Prospect: Grayson Long Rank: 11
2015/16: 6 Position(s): Right Handed Pitcher
Level: Advanced A Ball Age: Entering Age 23 season in 2017.
Height: 6’5” Weight: 230 lb.
Present – Future
Fastball 55 55
Slider 50 55
Change 55 60
Mechanics 50 50
Command 55 60
Control 55 60
Ceiling: A workhorse #3/4 starter in MLB
Likely Outcome: A workhorse #4/5 starter in MLB
Summary: Long is one of those prospects that’s constantly overlooked when the rest of the world is too busy talking about how terrible the Angels farm system is. The apparent lack of depth doesn’t apply to Grayson Long I guess. Long is a big bodied strike thrower that pumps a 91-93 mph “heavy” fastball. It’s a difficult pitch to square up because of it’s strong downhill action, though hitters do make consistent contact due to a relative lack of side to side movement. It’s a straight, heavy fastball with a downward plane. Low-ball hitters probably love it. But for the average prospect in the lower ranks, it can give them fits and cause a lot of early count groundouts to the shortstop.
Long will also throw a good slider, which he gets over for strikes consistently. His best pitch however, is his change up. While he uses it to generate weak groundouts and popups, Long was able to generate a fair amount of swing and miss with it at the lower levels. This likely won’t last as he reaches the upper minors, but it’s still a solid pitch.
After being drafted by the Angels in the 3rd round out of Texas A&M, the organization really limited his innings in Rookie Ball due to fatigue. The Angels somewhat surprisingly opted to keep Long in A Ball after Spring Training this year, which was absolutely puzzling. As expected, Long was completely and utterly dominant in Burlington. Across eight starts, he carried a 1.58 ERA with 45 K’s in only 40 innings. Then injury occurred, and Long was shut down for much of the rest of the season, save for a few rehab appearances and short-lived promotion to Inland Empire.
What to expect next season: Unfortunately, since Long was injured for a large chunk of the season in 2016, he lost what was essentially a half season to a full season worth of development. I anticipate Grayson making a return trip to Inland Empire, at least for a couple months in 2017. If things go well, we should see him spend a large chunk of the season in AA in 2017.
Estimated Time of Arrival: 2019, as a 25 year old. .
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