Scouts weigh in on DBacks prospects after Spring Breakout game

The Diamondbacks won, 5-2, over the Kansas City Royals on Friday night in the second annual Spring Breakout game, a contest featuring top prospects from both organizations.

Just like last year’s game, this one was played in front of an unusually crowded scouts' section at Salt River Fields. The Republic spoke with a handful of evaluators after the game to get their thoughts on the Diamondbacks’ young players.

Here is what they had to say.

3B LuJames Groover

What he did: Groover went 2-for-3 with a double down the left-field line and a hard-hit, RBI-triple (106.7 mph) to dead center field.

What the scouts said: “He stood out today from a performance standpoint. There’s certainly some impact in that bat that is quite noticeable. I think he has all the components of what it takes to hit, it’s just a matter of getting the experience and time. It’s mostly about swing decisions and having an approach.”

*“I’m not a big Groover guy, but he toasted that ball to center field. I just think he’s going to end up at first base, and I’ve never really seen him hit the ball before, not consistently, I mean. I think he’s more suspect than prospect, but some scouts really think he can hit.”

*“I liked his bat last year when I saw him, the question for me is if he’ll stick at third and learn to lift and elevate the ball. He has a good swing, hits the ball hard, so I’ll take a chance on that profile. He was decent.”

RHP Daniel Eagen

What he did: Eagen threw two innings, giving up one run on two hits and two walks, but he struck out three and elicited seven swinging strikes on just 33 pitches. Three whiffs came on his fastball, which averaged 93.7 mph and topped at 94.9 mph, and three more were on his curveball.

What the scouts said: “Super interesting. I kept thinking to myself while I’m watching him that this might be another Brandon Pfaadt, the under-the-radar college guy. He flashed a couple curveballs that were above average. It’s a really twitchy body, a mobile, athletic frame. Some velocity is going to need to come because and the changeup is an underdeveloped pitch — the arsenal is going to have to improve overall, but it’s a low-risk, high-reward play. Out of that entire group, he was probably the guy everyone went ‘OK, wow, where did this guy come from?’”

*“I thought he was pretty good. The curveball is good. He got seven whiffs and they came on three different pitches. That’s impressive.”

*“That was my first time seeing him. There’s upside. There were some positives there. His breaking balls were inconsistent, but when it was a downer curve it was good. He caught a lot of plate with his fastball, that was the issue for him, but there’s quality in the secondaries, so that was intriguing.”

CF Druw Jones

What he did: Jones went 2-for-3 with a pair of singles to center field, one on a ground ball, the other on a soft line drive.

What the scouts said: “He took what they gave him, I would say. (Royals right-hander Luinder) Avila hung him a slider and he hit it hard for that single. The other one, he got a two-strike hit, fought that pitch off. I’m still not really in on that swing working. I’m still so concerned with the direction of his swing. They probably didn’t throw him the right pitches. A good fastball away is tough for him.”

*“That was my first look at him and I’ve heard the stories, but he stayed on some pitches. I think there have been some concerns about the front-foot bail and his ability to stay on pitches away. There’s some disconnection to the swing. He comes off his line a little bit because he opens up. There’s some holes in there that are going to have to be cleaned up. He’s a really good athlete.”

RHP Dylan Ray

What he did: Ray started and threw two scoreless innings, giving up one hit with no walks and two strikeouts. Ray averaged 93.5 mph with his fastball and also mixed in a slider, change-up and curveball.

What the scouts said: “I liked his command and his competitiveness. He threw strikes. He commands the fastball well. It’s a pretty straightforward pitchability profile. The stuff needs to tick up for him to stick in a rotation, but there’s things to like there. Guys like that pitch in the big leagues.”

“I don’t know if I see this guy making 25-plus starts in a season, but I see him being able to provide multiple innings and some rotation protection. Those guys are invaluable. Especially if you get six years of them. Throws strikes, competes — nothing super sexy, but a durable frame that works. Enough to stay off barrels. He’s going to have to pitch, but you like the whole package.”

Other scouts’ takes

*On SS Cristofer Torin and 2B Demetrio Crisantes deking a runner at second base, leading to a double play: “I loved the play up the middle from the kids. That’s an advanced play for a couple of young guys. They really deked that runner multiple times.”

*On 3B Yassel Soler, who hit a ball well (96.9 mph) to right field and made a nice play at third to end the game: “As far as their younger players go, he’s the most intriguing guy, probably. It’s real power and he showed that on the swing he took tonight. If he can take care of his body and keep making plays like that at third, that’s a good look.”

*On RHP Yordin Chalas, who gave up one run in two innings: “He’s a big-league reliever. The triple he gave up was on a flat fastball; when he gets some run, he’s fine. That’s the best I’ve ever seen his slider. And he threw a couple of change-ups. I was glad to see him using it.”

*On SS Jansel Luis: “There’s questions about whether he’s going to stick at short or not, but I thought he looked a little more comfortable there tonight than I’ve seen in the past. It’s just a half-game look, but it was nice to see him make that backhand play with a strong throw. He had to come across his body on the other one, got rid of it quickly. He’s going to need to stick at short to profile best. It’s not as appealing at second, unlike Crisantes, who is probably going to hit enough for second.”

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Scouts weigh in on DBacks prospects after Spring Breakout game

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