Recent Tropics draft picks are on the move.
1st round pick SS Julian Rivera has been promoted from AA Carson City to AAA Death Valley. He slashed .309/.374/.388 with a 103 OPS+ and 111wRC+. He played 216.1 innings at short committing an error in 125 total chances and posted a 1.075 Def Effeciency. He had a 5.16 Range and a 5.8 ZR.
Rivera doesn’t have much power but does have some speed and gap power. He had 10 doubles and a triple in 47 total hits. He drove in 21 runs and scored 21. He struck out 21 times and walked 12. He stole just one base in 8 attempts and will probably given more red light than green.
Supplemental 1st round pick CF Ricardo Lopez was promoted a week prior than Rivera to AAA Death Valley. In Carson City he slashed .272/.355/.480 with 8 HR 19 RBI and scored 24 runs. He posted a 120 OPS+ and a 120 wRC+ with a 1.6 WAR in 125 at bats. Lopez played 278 innings in center with a 3.6 ZR and committing an error. He made an error in 71 total chances and threw out 8 baserunners.
Lopez has a good eye to go with power, but Hawaii GM Jim Walker said, “I’m a little concerned with his contact but we’ll see how that works out. He has a great arm and some range but may not be a center fielder but see more time in right.
2nd round pick RP Alex Garcia is adapting well to working out of the bullpen. He has potential of 11 stuff, 7 movement and 8 control with a velocity of 96-98. He is just 17 years old and has a lot of growing to do. He has pitched 27 innings in Rookie ball for the Gaylord Sting Rays. He has faced 115 batters allowing 29 hits and giving up 4 homers. His BABIP is .312 while has fanned 21.7% of batters he has faced and walked 6.2%.
Hawaii management likes his makeup and think he could be a future back-end reliever.
In the 3rd round Hawaii selected LF Antonio Gonzalez out of high school in Bloomington, Illinois. He has played in 41 games in Rookie ball slashing .210/.254/.427. He has hit 9 HR with 15 ribbies but has struck out 30 times while walking just 9. He was hitting much better at the beginning of the rookie league season but has been in a slump in late June through July. He’s an average defender in left field but at 6’8 he may be too tall for the outfield.
Walker said, “Gonzalez is a tall and lanky and may get some time at first to see if he can play there. He may just be a DH in the end.”
5th round pick Guo-xiu Mak was promoted from Single A Medford to AA Carson City after tearing up the Charley Pegler League. Mak slashed .318/.387/.610 with a 163 OPS+ and 2.2 WAR. He hit 13 bombs and drove in 44 runs while going 2 for 3 in stolen base attempts. On defense, he played 317.2 innings in RF making 3 errors in 64 total chances while throwing out 8 baserunners.
“Mak is ready except for maybe a tick in eye. We’ll let him work his way up and probably make his debut in spring training next season with a chance to make the team.”, said Walker.
