Mound Musings: The Futures Game Preview

This Saturday will be one of the highlights of my season. The Futures Game is a showcase of exceptional talent, both in the batter's box and on the mound. I mean, where else can you see so many flashy young arms on their way up, and all pitching in the same place and on the same day? Admittedly, it is a little disappointing that they typically only throw one inning, but there are a lot of things to watch for.

As always, this will be yet another interesting Futures Game. I think several of the pitchers featured in this year's Futures Game could eventually be impact players, and there are a few arms you need to have on your watch list (see my notes below). If you are in a dynasty league, a couple of these guys should already be rostered.

Cade Cavalli (Washington Nationals)

One of two pitchers scheduled to pitch in the Futures Game this year who hold down spots on my kid's watch list, Cavalli has a very high ceiling. His fastball with movement touches triple digits, and he has a plus slider to go with it right now. Add in an improving curve and change-up – both are already passable – and you can mark him ready as soon as he locks in a release point. That's the hold up. He can go through command struggles that sometimes border on wildness. He also spent a stint on the injured list in late June, but reports are that was more to keep his innings down than him dealing with an actual injury. The Nationals are woeful right now, and with Patrick Corbin in decline and Stephen Strasburg's career in limbo following thoracic outlet surgery, they have only Josiah Gray to build around. If Cavalli continues to develop, he could eventually slot into their rotation as a legitimate No. 2.

Jack Leiter (Texas Rangers)

Leiter was arguably the best pitcher in the 2021 First-year Player Draft, and while his results so far have been mixed, he has displayed plenty of upside. Just 22-years-old (barely) he jumped right in at the Double-A level and wasn't out of place. He features a four-pitch mix with a fastball, slider, curve and change-up, but his meal ticket is the fastball that plays even better than it is. Like Cavalli, his struggles can be directly linked to sporadic command (31 walks in 54 innings), but he misses a lot of bats (68 strikeouts), and hitters often struggle to square him up. Of minor concern, he has been out since late June with a "tired arm," which translates to keeping his innings in check. Despite the command issues, I think there is a pretty good chance he debuts for Texas later this season, but it will likely depend on how the Rangers are doing regarding a playoff spot. They would no doubt like to see him up, but they are probably going to be cautious with workload. His day will come.

Eury Perez (Miami Marlins)

An advanced 19-year-old, Perez is likely to be promoted to Triple-A fairly soon. He's full of surprises. At his age you might expect him to be pitching at Low-A, but he's already been there this year and at High-A. So, maybe with him being that young and 6-foot-8, finding a consistent release point has been a challenge. Not really, as he is already showing good command, which is obviously very promising. Perez knows how to use that height as he gets a lot of extension making his upper 90s fastball seem even faster. That's his bread and butter. His secondary pitches are still works in progress (although they show a lot of potential), but that fastball with movement is what makes him so good right now.  More precisely, that electric fastball that he can spot consistently (over 70 percent are thrown for strikes) keeps hitters honest even though the soft stuff can be inconsistent. 
Perez is a treat to watch and has been moving up on my kid's list.

Emerson Hancock (Seattle Mariners)

Now for a little change of pace. When Hancock was drafted in the first round a couple years ago, I really thought there was significant potential. Unfortunately, any progress has been slowed by the dreaded shoulder woes. He's at Double-A Arkansas and he has pitched reasonably well, but in their attempt to reduce stress on that shoulder, he is just lately stretching out to five innings. The Mariners, via trades and shrewd drafting, have quietly collected some pretty good arms. He's probably a notch below Logan Gilbert and George Kirby, but that still makes him fantasy relevant if he can stay healthy. He features a four-seam and a two-seam, and has both a decent slider and change-up. I haven't seen him pitch in a while, so my primary objective in watching him during this showcase is to hopefully update my progress report.

Yosver Zulueta (Toronto Blue Jays)

Here's one you might not be as familiar with, but he might be a good addition to your radar. If it weren't for bad luck, Zulueta might have no luck at all, or so it seems. The righty signed as an amateur out of Cuba in 2019 and almost immediately underwent Tommy John surgery. Okay, that happens. Move ahead to 2021. He makes his first start for Low-A Dunedin, and the first batter hits a ball requiring him to cover first base. He takes a bad step; torn ACL, knee surgery, see you next year. So now it's 2022. He starts at Dunedin, dominates there, moves to High-A Vancouver with no problems, so it's on to Double-A New Hampshire. He has a zippy fastball that jumps on hitters, and his other pitches are coming on quickly. I think he could turn into a quality MLB starting pitcher, but don't be surprised if he sneaks into Toronto later this season as a long reliever.

And, here are some Futures Game short takes:

I have only seen him once, but 19-year-old lefty Ricky Tiedemann is making quite an impression in his first pro season. Toronto's third-round pick last year has already been promoted to High-A, and he continues to impress. Another I haven't seen is Milwaukee's Antoine Kelly. He's also at High-A and has logged 104 strikeouts in just 79 innings, so it's time to have a look. The 44 walks are an obvious problem, but the raw stuff is there. One more I had on my list is Boston's Brayan Bello, who actually made his MLB debut last week. He made two starts, both against the Rays, and even though he proved he was not yet ready for prime time, he does have a live arm and pretty high potential with more seasoning at Triple-A Worcester. He was reassigned earlier this week. He is still on the Future's Game roster, and as of this writing I have seen no change to that.

Some Notable Rotation Happenings:

• The Cardinals Jack Flaherty can probably be flushed for 2022, as the team moved him to the 60-day IL, meaning late August at the earliest. It's the second time this season his shoulder has shut him down, and as a top 10 SP in my rankings the question becomes, how do you value him next spring?
• I think it's officially time to worry about the White Sox' Lance Lynn who has just one respectable start in 2022. He was hammered for eight runs in four innings against Cleveland last time out. He missed the first two months following knee surgery, and he just doesn't seem to have the same life on his pitches.
• I am so anxious to see Atlanta's Mike Soroka back on the hill, and (cross my fingers) maybe we're getting closer. Two Achilles surgeries, and then he takes a comebacker off his knee while throwing live batting practice. He's throwing again, and reportedly looks good, but no word on a rehab assignment yet.
• He's back. Or at least almost. Chris Sale pitched five shutout innings (80 pitches) in his return to the mound, and while he wasn't razor sharp, when he missed, it wasn't by much. He sat 95-96 and touched 97 after his teammates got him a couple runs in the top of the fifth inning. He was impressive.
• I'm closely watching the rehab appearances for Detroit's Matt Manning. Some shoulder woes, then dizziness, then biceps tendinitis have all combined to sideline him since April, but I had him ranked well ahead of Tarik Skubal, and I'm thinking he may be a bit forgotten. He could potentially be a big surprise.

Endgame Odyssey:

Not too surprisingly, the Rangers removed Joe Barlow from the closer's role, and it looks like southpaw Brett Martin will get the first shot at the job. He doesn't really profile as a closer either, so I am going to watch for Jose Leclerc to work into the role. The Phillies have come up with a new way to frustrate fantasy owners. Innings are divided by strength. If the middle of the order is due up in the eighth, Seranthony Dominguez gets the call, saving the easier ninth for Brad Hand or Corey Knebel. There are quite a few playoff contenders with shaky bullpens, so it's not surprising the Pirates are getting calls on closer David Bednar. So far they have turned them down, but he's probably the best late-inning guy out there, so expect the offers to increase. It's great to see Atlanta's Kenley Jansen now back following another episode with the heart condition he has dealt with for most of his career. And, this just in. As I do my very best Gomer Pyle impersonation, Surprise. Surprise. Surprise. The Nats placed closer Tanner Rainey on the 60-day IL (note, not 15-day) with a sprained UCL. There is nothing official yet, but this sounds a lot like Tommy John surgery. Kyle Finnegan would be the odds-on choice to take over the closer's gig, but that's no fun, so let's throw another name in the hat. Years ago I thought Carl Edwards might turn into a closer. He's back, in Washington, and just last week I saw him pitch, noting he still has pretty awesome stuff. Maybe?