Paul Skenes, Jack Leiter Among 10 Triple-A Statcast Standouts (March 31)

Image credit: (Photo by Mike Janes/Four Seam Images)

Now that the minor league season has returned, we’ll take a peek behind the Statcast curtain on Mondays and pick out 10 names (five pitchers and five hitters) who stood out to us.

These are not intended to be complete scouting reports. However, elite tools are often a harbinger of things to come, especially when it comes to batted ball data, pitch velocity, and pitch traits. Keep in mind we are really early in the season, so sample sizes are extremely small.

The data can be accessed via Baseball Savant.

Related prospect rankings

Jordan Beck, OF, Rockies

The Rockies’ No. 4 prospect absolutely mashed for Albuquerque on opening weekend. Let’s take a look at his batted ball data:

Pitch Type	Result	Exit Velocity	launch angle
Slider	Single	108.6	9
Slider	Triple	104.4	22
Cutter	Home Run	104.0	33
Slider	Single	103.9	-5
Sweeper	Home Run	102.9	37
Sweeper	Ground Out	93.1	-8
Four Seam Fastball	Fly Out	90.0	28
Slider	Sac Fly	79.7	29

Beck had five batted ball events above 100 mph, including three which were above 20 degrees launch angle. Hitting the ball hard, in the air, is a surefire way to get to most of your power. It’s also noteworthy that his hardest hit balls were all on sliders and cutters. He hasn’t flashed elite exit velos just yet, but the hard fly ball contact is a great early sign.

Coby Mayo, 3B, Orioles

Coby had the second and third hardest hit balls in Triple-A opening weekend, twice topping 111 mph. He had a third 106+ mph batted ball as well. Mayo’s combination of plus power and plus contact skills is special. He’s continuing what he did last season, with a minuscule 9.7% swinging strike percent in the early going, along with an ideal 17 degree launch angle. He won’t be in Triple-A for much longer.

Addison Barger, 3B, Blue Jays

Barger continues to mash, with three batted ball events over 105 mph. He’s struggling to hit the ball in the air, averaging a paltry 1.3 degree launch angle, which is limiting his game power. However, he’s continuing to make a lot of contact, with a pristine 9.8% swinging strike percentage. He also played third exclusively for all three games. He hasn’t played a ton of third in his career, but he looks major league ready with the bat, and should provide a ton of value with his defensive versatility.

Connor Norby, 2B, Orioles

Norby deserves to be on a major league team. He’s seen 52 pitches so far, and has only four whiffs on 27 swings, putting 15 balls in play. His average exit velocity is a tremendous 95.1 mph at an ideal 17.1 degree launch angle, all better than No.1 overall prospect Jackson Holliday. We are clearly not suggesting that Norby is the superior prospect. However it serves to highlight just how good Norby has been in the tiny three-game sample this season, after posting an .886 OPS in Double-A in 2022 and an .842 OPS in Triple-A last season.

Ronny Simon, 2B, Rays

Simon received the dubious honor of being our No. 40 prospect in the Rays system. He’s one of those not-so-flashy types that doesn’t jump out of a scouting notebook, but he’s been essentially a league average or better hitter at every stop, with good speed and defensive value. He’s listed at 5-foot-7, 150 pounds, but so far he’s showing good power, with two batted ball events above 109 mph, which by itself would suggest he has MLB average raw power. He’s currently averaging 96 mph on his batted balls, with a strong 16 degree launch angle, with a tremendous 7.7% swinging strike percentage in the early going.

Paul Skenes, RHP, Pirates

Skenes looked like an absolute beast over three glorious innings. His fastball dominated, averaging 100 mph, topping out at 101.2, and getting six whiffs on 22 pitches (43% whiff rate, 27% swinging strike percentage). He also got four whiffs on his slider and two on the changeup, and he may or may not have thrown a Jhoan Duran-esque “splinker”. The most recent data don’t show that, but some of the earlier data did. No matter the pitch classification, Skenes is every bit as good as advertised.

Jack Leiter, RHP, Rangers

Jack’s back! Sometimes when a player is hyped to the moon, and subsequently struggles, the industry overreacts and downgrades a player more than it should. In his first start this season, Leiter struck out nine batters. Most importantly, he did not walk a single batter, something he struggled with in his two professional seasons.

For Leiter, everything starts with the fastball, which zips in at a healthy 95-96 mph. But what makes it exceptional is the nearly 18 inches of IVB from a low release point. Let’s look at three average-height pitchers who share some interesting similarities on their fastballs in their first outings:

Metric	Spencer Strider	Jared jones	Jack Leiter
Velo	96.7	97.2	95.7
IVB	17.8″	18.2″	17.9″
HB	12.4″	8.5″	6.8″
Extension	7.0′	7.6′	6.9′
Release Side	1.7″	1.4″	1.8″
Release Height	5.9″	5.4″	5.7″

We’re not suggesting that Leiter is Strider (we might be suggesting that Jared Jones is). However, his fastball has all the metrics you want from a modern 4 seam fastball. Rounding out the arsenal has been a challenge. This year he’s mostly used a hard cutter at 88 mph, which induced five whiffs on 18 pitches. We’ll need a larger sample to grade out the arsenal, but the fastball is an excellent base. If he’s got his command back, he’ll firmly re-establish himself as a top 100 Prospect, or be pitching for Rangers.

Chayce McDermott, RHP, Orioles

McDermott flashed a five-pitch arsenal on opening day, building around his 93-94 mph fastball that averaged 19.5 inches of IVB (slower fastballs will have higher IVB numbers since they have more time to move). He struggled with his command, walking five batters, which has been what’s holding him back. It’s a starter’s arsenal, in a starter’s frame. We’ll see if he can tick up in command and force his way into the Baltimore rotation.

Edward Cabrera, RHP, Marlins

Cabrera averaged 97.7 mph (T99) on his fastball on Sunday, so all indications are that he’s healthy. He also walked four batters, which is par for the course with Cabrera. Not sure if he’s a “standout,” but the velo is a good sign that he’ll be back in the majors soon.

Quinn Priester, RHP, Pirates

Priester was the No. 58 prospect in baseball in 2021 and No. 88 in 2022 before slipping off the radar. He had a very poor 50-inning sample last year, but is off to a great start this year in Triple-A. Priester struck out nine batters in 5.2 innings, leading all Triple-A pitchers in whiffs over the weekend. He’s been a prospect for a really long time, but is still only 23 years old.

On Sunday, Priester led with his slider. It’s a potentially plus pitch at 87-88 mph with great depth. He also leaned into his heavy sinker at 94 mph. Major league hitters demolished his fastball last season, so it’s good to see him de-emphasizing that pitch. The pitch traits don’t jump off the page, but if he puts up more performances like he did on Sunday, we may have to take a closer look.