Phil Maton, RP, Padres
It's not often you are talking about 20th round draft picks in the majors, but Phil Maton slipped in 2015 (to pick #597) because he doesn't have a third pitch and therefore presented no potential a starting pitcher. In Louisiana Tech though he led the conference in Ks and he presented a lot of swing and miss. Finally, someone decided he could potentially be developed as a reliever.
Ya ... That was a good call.
Phil threw 32.2 IP in Low-A with a 58.5% SwStr% and 46% K rate... I'm gonna pause here and less you absorb that ...
Ready?
Fast forward to 2017 in AAA and we see a much more credible 10.8% rate, but he's maintained a 30% K rate, and he's downright stingy with walks.
Phil has a plus fastball with good-but-not-elite velo. He throws low-to-mid but he has late life and his fastball looks explosive to hitters. His life allows him to work up in the zone which allows him to hit all four quadrants with it, which allows him to keep hitters thinking even though, at the MLB level so far, they are seeing fastball 80% of the time. Phil's slider is good enough, but nothing special, although it does have a -13 delta from his fastball. Reportedly Phil can cut his fastball and has a change, but we haven't seen it at this level so far.
Phil has had made his closer bones in AAA with 13 saves this season alone and that appears to be where he's headed. He seems to have the skill set for it too. All that's needed is a few trades out of that bullpen by the Padres and Maton could see some high-leverage innings in San Diego. I think he's a good stash.
Long-Term Fantasy Grade - B++
Chance Adams, SP, Yankees
One caller to yesterday's Fantistics Insider Baseball Show yesterday asked about any minor league starters that could be useful/helpful in the back half of the season and that's pretty good question. Injuries and the 10-day DL have led to many of the more useful starter prospects already finding their way here. Lucas Giolito for the White Sox is one possibility, and I wrote about Tyler Beede earlier this year, thinking he would eventually benefit from Bumgarner's injury but that scenario seems past probability at this point. Schuyler Dombroske offered up Chance Adams of the Yankees. It is a good call.
As you can see below, the 6-2/210 right-hander needed just 6 starts in AA this year to make a pretty convincing argument for a promotion to AAA which didn't break his stride at all. In fact Chance's WHIP, K%, BB% BAA, BABIP, LD%, and GB% all ticked in a positive direction with the move. Impressive stuff.
It feels like Chance is blooming as he sprinkles some craftsmanship into his skill set. He's had an interesting development with the Yankees, being drafted as a reliever, but salvaged as a starter prospect. You don't often see it work that way. Chance has rewarded that decision with velo that straddles the mid-90s, backed by a potentially-plus slider that sits 10+ mph below his fastball with some nice depth and bite. His change is coming along well and has enough fade to give him a weapon against LHH. He also throws a "Hey look I have one!" curve every now and again.
What I saw in my one shot at him in AA this year was a nice refinement in his mechanics, not to simplify or shorten it, Chance is already pretty direct to the plate, but to add some consistency and repeatability. The idea is to improve his control and command and whittle away at his walk rates, but it also has the added advantage of disguising his pitches more.
Command and control are still issues and frankly, as well as things are going I still think Chance has some work to do in the minors. He's got some good things going for him but to make it all work as well as it should Chance needs to be a pitcher too. He threw 127 IP last year and 90 relief innings the year before so 150-odd innings should really be just about it this year. That leaves 70-odd IP left this year, and if I am in Yankees development I want all of them at AAA, with maybe a piggy back outing with the big club in September. But that may be just me. The Yankees may think differently and roster pressures may force their hand.
Long-Term Fantasy Grade - B- 
Registered members can click on the following link to see the complete Prospect Central article for this week, which includes other prospects: http://www.fantistics.com/
