Victor Alcantara boasts one of the most live arms in the system, but not really a whole lot else. Can the Angels turn him into something special or will his talent fail to catch up to his fastball?
Victor Alcantara
10 words or less: Did you see that fastball? Neither did the hitter!
Position: SP/RP Born: 4/3/1993
Bats: R Throws: R
Height: 6’2″ Weight: 190
2014 Rank: unranked
2014 Season Stats
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PITCHING
Fastball – A+. It was reported that Alcantara’s fastball sat 94-96 MPH and occasionally touched the high-90’s before the beginning of last season. Alcantara’s fastball in Burlington last year sat 97-98 and frequently hit triple digits. Hot radar gun? Maybe, or maybe it’s the fact that’s now growing into his body and has had the proper instruction to fully capitalize on his talents.
Off-speed Pitches – C-. Victor has a pretty decent slider he can throw. It has nice late life and sweeps as far as any in the major leagues. But he can’t keep it in the strike zone yet. His changeup is there, and is used maybe three times a game, but there’s not a ton on it.
Control – D. Typically a 4.3 BB/9 would be cause to give Victor an “F” in this department, but the fact that his BB/9 dropped from over 5 at the All-Star break down to 4.3 at the end of the season has to be seen as progress.
Command – F. Yeah, he has no idea where the ball is going, let alone the ability to spot in somewhere in strike zone. That actually presents quite a safety issue for batters given his high-90’s fastball. Someone should really go about fixing that.
Mechanics – F. Really not much balance at all. His release point is all over the place too. I guess if you weren’t looking at where he let go of the ball, or how he falls off to a side he’d look sort of graceful. But no, Alcantara has a long way to go. Hopefully the Angels can help him iron those things out, mostly for the safety of others.
OVERALL
Performance – B. The fact that Alcantara found himself in A-Ball rather than Rookie Ball has to be seen as some sort of miracle given how much he needs to do. The fact that he was actually pretty solid in A-Ball is surprising. The fact that he made it onto the World Team for the Future’s Game is a little comical though. So are some of his splits. Victor’s ground ball percentage was a ridiculous 56% (average is typically 45%). His fly ball percentage was UNDER 20%! Average for that is usually around 30%. I’m also concerned about the 4 HBPs, not because that’s a lot. I’m wondering if these men were found alive, or if their limbs are still fully intact.
Projection – A. 2014 was a breakout of sorts for Victor, in that he pitched in full-season ball and was actually above average. Now the next breakthrough needs to happen, Alcantara needs to figure out where the ball is going. If that happens, he’s an automatic ace. If not, they could always move him to the pen where he’d definitely have closer material.
Estimated Time of Arrival – 2018. Alcantara is only 21 years old, heading into his age 22 season. I’m sure no one in the Angels organization would mind seeing him in an Angels uni by his 25th birthday.
Grade as a Prospect – C+. Hard-throwers that have no idea where it’s going are a dime a dozen in the minors. What sets Victor apart is that he not only made it to A-Ball, he wasn’t that bad. God I hope he can start throwing strikes.
2014 in Review*
Victor Alcantara, née Alfonso Alcantara, made the leap to full season ball and leapt up the Angels farm system rankings. Victor struggled with his velocity a bit when he first came to the States in 2013 thanks to inconsistent mechanics. His mechanics are still inconsistent, but the velocity was fully recovered this year. He regularly works in the mid-nineties and can touch 100 MPH even though he mostly works as a starter.
That’s encouraging, but he still has a long way to go. His numbers were solid in Burlington, but he is still walking far too many batters. He’s also been forced to work exclusively out of the stretch and is essentially a two-pitch pitcher. If that doesn’t sound like a future reliever in the making, I don’t know what does.
Perhaps what is keeping the Halos from making the transition is that Alcantara has two things going fro him. First, his platoon splits are virtually identical across the board. When it comes to strikeout rate, walk rate and OPS, Alcantara shows very little difference, even with a changeup that is really just for show. Second, Victor keeps the ball on the ground. That’s a major sign of hope for a guy with command issues. He may not know where his pitch is going, but at least he’s doing a decent job of keeping it down in the zone.
Looking Ahead*
As is the usual process for the Angels, Victor Alcantara will surely remain in the rotation in 2015, though he’ll probably be getting bumped up to the California League. They’ll just keep running him out there as a starter until it stops working. Odds are that it will stop working at some point. His profile just screams that he will eventually end up in the bullpen. That sounds bad, but it isn’t as Alcantara has the kind of fastball that could make him a quality high leverage reliever.
However, until that day comes, Victor will remain a starter, working to develop some control and maybe turn his changeup into something usable. If those both happen, then he at least has a chance of sticking in the rotation. It all depends on how much patience the Angels have for him.
*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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