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One of the hottest hitters in the Rockies system right now is Ryan McMahon. The third baseman is on a tear, batting .346 in his past seven games while slugging .886 thanks to five home runs this week. McMahon's power is heating up and has a total of six home runs this season which leads the South Atlantic League.
Drafted out of high school in the second round of the 2013 draft. The former shortstop received a signing bonus of $1,328,000 and was converted to third base for his first year in the minors. McMahon received a B+ grade from John Sickels of Minor League Ball, who wrote about McMahon saying that many people are sleeping on the prospect.
The left-handed hitter is gaining more attention as he's heating up in his first full season of pro ball. The third baseman was recently featured in fantasy baseball news by Jason Hunt on FakeTeams.com, where the article recommended that he be picked up by owners in Dynasty leagues and had this to say about the prospect:
"It's entirely possible that McMahon could be a top 50 or even a top 25 fantasy prospect if he has a strong year in Asheville, and should absolutely be targeted if he is available in your dynasty league."
The infielder is making a nice splash in the bandbox of Asheville and complimenting the other big hitters in a lineup which also features David Dahl and Raimel Tapia. Look for the Tourists offense to only heat up as the temperatures rise. McMahon could be in for a fun summer as his prospect status continues to rise.
Alex Balog looking strong
Another Asheville player is showing some progress this week as right-handed pitcher Alex Balog may be righting the ship after a disastrous 2013 in Grand Junction. The University of San Francisco product has two starts under his belt and has looked better in each one -- giving up a total of just five earned runs in two starts. Last year Balog underwhelmed with a 9.30 ERA in seven starts, but this past week Balog went 5.2 innings and allowed just two earned runs while striking out six.
Balog is tall at 6'6" and was drafted in the second round of the 2013 draft by the Colorado Rockies. Besides his size, scouts were excited about his mid-90's fastball and a curveball, which he demonstrates in the video above. The righty was recently featured in an article by Nate Stoltz of Fangraphs, where he talks highly of Balog's pitch repertoire including an impressive changeup among other things.
"Using a very easy delivery, Balog unleashes a 90-95 mph fastball that he's willing to throw to all four quadrants of the zone. His size gives him good extension, and he uses a slight hip turn that hides the ball well, making the pitch jump on hitters. The pitch sets up a plus curveball that he'll throw anywhere from 74-81 mph."
The righthander is still trying to put together all the pieces of his game. He has the tools to be a solid mid-rotation pitcher, and if he can harness his talent, the results could be impressive.
Hottest Prospects of the Week
Hitters (filtered by home runs)
|
Name |
Age |
Tm |
PA |
2B |
3B |
RBI |
BB |
K |
SB |
BA |
OBP |
SLG |
OPS |
HR ▾ |
|
Ryan McMahon |
19.5 |
ASH |
30 |
2 |
0 |
6 |
4 |
6 |
0 |
0.346 |
0.433 |
0.885 |
1.318 |
4 |
|
David Dahl |
20.17 |
ASH |
31 |
1 |
0 |
5 |
3 |
5 |
1 |
0.286 |
0.355 |
0.643 |
0.998 |
3 |
|
Tim Wheeler |
26.42 |
COL |
30 |
5 |
1 |
10 |
1 |
7 |
0 |
0.414 |
0.433 |
0.966 |
1.399 |
3 |
|
Correlle Prime |
20.33 |
ASH |
34 |
1 |
0 |
6 |
2 |
9 |
0 |
0.290 |
0.324 |
0.516 |
0.840 |
2 |
|
Michael Benjamin |
22.25 |
ASH |
34 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
2 |
7 |
3 |
0.355 |
0.412 |
0.613 |
1.025 |
2 |
|
Ben Paulsen |
26.67 |
COL |
31 |
3 |
1 |
7 |
2 |
7 |
0 |
0.379 |
0.419 |
0.759 |
1.178 |
2 |
|
Kyle Parker |
24.75 |
COL |
26 |
2 |
1 |
5 |
3 |
7 |
0 |
0.318 |
0.423 |
0.773 |
1.196 |
2 |
|
Wilfredo Rodriguez |
20.42 |
ASH |
17 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
0.462 |
0.588 |
0.692 |
1.280 |
1 |
Pitchers (filtered by strikeouts)
|
Name |
Age |
Tm |
W |
L |
Sv |
BF |
IP |
G |
ERA |
H |
R |
ER |
HR |
BB |
K ▾ |
|
Daniel Winkler |
24.33 |
TUL |
1 |
1 |
0 |
43 |
11.2 |
2 |
1.54 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
5 |
12 |
|
Ryan Gibbard |
24.58 |
MOD |
0 |
2 |
0 |
45 |
10.2 |
2 |
3.38 |
9 |
4 |
4 |
0 |
6 |
9 |
|
Christian Friedrich |
26.92 |
COL |
0 |
2 |
0 |
47 |
9.0 |
2 |
11.00 |
15 |
14 |
11 |
3 |
3 |
9 |
|
Jayson Aquino |
21.58 |
MOD |
1 |
1 |
0 |
42 |
11.0 |
2 |
1.64 |
11 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
9 |
|
Christian Bergman |
26.08 |
COL |
0 |
1 |
0 |
45 |
8.1 |
2 |
14.04 |
18 |
13 |
13 |
2 |
2 |
8 |
|
Troy Neiman |
23.58 |
ASH |
1 |
1 |
0 |
20 |
5.0 |
3 |
1.80 |
5 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
7 |
|
Konner Wade |
22.5 |
ASH |
0 |
0 |
0 |
23 |
6.0 |
1 |
3.00 |
5 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
6 |
|
Antonio Senzatela |
19.42 |
ASH |
0 |
0 |
0 |
46 |
11.0 |
2 |
3.27 |
12 |
4 |
4 |
2 |
4 |
6 |
|
Jonathan Gray |
22.58 |
TUL |
1 |
0 |
0 |
30 |
6.1 |
2 |
8.53 |
9 |
6 |
6 |
1 |
2 |
6 |
|
Alex Balog |
21.92 |
ASH |
1 |
0 |
0 |
21 |
5.1 |
1 |
3.38 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
6 |
Stats by MinorleagueCentral.com 4/9-4/16.
Hottest Prospect Videos of the Week
Kyle Parker with an opposite field homer to right-center.
Dan Winkler strikes out the side.
David Dahl hits a home run to right field.