Though he lacks the draft pedigree, Cal Towey has flashed enough offensive value and defensive versatility to make him one of the most interesting sleepers in the Angel farm system.
Cal Towey
In 10 words or less: We may have something here. Could be an actual 3B.
Position: C/3B/OF Born: 2/6/90
Bats: L Throws: R
Height: 6’1″ Weight: 210
Last Year Rank: Unranked
2014 Season Stats
[table id=39 /]
OFFENSE
Contact – D+. Towey does have his issues with the swing and miss, but this is largely a product of Cal working the count and often finding himself in two-strike opportunities, similar to Mike Trout. Unfortunately, this also results in more strikeouts than anyone would prefer. Still, Towey’s beautiful swing and hand-eye coordination should lend itself to consistent contact in the future. He may have only hit .280 in the Cal League, but I feel like .280 or .290 at the higher levels shouldn’t be out of the question.
Power – B. In the traditional sense, you’d think that a corner infielder with only 10 HR’s in the Cal League wouldn’t warrant a “B” grade in the power department. However, there is more than meets the eye here. Towey is a strong left-handed hitter and is still learning to turn on the inside pitch, but when he does he can really drive the ball. I’d expect 10-15 HR power in the future but more than anything, I’d expect a ton of gap doubles, very similar to Kole Calhoun.
Discipline – B+. This is probably the strongest part of Cal’s game. He doesn’t swing at a lot of pitches out of the zone. Against pitchers with less than exceptional command, Towey can put himself into advantageous hitter’s counts. He has no problem reaching base via the walk. There are so few quality 3B in the prospect ranks, so the fact that Towey has some pop and can reach base shouldn’t be overlooked.
Speed – B. Towey stole 21 bags this past year. Quite good for a corner infielder. He has the necessary athleticism to play a passable corner OF as well, so the speed appears to be real. I wouldn’t expect that many at the upper levels, but a Kendrick-like 10 SB and good foot-speed on the base paths shouldn’t be out of the question.
DEFENSE
Arm – B. Cal has enough arm to play a good 3B, which also allows his to profile as a corner OF as well.
Fielding – C. I can’t picture Towey being a “plus” defender at either 3B or LF or RF, but he also won’t be a liability. I feel like his overall game, defense included was affected by a focus on transitioning to catcher last year. Now that he knows he’ll predominantly be at 3B and the OF, he can better focus on his craft. I think he’ll be an average defensive fielder at the highest levels.
Range – B/C. As a 3B, Towey’s instincts and footwork lend to good range for a 3B. When I watched him play the OF, he reminded me a bit of Efren Navarro out there. Not really fast, but enough to get to plenty of balls and not be a liability.
OVERALL
Performance – C. Towey didn’t set himself apart during the regular season, but the fact that he was invited to play in the Arizona Fall League and did quite well there speaks to his ability as a player. We haven’t seen Cal Towey’s best numbers year, but I feel like we will in the higher minors and hopefully the majors.
Projection – C+. Towey is a lot like Kole Calhoun in that he doesn’t have very many standout tools, but he also does a lot of things right and isn’t necessarily bad at any aspect of the game. Towey should find himself in a utility player role in the majors, and if he takes a step forward in any parts of his game he could push for a starting spot someday.
Grade as a Prospect – C. There are a lot of players who might be good in the future, but aren’t quite good yet. But if Towey does start playing up to his potential this grade could come up a bit. One thing to keep in mind, Towey will be 25 years old on Opening Day next season in AA or AAA. He’s not young on the prospect scale.
Estimated Time of Arrival – Late 2016. I figure conservatively Towey will get a full season in AA and a full season in AAA before playing in the majors. Surprisingly, it isn’t out of the question that he’ll be moved up to AAA this year. Freese’s contract is up at the end of the year. If Cal puts up the numbers, he could find himself in a position to take over the 3B position on the Angels.
2014 in Review*
One of the things that excites me most about Towey is that he is a left-handed bat who has yet to show any signs of not being able to handle left-handed pitching. In two minor league seasons, he is actually slightly better against southpaws. In 2014 specifically, he had a .376 wOBA versus LHP and .326 wOBA against RHP. That gap is largely BABIP driven, but if you normalize his BABIP, he’s still pretty much an even platoon split guy. That’s a great skill to have.
What tempers my enthusiasm is that Towey is a college bat playing in high-A at the age of 24. He’s just so much older than the competition that it makes it hard to tell if his performance is real or just a byproduct of experience. That’s something that should get susses out pretty quickly when he gets promoted to Double-A Arkansas in 2015.
The other big question for Towey is what his ultimate position will be. Yes, he’s logged time at catcher, but he isn’t going to stick there. Third base is far more likely. He’s got enough athleticism to play the outfield, but unless the power in his bat starts to play up more, he profiles better offensively at the hot corner.
Looking Ahead*
2015 should hopefully provide stability for Towey. It would be nice if the Angels could just put him at third base and have him stay there all year. He’s still new enough to the position that he really needs the time to focus on it. To keep shifting him around the field is just unfair to his development both defensively and offensively. Clearly the team thinks highly of him, otherwise they wouldn’t have sent him to the Arizona Fall League, so they should commit to trying to figure out if he can really become a big league regular. If that bat doesn’t survive the jump to Double-A, they can go back to making him into a super utility man in 2016.
*As we do every year, the scouting reports and grades are provided by Scotty Allen while Garrett Wilson provides the 2014 in Review and Looking Ahead sections.
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