Nathan Haynes and Kevin Slowey

NathanHaynes got the call on Monday; the one he’s waited on 10 years. I profiled Haynes at quononbaseball.com as the “Anti-Prospect,” leading the baseball world with an at-the-time .400-plus batting average. The Angels optioned Tommy Murphy to Triple-A Salt Lake and waived Phil Seibel to get Haynes on the 40-man roster. The former first round draft pick got his first major league at-bat on Monday, a pinch hit single in the eighth inning, in his 11^th season of professional baseball; knee, back, shoulder and hand injuries cumulating into eight surgeries as well as a stint in the Independent League now ancient history.

 
He was hitting .391 with 99 total bases in 43 Triple-A Pacific Coast League games at the time of his call. I don’t know exactly how the Angels intend on using him; he’s a competent three-position outfielder with a little speed, showing more pop in his bat this season than ever before. He’s similar to Reggie Willits in many ways, probably a little less on the base paths, a little more in the way of gap power. I assume the Angels are viewing him as a fourth outfielder type; capable of filling in at every outfield spot to give the regulars a rest, maybe face some tough right-handers in place of Willits who has slowed a fair bit at the plate of late, possibly a result of a minor hamstring injury.

Kevin Slowey is expected to replace Ramon Ortiz in the Twins rotation, although it’s still unofficial at this time. I wrote the how and why here, and would now like to focus on the projection at hand.

 
While I like Slowey and write on him in glowing terms, he never made my Top-50 Prospect list. The truth is I’m not surprised by his Triple-A dominance this season, but don’t see him as an ace in the making. He’s owned the International League this year; a 6-2 record with a 1.54 ERA in nine starts proof of that. His control is fantastic, his stuff is not. He features a low 90s fastball that he spots at will and I understand his changeup is vastly improved this season, although the times I saw him (on TV) he didn’t need it much. He pitches ahead in count; the splits this season show 29 innings in this position against 11 behind, and his makeup and mound presence is everything it’s been reported as. And he’s fluid, less likely to break down. But he’ll never strikeout major league hitters at the same rate as potential rotation mates Boof Bonser, Johan Santana, Matt Garza, or even Scott Baker. He’s a groundball pitcher -- although not in the severe category -- that will rely on control and defense ala Greg Maddux. Despite all the accolades he’s not the greatest fit for the home park, and could struggle at times as the season wears on.

 Coming up to the majors as a top prospect on a high? Advantage pitcher, until the hitters have a good read and an advanced scouting report; the adjustments going forward from there are perpetual. I like him for the long term, but slot him as a No.3 behind two of the stereotypical power types in the organization, maybe a No.2 later in the career to break the high velocity up.