Lansing Lugnuts Prospect Review
Lansing has quite a few interesting prospects currently on their roster. The team is currently 20-13 and sits just a half game back of the top spot in the Midwest League.
Kacy Clemens led the team with a 1.077 OPS and 191 wrc+ at the time of his recent promotion to High-A Dunedin. Those very high numbers were also supported by solid peripherals. He walked 21.0% and had a .323 ISO. He also wasn't benefitting from good luck as his BABIP was .328. If he can continue to show a patient approach with lots of power the son of Roger Clemens could become yet another legacy player who is a real prospect. As a first baseman he will need to hit if he wants to be considered a true prospect.
Kevin Smith had a decent pro debut last year, but has gotten off to a terrific start to his 2018 season. The 21 year old shortstop is hitting .370/.417/.639 in 30 games. His strikeout rate is just 13.6% and his walk rate is a respectable 8.3%. The most promising aspect of his hitting has been his power, he has produced a .269 ISO so far. He had a .195 ISO at Bluefield last season. His glove has received good reviews, so if he can maintain this low strikeout/high power hitting profile there's a really good chance we have a starting shortstop on our hands. With defensive whiz Kevin Vicuna also on the Lugnuts roster, Smith has also been seeing time at third base. If he doesn't end up at shortstop there's also the possibility that he turns into a quality hitting utility player. Smith could skyrocket up Blue Jays prospect rankings this season.
As previously mentioned, Kevin Vicuna is also with the Lugnuts. The light hitting infielder has been seeing time all over the infield, perhaps to groom his a super utility player. He doesn't hit, so it will need to be his glove that gets him to the majors. So far in 2018 he is hitting .310, but it's an empty .310. He has walked just 3.0% and has an ISO of just .070. All told he has a wrc+ of just 98, despite the high AVG.The average has been driven by a fortunate .370 BABIP.
Samad Taylor is the youngest position player on the team. He hit very well during his first two seasons as a pro, but has struggled out of the gate in 2018. He is batting .216/.310/.343, good for a 84 wrc+. His 11.1% walk rate is a promising sign, but strikeouts continue to be an issue. His .267 BABIP suggest he has suffered a fair amount of bad luck. On the bright side, he is 11 out of 12 in stolen base attempts. He is very fast, and it appears the team is utilizing his speed more than in the past. As one of the youngest players in the Midwest League the Blue Jays are being aggressive with his development. If the BABIP rebounds and his numbers come up with it, he would become a very interesting prospect to watch.
Maximo Castillo is the youngest player on the team, having just turned 19 on the 4th of May. Despite his youth, he is holding his own. In 30 innings he has a 3.60 ERA. His walk rate is 2.4 BB/9 and he is at 7.5 K/9. Castillo had a tremendous 22.5% K-BB% last year, but that number is down to 13.2% this season. Hopefully he will be able to bring that number back up. It would be very exciting if he can get back to striking out more than 25% of hitters he faces. He has good control, but he's going to need to miss bats more often to succeed going forward.
