This year we’ll be releasing our top 25 list in conjunction with the people over at Bernie’s Crew,
which means the list is going to posted somewhat out of order to match
up with what Jim has for his Top 25. An up-to-date list of the Between the Green Pillars Top 25 can be found at the bottom of the page.
Seth
Lintz / RHP / 6’1” 170 LBS / Born 2/7/90
This Volunteer State high school product was drafted by the Brewers with the 53rd pick in the 2008 draft, a pick they acquired as compensation for losing Francisco Cordero to the Reds for those keeping track of those things. He is a classic Jack Zduriencik high school pitcher with high upside pick, which also means that he has a considerable way to go to reach that potential.
Lintz’s fastball sits in the high 80’s to low 90’s with good movement. He throws an above average curveball along with a changeup that is a work in progress. While his stuff is good enough to miss a lot of bats, he has some mechanical issues to sort through (click here for a link that details those issues). Until he deals with those, he’s likely to have trouble with his command. Last year in his limited action in rookie-ball, all of that was in evidence. On the plus side, Lintz struck out 26 batters in 18 1/3 innings. But those mechanical issues manifested themselves clearly in the 16 batters he walked in that time. He also gave up too many hits (22), HR (3) and runs (20, 14 earned).
Given that shaky performance, I hesitated rank Lintz so high. Yes, he has a long way to go, but it is widely believed that he has the ability to increase that velocity as he grows into his body. The key will be improving his mechanics to help his command without sacrificing too much of that raw stuff that produces so many swings and misses. If he can do that, he has the ability to be a front of the rotation starter, which is something the Brewers farm system is conspicuously short of at the higher levels.
Between the Green Pillars Top 25 Prospects:
# 25: Evan Frederickson
# 24: Cody Adams
#23: Alex Periard
#22: Brent Brewer
#21: Brad Nelson
#20: RJ Seidel
#19: Tim Dillard