On Thursday, I woke up to a text warning me that first pitch of the Diamondbacks-Giants Bridge League game had moved up to 10 AM local time – presumably due to the heat, our morning low on Thursday was 95 degrees and cranked up to 113 – and that a rehabbing Ketel Marte was in the lineup. The change in schedule meant I could spend an hour watching Ketel and Co., then slip over to the Rockies’ side of the Salt River Fields Complex to catch a second game. Rehabbers typically hit every inning, so I hoped to squeeze in three Marte at-bats before changing locations.
And that’s how things panned out. Marte flied out to left field in the first, he crushed an oppo-gap double against a 96-mph fastball in the second (and looked fine getting up to speed as he rounded first base) and grounded out to first base in the third. You can watch the entire game here, but this is what Marte’s double looked like from the perspective of my camera:
The Diamondbacks didn’t have a big front office presence there to monitor Marte, just the usual golf cart full of folks. Marte’s group of friends, whose presence in and around the facility has become part of this two-week saga, were sitting in a group behind home plate, slightly down the first base line. I was too busy watching the game and catching up with a couple of scouts who I hadn’t seen in a minute (topics included the new-look Sixers and The Odyssey) to people-watch these dudes, plus I think they have a reasonable expectation of privacy, even if they can’t read the room and realize that they’re the only clique without spikes on in the lunchroom.
Marte played second base for parts of the game but didn’t have much to do on defense. Aside from watching him jog on and off the field and run the bases a little bit, it wasn’t an illuminating look at how Marte is moving laterally or bending, the stuff he has had issues with while dealing with lower body ailments (usually his hamstrings) throughout his career. Before I left, there was talk that Saturday’s Rockies-Diamondbacks bridge game was going to be canceled, meaning the game I had just watched would be the only game action that Marte would see before returning tonight against the Phillies. It’s unclear whether Saturday’s game was actually banged, but Troy Collins posted video of Marte swinging earlier today in what looks like a game against the Rockies, so maybe the game did end up taking place. If so, Marte would have gotten in multiple rehab games before the Snakes start a massive series with the Phillies tonight.
My main target for this game was Angels 2026 first rounder Jared Grindlinger. I have now amassed five games worth of looks at Grindlinger since he signed, and he’s been impressive every time. He rotates really well, takes high-quality at-bats without much chase, and makes a ton of flush contact. Even more amazing, he doesn’t turn 18 until April. It was instructive to see the 2027 draft high school showcase stuff earlier this month and then, in the weeks after, to see a ton of Grindlinger, who was originally going to be part of that graduating class. I like him more than any of the prep players I saw in August. Grindlinger may have actually cost himself money by reclassifying as a 2026 draftee, because he sure looks like he would go higher than 12th overall (where he was just picked) in next year’s draft. Hopefully he recoups that by hitting free agency a year sooner than he would have had he stood pat in the 2027 class.
Because Brendan Gawlowski spearheads the Angels’ system here at the site, I’m excitedly waiting for him to get back from vacation so I can make a case to elevate Grindlinger into the Top 100. Grindlinger is currently a 45+ FV prospect on The Board, just outside the hundo, and he’ll either move onto it this month or be a 2028 Pick to Click for me this offseason. It might be too bold to make the move already because this guy has generated zero relevant data. He only participated in underclass showcase activity before he reclassified, and didn’t get into Complex-level games after the draft. There isn’t data tracking for Bridge League or Instructs. Until May/June of next year, nobody but the Angels will have learned anything meaningful about Grindlinger’s chase and contact rates. But he looks awesome, certainly like a good first pick for the post-Minasian Era in Anaheim. As soon as I feel confident that I’ve seen my last Grindlinger at-bat for the year, I’ll cut together video of him and upload it to our YouTube channel. Until then, here’s an at-bat against a rehabbing big leaguer (Jaden Hill) who was sitting 98.
On Saturday, I doubled up again. I was originally set to go to the Dodgers-White Sox game to see former Missouri quarterback Sam Horn pitch for Los Angeles, but then I learned that fourth overall pick Jackson Flora was going to make his pro debut for the Giants against the A’s in Mesa at 10 AM. Trade deadline acquisition Joniel Hernandez was also in the lineup for the Giants.
For not having pitched for a few months, Flora looked great. He touched 99 twice, sat mostly 97-98, and threw each of his four pitches in one inning of work. His lone 85-mph sweeper was really, really nasty, and his gyro-style sliders were firm, in the 90-92 range depending on the radar gun. He threw one splitter at 90 mph. Here is his entire outing:
Flora’s delivery was a bit more violent about the head and neck than I’d want it to be, and his secondary pitch feel was rusty, which is what you’d expect from a guy who hasn’t thrown in an actual game for several months. His stuff looks great, and it sounds like Flora might sneak out to an affiliate pretty quickly.
My brief first look at Joniel Hernandez was really exciting.
He’s very physical and short to the ball with power, and he did some nice stuff at shortstop before I left. When we were evaluating him on tape ahead of the trade deadline, I was a little skeptical about his hit tool. After one in-person viewing, I am more on board with Brendan and our sources than I was a month ago. This guy has big upside. Good buddy Jason Pennini put together video of Hernandez from this game over at Baseball America.
A couple innings into this game I learned that Cubs lefty Justin Steele and rehabbing prospect Dominick Reid were going to pitch for the Cubs against the Angels at Sloan Park, just a few miles away, and I made a decision to sacrifice a longer look at Hernandez to see those guys (and Grindlinger again). Steele struggled some and looked visibly frustrated, working two innings at 89-91 mph, with natural cut at times and his trademark slider (which had great length but wasn’t always finishing). He gave up a disconcerting amount of hard contact to a group of rookie-ball pitchers. Purely based on the quality of his stuff in this outing, I’d say Steele looked like he could be a team’s second-best bullpen lefty, but of course his fastball has a sneaky quality to it that I undervalued back when he was a prospect, and it’s possible I’m still not seeing that correctly. Steele pitched two innings and threw just shy of 40 pitches.
* This article was originally published here
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