Prospect Watch - Julio Teheran
By: mbohn
There are a lof of publications and sites that are now devoted to ranking prospects. Of course,
Baseball America is the top dog in that game, but
Baseball Prospectus is gaining ground, and fast. One Edge that BA has over BP is it's annual
Prospect Handbook, which is something that I do not typically leave the house without. Being as I am in Germany at the moment, it is going to be hard to get my hands on that sucker in a timely fashion this season, but I will still try to bring as much about prospects to you as I can.
That said, the first Prospect Watch of 2011 is for
Julio Teheran. If you do not know about Teheran yet, he is tabbed as the #2 right handed pitching prospect in all of baseball, behind only
Jeremy Hellickson. Quite frankly, that could be an understatement, as Julio has been described as a taller Pedro Martinez that is a future ace.
Julio currently employs three plus pitches. His fastball sits in the mid-90s, but he can hit the upper 90s when needed. Teheran's changeup has movement and is deceptive, making that fastball even harder to peg down. Then comes his curveball, which he has no issues throwing for strikes. For a kid that just turned 20 two weeks ago, his arsenal is very impressive.
The sky is the limit for Teheran, with BP stating that he could be one of the first pitchers nabbed in future drafts. In a rotation that already has Tommy Hanson, Jair Jurrjens and Mike Minor all under 26 years old, the Braves are set up nicely to take the reigns back in the NL East when the Phillies starters (all in their early to mid 30s other than Cole Hamels) decline.
How good is the Brave's farm system? BP ranks Craig Kimbrel as the 5th best player in it. Look for Teheran to possibly get called up in September, unless a rash of injuries decimate the current rotation. With Derek Lowe, Tim Hudson, Tommy Hanson, Jair Jurrjens and Minor being the probable rotation on opening day, they Braves can afford to take it slow with not only Teheran, but
Arodys Vizcaino (their 4th best prospect) as well.
So do not worry about Teheran on draft day, or possibly at all this season. Keep him on your radar as a possible sleeper pick in 2012, although it is possible that he will be this year's Aroldis Chapman and wind up on everyone's radar.