Power Relievers
Burl Carraway, MIRP, Chicago Cubs*
Lucas Gilbreath, SIRP, Colorado Rockies (EL)
Brandon Williamson, MIRP, Seattle Mariners (EL)
Demarcus Evans, SIRP, Texas Rangers (EL)
Julian Merryweather, SIRP, Toronto Blue Jays (EL)- full report
Ryne Nelson, SIRP, Arizona Diamondbacks (KG)
Will Vest, SIRP, Seattle Mariners (EL)
Zach Pop, SIRP, Miami Marlins (EL)
KG: Burl Carraway has some of the best TrackMan/HawkEye data on the planet. It’s an exceptionally vertical attack with a massively rising fastball and ultra-deep breaker. Some command refinements and proving he can land his curveball in the zone could lead to a very short minor league career. Lucas Gilbreath is a hell of a deep cut from Eric, as he’s never had an ERA below five at any level, but scouts have always seen him as a reliever, and now that the Rockies look like they are moving him to that role, the plus-plus velocity has a chance to shine. I personally scouted Brandon Williamson in his draft year as a pop-up JUCO transfer at TCU with big stuff, and walked away impressed. His fastball checked all the boxes in terms of both velocity and shape, and there’s potential for a plus breaker as well. He could move quickly as a reliever, but I don’t think Seattle should rule out a future in the rotation just yet.
Demarcus Evans is a wide-bodied pure ‘pen arm, and while his mid-90s velo is merely good, in checks a lot of boxes in terms of spin and life. He’ll need to throw more strikes to avoid a career spent frustrating pitching coaches.
Julian Merryweather provided his share of frustrations as a starter with his stuff never quite turning into performance, but he suddenly shined in a bullpen role with an upper-90s fastball and a velocity-driven slider that I think he should throw more of. Ryne Nelson has phenomenal stuff and incredible bouts of inconsistency. He couldn’t establish himself as a starter in college, and Arizona should stop trying and just let the upper-90s heater and devastating power breaker play up in short stints. Will Vest is a Rule 5 pick to watch thanks to upper-90s heat and a very impressive changeup, but a quick jump to the big league might be a bit too much for him. I want Zach Pop in the big leagues based on name alone, but I have trouble seeing him getting into a Top 100. Despite the big velocity, he’s more of a weak-contact producer than a pure bat missed, so it’s hard to see him in an end-of-game role.
EL: Carraway could be a lefty version of
James Karinchak. Gilbreath was 95-97 with big life in the Fall of 2020 and Colorado had to 40-man him. If he holds that next year, he’ll be their eighth or ninth inning guy by mid-summer. Williamson had trouble holding his stuff deep into games the few times I saw him at TCU, but both of his breaking balls are really good, and I think his repertoire depth will allow him to get four to six outs at a time.
Evans and Merryweather both have big fastball life. Merryweather’s secondaries are much better, but he’s older and has been hurt a ton. Evans pulled a lat over the winter and will start camp late,
per Levi Weaver of
The Athletic. Vest had a big 2019 and then showed up to 2020 instructs with way more velocity. He and Pop, who is coming off injury, were both Rule 5 picks.
