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5 Appalachian League Alums among Top Farm System Athletes

November 18, 2019

Trejyn Fletcher (Johnson City 2019), Estevan Florial (Pulaski 2016), Jarred Kelenic (Kingsport 2018), Ronny Mauricio (Kingsport 2018), and Cristian Pache (Danville 2016) named top athletes in their respective farm systems.

Trejyn Fletcher (Johnson City 2019), Estevan Florial (Pulaski 2016), Jarred Kelenic (Kingsport 2018), Ronny Mauricio (Kingsport 2018), and Cristian Pache (Danville 2016) named top athletes in their respective farm systems.

Cardinals: Trejyn Fletcher, OF (No. 17) - One of the better athletes available in the 2019 MLB Draft, Fletcher became the highest position player ever drafted out of the Maine high school ranks when the Cardinals took him in the second round. The 6-foot-2, 200-pound outfielder offers a tantalizing combination of plus raw power, speed and arm strength -- he ran his fastball up to 93 mph as a prep. It's the profile of a potential 20-20 center fielder if everything comes together, but he's also going to require a lot of time and patience with his development.
Yankees: Estevan Florial, OF (No. 3/MLB No. 82) - Though he has been slowed by injuries and swing-and-miss issues since signing out of Haiti in 2015, Florial has some of the best all-around tools in the Minor Leagues. His raw power, speed and arm strength all grade as well above average, and he projects as a plus defender in center field as well.
Mariners: Jarred Kelenic, OF (No. 1/MLB No. 13) - Kelenic's all-around tools were well-known leading into the 2018 MLB Draft; that's why he went in the middle of the first round. But few predicted he'd put all of them to such consistent use during his first full season of pro ball coming out of the Wisconsin prep ranks. The outfielder played his way up to Double-A shortly after he turned 20 and finished with a 20-20 season in the process.
Braves: Cristian Pache, OF (No. 1/MLB No. 11) - Pache earns 70 grades for his speed, arm and defense, and he's an above-average hitter to boot with power that's starting to show up. He's still learning how to use that near top-of-the-scale speed to be a basestealing threat, but he uses it just fine to be an elite-level center fielder.
Mets: Ronny Mauricio, SS (No. 1/MLB No. 80) - A loose, twitchy athlete, Mauricio flashed his five-tool upside last season as an 18-year-old at Class A Columbia, where the teenager impressed evaluators with his abilities at shortstop along with his overall offensive potential as a switch-hitter. He's likely to lose a step as he grows into his incredibly projectable 6-foot-3, 166-pound frame -- some scouts compare his body type to Alfonso Soriano's -- but the final product could be a player who hits for both average and power from a premium position.