Yency Almonte

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked Colorado Rockies #7 prospect in 2018
  Traded from the Angels to the White Sox and then to the Rockies as a prospect, the hard-throwing Almonte has blossomed in Colorado's system. He posted a 2.00 ERA at Double-A and rose to Triple-A in 2017 despite separate disabled list stints for arm fatigue and knee soreness. Almonte gained 25 pounds since turning pro, which has led to a fastball that topped out at 92 mph in high school now sitting 93-96 mph and touching 98 with hard sink as a starter. Almonte also has a two-seamer he likes to use to further induce ground balls, and his main secondary is an 86-88 mph slider that is consistently above-average and flashes plus. He flashes a usable changeup but it is not consistent, although he still kept lefthanded hitters in check with a .217/.319/.310 slash line in 2017. Almonte's control is lacking at times, the result of an arm action evaluators fear may hamper his ability to throw consistent strikes. Almonte's lack of a changeup and inconsistent control lessen his chance to start, but it's not out of the question. As a fallback, his hard sinker-slider combination would play extremely well in late relief. He will begin 2018 back at Triple-A.
• 
  Ranked Colorado Rockies #17 prospect in 2017
  When the Angels selected the 17-year-old Almonte in 2012, he was considered a raw, projectable pitcher. The Rockies were ready to release reliever Tommy Kahnle after the 2016 season but were able to deal him to the White Sox for Almonte, who after four years in the Angels and White Sox systems was still at the Class A level. Almonte began to physically mature in 2016. He added 25 pounds and saw his fastball move into the 93-96 mph range and touch 98 with movement. He is refining his slider and has the potential for an average changeup, which is a pitch the Rockies stress to their pitchers, especially if they don't throw a curveball. Almonte's breakout season included an organization-best 156 strikeouts and season-ending promotion to Double-A Hartford. Given the Rockies' pitching depth, he could transition to the bullpen, though the club will continue to develop him as a starter. The Rockies view Almonte as an organizational asset because he helps translate for Latin players during instructional league. He should open 2017 back in the Hartford rotation.
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  Ranked Colorado Rockies #24 prospect in 2016
  The White Sox chose Almonte as the player to be named from the Angels in the August 2014 trade that sent Gordon Beckham to Anaheim. They then traded Almonte to the Rockies for reliever Tommy Kahnle after the 2015 season. Chicago did its homework on a pitcher who topped out at low Class A in 2014 and ran up a 5.91 ERA in an injury-truncated 11 starts. Almonte, who signed for $250,000 out of the 17th round in 2012, improved dramatically in 2015 and spent the final month of the season at high Class A Winston-Salem, where in 45 innings he recorded the best WHIP (0.90) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.3) of his career. He works ahead of batters with a fastball that now plays as plus at 93-96 mph after beginning the year in the low 90s. He found more velocity by staying tall in his delivery, and as a result his secondary pitches have ticked up in quality. Almonte can put batters away with a solid-average slider that flashes plus and accounted for his spike in strikeouts to 7.9 per nine innings with the Dash. His mid- 80s changeup plays as average and keeps him alive as a starter prospect. Almonte could surface in the big leagues as a No. 4-caliber starter or a power reliever. He should spend most of 2016 at Double-A Hartford.
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  Ranked Los Angeles Angels #16 prospect in 2013
  The younger brother of Mariners minor league outfielder Denny Almonte, Yency generated attention early in the 2012 high school season before a dead arm cost him several weeks. Hamstrung by the loss of their first two picks as free-agent compensation and a $1.6 million bonus pool for the first 10 rounds, the Angels looked for ways to add extra talent in the draft. They grabbed Almonte in the 17th round and signed him for $250,000, though he had a setback with his shoulder after turning pro and pitched just three innings. He has an athletic, projectable frame and fires low-90s fastballs that have reached as high as 94 mph. He has feel for spinning the ball and threw a three-quarters breaking ball for strikes during instructional league. He's working on a changeup but hasn't used it much yet. Almonte doesn't have much pitching experience and he comes with durability concerns, but he has become a favorite of some club officials among the newer players in the system.

Draft Prospects

• Ranked #409 prospect in 2012 draft
  The 6-foot-4, 180-pound Almonte is the younger brother of Mariners farmhand Denny Almonte and generated heat early in the year before missing several weeks with a dead-arm period. He returned late in the year and hit 92 mph with his fastball as a reliever late in the spring as Columbus finished as the state's 8-A runner-up. He has a good, loose, projectable frame and has flashed potential with his slider and changeup when he was right physically. He's a Florida International signee.

Minor League Top Prospects

• 
  Ranked California League #14 prospect in 2016
  The Angels traded Almonte to the White Sox in February 2015 as the player to be named in a trade for Gordon Beckham. Chicago shipped him to the Rockies nine months later for Tommy Kahnle. Despite that low profile, Almonte gained attention in his first season in the Rockies system. He pitches with mid- to upper-90s velocity and backs it up with an 82-84 mph slider with good depth and tilt and a developing changeup. With velocity on his fastball and quality offspeed pitches at his disposal, Almonte led the Cal League in strikeouts at the time he was promoted to Double-A in early August. "Pitching-wise that was a guy I can see dominating," Bakersfield manager Eddie Menchaca said. "He gets lots of swing and misses . . . He just attacks. I liked him." Almonte's main issue is a tendency to get too much of the plate at times, which resulted in 18 home runs allowed this season. Still, evaluators largely regarded him as a big league arm with a ceiling as a possible No. 4 starter.

• July, 2018 Scouting Report
  Command and control problems hampered Almonte as a starter in Triple-A, but his power stuff earned him a callup to the Rockies bullpen at the end of June. His 97-98 mph fastball and 89-91 mph power slider are major league pitches that play, and not having to worry about a third pitch or being too fine with his command suits Almonte. Almonte pitched the eighth inning in all three of his first major league appearances, and he has the potential to remain in late-inning relief.
• December, 2017 Scouting Report
  Track Record: Traded from the Angels to the White Sox to the Rockies as a prospect, the hard-throwing Almonte has blossomed in Colorado's system. He posted a 2.00 ERA at Double-A and rose to Triple-A in 2017 despite separate disabled list stints for arm fatigue and knee soreness. Scouting Report: Almonte gained 25 pounds since turning pro, which has led to a fastball that topped out at 92 mph in high school now sitting 93-96 mph and touching 98 with hard sink as a starter. Almonte also has a two-seamer he likes to use to further induce ground balls, and his main secondary is an 86-88 mph slider that is consistently above-average and flashes plus. He flashes a usable changeup but it is not consistent, although he still kept lefthanded hitters in check with a .217/.319/.310 slash line in 2017. Almonte's control is lacking at times, the result of an arm action evaluators fear may hamper his ability to throw consistent strikes. The Future: Almonte's lack of a changeup and inconsistent control hamper his chance to start, but it's not out of the question. As a fallback, his hard sinker-slider combination would play extremely well in late relief. He will begin 2018 back at Triple-A.