Aroon Escobar & Trey Yesavage

Getting live, in-person scouting looks has been an adventure for me this season. Both the Southern League (Double-A) and the South Atlantic League (High-A), especially the south division, are having down years for bankable fantasy prospects. Since I rely on those leagues for coverage in Chattanooga and Rome, it hasn’t made sense. For instance, both teams are in town this week and it’s just repeat looks at guys I’ve already seen or teams with limited upside. Astros C prospect Walker Janek (C, HOU) is the best prospect in either of those series I have yet to cover, and he’s not viewed as a relevant fantasy prospect. Based on video looks and sources, it’s a 7B Potential Rating profile. 

Instead of in-person live look coverage, the next two weeks will be reports based on video looks of A-Ball prospects. Enjoy!

Aroon Escobar (2B, PHI) – This past spring, the backfields of the Grapefruit League were abuzz about a relatively unknown Phillies 2B prospect. Escobar spent the spring putting on hitting clinics against advanced competition. He was one of the Phillies' hitting stars during their Spring Breakout game, blasting a double. 

The 20-year-old Escobar has proven to be too advanced for Low-A. Entering play on Thursday, Escobar is slashing .329/.431/.524 with 8 HR and 16 XBH. This follows a season where he did similar damage in the Florida Complex League. While 20 years old is on the older side of premium prospects in Low-A, it’s clear Escobar has the tools to be an offensive force as an MLB 2B, assuming health and expected advancement.

Listed 5'10", 180 lbs, Escobar has a stocky frame with short levers. He has above-average athleticism despite a stocky frame. He’s an above average runner and is rangy at 2B, although scouting contacts have warned he does not have the softest hands as a defender. Still, the profile likely stays on the dirt rather than the OF, which helps Escobar’s fantasy potential.

At the plate, Escobar possesses an abundant toolshed. The RHH has an upright, open stance with his front foot on his toes and his hands back, behind his ear flap. As the pitch is delivered, Escobar lifts his front foot slightly, squares up, then strides forward while delivering his hands slightly to the hit position as his hands and hips begin firing through the swing. It’s a slight uppercut trajectory swing, which stays short and compact, producing above-average-or-better bat speed. His swing is geared toward gap hitting. However, he can turn on poorly executed pitches in and deposit them over the LF fence 

Escobar makes consistent hard contact while also having a knack for a high ct%. His in-zone contact rate is double-plus and he rarely whiffs on FB at his present level. This should continue to be a strength of his since he has plus swing coverage. However, the Florida State League doesn’t really breed premium velocity pitchers so it’s hard to tell if this trait continues against better FB. Escobar handles breaking pitches well but will expand the zone. Like nearly all young hitters, he struggles with off-speed offerings. Escobar is well equipped in the power department. While he’s likely close to physical projection, his above-average power could become plus power at projection, meaning 25+ or 30+ HR could be a reasonable expectation.  

There is a prerequisite I look for when projecting a fantasy 2B. First, they’ve got to either have 20 HR or 20 SB potential in their toolbox to get to an average regular outcome, even before considering hit tool or whether they bring anything else to the profile, like adding ‘and’ instead of ‘or’ between 20 HR and 20 SB. Second, any other ingredients added to the recipe increases the projection potential. 

Escobar won’t steal 20 bases, but he checks the 20 HR potential box. Right there, we’re at an average regular potential outcome. Adding a plus hit tool to the equation gets the profile up to a potential solid regular outcome. Scouts call this sort of hit tool a “power-driven” hit tool since his exit velocities really define his hit tool potential. In addition, I project he hits for 25+ HR and a ton of XBH while stealing 10 or so bases every year into his prime. For me, that’s Top 3 level projected production at 2B, meaning an All-Star fantasy potential outcome is possible. Potential Rating: 9C ETA: 2027

Trey Yesavage (RHP, TOR) – Yesavage made his professional debut this season after stellar sophomore and junior seasons at East Carolina University, which ended up propelling him into the 1^st round of last year’s draft. He was the best college pitcher taken outside of Chase Burns (RHP, CIN) and Hagen Smith (LHP, CHW). However, Yesavage dropped outside of the top 10 because of concerns about his long-term ability to maintain health and command due to a rough arm stroke and stiff delivery. However, the Jays got a bargain because of those concerns, potentially adding a mid-rotation arm in a draft void of mid-rotation arms with a history of college success. Across A-Ball affiliates, Yesavage has a 2.40 ERA, an .871 WHIP, and has struck out 74 batters in 41.1 innings. In other words, domination. 

Yesavage is near physical projection. Listed 6'4", 225 lbs, the 21-year-old has broad shoulders, long levers, and a developed lower half. He utilizes an over-the-top delivery with a long arm stroke, a big leg kick, and a high release. The delivery is unique since it appears he gets taller as he progresses to the release point, especially out of the windup where he utilizes that overexerted big leg lift. Despite his frame and leg lift, Yesavage does not extend well in his delivery. Like most over-the-top throwers, he cuts off his extension early and only extends to about 5-10 with his lower half. It’s a very stiff delivery despite present athleticism and is certainly one of a kind.

Yesavage is a four-pitch pitcher. Because of the near 7-foot release point, his mid-90s 4-seam FB has lots of natural ride, just below 21 inches of IVB. He lives in the upper half of the zone when he’s firing on all cylinders. Yesavage’s best FB has late arm-side ride. In-zone command wavers like a lot of over-the-top throwers. He can be victimized by hard contact when the FB glides over the middle half, in most hitter’s happy zones. In the scouted Low-A starts, he was victimized when he didn’t maintain a flat-approach angle. He’ll likely have high HR tendencies to go with a high whiff% with his FB. Overall, it projects as a plus pitch.

Of Yesavage’s secondary offerings, the 86-88 mph gyro SL, which is sometimes characterized as a CT, is his go-to pitch for a swing-and-miss against RHH. It tunnels extremely well with his 4-seam FB, reminiscent of how Spencer Strider (RHP, ATL) utilizes the 4-seam/gyro SL mix to generate high strikeout rates. Yesavage’s SL isn’t elite like Strider’s, but it’s a plus pitch nonetheless. His split-change with a low spin rate and 8-to-9 mph velocity separation off his FB is his primary secondary against LHH. It has natural fade and devastating drop late in the progression. For me, it has above-average potential with better overall command. In the scouted start, he threw a couple low-80s slurves. None of his slurves were quality and the pitch projects to be below-average or worse at projection.

For me, Yesavage’s stuff screams SP2/SP3 potential. However, he doesn’t have the command, night in and night out, to maintain the upside, especially with how his FB becomes extremely hittable when not maintaining a flat approach. Lots of whiffs and lots of round trippers tend to put Yesavage in the SP3/SP4 bucket. Still, there is lots of risk in the profile, especially with his stiff delivery and rough arm action. Because of delivery risk, the probability of maintaining the SP3/SP4 outcome is less than similarly profiled players. Potential Rating: 8D ETA: 2026

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