Prospect Stock Watch: Crick, Dykxhoorn, Mateo, Toussaint

Today at the Prospect Stock Watch we take a look at a middling former first round pick who might benefit from a change in role… and three raw — but promising — prospects that should be monitored in keeper leagues.

Kyle Crick, RHP, Giants: Crick was selected in the first round of the 2011 draft and looked like a fast mover after he dominated Low-A ball in 2012 at the age of 19, despite great control or command. Unfortunately, he missed a chunk of time in 2013 due to injury and his command/control have failed to improve over the past four seasons. After striking out more batters than innings pitched in each of his pro seasons prior to 2015, he’s now whiffed just 40 in 41.1 Double-A innings while walking 36. Crick, now 22, still has good, raw stuff but a move to the bullpen may be necessary for him to fully realize his potential at the big league level. Sergio Romo and Santiago Casilla (assuming his option is picked up) will both be free agents after the 2016 season and the Giants may be in need for a hard-throwing, high-leverage reliever to pair with Hunter Strickland. [Value Steady]

Brock Dykxhoorn, RHP, Astros: The Astros have done a nice job of developing prospects over the past few years and Dykxhoorn is an emerging commodity in their system. A resident of Goodrich, ON, Canada — where I lived for three years about eight years ago — he’s a hulking beast on the mound at 6-8, 250 pounds. Drafted out of an Arizona junior college and developed in a cold weather area, the right-hander has developed rather quickly given his background. In Low-A ball, he’s struck out 56 batters in 54.2 innings and has shown above-average control with just 18 walks. I haven’t heard any reports on his 2015 velocity but he was throwing 88-91 mph when drafted, meaning it’s a tick below average. With his frame, though, and improved ground-ball rates. he could develop into an innings-eating, back-end starter — or perhaps someone that can come out of a big league bullpen and chew up innings in the middle of a game. [Value Up]

Jorge Mateo, SS, Yankees: There may be teams that spend as much — or more — money in Latin America but there aren’t many teams that identify talent as well as the Yankees. Mateo began his breakout in 2014 when he stolen 49 bases (in 59 tries) in just 64 games short-season games. Promoted to Low-A as a teenager in 2015, he’s continued to run like crazy with another 46 thefts (in 56 tries) — tops in the minors. However, Mateo still has work to do at the plate. His OPS has dipped from .828 to .705 over the past year and his BB-K rate is 17-59 — not great for someone who’s job is to get on base and run. With Didi Gregorious not really looking like the long-term answer at shortstop for the Yankees, Mateo could hop on the fast track if he can tighten his strike zone judgement. [Value Up]

Touki Toussaint, RHP, Braves: Last Friday, I identified Touki as someone I wanted to write about today and then the Diamondbacks gave him away to the Braves on the weekend, which made this even more timely. Look to Toussaint when you want to understand why first-year pro numbers mean very little… A highly-regarded prep pitching prospect, the right-hander was selected 16th overall in the 2014 draft but struggled early and posted a 8.48 ERA with 38 hits allowed in 28.2 innings (.311 average against) during his first year. After a late start to the 2015 season he’s kept batters to a .218 average and has shown improved command of his above-average repertoire. Atlanta has done an amazing job of improving its pitching depth with recent additions of Matt Wisler (recently promoted to the Majors), Max Fried (working his way back from Tommy John surgery), Ricardo Sanchez, Tyrell Jenkins, Manny Banuelos, and Toussaint. But hey, Dave Stewart said the Diamondbacks had enough pitching depth…. [Value Up]