SPF (Smurf's Prospect Follows) Live Looks
Damiano "live look" synopsis
Before we start ——Why did I put“live look” in quotes? The simple answer is that I watched and reviewed live but NOT in person. If I’m able to get in-person looks and reviews, I will specify that to let you guys know. If I can get any live looks outside of some Ottawa Titans and Frontier League action, I’d be pretty excited and would no doubt mention it. With that being said, I may do some live in-person looks during the Titans season and share them here. Something that is under consideration, especially with some of the younger players.
“I thought there was someone else for this week?” you may be asking yourself….or not….but there was supposed to be a pitcher included. Unfortunately, Adam Macko hasn’t made his 2023 season debut. His 2022 ended early due to injury and with only 95 IP MILB career-to-date, it is fair to say he needs a healthy year to quell the health questions around the profile. We’ll return to Adam a bit later and wish him a healthy 2023.
We did catch some looks of Damiano Palmegiani in Double-A New Hampshire. Here’s a recap:
Dates Seen: 04/11, 04/12, 04/14 all v Portland (Boston)
Positions played: DH (04/11), 1B (04/12), 3B (04/14)
13 PA, 2 H, 2 HBP, 2 BB, K
Got on base in 6/13 plate appearances
Things that stood out:
Versatility. He showed he is capable of handling 1B in very limited viewings. Showed some good ability picking out a couple of low throws and seemed comfortable. The third base play was passable as well, even with a throwing error after making a good bare-handed pickup on the run. He’s not going to “wow” you defensively but he’ll make the plays he’s supposed to.
His patience in the 04/11 game. Quite the line for him when you look back on it - 6 PA, 0-2, 2 BB, 2 HBP. The Portland pitching wasn’t as strong this game and Damiano was ahead right off the first pitch in 5/6 appearances. He had a good feel for the zone in all 3 games but this one especially.
The aggressiveness in the 04/12 & 04/14 games. While seeing 24 pitches in Game 1, he was rather aggressive in Game 2. Palmegiani was swinging on the first pitch in 2 of 3 ABs and on the 2nd pitch of the other. Similarly in the 3rd game, the aggressiveness continued and his hit was solidly contacted.
He gets on base…….6 times on base out of 13 plate appearances? Take that, thank you very much.
Damiano showed he’s a versatile infielder with a bat that can fall into the middle of the order if his development continues on a positive trajectory. Looking forward to seeing more of Damiano soon.
Smurf’s Canadian Prospect Follows On Deck this week:
Mitch Bratt, Hickory Crawdads (High-A, Texas Rangers)
Tyler Black, Biloxi Shuckers (Double-A, Milwaukee Brewers)
That’s about it for now. Thank you for checking in and I’ll be talking with you again in a while. Until then, you know what to do…Keep It 80 Grade.