyable part of the game will be to see these top prospects take the field and showcase their talents. Right now we’re going to break down the World roster for the Futures Game and get an idea about what we’re going to be seeing.

Pitchers

While the US team in the Futures Game features three Triple-A pitchers, the World Team doesn’t have a single one. But the World Team trades some experience for an incredible amount of upside.

It starts with a couple of pitchers at the Low-A level from the two Florida teams, RHP Jose Fernandez from the Miami Marlins and LHP Felipe Rivero from the Tampa Bay Rays.

Fernandez, who turns 20 on July 31st, was born in Cuba but went to high school in the US and was the Marlins’ first round pick in 2011. The 6’3″, 215 right-hander features a 4-pitch arsenal just about as good as anyone in the low minors. His fastball hits the low-to-mid 90’s and touches 97. He throws both a knee-buckling 11-to-5 curve and a slider with sharp downward break, and he’s working on a changeup to complete his arsenal. It has not been fair for South Atlantic League hitters against Fernandez as he has gone 7-0 with a 1.59 ERA, an 11.3 K/9, a 2.1 BB/9, and a 0.2 HR/9 in 14 starts and 79 innings pitched.

Rivero, who will turn 21 on July 5th, is a slender 6’0″, 151 lefty out of the Dominican Republic. Rivero features the type of fastball-curveball combination that the Rays love to develop. His fastball sits in the mid-90’s and could still gain more velocity as Rivero fills out. His curveball is a 1-to-7 offering that features dynamic two-plane break and it looks to be a plus pitch already. And he also throws a changeup with solid sink that looks average right now but has the potential to be another very good pitch. Rivero has dominated in his own right in the Midwest League, going just 6-5 but with a 2.42 ERA, an 8.0 K/9, a 2.2 BB/9, and a 0.5 HR/9 in 13 starts, a relief appearance, and 74.1 IP.

Joining Rivero is another lefty from the Rays organization, Enny Romero. Romero, 6’3″ and 198 pounds out of the Dominican Republic, is another lefty with a powerful fastball-curve combination. Romero’s fastball hits the mid-90’s and touches 97 and stands out just as much for its velocity as it does for its big movement towards right-handed batters. Romero also throws a curveball with big 12-to-6 break when it’s on and continues to work on a changeup that’s great when he can command it. Romero features a promising arsenal but his control and command come and go. Thus far in 2012 at High-A, Romero has gone 2-3 with a 3.08 ERA, just a 6.9 K/9, a 4.6 BB/9, and a 0.1 HR/9 in 12 starts, 2 relief appearances, and 73 IP. He has been great in June, though, going 1-o with a 1.47 ERA, a 7.4 K/9, a 3.4 BB/9, and a 0.0 HR/9 in 2 relief appearances (both essentially starts, coming after one-inning Kyle Farnsworth rehab appearances), 1 start, and 18.1 IP.

Going from one hard-throwing lefty to another, we have Dodgers prospect Chris Reed, a 6’4″, 195 lefty born in London. Reed has lived in California most of his life, and the Dodgers drafted him in the first round in 2011 out of Stanford. Reed is the opposite of Romero, being a more polished pitcher who looks to move quickly through the minors. Reed touches the mid-90’s with a fastball with nice late bite, and he also throws a two-seamer in the low-90’s with good sink. His best secondary pitch is a mid-80’s slider with sharp break and he also throws a changeup with nice sinking action as well. Reed has worked his way up from High-A to Double-A so far in 2012 and has gone 1-4 with a 2.86 ERA, a 9.2 K/9, a 3.9 BB/9, and a 0.2 HR/9 in 9 starts, 1 relief appearance, and 44 IP.

And the final lefty on the staff is the elder statesman, Rockies prospect and Dominican Republic native Edwar Cabrera, 6’0″, 175, and 24 years old (although there have been inquiries into his true age). Cabrera is much more of a finesse pitcher than the other lefties above, working primarily off an excellent changeup with great arm action and nice sink. His fastball ranges from the high-80’s to low-90’s with good run and he likes to start it off the plate outside and run it onto the outside corner. He also throws a decent curveball. Cabrera has put up good numbers thus far in the Double-A Texas League, going 8-4 with a 2.94 ERA, a 7.5 K/9, a 2.1 BB/9, and a 1.4 HR/9 in 15 starts and 98 IP.

Back to the hard-throwers and Royals prospect Yordano Ventura. Ventura, a Dominican who turned 21 on June 3rd, does not feature the type of size you want from a right-handed pitcher, coming in at just 5’11”, 160. But his stuff more than makes up for it. Ventura touches triple digits with his fastball but is much better when he takes something off it and works in the low-90’s. Ventura’s curveball shows sharp 11-to-5 break, but the pitch to watch with Ventura may be his changeup. Ventura’s changeup features late sink and he throws it as low as the high-70’s at times, giving it as much as a 20 MPH difference from his fastball. Ventura has the ability to make hitters look bad with all his pitches. The big thing he continues to work on is command  as he has been somewhat homer-prone the past two season. Ventura has pitched well in 2012 in the Carolina League, going 3-5 with a 3.10 ERA, an 11.5 K/9, a 3.5 BB/9, and a 0.9 HR/9 in 13 starts and 61 IP.

Phillies prospect Julio Rodriguez is another 21 year old, but the 6’4″, 195 Puerto Rican right-hander is a complete different story from Ventura. Rodriguez, who will turn 22 on August 29th, may have some projectability remaining, but for the time being he sits in the high-80’s with his fastball, touching 90 MPH. What makes him special, though, is the late natural cutting action on his fastball. Rodriguez’s other pitches are extremely soft. His curveball is often in the mid-to-high 60’s with tremendous depth but not very sharp break at all. His slider in the mid-70’s features later action but it’s still not too dynamic and his changeup in the high-70’s is nothing special as of yet. Rodriguez’s repertoire plays up though thanks to a very deceptive delivery, although his delivery also throws off his command. Rodriguez is already at Double-A in the Eastern League and he has pitched pretty well in 2012, going 4-1 with a 2.81 ERA, an 8.7 K/9, a 4.2 BB/9, and a 0.4 HR/9 in 13 starts and 73.2 IP.

The wild card of the group is Reds prospect Kyle Lotzkar, a 22 year old 6’4″, 200 right-hander out of British Columbia in Canada. Lotzkar was a supplemental first round pick way back in 2007 but has battled through manifold injuries since then, including Tommy John Surgery in 2009. When completely healthy, Lotzkar throws in the low-to-mid 90’s with his fastball that features that features some sink and he also throws a sharp curveball, maybe the one pitch that has been reliable for him the whole way through. He has never been able to establish his changeup, a bigger problem when his fastball has sat more in the high-80’s. Lotzkar’s situation gets more complicated because he has also experienced control problems. Lotzkar still flashes big-time stuff at times, but the question is whether he can ever stay healthy and make the necessary adjustments to move forward as a pitcher. Lotzkar has inspired confidence in 2012 working his way up to High-A and then to Double-A, both for the first time, and he has gone 6-5 with a 2.78 ERA, a 10.1 K/9, a 4.2 BB/9, and a 0.5 HR/9 in 12 starts, a relief appearance, and 68 IP.

The World Team’s pitching staff finishes with two relief prospects, the Tigers’ Bruce Rondon and the Phillies’ Lisalberto Bonilla.

Rondon, a big 21 year old 6’3″, 271 Venezuelan right-hander, is not a pitchers batters are ever going to like facing in the late innings. Rondon is a nightmare to hit and scary just to bat against. Rondon’s fastball is consistently in the mid-90’s and has been clocked as high as 101 with great movement away from right-handed batters that makes it even harder to hit. When he loses control of his fastball, hitters have to watch out. Rondon also throws a mid-80’s slider that at its best features nice tilt but has been slurvy at times. Rondon has experienced a ton of difficulty controlling (let alone commanding) his pitches, but in 2012 he has been as good as it gets. He has gone 1-0 with a 1.85 ERA, a 12.9 K/9, a 3.7 BB/9, a 0.4 HR/9, and 16 saves in 23 relief appearances, 22 at High-A and 1 at Double-A, and 24.1 IP.

And we finish with the 22 year old Bonilla, a 6’1″, 170 Dominican right-hander who is an unorthodox prospect. Bonilla may very well have a starter’s arsenal, but the Phillies have been using him in the bullpen to get him to use his fastball more often. Bonilla’s fastball ranges from the low-to-mid 90’s with nice sink, and looks to be a plus pitch. But Bonilla has fallen too much in favor with his excellent changeup that features great arm action to go along with nice sink. With Bonilla working more off his fastball, his changeup only increases in effectiveness. To complete his arsenal, Bonilla shows a slider that flashes plus but has been very inconsistent. It will be interesting to see whether Bonilla will be converted back to a starter or whether he will remain a reliever, where he could have late inning potential. Bonilla has been on his game throughout 2012, going 3-2 with a 1.95 ERA, a 12.4 K/9, a 3.2 BB/9, and a 0.2 HR/9 in 25 relief appearances and 37 IP as he has worked his way up from High-A to Double-A.

It will be very exciting to see all these promising pitchers take the mound in Kansas City, and we could be getting a glimpse of some of the frontline starters and late innings relievers that will be dominating baseball within a few years.