The traditional summer ball season has been thrown out of whack by the pandemic. The Cape Cod League and Collegiate National Team were canceled, resulting in the nation’s top college players dispersing around the country. That makes prospect evaluation harder, both logistically (there’s simply more ground to cover) and from a quality of competition standpoint.
The Northwoods League, a wood-bat league in the Midwest, was one of the stronger summer ball circuits this year. Over the past few weeks, I’ve compiled notes on players thanks to the league’s center field camera. It’s not ideal, but it beats not getting any looks at all.
In Part I of this series, I’ll highlight a handful of prospects eligible for the 2021 draft. (I’ll follow up later this week with the most impressive underclassmen). Like the makeup of the league’s rosters, these players range from potential Day One picks to under-the-radar seniors who I think could have value in the middle rounds.
Carson Seymour, Kansas State RHP
Prospects Live’s #40 draft prospect, Seymour put up an 18:7 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 19.2 innings across five starts. He had the most impressive raw velocity of any pitcher I saw, holding 94-96 MPH into the middle innings, but he wasn’t really overpowering hitters. It’s more of a sinker profile, not the type of heater conducive to racking up whiffs despite the above-average velocity. Seymour’s curveball was his go-to secondary and flashed above-average, but its shape was inconsistent, getting a bit slurvy at times. He was around the strike zone, but it’s more of a control-over-command profile. I think he’s probably a reliever long-term.
Jordan Wicks, Kansas State LHP
Seymour’s KSU teammate Jordan Wicks (#83 on the top 150) had a better showing. His fastball (90-92 MPH) also had some sink and arm-side tail and profiles more as a ground-ball offering, but it pairs well with his plus changeup. A low-80’s pitch, it’s got good velo separation and some fade, and Wicks disguises it well by mimicking his fastball arm speed. He leans most heavily on the change, but he also flashed an average slider that he can work down and away from left-handed hitters. Jared Shuster (#25 overall) and Ian Seymour (#57 overall) rode a similar profile to high picks this summer. Wicks has a half-tick less velocity than Shuster and doesn’t have the unique fastball characteristics Ian Seymour does, so he probably fits just below them as prospects.
Ryan Wrobleski, Dallas Baptist catcher
An athletic catcher who should have no trouble sticking behind the plate, Wrobleski has a solid foundation. He’s well-built and athletic with a strong lower half that allows him to generate bat speed. Wrobleski was hitting balls with authority to all fields and seemed to have a natural, airborne approach. He swung through some hittable pitches in the zone and struggled with offspeed stuff, which I think is a bat control issue more than a pitch recognition concern. Wrobleski probably maxes out as a 40 hitter, but as a catcher with plus raw power that mostly plays in games, that’d be enough to play everyday in the big leagues.
Sam Novitske, Oregon 2B
Novitske’s a college second baseman without huge power. That’s a tough profile to make work. But he can really hit. He’s patient, diagnoses pitches well, and has a knack for finding the barrel on pitches in different areas of the strike zone. He’s got a career .315/.420/.396 line with 39 walks and 33 strikeouts in two seasons in Northwoods and played well as a freshman at Oregon. It’s a very conservative offensive approach and I’d like to see him get a little more pull-oriented to add some impact, but Novitske’s in the mid-round mix for me.
Shane Barringer, Bellarmine LHP
Listed at 6’5”, 200, Barringer gets good extension and figures to be an uncomfortable look for opposing hitters. He’s got sufficient velocity, 89-93, touching 94 on the stadium gun, and his height helps him create a steep downhill plane. The rest of the package is a work in progress. The secondaries (a low-80’s, slurvy breaking ball and mid-80’s changeup) are each fringe-average. He’s run unpalatable walk rates earlier in his college career, although something seemed to click this summer, as he issued just nine free passes in 42 innings. In my look, he was generally around the zone, running a few three-ball counts but not exceptionally wild. I wonder if raising his arm slot a bit from his current 3/4 angle could maximize the plane and deception and allow him to lean heavily on his fastball. Barringer will be 23 on draft day, but I think there’s some interesting raw material here as a low-cost senior sign.
Eliot Turnquist, Ball State RHP
A small but very athletic righty, Turnquist impressed in his lone three-inning appearance this summer. He repeats his delivery well, throws strikes and leaned heavily on a picturesque plus curveball. It’s not overpowering velocity, but he’s on the shorter side and looks to have a flatter angle that helps his fastball stay on plane when he works up in the zone. Ball State has churned out a handful of interesting pitching prospects in recent years. Turnquist, an incoming JUCO transfer, might be next.